GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

❖ French Gothic-Religious and social

influences
❖ Evolution of vaulting and
development of structural systems
❖ Factors influencing Gothic
architecture
❖ Outline of architecture character in
Italy and England
❖ Examples to study:
➢ Notre dame at Paris
➢ Westminster Abbey in England
➢ Canterbury Cathedral in Kent
➢ Hampton Court Palace at
London
➢ The Milan Cathedral,Italy
➢ The Doge’s Palace,Venice
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

❖ Architectural style prevalent in

western Europe from 12th to 15th
century characterized by Pointed
arches,Rib Vaulting,Large windows
and emphasis on verticality.
❖ The style was developed by Goths
which were Germaninan tribes.
❖ This style was also known as
“Architecture of Supports” with the
introduction of flying buttresses.
❖ The unification of the parts of the
church began in this style.
INFLUENCES

Geographical: Gothic style originated from the “Isle de

France” that is the area around Paris that is
surrounded by rivers.
The 1st gothic church known as the Abbey of
Saint-Denis was built on the outskirts of Paris by the
Abbot Suger, who wanted his church to represent
enthusiasm, lightness & energy.

Religious: The urge to create large, monumental prayer

halls for christianity was the prime cause behind the
construction of these vast cathedrals across Europe.
The scale & height of these buildings indicate that the
intention was to create landmark structures that could
be seen for miles around.
INFLUENCES

Social: The clergy & the monastic orders enjoyed an

exalted position in the society with the church
exercising control over most of the commercial
activities.

Historical: The construction techniques of the pointed

arch, the rib & panel vaulting, the flying buttresses etc
were already in use for some time. But it was the
concept of building a stone skeleton with a
combination of these elements & filling the openings
with stained glass that results in the effect of lightness
& energy.

Geological: Stone was abundantly available in the

region around Paris, but the art of stained glass was
rather a new one & developed into a fine art.
 Characteristics of Gothic churches and
cathedrals
● In Gothic architecture, the new technology that
enforced a new building style was
the pointed arch.
● The Gothic style emphasizes verticality and
features almost skeletal stone
structures with great expanses of glass, ribbed
vaults, clustered columns, pointed
spires, flying buttresses and inventive
sculptural detail such as gargoyles.
● Planning: Most Gothic cathedrals, are of the
Latin cross plan, with a long nave and
● the shorter transept. There are several
regional variations to this plan.
● Height: The basic characteristic of Gothic
church architecture is its height.
● A section of the of a Gothic church shows the
proportion of the width of the nave to its Sectional View of Gothic Cathedral
● height to be varying from 1:2 to 1:3.6.
 Characteristics of Gothic churches
and cathedrals

● Externally, towers and spires are

characteristic of Gothic churches both great
and small.
● Vertical emphasis: On the exterior, the
verticality is emphasized in a major way by
the towers, spires, narrow windows and
projecting vertical buttresses.
● On the interior, attached shafts often rise up
from floor to ceiling and meet the ribs
of the vault, like a tall tree spreading into
branches.
● Light: Large stained glass windows added
color to the interiors, thus providing a
medium for figurative & narrative art.
● Lancet, Equilateral, Flamboyant & the
Depressed arch were commonly employed.
The Notre dame at Paris is widely considered as one of Notre dame at Paris
the finest examples of French gothic architecture.

● Its construction was commenced in the year 1160 AD

& went on till 1250 AD.
● It was one of the first buildings in the world to use
the flying buttress.
● The distinctive twin towers in the western façade,
the central wheel window (rose window) & the
recessed pointed arch entrances are characteristic
of this style.
● The frieze band of the statues of kings of France
above the entrance portals is also typical of this
style.
● The arrangement of 2 coupled windows all set
within a larger pointed arch with a circular window
above them can be seen in the 1st floor.
● The intercepting pointed arch arcade in the 2nd
floor is also a common feature in French gothic
churches.
Notre dame at Paris
The plan of the Notre dame shows the central wide
nave with double aisles on either side with a bent axial
line.
● The length is about 4 times the width & transepts
are just slight projections. In some other churches
transepts are absent like the Bourges cathedral.
● The apsidal east end is developed into the “chevet”
by addition of processional aisles & chapels.
● Plain cylindrical shafts are combined to form
columns and piers that had capitals derived from
the Corinthian order.
● The sexpartite vaulting compartments over the
nave, the flying buttresses on 3 side of the
building and the recessed entrances can be
observed in the plan.
Notre dame at Paris

This view from the

east shows the
steeply pitched
roofs with a central
spire over the
crossing, the flying
buttresses which
were used to great
effect around the
apse and the large
clearstory windows
that created the
fantastic light
effects inside.
Notre dame at Paris

The façade treatment

of the transept with
wheel windows(rose
window), spires etc.
can be seen along
with the flying
buttresses and
pinnacles that are
features of the south
elevation
 In this picture of the side elevation of
the Notre dame, other than the flying
buttresses,the large stained glass
windows that bring light to the
triforium & the nave can be seen.

This picture shows

the system of flying
buttresses and the
clearstory windows
that are
characteristic
features of the
French gothic style.
The roof above the
triforium can also
be seen in the
picture.
This longitudinal section
through the nave shows
the ribs of the sexpartite
vault, the detail of all the
windows & the arcading
along the nave in the
ground floor and 1st floor.

The detail of the

recessed entrance
portal shows the statue
of Christ in the
column that divides the 2
doors along
with statues & relief
sculptures in the
tympanum.
This view of the interior of
the apse shows the elevated
choir & the altar along with
the rib & panel vaulting
above the apsidal end. The
coupled windows in the 1st
floor & the stained glass
windows above them can
also be seen.
This interior view of the
crossing of the nave &
transept shows the
triple arcading in the
triforium gallery set
within the larger
pointed arch. It also
shows the detail of the
clearstory windows
& the circular windows at
the crossing.
The geometrical patterns
of traceries in
the wheel window above
the end wall of
the transept & the blue
and violet stained
glass work are typical of
“Primaire” or the
early period of the French
Gothic.
This view of the Notre dame from across the river Seine shows why the building still
remains as a landmark in Paris. The vertical emphasis of the French gothic style can be
observed from the various parts such as spires, towers, steep roofs & flying buttresses
that satisfy the attempt to build a church that would soar up to the heavens.