Title

Old and New

Question

Could the art of the Gothic period be considered “new” and if so, could geography have been a factor and, what else could have contributed to it?

Part I

Summery

In researching this question I learned that the main contribution of the gothic art period was the creation of cathedrals

Reason

I think the reason this question was asked was to show the researcher the advancements made during the gothic period and to show how those advancements came to fruition.

Purpose

The reason I picked this question was to see how innovative the artists of the gothic period were.

Direction

This question will show what can be considered new art and how geography shaped it.

Impression

I learned allot about cathedral building and how they seems to be an improvement of the early Christian monasteries. On a personal note, after learning about the builders of the great cathedrals, I can definitely see a connection between the Knights Templar and the Masons.

Part II

Answer

               The gothic period is most notably known for the cathedrals that were erected during this time period. The bases for building these cathedrals seem to co-inside with the base reasoning behind the building of more ancient great structures, such as the pyramids and the pantheon. The difference or improvements of cathedrals compared to the ancient structures was caused mainly from competition.

               The first gothic building was the church of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Denis, located North of Paris. (Art History, 4^th addition Volume 1, Stokstad and Cothren, p 494). This early monastery was built over the tomb of St. Denis who was an early Christian martyr, and it also housed the tombs of French royalty. To me this shows a base line similarity to the Egyptians, who built the great pyramids over the tombs of their deceased pharaohs. In 1130 construction began to build a new church in place of the old monastery. The construction of the new building was supervised by a man named Abbot Suger. Suger believed that the more grandiose, astatically pleasing, and artistically detailed a cathedral was, the more it reflected the greatness of god and Jesus. The verse that was written on the bronzes doors of the church of St. Denis gives us an idea of Suger’s mentality.

“Whoever though art, If thou seekest to extol the glory of these doors, marvel not at the gold and expense but at the craftsmanship of the work, bright is the noble work; but being nobly bright, the work should lighten the minds, so they may travel, through the true lights, to the true light where Christ is the true door. In what manner it be inherent in this world the golden door defines: The dull mind rises to truth through that which is material and, in seeing the light, is resurrected from its former subversion.” (Art History, 4^th addition Volume 1, Stokstad and Cothren, p 493)

               Another technique the builders of the gothic period used to integrate detailed art work into churches was the use of stained and painted glass instead of regular glass windows. Suger used these stained glass windows in the choir of the St. Denis cathedral as a representation of the “Wonderful and uninterrupted light.” (Art History, 4^th addition Volume 1, Stokstad and Cothren, p 497). These stained glass windows could extremely large and filled with very detailed art work. The Chartes cathedral had 22,000 square feet of stained glass in 176 windows by 1260. (Art History, 4^th addition Volume 1, Stokstad and Cothren, p 500).   

Saint Dennis Cathedral, France

http://www.eurotravelogue.com/2011/05/saint-denis-basilica-in-paris.html

               Because the first cathedrals built within a close proximity to one another probably fueled the fires of completion. Almost like an “I have a better lawn then my neighbor mentality.” And because of the need to build bigger, better, and more grandiose cathedrals, the technology of cathedral building improved as well. One of these technologies was called rib vaulting. Rib vaults were used has a lighter support for the webbing of a vault. In other words the rib acted has the vaults skeleton while the web acted has the vaults skin. (Art History, 4^th addition Volume 1, Stokstad and Cothren, p 495).  The flying buttress was another innovation from the gothic period. The flying buttress was a huge curved skeletal support designed to transfer the weight of a high vaulted ceiling down along the sides of a cathedrals outer walls.

               Another by product of the cathedral age was the occupation of master mason. These masons were in charge of overseeing the building of these large cathedrals. It is said that fewer than a hundred master masons were responsible for some 40 churches and all the major architectural projects during a century long building boom there. (Art History, 4^th addition Volume 1, Stokstad and Cothren, p 501) This shows that the experience and knowledge of building these wondrous churches belonged to only a select few.

               After researching this topic I started thinking about the master masons and whether or not they were the forefathers of the Masonic order that is still in existence today. It has been said that the masons have a connection to the Knights templar. The Templers are a group that is fabled to be guardians of Christian relics and secrets. And what better way to guard these things, then to put those relics and secrets in a secure area. Even better, wouldn’t it be well advised to keep those relics in a secure area, that is cleverly hidden, and in a place that you own? In order to make such a place you would need someone to build it. And it would be better if the knowledge of how and where these secure hidden place weir was only privy to a select few. But it is just a theory.