Leaving Certs - Art history notes - gothic sculpture

Friday 20th Sept.


Anyone who was absent for Friday's art history class, can you please take down the following notes on Gothic Sculpture into your hardback copies before next Friday.  I also need the 2015 Q.1 off anyone who has not yet handed this in , as well as the essay on 2 gothic cathedrals that you had to hand in on Wed (you were at the RDS on Wed).  I want to collect all next week, as you will get a new Irish art essay on Monday.

Gothic Sculpture

Column Statues:

·    Gothic sculpture was a further development of the style which began at St Denis.  The Abbot Suger had introduced the ‘column statue’ in the doorway of the façade at St Denis.

·    These statues were almost free – standing figures carved into the column, changing sculpture from a minor addition to an important part of the overall design of the doorway, blending with and enhancing the architecture.

The saint in gothic architecture

·    The saint was a real hero of the middle ages.  Stories of the saints and their miracles were well known.  God was a remote and judgmental figure whereas the saint was the one that people prayed to in times of sickness or distress.

·    Representations of the saints are found on doorways and in little niches in all the cathedrals.  The more skilled artists of the 13^th century depended less on symbols to show sanctity in the saints.

Examples of Gothic sculpture –

The Royal Portal at Chartres Cathedral, Paris

·    The Royal portal of St, Denis was the inspiration for the Royal portal at Chartres.

·    Using the same theme of kings & queens and figures from the Old Testament, this doorway is one of the earliest at Chartres, carved in the 12^th century.

• Unlike the great Romanesque tympanum of Autun, with its fearful vision of hell and grotesque demons, the theme is salvation.  The main doorway at Chartres presents a peaceful and calm vision of eternity, with Christ in majesty welcoming the visitor surrounded by his apostles.