Styles and Movements

Gothic Architecture

Medieval Architecture

The cathedral architecture of medieval Europe, born in the Ile-de-France in the mid twelfth century, which combined the pointed arch, the rib vault and the flying buttress into a skeletal stone system that carried its loads on points rather than walls. The walls, freed of structural work, dissolved into stained glass, and churches rose to heights no earlier builders had reached; Notre-Dame de Paris and Chartres are among its defining works.

Facts

Disputed

Period

to 1500 2

The Renaissance supplanted Gothic in Italy by the mid fifteenth century, while Gothic forms continued in England and Belgium into the sixteenth century and later; 1500 is an approximate midpoint, not a single agreed end date.

Period

from 1140 1

Circa; the rebuilding of the choir of the abbey church of Saint-Denis near Paris, begun under Abbot Suger around 1140, is the conventional starting point of the Gothic system.

Origin Region

Ile-de-France, France 1

Gothic Architecture

4 entries

Building Family

Material

Building Type

Completed Year

Standing Status

Group

Place

Connections

Associated With

Buttress

Flying Buttress

Source Encyclopedia Britannica

Notre-Dame Fire and Restoration

Rib Vault

Source Wikipedia

Influenced

Gothic Revival

Source Encyclopedia Britannica

Influenced By

Romanesque Architecture

Gothic grew directly out of Romanesque building, replacing its round arches and mass with point loads and glass.

Source Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of ArchitectureBanister Fletcher, edited by Dan Cruickshank (20th edition)

Notable Examples

Alcazar of Segovia

Source Wikidata: Alcazar of Segovia

All Saints' Church, Icklingham

Source All Saints' Church, Icklingham (Wikipedia)

Andrew Dickson White House

Source Andrew Dickson White House (Wikipedia)

Archiepiscopal Palace, Rouen

Source Archiepiscopal Palace, Rouen (Wikipedia)

Ashford Castle

Source Ashford Castle, Wikipedia

Auckland Castle

Source Auckland Castle (Wikipedia)

Basilica di Santa Croce

Source Basilica di Santa Croce (Wikipedia)

Belmead (Powhatan, Virginia)

Source Belmead (Powhatan, Virginia) (Wikipedia)

Bishop's Court, Devon

Source Bishop's Court, Devon (Wikipedia)

Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall

Source Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall (Wikipedia)

Brussels Town Hall

Source Wikidata: Brussels Town Hall

Ca' d'Oro

Source Ca' d'Oro (Wikipedia)

Canterbury Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral.

Castel del Monte

Source Wikidata: Castel del Monte

Charles Bridge

Source Charles Bridge (Wikipedia)

Chartres Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral.

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Most)

Source Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Most) - Wikipedia

Collegio di Spagna

Source Collegio di Spagna (Wikipedia)

Cologne Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral.

Długosz House (Wiślica)

Source Dlugosz House (Wislica) (Wikidata)

Durham Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral.

Ely Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral.

Fenis Castle

Source Fenis Castle (Wikidata)

Florence Cathedral

The body of the cathedral, begun 1296, is Italian Gothic; the dome that crowns it opened the Renaissance.

Source Encyclopedia Britannica

Hotel Danieli

Source Hotel Danieli, Wikipedia

Malbork Castle

Source Malbork Castle - Wikipedia

Milan Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral.

Notre-Dame de Paris

Source Encyclopedia Britannica

Old-New Synagogue

Source Old-New Synagogue (Wikipedia)

Palazzo degli Anziani, Pistoia

Source Palazzo degli Anziani, Pistoia (Wikipedia)

Palazzo Pubblico

Source Palazzo Pubblico - Wikipedia

Palazzo Vecchio

A Florentine Gothic civic palace, predating the Renaissance though later modified internally by Vasari.

Prösels Castle

Source Prösels Castle (Wikidata)

Rajabai Clock Tower

Source Rajabai Clock Tower (Wikipedia)

Reims Cathedral

Source Reims Cathedral (Wikipedia)

Romer 2-4-6

Source Romer 2-4-6 (Wikipedia)

Sainte-Chapelle

Source Sainte-Chapelle (Wikipedia)

Salisbury Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral.

San Francisco Plantation House

Source San Francisco Plantation House (Wikipedia)

San Procolo, Bologna

Source San Procolo, Bologna (Wikipedia)

Seville Cathedral

Source Seville Cathedral (Wikipedia)

St Andrew's Church, Covehithe

Source St Andrew's Church, Covehithe (Wikipedia)

St Andrew's Church, Hempstead

Source St Andrew's Church, Hempstead (Wikipedia)

St Mark's Basilica

Source St Mark's Basilica (Wikipedia)

St Stephen's Cathedral Vienna

Predominantly Gothic, though its west facade retains Romanesque elements from an earlier building.

The Gritti Palace

Source Wikipedia: Palazzo Pisani Gritti

Ulm Minster

A Gothic cathedral.

Uppsala Cathedral

Source Uppsala Cathedral - Wikipedia

Verrès Castle

Source Verrès Castle (Wikidata)

Villa Carducci-Pandolfini

Source Villa Carducci-Pandolfini (Wikipedia)

Wawel Royal Castle

Source Wawel Castle - Wikipedia

Westminster Abbey

A Gothic cathedral.

Winchester Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral.

Winchester Mystery House

Source Winchester Mystery House (Wikipedia)

York Minster

A Gothic cathedral.

In the Other Atlases

Also in Geography Atlas: France, originated there.

Sources

1. Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.

britannica.com/art/Gothic-architecture, lead definition
Gothic architecture, architectural style in Europe that lasted from the mid-12th century to the 16th century, particularly a style of masonry building characterized by cavernous spaces with the expanse of walls broken up by overlaid tracery.
Notable Examples: Notre-Dame de Paris
Notable Examples: Florence Cathedral
Influenced: Gothic Revival
Associated With: Flying Buttress