Gothic architecture and art: The Nature of the Gothic

The essential character of the Gothic period, particularly at the outset, was the predominance of architecture; all the other arts were determined by it. The character of the Gothic visual aesthetic was one of immense vitality; it was spikily linear and restlessly active. Informed by the scholasticism and mysticism of the Middle Ages, it reflected the exalted religious intensity, the pathos, and the self-intoxication with logical formalism that were the essence of the medieval. Gothic style was the dominant structural and aesthetic mode in Europe for a period of up to 400 years.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Waning of the Gothic Style
• Other Gothic Arts
• Gothic Sculpture
• Late Gothic Styles
• Gothic Architecture Outside France
• Landmarks of French Gothic Architecture
• Characteristics of Gothic Architecture
• The Nature of the Gothic
• Bibliography

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