Gothic and gothic style in clothing. Gothic style in the architecture of the Middle Ages

Gothic art represents the next stage of development of medieval art after Romanesque. The name is conditional. It was synonymous with barbarism in the minds of Renaissance historians, who first used this term to characterize the art of the Middle Ages in general, without seeing its valuable aspects. Gothic is a more mature art style of the Middle Ages than Romanesque. It amazes with the unity and integrity of artistic manifestations in all forms of art. Religious in form, Gothic art is more sensitive than Romanesque to life, nature and man. It included in its circle the entire sum of medieval knowledge, complex and contradictory ideas and experiences. In the dreaminess and excitement of Gothic images, in the pathetic rise of spiritual impulses, in the tireless quest of its masters, new trends are felt - the awakening of the mind and feelings, passionate aspirations for beauty. The increased spirituality of Gothic art, the growing interest in human feelings, in the highly individual, in the beauty of the real world, prepared the blossoming of the art of the Renaissance.

France. The Gothic style received its classical expression in France, the birthplace of Gothic cathedrals. In the 12th–14th centuries, the French lands were united, a state was formed, and the foundation was laid national culture. The first monuments of French Gothic arose in the province of Ile-de-France (the Church of Saint-Denis of Abbot Suger), the center of royal possessions. These churches retained some features of Romanesque architecture: the massiveness of smooth walls, sculptural modeling of volumes, the weight of the façade towers, the clarity of the composition, the calm horizontal divisions into four tiers, the monumental simplicity of massive forms, and the sparingness of decoration. The greatest building of the Rape Gothic style is the cathedral. Notre Dame of Paris(Notre-Dame de Paris, founded in 1163; completed until the mid-13th century: the crown of the chapels - at the beginning of the 14th century), distinguished, despite numerous additions, by the integrity of its appearance. It was built in the center of the ancient part of Paris, on the Ile de la Cité, formed by the flow of the Seine. The plan of the cathedral is a five-nave basilica with a slightly protruding trapsept and square cells of the main nave. The western facade is harmonious in its proportions, clear tiered divisions and balance of forms. Three perspectively recessed lancet-shaped portals reveal the thickness of the basement floor, emphasizing the stability of the structure. The so-called “gallery of kings” runs along the entire width of the façade. The rose window under the deep semi-circular arch marks with its diameter the central nave and the height of the vault. The lancet windows flanking the rose illuminate the halls of the first floor of the towers. A carved cornice and an elegant archway of thick columns add lightness and slenderness to the upper part of the building. The composition of the façade, built on gradual lightening of the forms, ends with two rectangular towers rising above the roofs. All openings of portals, trenches, arches vary in the shape of a pointed arch, somewhat flat in the lower zone and pointed at the top, which imparts dynamism to the facade; the viewer gets the feeling that all forms are directed upward. The sculptural decoration of the cathedral has been preserved only on the tympanums, on the concave surfaces of the portal, and in the basement tier.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,
architects Jacques of Chelles, Pierre of Montreuil, Pierre of Chelles, Ravi Jean, 1163 - early 14th century

Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims,
architects Jean of Orbe, Jean de Loup
1211 – extension in the 15th century,
France, Reims

Notre Dame Cathedral
in Amiens,
XII-XIV centuries,
France, Amiens

Each Gothic cathedral had its own individual face, bearing the imprint of the sincere inspiration of its builders. The most accurate idea of ​​the original appearance of French Gothic churches will be given by Chartres Cathedral, created on the eve of the heyday of classical French Gothic. It captures the viewer with a sense of elemental power. Its strict monumental forms, arches, permeated with powerful force, bear the stamp of the stormy, cruel and heroic era of the first half of the 13th century. This is a wonderful example of the fusion of powerful architectural masses and lines, sculpture and huge, sometimes sparkling, sometimes flickering stained glass windows of double trenches, crowned with a rose. They have been preserved almost entirely in their original form and create a special light-colored atmosphere, constantly changing depending on the state of nature.

The period of mature Gothic was marked by further improvement of frame construction, increasing verticalism of lines and dynamic upward movement. The abundance of sculpture and stained glass enhances the visual and spectacular character of the cathedrals.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims,
central view

Notre Dame Cathedral in Amiens,
central entrance

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,
internal view

Reims Cathedral (founded in 1211, completed in the 15th century) - the place of coronation of French kings - embodied the national creative genius of France. He was perceived by the people as a symbol national association . A giant temple one hundred and fifty meters long with high eighty-meter towers is one of the most integral creations of Gothic architecture, a wonderful embodiment of the synthesis of architecture and sculpture. Compared to Notre Dame Cathedral, all forms of the western façade of Reims Cathedral are slimmer; the proportions of the phials and portals are elongated, the pointed arches are pointed. The uncontrollable flow of lines and masses directed upward is only slightly delayed by horizontal divisions. The main theme is expressed in the energy of the upward movement of the giant pointed portals and the adjacent buttresses. The portals are covered with five pointed wimpergs, decorated with carvings. The middle portal is higher and wider, the tip of its whimperg, breaking the horizontal of the cornice, directs the gaze upward. Countless design details, the movement of vertical rods, flying buttresses, pinnacles (pointed turrets), pointed arches, columns, buttresses, spiers repeat the main theme in the following tiers in different variations and rhythms, as if likening a polyphonic choir. The movement slows down, calms down in the center of the second floor with a huge rose and rapidly grows in the side parts in the phials, sharp pointed arches of the galleries, ending with the powerful rise of the towers. Transitions between individual forms and tiers are softened by the play of picturesque chiaroscuro, which, however, does not remove the severity of the architectonic solution. Numerous sculptures of the cathedral seem to echo the noisy city crowd that fills the square on holiday. The figures of saints sometimes appear in orderly rows, forming friezes, sometimes they gather in groups, sometimes they stand alone against the backdrop of portals or in niches, as if welcoming visitors. The statues are woven into ornamental rows, subordinate to the main architectural lilies. The architectural and sculptural decorations of the cathedral are permeated with a single rhythm and are perceived as a complete whole, as an expression of a higher order, as a kind of ideal world, striking in its complexity. The interior space of Reims Cathedral is distinguished by the same clarity of structure and harmonious proportions of both the whole and individual parts. Everything inside is subordinated to a general movement forward towards the altar and upward aspiration - towards the sky. Bunches of thin columns run upward, connecting with pointed arches and ribs of the vaults. Above the arches of the side naves stretches the triforium - a false gallery that opens into the central space with short runs of small arcades, crushing with their rhythm the powerful chords of the lower arcades and preparing the perception of the huge stained glass lancet windows and high rib vaults of the ceiling of the central nave. The huge choir with a crown of chapels is almost equal in width to the transept. Its space, flooded with divine light, is perfectly perceived from the very entrance - 150 meters away, irresistibly beckoning and attracting the eyes and souls of those praying.

Monastery and Cathedral
Mont Saint Michel,
XIII century, France
Saint Michel island

St. Vitus Cathedral,
architects Mathieu from Arras,
Parlergi, 1344-1420
Prague, Czech Republic

Karlštejn Castle,
founded by Charles IV
from 1248 to the 13th century,
Czech Republic, Mlada Boleslav

The Amiens Cathedral most fully expressed the flowering of Gothic architecture in France. While the Reims Cathedral impresses with its external appearance, in which sculpture has acquired leading importance, the Amiens Cathedral delights with its interior - a light, huge, free interior space. Lit by stained glass, it was warm and radiant. The central nave of the cathedral is distinguished by its high height (40 m) and length (145 m). The naves, wide transept, choir and chapels became less independent parts, merging with the wide space of the entire interior. The façade is distinguished by its extremely rich decoration and complete fusion of architecture and plasticity. In the Amiens temple, however, there is no complete harmony between its internal and external appearance. The embossed rich decoration of the facade with three recessed portals is perceived only as the shell of a huge internal space, bordered by stained glass windows encircling the walls with sculptural foliage garlands. In the Amiens Cathedral, features of the Gothic type appear, transitional to its later stage - flaming Gothic. The classical balance of proportions is disrupted, the proportionality of the parts is lost.

In the second half of the 13th and 14th centuries, the construction of the begun cathedrals continued, but the construction of small chapels commissioned by guilds or individuals became typical. A wonderful creation of developed French Gothic style is the two-story royal Holy Chapel (Sainte-Chapelle, 1243–1248), built on the Ile de la Cité in Paris under Louis IX. It is distinguished by the impeccable elegance of the overall composition and the perfection of all proportions, stability and plasticity of appearance. In its upper church, the walls are completely replaced by high (15 m) windows, filling the spaces between the thin supports of the vaults. The amazing effect in this fragile building is created by multi-colored purple-scarlet stained glass windows, shining with pure, sonorous colors. The western facade is decorated with a rose cutting through its entire width, made in the 15th century. TO outstanding monuments The abbey of Mont Saint-Michel dates back to the 13th century.

Well of the Prophets

Prophet Daniel

Prophet Jeremiah

Prophet Zechariah

Prophet Moses

Prophet David

Germany. The Gothic style in Germany developed on the basis of the artistic experience of the French, clearly expressed in the synthetic type of northern French cathedrals. However, German art did not have the integrity and unity of French Gothic. German cathedrals do not have the grace, delicacy and sense of proportion inherent in French ones. The drama and expressiveness that distinguished German Gothic were combined in architecture with preserved Romanesque traditions. The plans of the cathedrals are simple; for the most part they lack a choir and a crown of chapels. In the external appearance of the building, the upward tendency inherent in Gothic architecture received its utmost expression. Often there was a type of single-tower cathedral, reminiscent of a giant crystal, the spire of which proudly crashes into the sky. The external forms are strict, free from carved and sculptural decoration. In the Freiburg Cathedral (circa 1200 - late 15th century), with a powerful façade tower ending in an openwork tent made of stone beams, the interior with a low middle and wide side naves makes a gloomy impression. The grandiose five-nave Cologne Cathedral (1248–1880) was built according to the Amiens Cathedral. Light towers with pointed roofs on the western façade, an unusually high middle nave and elegant architectural decoration of all construction details characterize its appearance. Replacing the rose with a lancet window enhances the swiftness of the movement. Cologne Cathedral is distinguished by its dry forms. Its western part was completed only in the 19th century. During the Gothic era, the importance of secular architecture, private, palace and public, increased in art. The developed political life and growing self-awareness of the townspeople were reflected in the construction of monumental town halls.

Milan Cathedral, architects
Simon de Orsenigo, Organi, Amadeo, Solari, Tibaldi,
1386 – XV century, extension. in the 19th century

Siena Cathedral,
architects of Pisano,
Giovanni di Cecco
1220-1377, Siena

Tower of the Doge's Palace
architects Dalle Massenier,
Bon Giovanni, from 1309
to XVI century, Venice

Santa Reparata
Museo del Duomo, Florence

Nadezhda, 1330
Baptistery, Florence

Campanile of the Cathedral of Santa
Maria del Fiore, 1337-1343

Italy. Italy is especially rich in monuments of secular architecture. The unique appearance of the central St. Mark's Square in Venice is largely determined by the architecture of the vast Doge's Palace (rulers of the republic; 14th–15th centuries), which is striking in its splendor. This is a striking example of Venetian Gothic, which adopted not the constructive principles, but the decorative nature of this style. Its facade is unusual in composition: the lower tier of the palace is surrounded by a white marble colonnade with interlacing pointed arches. The huge monumental building precisely presses its squat columns into the ground. A continuous open loggia with keeled arches and thin, frequently spaced columns forms the second floor, characterized by grace and lightness. Above the marble lace of carvings rises the pink wall of the third floor with sparsely spaced windows, shimmering and vibrating in the sun. The entire plane of this part of the wall is covered with a geometric white ornament. Pink and pearly from afar, the palace delights you up close with the sonority of its decorative design, which lightens its forms. The architecture of Venice combines the strict pomp of Byzantium with Oriental and Gothic decorativeness, with secular cheerfulness. The features of fortress Romanesque architecture are preserved by the grandiose Palazzo della Signoria (Palazzo Vecchio, 1298–1314) in Florence. The three-story building, sparsely dissected by small trench openings and lined with roughly hewn squares of stone, is perceived as a solid monolith. Its stern appearance, its plastic power are emphasized by the boldly protruding tier of machicolations and fortress battlements and the formidable watchtower proudly directed upward. Built on the site of a destroyed feudal castle, Palazzo Vecchio served as the personification of the power of a free city. The Palazzo Vecchio shows features that were developed in the architecture of a residential building and a Renaissance palace.

St. Vitus Cathedral,
internal view

Milan Cathedral,
top view

Andrea Pisano, Visit,
1330, Baptistery, Florence

Notre Dame Cathedral. It is known for certain that Paris arose right in the middle of the Seine on the tiny island of Cité. Here, the local Gallic tribe of Parisians (from its name the name of the French capital came) laid out the first quarters of the future city on the site of the inconspicuous fishing village of Lutetia. The ship-shaped island in the middle of the Seine was conquered by the Romans, hordes of Huns fell upon it, and it was plundered by the Normans and other aliens. But despite the vicissitudes of fate, he continued to sail through the centuries of history. It is not for nothing that the coat of arms of Paris is a ship sailing on the waves, and the motto is “It rocks, but it does not sink.” Many visitors to Paris begin their acquaintance with the city with the Cité. After all, it is here that the openwork chapel of Sainte-Chapelle and the gloomy castle are located - former prison Conciergerie, and the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral... It is impossible to describe Notre-Dame de Paris better than Victor Hugo did in his novel Notre-Dame de Paris. The huge cathedral building stands on the square next to ancient houses and a gloomy Parisian hospital, as if furrowed with wrinkles. In this square the gypsy Esmeralda danced with a goat; from here, from the porch of the cathedral, brother Frollo was watching her; Quasimodo climbed the chimeras of the cathedral. Kings and queens of France once walked along the cathedral square; Napoleon took steps along it to be proclaimed emperor under the Gothic arches of Notre-Dame de Paris. The cathedral building was erected on the site of the Temple of Jupiter, which stood here under the Romans. This place has been considered sacred since ancient times, and later churches of the new Christian God began to be built on it.

Hans Mulcher
Holy Trinity, 1430,
Cathedral in Ulm, Germany

Michel Colomb, Saint
George slaying the dragon
Gayon Castle, France

Michelle Colomb
Tombstone of Margriet de Foy,
1502, cathedral, Nantes, France

In the 12th century, Maurice de Sully planned the huge Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and in 1163, in the eastern part of the city, King Louis VII and Pope Alexander III, who specially came to Paris for the ceremony, laid the first foundation stone. Construction proceeded gradually from east to west and lasted more than a hundred years. The cathedral was supposed to accommodate all the inhabitants of the city - 10,000 people. But while it was being built, more than a hundred and fifty years passed, and the population of Paris grew many times over. The cathedral in the medieval city was the center public life. It was all covered with some shops and stalls in which they sold all sorts of things. At the entrance, visiting merchants laid out their goods and made deals. City fashionistas came here to show off their outfits, and gossips came here to listen to the news. Dances and processions of mummers were held here, and sometimes they even played ball. During times of danger, residents of the surrounding villages took refuge in the cathedral not only with their belongings, but even with their livestock. Professors lectured to students, interrupting during services.

Notre Dame Cathedral is divided into five naves, the middle one being higher and wider than the others. Its height is 35 meters. A house of 12 floors could fit under such vaults. In the middle, the main nave is crossed by another nave of the same height; the two naves (longitudinal and transverse) form a cross. This was done specifically so that the cathedral resembles the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Structures like the Colosseum or the Baths of Caracalla had to be built quickly and the entire building had to be erected at once, as a whole. A long suspension of work or slow construction of individual parts of such structures threatened that different rooms would have different strength. Construction required enormous funds and armies of slaves. The Parisians had none of this. A Gothic cathedral usually took decades, or even centuries, to build. The townspeople slowly collected money, and the cathedral building grew slowly.

By the mid-19th century, Notre Dame Cathedral was significantly different from how Parisians saw it in the 13th century. All eleven steps of the staircase disappeared, swallowed up by the soil of the Cité. The bottom row of statues in the niches of the three portals was gone. It's gone and top row statues that once decorated the gallery. The inside of the cathedral was also badly damaged. The magnificent statues and stained glass windows have disappeared, and the Gothic altar has been replaced. Instead, crowds of cupids, bronze clouds, marble and metal medallions appeared. The cathedral was damaged. Moreover, it was threatened with complete destruction. In 1841, a special government decision was made to save Notre-Dame de Paris, and in 1845 a major restoration of the cathedral began under the leadership of the famous architect E.E. Viollet-le-Duc. Only partially the stained glass windows of the western, southern and northern facades, sculptures on the facades and in the choir have survived to this day in their original form.

In conclusion, one cannot fail to note the quantity and quality manual labor spent on the construction of Gothic cathedrals. Both the most important fragments of the temple and the smallest details were carried out with equal care. Cathedrals were built not for people, but for God, who can see everything. A common impulse united masons and sculptors, carpenters and glassblowers, bronze casters and roofers - artisans with capital letters, in spirit - real artists who put their soul, talent, and skill into their works. Having emerged in a monastic environment, Gothic became the style of city cathedrals, which were erected by city residents at their own expense, thus demonstrating their independence. Therefore, the construction of Gothic cathedrals often stretched over several centuries, although the original plan was not distorted. The most striking examples of such “long-term construction” are the Cologne and Milan cathedrals, the first of which took 312 years to build, and the second - 470. By the time of their completion, in many European countries, in particular in England and Austria, a movement called neo-Gothic and developed on the basis of national romanticism. Delight and admiration for the ability of the Gothic masters to “revive” the inert mass of stone, to make it live according to the laws of organic matter, inspired such masters of architecture at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries as Antonio Gaudi, even in the construction of his famous Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona (until now still unfinished), repeating the experience of the Gothic masters.

Historicism
Empire style

Gotica- a period in the development of medieval art in Western, Central and partly Eastern Europe.

The word comes from Italian. gotico - unusual, barbaric - (Goten - barbarians; this style has nothing to do with the historical Goths), and was first used as an expletive. For the first time, the concept in the modern sense was used by Giorgio Vasari in order to separate the Renaissance from the Middle Ages.

Origin of the term

However, there was nothing barbaric in this style: on the contrary, it is distinguished by great grace, harmony and observance of logical laws. A more correct name would be “lancet”, because. The pointed form of the arc is an essential feature of Gothic art. And, indeed, in France, the birthplace of this style, the French gave it a completely appropriate name - “ogive style” (from ogive - arrow).

Three main periods:
— Early Gothic XII-XIII centuries.
— High Gothic— 1300-1420 (conditional)
- Late Gothic - XV century (1420-1500) is often called “Flaming”

Architecture

The Gothic style mainly manifested itself in the architecture of temples, cathedrals, churches, and monasteries. It developed on the basis of Romanesque, or more precisely, Burgundian architecture. Unlike the Romanesque style, with its round arches, massive walls and small windows, Gothic is characterized by arches with a pointed top, narrow and tall towers and columns, a richly decorated façade with carved details (vimpergi, tympanums, archivolts) and multi-color stained glass lancet windows. All style elements emphasize verticality.

fine arts

Sculpture played a huge role in creating the image of the Gothic cathedral. In France, she designed mainly its external walls. Tens of thousands of sculptures, from plinth to pinnacles, populate the mature Gothic cathedral.

Round monumental sculpture is actively developing in Gothic. But at the same time, Gothic sculpture is an integral part of the cathedral ensemble; it is part of the architectural form, since, together with architectural elements, it expresses the upward movement of the building, its tectonic meaning. And, creating an impulsive play of light and shadow, it, in turn, enlivens, spiritualizes the architectural masses and promotes their interaction with the air environment.

Painting. One of the main directions gothic painting became stained glass, which gradually replaced fresco painting. The technique of stained glass remained the same as in the previous era, but the color palette became much richer and more colorful, and the subjects were more complex - along with images of religious subjects, stained glass windows on everyday themes appeared. In addition, not only colored glass, but also colorless glass began to be used in stained glass.

The Gothic period flourished book miniature. With the advent of secular literature (chivalrous novels, etc.), the range of illustrated manuscripts expanded, and richly illustrated books of hours and psalms were also created for home use. Artists began to strive for a more authentic and detailed reproduction of nature. Prominent representatives of Gothic book miniatures are the Limburg brothers, court miniaturists of the Duke of Berry, who created the famous “The Magnificent Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry” (circa 1411-1416).

Ornament

Fashion

Interior

Dressoir is a china cabinet, a piece of late Gothic furniture. Often covered with painting.

The furniture of the Gothic era is simple and heavy in the truest sense of the word. For example, for the first time, clothes and household items are beginning to be stored in closets (in antiquity, only chests were used for these purposes). Thus, by the end of the Middle Ages, prototypes of basic modern pieces of furniture appeared: a wardrobe, a bed, an armchair. One of the most common methods of making furniture was frame-panel knitting. The materials used in the north and west of Europe were mainly local wood species - oak, walnut, and in the south (Tyrol) and east - spruce and pine, as well as larch, European cedar, juniper.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the so-called Dark Ages began in Europe, during which numerous barbarian tribes carried out their orgy on the remains of the Roman cultural heritage. Against the backdrop of endless wars, there was a partial revival of the Roman architectural tradition, which resulted in the Romanesque architectural style, which was formed around the 10th century and transformed three hundred years later into Gothic.

The Gothic style in architecture was formed in the 12th-13th centuries, along with the onset of the High Middle Ages. It was based on the same Romanesque heritage and the growing power of the Holy See, which needed to be emphasized by the appropriate scale of church buildings.

It is worth noting that the church so dominated the minds of people in those days that its agents without much difficulty raised huge masses of people on an adventure, later called the First Crusade, as a result of which Jerusalem was captured and Christian states were founded in Asia Minor. This, in turn, contributed to the development of pilgrimage, and the pilgrims brought considerable income to the Church itself, whose representatives also enriched themselves by selling indulgences, displaying counterfeit relics, and simply donating. But, despite such dubious methods, which were limited by the Literan Council of 1215, first in France, and then in other European countries, beautiful cathedrals are being built, heralding a new dawn European culture and Gothic as an architectural movement.

Bourges Cathedral

The pioneers in Gothic architecture were members of the Benedictine Order. It was under the arches of the Burgundian Abbey of Cluny that they developed their own type of basilica, first embodied in the five-nave Basilica of Cluny, built in 1088. The basilica was distinguished by the presence of two transepts and an altar part expanded due to the crown of chapels.

The use of the chapel crown was due to the rapidly developing cult of relics at that time, as mentioned a little earlier. In 1220, the basilica was expanded - a three-oil building was added to the west, thanks to which the basilica became one of the largest Catholic churches of that time. The third basilica of Cluny, built on the basis of the first two, became the prototype of the vast majority of large-scale French cathedrals in the Gothic style. But alas, only its drawings have survived to this day, and the building itself was demolished in 1807.

Third Basilica of Cluny (reconstruction)

Abbot Suger made a lot of efforts to develop Gothic architecture, under whose leadership the basilica of Saint-Denis Abbey was rebuilt in the first half of the 12th century. It is this event that is considered to be the starting point of the accurate history of European Gothic.

According to Suger's plan, the light flooding the temple is a symbol of the boundless divine light emanating from the Creator himself. The lighter interior of Gothic churches, compared to Romanesque ones, was facilitated by the revolutionary rejection of columns in favor of a Gothic frame. In addition to the fact that the internal space of the temple was now unified, this technology made it possible to significantly save construction resources and build higher structures. Another distinctive feature of Gothic architecture is strict symmetry, thanks to which the interior of Gothic cathedrals looks very harmonious.

Among the most famous representatives of the Gothic architectural style in France are Notre Dame Cathedral, as well as Chartres, Reims, Laon, Bourges and Amiens Cathedrals.

Gothic architecture in England began to appear at the end of the 12th century. It is worth noting that if in France there was active development cities, English cities developed rather slowly and Gothic churches were predominantly of the monastery type. The purest example of the early period of English Gothic is considered to be Salisbury Cathedral, and Canterbury is considered the main Gothic cathedral in England.

The building that has the most common features with French Gothic is the building of London's Westminster Abbey Cathedral - it was here that the Norman rulers of England, starting with William the Conqueror, were crowned and buried. Among other significant English examples of Gothic architecture, one can recall the cathedrals of Durham, York, Winchester, Eley and Lincoln.

Canterbury Cathedral

Gothic came to Germany from France, but over time it acquired its own unique features. Some of the buildings, the construction of which began much earlier, were completed using characteristic Gothic elements of decor and construction, becoming the basis of a unique Romanesque-Gothic style, which includes the Michaelskirche, the Chapel of St. Bartholomeus, the Cathedral of St. Kilian and others.

Experts call the Church of Our Lady in Trier one of the first buildings with exclusively Gothic features, the shape of which is an equal-ended cross, elongated only in the altar part. A novelty not found in France was the placement of two chapels at each corner of the cross. German Gothic also has other differences from French: more geometrically strict forms, an entrance from the side facade, one or four turrets (in France there are traditionally two), more strict external decoration of buildings, etc. The only exception is the cathedral in Cologne, created in a characteristic for French Gothic style.

In the northern part of Europe, due to the shortage of sandstone and marble, traditionally used for the construction of Gothic cathedrals, the so-called. brick gothic. The builders used figured brick, which made it possible to create Gothic patterns no worse than from hewn stone.

Gothic actively developed in Spain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy - this style everywhere underwent certain changes, while maintaining common features. The development of Gothic was interrupted by the Black Death, which wiped out almost a third of the population of Europe in the 14th century. Subsequently, Gothic received a kind of revival under the name “flaming Gothic” - features of mannerism were already visible in it.

Duomo, Milan Cathedral, flaming Gothic

Gothic architecture finally faded away at the beginning of the 15th century, replaced by the architecture of the Renaissance, whose masters drew inspiration from the spiritual and material culture of antiquity.

Neo-Gothic architecture burst into flames in the 50s of the 18th century at the instigation of the British aristocracy, after which they turned to Gothic in continental Europe. This was facilitated by the idealization of the Middle Ages and the rejection of the priorities of antiquity. Neo-Gothic turned into the national style of Victorian Britain. During this period, abandoned and unfinished cathedrals were completed and restored throughout Europe, a striking example of which is the already mentioned cathedral in Cologne.

On the territory of Russia during the dawn of European Gothic, there were more pressing problems than the construction of cathedrals, especially since the Gothic forms characteristic of Catholicism did not really fit into Orthodox tradition. But in the 18th century, along with the dawn of neo-Gothic in Europe, the Russian Empire nevertheless arose its own, unique, Russian pseudo-Gothic, which contained traditional Gothic features and elements

The words “Gothic” and “Gothic” come from the name of the warlike barbarian tribe of the Goths, who dealt a mortal blow to the great Roman Empire. For the first time in the Renaissance, medieval art began to be called Gothic because people then thought this art was crude and barbaric. But the Goths have nothing to do with him.

Each era gave birth to its own art corresponding to its conditions, close and understandable to the people of that time.

In the Middle Ages, the power of the church was so great that even kings were forced to submit to it.

Religion required a person to renounce everything earthly; he had to think only about God. And people began to build temples of unprecedented architecture.

The high vaults of the cathedrals, the colored stained glass windows through which rays of light poured, the solemn sounds of the organ - all this captured the imagination of people, instilled in them the idea of ​​the sanctity of divine power, and turned them to religion.

In the niches of the outer walls, at the entrance and inside the cathedrals, there were many statues, but they did not look like the statues of the ancient world.

The art of ancient masters, bright and joyful, glorified the physical beauty of man. Medieval art is a different matter. The Christian religion taught that man himself and his body are sinful. To atone for this sin, a person must think about the salvation of his soul and mortify his flesh. Earthly life given to him only to prepare for the afterlife.

This is where the desire of medieval masters to embody in the form of a person, first of all, his experiences and feelings arose. People often wonder whether none of the medieval artists knew how to convey proportions correctly. human figure? Of course, they could, but they just didn’t need it at all. After all, their task was to convey a person’s spiritual impulse. That is why they enlarged the eyes, emphasized the mournful folds of the face, and elongated the figures. They managed to create immortal works in which they revealed the endless richness of the spiritual world of man.

ARCHITECTURE

All Gothic art originates from Gothic architecture. WITH late XII centuries, in cities liberated from the power of the lords, trading premises, town halls, and cathedrals were built. The main decoration of the city was the cathedral, which was built over tens and sometimes even hundreds of years. Gothic cathedrals seem light and transparent from the many huge windows. They seem to be woven from stone lace. Steep slopes of roofs, pointed arches, high towers topped with thin spiers - everything creates the impression of a rapid rush into the heights. The height of the towers of the largest Gothic cathedrals reaches 150 meters. Gothic cathedrals are not only tall, but also very long: for example, Chartres is 130 meters long, and the transept is 64 meters long, and to walk around it you need to walk at least half a kilometer. And from every point the cathedral looks new. Unlike the Romanesque church with its clear, easily visible forms, the Gothic cathedral is vast, often asymmetrical and even heterogeneous in its parts: each of its facades with its own portal is individual.

It truly absorbed the world of a medieval city. If even now, in modern Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral reigns over the city, and the architecture of Baroque, Empire, and Classicism fades before it, then one can imagine how even more impressive it looked then, in that Paris, among the crooked streets and small courtyards along the banks Seine.

Then the cathedral was something more than just a place church service. Together with the town hall, it was the center of all public life in the city. If the town hall was the center of business activity, then in the cathedral, in addition to divine services, theatrical performances, university lectures were given, parliament sometimes met, and even small trade agreements were concluded. Many city cathedrals were so large that the entire population of the city could not fill it.

Gothic art in different countries was not developed at all in the same way. Its greatest flourishing was in France and Germany. But in Italy there are cathedrals that amaze with their splendor and perfection. When you walk through the ancient streets of Milan towards the city center, the endless openwork turrets and spiers of the Milan Cathedral rise before your eyes. Huge and at the same time slender, it is decorated with carved marble like lace. This is the only marble cathedral in Europe. It was built about six centuries. The period itself is huge, but not at all uncommon in the construction of Gothic cathedrals; they were often completed and rebuilt. The city grew, and with it the cathedral grew, in which everything that medieval art created was concentrated.

SCULPTURE, PAINTING AND APPLIED ARTS

Sculpture in the Middle Ages was inseparable from church construction. Cathedrals were decorated with many statues of “saints,” bishops, and kings. The sculpture details the facial features and hands very subtly.

According to the clergy, art was supposed to serve as a “bible for the illiterate.” The walls of the temples were painted with paintings from which the stern faces of saints and God himself looked out at the worshipers. Images of the terrible torment of sinners in hell were supposed to thrill believers.

Statues and picturesque images of “saints” were exorbitantly elongated or greatly shortened. At that time, artists were not yet aware of the laws of perspective, and therefore the figures in their paintings seem flat. Medieval artists often gave figures unnatural poses and gestures in order to more strongly convey religious feelings such as faith in God or repentance for sins. Indeed, many statues and paintings amaze with their expressiveness. Talented masters often managed to reflect in them what they observed in life.

The surviving icon paintings, painted on wooden boards using the tempera technique, differ bright colors and an abundance of gold. Usually main character The painting was in the center, and was larger in size than the figures standing next to it.

In many cases, unique examples of Gothic Art were created by medieval masters whose names have not reached us. The church-religious nature of the culture of medieval society was reflected in the style and purpose of things. For example, coins help recreate the politically checkered map of feudal Europe.

Gold and silversmiths made unique church utensils decorated with filigree, semi-precious stones, and champlevé enamels. Ivory carving was used. All these different techniques were used to make altar plates, book covers, hand basins, candlesticks, processional crosses, caskets, etc.

Gothic armor had pointed contours and consisted of separate metal plates fastened together with belts. The armor contained up to 160 plates, weight ranged from 16 to 20 kg.

GOTHIC CLOTHING

In the 12th century, primarily in France, Romanesque dress, which was more reminiscent of monastic vestments, was gradually replaced by clothes that fit closely to the figure and were more graceful. The rough, piecemeal clothing of the previous era is replaced by a beautifully tailored dress, made according to all the laws of tailoring, the overall cut of which is adapted to the wearer’s figure. We can observe Gothic fashion with its close-fitting dress, characteristic body position and way of wearing clothes, looking at the monumental figures of saints and kings on the facades and portals of cathedrals, as well as in the artistic miniatures of medieval artists. The changed cut of the clothes was manifested, first of all, in the pattern of the sleeves and their connections to the shoulder. Closely fitting the shoulder joint, the dress follows the lines of the body in such a way that the body itself is visible.

TO traditional clothes There was also a cloak made of cloth and lined with fabric of a different color or fur.

Women covered their heads with veils made of thin fabrics. They had their own symbolic meaning. So, for example, sadness was emphasized not only by dark clothes, but also by the position of the bedspread, which at that time was pulled deeply over the face.

Men wore short jackets in addition to close-fitting pants. Peeking out shirts, tight pants outlined in detail male figure. Men also wore boots with pointed toes.

In late Gothic fashion, black was a very popular color, especially when the dress was made of velvet.

Women's underwear in late Gothic became even more intricately cut, and now fitted even closer to the body. The female figure at this time is depicted with her breasts raised high and protruding forward, thanks to the highly raised belt, and a deep neckline in the shape of the letter “V” reduces the bodice of the dress.

Preachers denounced this clothing as sinful, vile and obscene. Luxury clothing also gave them fear for the future of the economy of their people. They sharply opposed any excesses in costumes and especially against the luxury of clothing in which believers went to church.

KNIGHT LITERATURE

With the development of education, literature also developed. Knight poets wrote poetry; adapting folk songs, they created entire verse novels and poems about the military exploits of the feudal lords.

The most famous knightly poem, “The Song of Roland,” was composed in France in the 11th–12th centuries. It tells about the heroic death of Count Roland's detachment during Charlemagne's retreat from Spain. The conquest of Spain is depicted in the poem as a war of Christians against Muslims. Roland is endowed with all the traits of an impeccable knight. He performs fabulous feats and dies, not for a minute thinking about breaking the oath of allegiance to his lord.

The “Song of Roland” also reflected the feelings of the people: it speaks of ardent love for “dear France” and hatred of enemies. The poem condemns those feudal lords who betray France.

Romanesque art and the established style were replaced by Gothic art ( Gothic; from Italian gotico - Gothic, after the name of the German tribe Goths). Term Gothic as a synonym for barbarism, it was first used by the people of the Renaissance to characterize medieval art (as opposed to Roman art), which did not follow the traditions and stylistic features of antiquity and therefore was of no interest to contemporaries.

Increased exaltation and interest in feelings distinguish this art from Romanesque. Between Romanesque And gothic style it is difficult to draw a chronological boundary.

The heyday of the Romanesque style, which occurred in the 12th century, simultaneously served as an impetus for the emergence of another style with other characteristic aesthetic ideals and principles of composition of forms. In the history of art, it is customary to distinguish early, mature (high) and late (the so-called flaming) Gothic. High Gothic reached its peak in the 13th century, late Gothic in the 14th-15th centuries. Gothic art, developing in countries where the Christian Church dominated, remained predominantly cultic in purpose and religious in theme. It is characterized by a symbolic-allegorical type of thinking and convention artistic language. From the Romanesque style, Gothic inherited the primacy of architecture in the art system and traditional types of buildings. The cathedral occupied a special place in Gothic art - the highest example of the synthesis of architecture, sculpture and painting.

Gothic style in architecture

Cathedral in Strasbourg. The end of the XII-XV centuries. France - Strasbourg Cathedral

Reims Cathedral, western façade. Construction began in 1211, completed in the 15th century.

Salisbury Cathedral, pointed arches. England - Salisbury Cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral of the Virgin Mary. 1185-1311 England - The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln

Cathedral in Cologne. Construction began in 1248, completed in 1842-1880. Germany - Cologne Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral, west facade. 1163 AD XIV century France - Notre Dame Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral, north portal. Construction began in 1194, consecrated in 1260. France - Chartres Cathedral

Exeter Cathedral. 1112-1400 England - Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Exeter

...western (royal) portal, completed in 1150. The sculptures are a visible transition from Romanesque to Gothic style

The gigantic space of the cathedral, directed upward, the subordination of sculpture to the rhythms of architectural divisions, the stone carving of decorative ornaments, and the painting of stained glass windows had a strong influence emotional impact on believers.

Urban architectural ensembles included religious and secular buildings, fortifications, bridges, etc. Home city ​​square it was often built with residential buildings with arcades, in the lower floors of which there were retail and warehouse premises. Along the streets radiating from the square and along the embankments, two- and three-story houses were built, often with high gables.

The cities were surrounded by powerful walls with travel towers. Castles gradually turned into complex complexes of fortresses, palaces and cultural buildings.

Usually a cathedral was built in the city center, which was cultural center the whole city. Divine services were held there, theological debates were held, mysteries were played, and meetings of townspeople were held. In that era, construction was carried out not only by the church, but also by the community through professional workshops of artisans.

The most significant buildings and, above all, cathedrals, were erected at the expense of the townspeople. Often many generations worked on the creation of one temple. Grandiose Gothic cathedrals differed sharply from Romanesque monastery churches. They are tall, richly decorated and very roomy.

The dynamism and picturesqueness of cathedrals began to determine the character of the city landscape. Following the cathedral, city houses also rushed upward. The entire composition of the cathedral, with the increasing rhythm of all its main elements from bottom to top, was generated by the religious, idealistic aspiration of the soul to heaven. The Gothic cathedral developed the basilica type of building, in which all its elements began to obey a single style system. The main difference between a Gothic cathedral and a Romanesque cathedral is a stable frame system, in which the main role is played by cross-rib lancet vaults made of stone and lancet arches, which largely determine the internal and external appearance of the cathedral.

Frame arches formed at the intersection of cross vaults, the so-called ribs (from the French nervure - rib, fold) in mature Gothic, connected the supports of the spans of the central and side naves, where for each rectangular span of the main nave there were two square spans of the side ones naves

The forms of architecture began to express the Christian idea of ​​spirituality, ascension, aspiration upward, to the sky. A feature of the Gothic style is the dematerialization of form. The design and properties of the material no longer determine the visual image. Entering the temple, a person saw a row of thin columns going up, which ended with a bunch of even thinner ribs of the vaults (ribs) as if floating in height. In fact, these huge vaults pressed on special support pillars hidden in a bunch of thin columns. The lateral thrust of the arches of the main nave was suppressed not by the walls, which were a solid stone lace, but through the flying buttresses by massive pillars-buttresses, carried out and supported by the frame of the buildings and therefore invisible to a person inside the cathedral. Here the visual image did not coincide with the operation of the actual structure. If the design worked for compression, then the visual image expressed the idea of ​​​​ascension, the aspiration of the soul to heaven.

The complex frame structure of the Gothic cathedral, the highest manifestation of the architectural and construction art of that time, made it possible to overcome the massiveness of Romanesque buildings, lighten the walls and vaults, and ensure the unity and interconnection of all elements of its object-spatial environment.

Gothic originated in the northern part of France (Ile-de-France) in the middle of the 12th century and reached its peak in the first half of the 13th century. and existed until the mid-20s. XVI century Stone Gothic cathedrals received their classical form in France. As a rule, these are 3-5-nave basilicas with a transverse nave-transept and a semicircular choir (deambulatorium), to which radial chapels (crown of chapels) are adjacent. The impression of movement upward and towards the altar is created by rows of slender columns and the rise of pointed pointed arches, the accelerated rhythm of the arcades of the upper gallery (triforium). The picturesqueness of the interior space of the cathedral is determined primarily by the contrast of illumination of the main and dimly lit side naves and the colored stained glass windows.

The facades of cathedrals are decorated with pointed arches and such compositional and figurative-plastic elements of architectural decor as patterned wimperg, vial, crabb, etc. The statues on the consoles in front of the columns of the portals and in the upper arched gallery, the reliefs on the capitals of the columns, socles and tympanums of the portals form a unique multi-story picture, which seems to show various episodes of the Holy Scriptures, allegorical images, real characters etc.

Town halls begin to be built in the main squares of cities, which are usually decorated. Castles are converted into palaces (for example, the papal palace in Avignon, 1334-1352). In the 15th century a type of rich city mansion house arose, the so-called. hotel (for example, Jacques Keurre's hotel in Bourges, 1453, Cluny hotel in Paris, late 14th century, etc.).

At this time, an enrichment and complication of the synthesis of arts took place, which began in the Romanics, which reflected the medieval idea of ​​​​the real and the afterlife. The main type of fine art was sculpture, which received a new plastic interpretation in the Gothic style. Static Romanesque sculpture was replaced by dynamic Gothic sculpture, where the depicted figures seem to address each other and the viewer.

Mature Gothic is marked by a further increase in the verticalism of lines and a dynamic upward thrust. Reims Cathedral - the place of coronation of the French kings - is one of the most integral works of Gothic, a wonderful synthesis of architecture and sculpture.

The plot begins to occupy an important place in Gothic art, including sculpture. The role of secular plots is increasing, but the Last Judgment remains the most common plot in Gothic. Iconographic subjects begin to gradually expand. Interest in man, in his spiritual and worldly life, was expressed in the depiction of scenes from the lives of saints. An outstanding example depictions of legends about saints date back to the last quarter of the 13th century. tympanum History of St. Stephen on the portal of Notre Dame Cathedral.

The inclusion of real motifs is also typical for many small reliefs. As in Romanesque churches, a large place in Gothic cathedrals is occupied by images of monsters and fantastic creatures - the so-called chimeras.

It is believed that the first work of Gothic architecture appeared during the reconstruction of the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis in 1137-1144. Early Gothic also includes cathedrals in Lanie, Chartres and Paris. The greatest achievement of early Gothic art is the Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral), founded in 1163, and was completed until the middle of the 14th century. Cathedral in Chartres, founded in the 12th century. and consecrated in 1260, remains one of the most beautiful in Europe.

The grandiose mature Gothic cathedrals in Reims (1211-15th century) - the largest cathedral in France (150 m long with a tower height of 80 m) and in Amiens (1220-1269) - are distinguished by the perfection of architectural composition and the richness of sculptural and pictorial decoration. , where the cathedral has a length of 145 m and a height of the main nave of 42.5 m, as well as the Sainte-Chapelle church in Paris (1243-1248), built as a royal palace chapel, with its many stained glass windows. From about the middle of the XIII-XIV centuries. majestic Gothic cathedrals were built in other European countries: in Italy (in Venice, Siena, Milan), Germany (in Marburg, Naumburg, Ulm, Cologne), England (in London, Salisbury), Spain (in Barcelona, ​​Burgos, Lona, Toledo ), Austria (in Vienna), Flanders (in Brussels), the Czech Republic (in Prague), etc., where Gothic received a unique local interpretation. As a result crusades The architects of Rhodes, Cyprus and Syria became acquainted with Gothic building principles.

In the Gothic era, true masterpieces of sculpture were created: reliefs and statues of the northern portal of the cathedral in Chartres, a deeply humane image of Christ blessing on the western facade of the cathedral in Amiens, images of the group of Mary's Visit to Elizabeth on the western portal of the cathedral in Reims. These works have had great influence on the development of all Western European sculpture.

The sculpture of cathedrals in Germany (in Bamberg, Magdeburg, Naumburg) is distinguished by expression, vital concreteness and monumentality of images. Temples were decorated with reliefs, statues, stained glass windows, floral patterns, and images of fantastic animals. In the decoration of churches, in addition to religious ones, there were already many secular motifs.

In Gothic painting, stained glass became the main element of interior color design. The stained glass windows of the Sainte-Chapelle chapel and the cathedral in Chartres stand out especially. Fresco painting, which, along with canonical scenes, included secular subjects and portraits, adorned the walls of palaces and castles (papal palace paintings in Avignon). In Gothic miniatures, the desire for a reliable reproduction of nature intensified, the range of illustrated manuscripts expanded, and their themes were enriched. Influenced by the Dutch and Italian art appeared easel paintings and portraits.

The French Gothic style manifested itself, in addition to cathedrals, in the creation of comfortable and, at the same time, ceremonial buildings, palaces of kings and the highest nobility, and elegantly decorated urban private houses. For example, in the castles of Amboise (1492-1498), in Gayon (1501-1510), in the Palace of Justice in Rouen (1499-mid-XVI century), etc.

In late (flaming) Gothic, especially in France, sculptural altars in interiors became widespread, combining painted and gilded wooden sculpture and tempera painting on wooden boards. The best examples of French Gothic art include small ivory sculpture, silver reliquaries, Limoges enamel, tapestries and carved furniture. Late Gothic is characterized by abundant decoration that hides architectural divisions, the appearance of curved lines, and a whimsical pattern of window openings reminiscent of flames (the Church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen, 1434-1470, the completion of construction was delayed until the 1580s). In miniatures there has been a desire to convey space and volume. The number of secular buildings being built is increasing (city gates, town halls, workshops and warehouse buildings, etc.).

Gothic style furniture

The interiors of early Gothic are still quite modest, and their elements still bear traces of Romanesque style. This period was characterized by wooden or tiled floors covered with carpets. The walls are lined with plank panels and decorated with bright wall paintings or carpets. The windows are glazed, but there are no curtains yet. Paintings are rarely used to decorate rooms; instead, wall paintings and wood engravings are performed; ceilings are made, as a rule, of wooden beam construction with rafters open to the outside, although well decorated. There are also false ceilings, lined with smooth boards or divided by frequent slats and decorated with decorative paintings. In countries such as France and England, the center of the interior was a fireplace, very richly decorated. In Germany since the middle of the 15th century. Tiled stoves are beginning to play a major role in the interior. All furnishings have heavy proportions, an excessive supply of material, are awkward and are usually placed along the walls. At first, almost every piece of early Gothic furniture (and not only) has ecclesiastical origins. Later, with the development of furniture technology, well-made church furniture was created for sacristies, choir rooms, etc., which greatly influenced the further development of furniture in urban homes. This was facilitated by the introduction into the design of furniture objects of the technique of frame-panel knitting wood and almost all other carpentry techniques for joining parts, as well as the invention of a two-handed saw, forgotten since antiquity. The saw was only re-invented at the beginning of the 14th century. in Germany, and from that time on, it became possible to obtain thin and even sawn boards instead of hewn thick, roughly axed boards. Already by the beginning of the 15th century. All the techniques known to us for box corner knitting of boards were developed.

Gradually, the houses of the medieval aristocracy were increasingly decorated, this is especially noticeable in the interiors of reception halls and guest rooms, furnished with well-decorated furniture. Residential buildings of wealthy citizens follow the example of the nobility, but retain a certain restraint and simplicity decorative design and the situation. The entire design corresponds to the architectural decor of stone buildings, especially temple buildings. Only by the 15th century, during the period of Flamboyant Gothic, when Gothic architecture began to be especially actively saturated with sculptural decor, Gothic ornament began to abundantly decorate previously established stable furniture forms, in which constructive techniques related to the building principles of Gothic architecture appeared. In addition to borrowed architectural forms window frames, portals, pointed turrets with phials (spires), columns, pointed vaults, niches, etc. The furniture is also decorated on the frame and panels with carved ornaments, in which four main types can be distinguished. These are an openwork geometric ornament, a floral (leafy) ornament, a ribbon weaving ornament and a so-called ornament. linen folds or napkins. In addition, in the late Gothic period, furniture, in addition to carvings, was decorated with painting, gilding and richly decorated metal parts of frames, locks, hinges, rowlocks, as well as sculptural images of human faces and figures.

The Gothic openwork geometric pattern is based on simple geometric shapes: circle, triangle, square, which can be easily drawn using a ruler and compass. The openwork ornament represents the so-called. maswerk (from German maßwerk - literally work according to the applied dimensions) in the form of a complex intersection of parts of a circle and straight lines, resulting in a complex pattern with pointed arches and interlacing, reminiscent of the ribs of Gothic structures.

The famous Gothic trefoil, rosette, quadrifolium, and the design of the central window of the cathedral - a large rose - were built in a similar way. Masverk ornamentation in late Gothic was very common throughout Europe and in England. As a rule, the walls of chests, cabinet doors, and the backs of chairs were decorated with such ornaments. Masking is performed using deep carving techniques, when the background is deepened relative to the ornament, due to which the elements of the ornament are finely profiled, their outlines are smoothed and rounded. This is a bit reminiscent of relief carving, although the relief here is cut entirely in the plane of the board (panel), without rising above its surface. The plant ornament is made in the form of stylized sharp leaves and curls, gradually acquiring naturalistic forms.

Since the end of the 15th century. On panels, a flat ornament is especially common in the form of a piece of parchment or linen with patterned edges laid in double-sided byte folds. The ornament is made in flat relief. This type of ornament is found in large quantities on furniture objects in France, Germany and England. It was especially widely used on wardrobes and chests manufactured in Cologne and Ghent.

Gothic furniture in the north and west of Europe (in France, the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and England) was made mainly from oak; in the south and east (in Tyrol, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary) pine and spruce wood was used, as well as larch and juniper .

The main type of furniture for storing things, as well as sitting and lying in the houses of the nobility and ordinary townspeople is a chest, from the forms of which, over time, new types of furniture objects were formed such as a chair-chest, a dresser, a credenza and a buffet. In size, Gothic chests are wider and taller than Italian cassone chests of the Renaissance. As a rule, chests have overhead iron hinges with which the lid was attached. These loops, as well as large applied iron locks with openwork ornaments, are decorative elements of the chest.

Since the 15th century The side walls of the chests are covered with rich carvings in the form of masverk ornaments, floral ornaments, stone bindings of Gothic windows and others architectural elements decoration of buildings. The front wall is also richly decorated; a special place is reserved for the coat of arms of the owner of the chest and a patterned, well-chased lock. Sometimes, in addition to architectural motifs, entire sculptural scenes on religious and secular themes are performed. The painter and gilder also participate in the final finishing of the chest.

In medieval houses, regardless of the status of the owner, it was cold and even damp, so furniture had to be raised above floor level. Therefore, some chests not only had a massive shaped and highly profiled base, but were also made with legs that were a continuation of the side posts of the frame or flat side walls with a figured cutout at the bottom. In the south of Germany, pine chests with engraving and flower painting became widespread. This decor was complemented by an incised ornament on a painted background. The openwork pattern undoubtedly comes from deep carving, but the process of creating it is less labor-intensive. With the advent of thin sawn boards, end-to-end ornaments began to be used, superimposed on the main painted board that made up the background. With significantly less labor, the same impression of decor was created in two planes. This technique became very widespread and lingered for a long time not only in German, but also in Swiss folk art.

The types of containers characteristic of Gothic style were, in addition to chests, supplies (dresses). The prototype of such a cabinet is a chest placed on four high legs, which are connected at the bottom by a horizontal frame, the upper part of which is sewn up with a board. Thanks to this, the bottom shelf was created, right next to the floor. Subsequently, the cabinet legs on three sides (the back and two sides) also began to be tightly sewn up with boards - a kind of niche was obtained. The upper part of the supply had shelves that were closed with hinged or hinged doors.

Such suppliers were, as a rule, intended for storing dishes and drinks. The most valuable metal utensils, including silver, and glassware were placed in the upper compartment, and polished copper utensils were placed on the lower shelf, located in the basement. The set was borrowed from church use, where it was purely altar furniture, and only then penetrated into secular life. Such containers were called credenza and sometimes had the shape of a tall chest with a horizontal upper surface. And only over time was such a chest raised and placed on high legs. In the earliest French suppliers, the upper parts were made in the form of a rectangular box, the plank walls of which were connected by simple box knitting. The back and two side walls of the box continued to the floor and were connected at the bottom by another plane for rigidity and strength, thanks to which the supplier stood high above the floor. Two, and sometimes three, front doors, made of solid thick boards, were attached to openwork iron hinges. The doors themselves were decorated with ornaments made using deep carving techniques. A wooden canopy was placed on top of the supply to protect from the ash and soot of still smoking fireplaces. Dishes were placed under the canopy and on the lower surface.

Later, with the mastery of the frame-panel design, suppliers begin to make more complex hexagonal shapes, in which the desire of the craftsmen to simplify the proportions and develop the shape vertically, including through the upper turned decorative elements in the form of phials or spiers, is clearly visible. In later and richly decorated stavkas, its side walls rest on thin twisted columns, which are connected in the upper part by pointed arches. The front three wall faces of the supplier have the same arches, but without supports, ending with weights hanging in the air. The ribs formed at the intersection of the edges of the walls are decorated with carved pointed Gothic turrets, or vials. The walls of the supplier are made up of several frames with panels. The frames are heavily profiled on the sides and top, which creates the impression of niches in which panels with carvings on religious subjects. In other cases, the panels are filled with either a Gothic floral ornament, or a mask, or a linen fold pattern, which would be very actively used along with Renaissance ornaments on furniture objects in the 16th century.

In the 15th century Large and very bulky cabinets with two or four doors (in the form of two-tier cabinets) appear, the panels of which, as a rule, are decorated with a pattern of linen folds.

Seating furniture gradually became more varied, but was still reluctant to be separated from the walls, although some of such furniture was already beginning to be freely placed in the room. For a long time, benches and chests attached to walls remained the most common furniture for sitting and lying.

The seats of stools and chairs take on a variety of shapes - square, round, rectangular, multifaceted.

A characteristic type of Gothic chair is a chest, to which a very high blank back with blank elbows was attached. The seat was usually arranged with a lift, and the back was decorated with floral ornaments or masverk and ended with an openwork Gothic comb, phials, French lilies, etc. The front and side panels of the drawer (chest) of such a chair were usually processed with linen folds. Chairs were usually placed near the bed and therefore received the name bedside chairs. They also served as a home closet. The seat was made of wood, hard, the bottom drawer interfered with the legs when sitting, because... they could not be pulled back, and the carved vertical back did not contribute to the comfort of a sitting person. These chairs were very common in France, and in the countries lying to the north of it they were of little use.

In addition to armchairs, the most widespread seating furniture was stools, benches and chairs.

In poor houses the only kind The seats were probably stools, the design of which consisted of a round or triangular board with three or four cylindrical or rectangular legs. Stools of a more complex shape were also made with a rectangular seat standing on side supports, which were sometimes decorated with Gothic pointed arches. Benches were often made in the form of elongated stools with a rectangular seat for several people, or they resembled ordinary chests, the top cover of which was adapted for sitting. Such benches had a high back and, as a rule, were placed against the wall. There were also benches with a folding back (with a crossbar), which were freely placed in the room or installed near the fireplace. A fairly primitive type of cylindrical chair is also known, which was made on the basis of an ordinary barrel, to which several additional details backrests Other types of chairs were also used, for example, a swivel chair (the so-called Lutheran), chairs (armchairs) on three or four legs of turning work, reminiscent of the seating areas of the Romanesque era. The rest of the seating furniture was much more advanced and better adapted for humans. These were stools and chairs made on the basis of ancient X-shaped stools, chairs and curule chairs. Such seating areas with intersecting support parts have the oldest pedigree, dating back to Ancient Egypt and antiquity.

Such furniture spoke of the power that the owner of the chair or armchair possessed, which was further emphasized by the special elevation on which they stood, and in some cases, also by the canopy.

The earliest known X-shaped stools could be folded. The supporting parts were fastened with crossbars, the top of which were fastened with brightly decorated straps, forming a seat. In other cases, in order to create a chair, the back support was made higher than the seat and turned into a back support. Additional comfort of such a chair was achieved with the help of felt upholstery, a pillow and a footstool.

Appearing in the late Gothic period, especially in Italy and Spain, X-shaped chairs and armchairs only imitate the folding shape and represent, in fact, Renaissance furniture, the so-called. curule chairs, in which their side parts rise above the seat and act as a kind of elbows, sometimes connected to the back. Such chairs were richly decorated with flat carvings, painted and gilded.

Very few beds have survived from Gothic times, mainly due to the dilapidation of the lush draperies. Beds played an important role in expressing the social status of the owner, which can be seen, at least, from the numerous surviving paintings that era. During this period, state beds in the homes of noble nobles were considered one of the most expensive and prestigious pieces of furniture and were often intended more for display than for sleeping.

Like chests, beds in Western European countries had to be raised to elevated heights to protect them from drafts and cold, damp floors. Beds in the Gothic era, unless they were built into the wall, had a half-canopy, a full canopy, or a large wardrobe-like wooden canopy box decorated with carvings and paintings. Warm draperies appeared that could be detached and packed into chests during moves.

The design of Gothic tables is similar to the tables of the Romanesque period, although their range has increased. The most characteristic type of table is a rectangular dining table with a strongly protruding tabletop on two rectangular plank side panels. These shields had flat carvings with Gothic ornaments, and the middle part had openings made in the form of a single or double Gothic temple window with its characteristic shape, including the latticework. Sometimes deep drawers were made in the underframe boxes. The side panels at the bottom near the floor were pulled together with a special bar or plank.

On the basis of this type of table, an early form of desk was subsequently formed with a massive liftable tabletop, under which there were many compartments and small drawers in the base box, and below there was a container hidden from prying eyes. These types of tables, characteristic, for example, of southern Germany and Switzerland, were used by merchants and money changers until the 16th century.

Traditional ribbon weave or floral Gothic patterns made with in-depth oak carvings fill the tops of these tables. An additional decorative effect is achieved by the contrast of this wide, flat, wax-rubbed carving with the slightly recessed flat background. The side support panels are connected by a horizontal bar, the outer ends of which are usually locked with wedges. Tables are also known that stand on four obliquely set legs connected by legs. Such legs, as a rule, had a flat thread. In the late Gothic period, extendable tables were also known. Tables with rectangular and round tops, standing on one central support, began to appear. Table tops are starting to be covered with veneer. Attempts at primitive inlay are known.

Tables borrowed from Romanesque continued to exist in the form of a simple wooden shield, which was mounted on trestles or on two hollow rectangular frames that folded together.

Gothic style in furniture characterized by significant local differences. The greatest elegance of proportions, decorations, as well as the proportionality of parts was distinguished by French furniture, which is characterized by a large number of types of chests, chairs with drawers and high backs, chairs, benches, stands, cabinets, etc. True, in Northern France, furniture was strongly influenced by the Dutch furniture and had very heavy shapes, but was still beautifully decorated. This influence was due to the work of many visiting Dutch woodcarvers. In other countries, the furniture range was much poorer, and the shapes of the products were somewhat uniform. However, in Spain, the development of furniture art went in line with the French Gothic style, but the decor of furniture objects, as well as architecture, was strongly influenced by the Arab-Moorish style - a peculiar mixture of geometric motifs, as well as motifs of climbing plants with already intricate lines of openwork ornament of late, flaming, Gothic. Spanish furniture is characterized by an extremely complex and rich flat surface finish. Unfortunately, apart from church pews and choir chairs, we do not know any other Spanish seating furniture from the Middle Ages. Wood carving flourished in medieval Spain, but other types of decoration were also used. For example, chests were covered with colored or embossed leather, rich metal (iron and bronze) fittings, stalactite motifs, and turned bars were used.

During the Gothic period, the furniture art of Germany and the Netherlands was highly developed and also had much in common with the art of France. Artistically and structurally, the furniture was beautifully executed. The material was hard wood. Furniture, as a rule, had a frame structure with thin panels. Beautiful carved plant elements, free openwork and folded patterns were used as decorations. Typical furniture products are tall double-door wardrobes with four, six or even nine panels, as well as sideboards with a ladder and a canopy. tall legs. The carpentry work was carried out very carefully, with great precision. The carvings were distinguished by their subtlety and grace. In Northern Germany, on the Rhine, high-quality Gothic furniture with a tenon joint was used. Large cabinets are similar in design to Flemish ones. Noteworthy is the tall cabinet on legs, decorated with folded patterns, and later with floral patterns on the panels. In most cases, such cabinets were decorated with decorative forging. Typical bench chests were also made. The South German style would be common in the Alpine countries (Switzerland, Southern Bavaria, Tyrol, Upper Austria). South German furniture was made primarily of soft and semi-hard wood, had a plank construction and was decorated with flat carvings.

Such furniture was more varied in both form and decor than northern furniture. The furniture was decorated with openwork patterns of plant motifs with curls and ribbons using the technique of flat carving, made on a colored base and enriched with animal figures and coat of arms. The interior was clad in wood with profiled slats.

This technology of decorating living quarters, including furniture, with shallow flat carved ornaments (Flachschnitt) painted, usually in red and green, was called Tyrolean carpenter Gothic (Tiroler Zimmergotik). Fine Gothic furniture has been preserved in Tyrolean castles. This various types tables, four-poster beds decorated with rich carvings, chests, chairs, benches, narrow cabinets for washing accessories built into the wall and other furniture objects. Here we see the first attempts at veneering and primitive inlay.

The southern Gothic movement also captured Upper Hungary, where beautiful furniture was made. First of all, church furnishings have reached us: chairs for the choir, libraries, tables, etc., having simple shapes, flat openwork carvings, painting and gilding.

The Gothic style had a very superficial influence on Italian architecture and furniture art, which can be explained by differences in living conditions and climate.

In Italy, where the influence of ancient traditions was still extremely strong, the Gothic style was considered barbaric; already in its very name there was an expression of disdain for art alien in spirit northern countries. The Gothic style in Italy brought its own ornamentation, but all the sharp Gothic corners were blunted. The flat carving of southern German furniture influenced the ornamentation of northern Italian cabinets. In the 15th century in Venice and Verona, wooden chests were decorated with beautiful openwork carvings with rosettes and Gothic foliage patterns. Chests from Central Italy (Tuscany and Siena, c. 1400) had figured stucco, which was painted and covered with gilding (stucco).

The Gothic style in England lasted for a very long time. It is customary to divide English Gothic into three periods: early Gothic (1189-1307), decorative Gothic (1307-1377) and late, so-called. vertical, rectilinear Gothic (1377-1590). This was precisely the time when the Renaissance was already in full bloom in Italy, and England was still experiencing the Gothic style of the third period, which the British call the perpendicular style, which received this name due to the predominance of vertical straight lines of structural and decorative elements. At this time, it was customary to cover the walls of rooms with wooden panels of a frame-panel design. The panels were decorated with carved ornaments. The interior wooden ceilings of the rooms were also decorated with carvings. In the early period of English Gothic, the furniture was heavy, its profiles were simple and rough. The main decorative element is a folded ornament. Later, the influence of architecture begins to be felt in the divisions of furniture.

English furniture, even late Gothic, is characterized by simplicity of design and a small amount of decoration.

The main universal furniture object continues to be the chest. As throughout Western Europe, the frame of the chest consists of thick bars, between which panels with flat carved decorations are inserted. The frame of the chest is also bound with iron strips for strength, and locks are attached above the panels. The prototype of the English wardrobe, as elsewhere in Europe, is two chests placed one on top of the other. The front part of such a cabinet is divided by frame bars into six frame cells into which panels are inserted. Moreover, the central panels are wider, and the side panels are narrow. The narrow side panels are decorated with an ornament with linen folds. The frames of the wide panels resemble cabinet doors, hung on massive and well-decorated metal hinges.

For English furniture Late Gothic is characterized by massive armchairs, the frame of which is made of thick rectangular bars, between which thin panel boards decorated with flat carvings are inserted into the tongue and groove. The panels of the backrest are decorated with a masverk ornament, and the panels of the armrests and the lower part of the chair are decorated with a folded ornament.

The side posts of the backrest and elbows are additionally decorated with vertical posts and spiers. In addition to cabinets, low and wide suppliers - coupe boards - have become widespread in England. Tables at this time, as a rule, have a rectangular tabletop and a massive base, which is attached to the side panels instead of legs. These shields and the base are primitively decorated with figured sawn edges and shallow carvings of a simple floral pattern. The side support panels of tables are often fastened with legs, into the outer ends of which wedges are inserted.

The beds have a canopy, which is attached to four posts, which are a kind of continuation of the legs. In the lower part, the legs have a tetrahedral cross-section, and above the bed frame, the posts are carved with plant motifs in the form of polyhedrons, interceptions of various shapes, etc. The headboard of the bed is made high, and its five panels are decorated with low relief carvings.

In general, English Gothic furniture had a simple design, the elements of which were never disguised and were used as well as decorative elements. All nodes and joints are clearly visible and understandable. All furniture was made exclusively from oak. At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. In England, a mixed style was formed - a kind of transition from Gothic to Renaissance, which was called the Tudor style. A classic pattern begins to appear on the Gothic structure.

The through openwork ornament and a special type of arched decoration still belong to the Gothic style, but the invasion of the early Renaissance is already noticeable in the new profiling of furniture parts, rosettes and other motifs. In most cases, this applies to furniture that has had a Dutch influence, such as china cabinets. The coats of arms of the owners begin to appear on the panels of a wide variety of furniture objects.

The influence of the new Italian Renaissance art began to penetrate into Central Europe around 1500, primarily in France, where they worked at the royal court Italian artists. French furniture of the late 15th - early 16th centuries. takes on a new, completely unique character.

The decor of this time in the form of grotesque ornaments, for example, is combined here with Gothic decorations. Overhead openwork iron hinges and locks are still in use. One part of the supplier's panels, for example, is decorated with linen folds, and the other with a grotesque. The front supports are made in the form of bars, but the plank rear wall continues to descend to the bottom. The frame continues to be hexagonal, but its front wall is made wider than the side ones. However, in Germany, for example, suppliers usually differed from French ones in the simpler rectangular shape of the body and the absence of a solid rear wall. In their decoration, profile images of human faces in grotesque ornaments are sometimes replaced by sculpted male and female heads that are strongly pushed forward. This was a transitional time when constructive and compositional clarity and definiteness began to be felt in the morphology of furniture objects, and all divisions and profiles were specially emphasized and manifested in external form.

Gothic style - important stage in the history of the development of furniture styles. Many new types of furniture were created and forgotten antique furniture technology was resurrected to new life. The carpentry craft, with its lively, original form of expression in ornamentation, was on the rise. In a Gothic interior, furniture is still not entirely mobile: many of its types still gravitate towards walls or are built into enclosing structures, and have a close connection with architecture in terms of borrowing its forms, the nature of their divisions and decorative decoration. Already during the late Gothic period, the art of carpentry was highly developed, which served as the basis for performing even more complex tasks in the Renaissance.

Textbook materials used. benefits: Grashin A.A. A short course in the stylistic evolution of furniture - Moscow: Architecture-S, 2007