Gothic

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

character of medieval religious architecture was given
a special form in the Gothic church. "Medieval man considered himself but an
imperfect refraction of Divine Light of God, Whose Temple stood on earth,
according to the text of the dedication ritual, stood for the Heavenly City of
Jerusalem."3 The Gothic interpretation of this point of view was a cathedral so
grand that seems to belittle the man who enters it, for space, light, structure
and the plastic effects of the stonework are made to produce a visionary scale.
The result of the Gothic style is distortion as there is no fixed set of
proportions in the parts. Such architecture did not only express the physical
and spiritual needs of the Church, but also the general attitude of the people
of that time. Gothic was not dark, massive, and contained like the older
Romanesque style, but light, open, and aerial, and its appearance in all parts
of Europe had an enduring effect on the outlook of succeeding ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE: