Elements of Gothic architecture
Contenido
La arquitectura gótica presenta innovaciones técnicas y constructivas notables, que permitieron levantar estructuras esbeltas con medios y materiales sencillos. Las principales aportaciones constructivas, al igual que en el románico, se centran en las cubiertas.
Plant
The "Plan (architecture)") plan of the Gothic "Church (building)") churches responds to two main types:
In any case, the floor plan is divided into rectangular or square sections determined by the columns and transverse arches and on these, the ribbed vaults load. Since the middle of the century, it has become common to open chapels on the sides of the churches, between the buttresses, to satisfy the devotion of the guilds or brotherhoods and the people in general, since before this time it was rare to admit them outside the apses.
Arches
One of the most characteristic technical elements of Gothic architecture is the pointed or pointed arch, which succeeded the semicircular arch, typical of Romanesque architecture. The pointed arch is the result of the intersection of two sections of a circle, it is slimmer and lighter because it transmits lower lateral stresses, which allows the height of the constructions to be raised, since thanks to its verticality the lateral pressures are lower than in the semicircular arch, allowing greater spaces to be saved.[14].
Throughout the Gothic period, the pointed arch showed variants such as the trilobed "), the ogee arch used during the so-called Flamboyant Gothic or the Tudor arch, during the so-called English Perpendicular Gothic.
Ribbed or ribbed vault
The ribbed vault, made up of pointed arches, like a skeleton, is lighter than any other type of vault built up to that date. The use of this type of arch forming a unitary three-dimensional skeleton reflects the high technical knowledge achieved by the cathedral builders. Now the thrust and weight of the roofs is supported by the pillars on which they discharge and not by the walls as happened in the Romanesque, so in extreme cases the walls can almost disappear, due to the large number of openings that can be opened and covered with stained glass.[14].
Over the course of the Gothic period, the ribbed vault acquired greater structural and decorative complexity, from the simple or quadripartite to the fan vaults. The first period is distinguished by the simplicity of the transept or diagonal arches, which are simple and have few moldings. In this same period, the so-called sexpartite vault (divided into six floes) was also used for the vault sections of the central nave, when these were made square, each of them corresponding with two of the side naves. In the second, the ribbing is increased with arches or secondary ribs and the so-called terceletes to support the supporting floes as the vaults become wider. At the same time, all the arches are molded, mainly the diagonal ones, and these and other ribs receive more profiles and are linked with transverse ribs. In the third period, new terceletes and secondary ribs with their ligatures are added, even without any need, and the so-called starry vault is generalized (after the figure of the ensemble) and the ribs and arches are outlined more delicately.
Since the end of the 19th century, the "Key (architecture)" keys of the crosses in many buildings were decorated with wooden or metal, gilded or polychrome rosettes known as washers. But from the beginning of the style, these keys were decorated with various reliefs.
The Gothic apses are also covered with different ribbed vaults but in such a way that the arches or ribs all converge on a central key forming a radiating ribbed vault and very often the shell is given a gallon-shaped shape or divided into compartments of more or less projecting or deep partial vaults. This arrangement, while reinforcing and beautifying the apse, contributes a lot to the sound of the church, especially for the songs from the presbytery "Presbytery (architecture)").
Buttresses and flying buttresses
To support the thrust of the weight of the vaults, instead of building thick walls as was done in the Romanesque, in which the buttresses took the form of pillars attached externally to the wall, with an increasing width at their base; Gothic architects devised a more efficient system: buttresses with buttresses. The buttresses are separated from the wall, the thrust falling on them through a transmission arch called buttress arch. Even greater resistance can be achieved by placing a second buttress afterwards. The buttresses also fulfill the mission of housing the channels through which the water descends from the roofs and thus prevents it from sliding down the facades.
On the one hand, the arrangement of these transverse buttresses allowed for non-load-bearing, slender façades, with enormous openings. On the other hand, by connecting the buttresses by means of flying buttress arches to the main structure, a lever arm was gained and space was freed up to place lateral naves, parallel to the main nave.
The buttresses and other buttresses are decorated, mounting pinnacles on them so that they have more weight and resistance, thus achieving with these finishes the double constructive and aesthetic purpose.
The system of flying buttresses and buttresses of Gothic churches constitutes a characteristic element that beautifies the exterior of the buildings, but at the same time, they reveal the structural fragility itself, since they support the building as external shoring.
Raised
The Gothic construction system, efficient and light as a whole, allowed the buildings to gain height. The elevation of the Gothic temples presents various alternatives that occurred over time:
Columns
The supports or columns of Gothic art consist of the compound pillar which, during the transition period, is the same Romanesque support although arranged for the enjarje of transept arches. But in the perfect Gothic style the core of the pillar is cylindrical, surrounded by semi-columns and supported on a polygonal plinth "Plinth (architecture)") or on a molded plinth, unlike the Romanesque style in which such plinth was uniform and cylindrical.
These bases are more divided and molded as the maturity of the Gothic style progresses, with those from the Flamboyant period being especially distinguished by small partial bases of different heights, these corresponding to the small columns that surround the core of the pillar. But in the century we frequently returned to the use of the primitive prismatic or cylindrical plinth without divisions. The little columns attached around the core correspond to the arches and ribs of the vaults, each one with its own, according to the principle followed in the Romanesque style that each supported piece must correspond to its own support or support.
These columns increase in number as the style progresses. At first, there are usually four or six in the isolated pillars, so that the cross or horizontal section of these forms in most cases a kind of cross with a prismatic core. But then they began to multiply in such a way in the new constructions, that since the middle of the century, the central core (which from then on is usually round) is barely visible. The entire support now appears as a bundle of cylinders, which in the century are reduced to simple jonquils or batons because their number has increased and they no longer have a place except in this form; Well, not only is a column assigned for each arch and rib of the vault, but even the main moldings of these have their corresponding column in the support.
Capitals
The capital, an architectural element of outstanding prominence in Romanesque architecture, is losing its importance in Gothic architecture as the era of the style advances. After the transition period in which the Romanesque capital is followed, it appears as a somewhat conical drum embraced with foliage whose motifs are taken from the flora of the country (although, sometimes, especially during the 19th century, it admits figurines and stories among the foliage always with more neatness than in the Romanesque style) and is crowned by a circular or polygonal abacus with various moldings.
Subsequently, the capital becomes smaller and more delicate and finally, it is finally eliminated when in the century the bundle of jonquils branches directly into the ribs of the vault without any solution of continuity in many cases or remains in the shape of a simple ring.
Domes
The domes are formed from icebergs supported by radiating ribs that, starting from the octagon formed by the central arches and by a type of very artistic squinches located at the angles determined by them, join together to a superior and centric key.
The dome appears on the outside in the form of an octagon or hexagon prism crowned by a pyramid with more daring and elegance than in Romanesque art. Many times, instead of a dome, a simple prismatic lantern rises as a tower above the transept.
Windows and stained glass
The reduction of the supporting structure to the essential minimum allowed large gaps to be opened in the facade walls. The artists of the time were able to give free rein to their imagination, creating art unknown to date.
The windows of the transition period are usually like the Romanesque ones with a pointed arch. But then the true large Gothic window is displayed, decorated in its upper part with beautiful stone openwork, which are formed from combined rose windows, always supported by columns or mullions. In the 15th century, the tracery became more complicated, with the rose windows multiplying and, already in the 15th century, the lines combined forming serpentine curves, constituting the flamboyant openwork.
A similar thing is observed in the large rose windows that are placed at the top of the facades: at first, they take the radiant and simple form, although in sumptuous churches it is somewhat more complicated. The ornaments of the rose multiplied in the century and in it the tracery became a true labyrinth of linked curves. However, in all periods there is no shortage of smaller windows with a simpler design and small mullions. Windows and rose windows are usually closed with magnificent polychrome and historiated stained glass windows where monumental pictorial art is exercised in its own way since the few wall canvases that mediate between the aforementioned openings in the sumptuous churches barely leave room for its development.
Facades: doors and towers
On the facades and doors, Gothic art displays all its magnificence and theological conception. The Gothic façade admits the same fundamental composition, with a flared shape, as the Romanesque one, but the archivolts are multiplied and a greater elevation of lines is added with more richness and sculptural finesse, always keeping in arches and ornaments the shape typical of the new style. A gable is sometimes placed above the door.
The most sumptuous portals carry images of apostles and other saints under canopies between the columns (and often also smaller ones among the archivolts) flanking the entrance which can be divided by a mullion that serves as support for a statue of the Virgin Mary or the head of the church.
The Cistercian churches and other smaller ones that are modeled after them lack imagery on the façade, which is made up of a large flared arch decorated with simple batons and some vegetal or geometric ornamentation. The finesse in the execution of the sculptural work and the progressive multiplication of the columns and moldings with their thinning, reveal better than others the signs of the time of the construction of the covers. But those from the last period from the middle of the century are recognized above all by the multitude and smallness of the details, by the ogee archivolt, loaded with twisted fronds and by other ornaments of the time.
Secondary elements
Among the secondary elements of a Gothic building are notable for the characteristic of their form:
Ornamentation
The Gothic ornamentation is based on the construction and serves to further accentuate its elements. The most common and typical motifs, in the sculptural field, are in the beginnings of the Gothic style, especially in the transition period the geometric ornaments inherited from the Romanesque style, moldings and geometric openwork that arise from the arch itself. The use of the ogee arch in the century allows for extensive use of the curve and countercurve in ornamentation.
The most innovative part in terms of decoration comes from the local flora and fauna that is interpreted in a stylized way during the centuries and first half of the . Nature is interpreted quite realistically and in this last century there is a tendency towards twisted forms. Clover, twisted ivy, vine shoots, oak or holm leaves climb the arches and spiers of Gothic buildings, associating themselves with the new style. They are later abandoned to give way to the fronds "Fronda (Architecture)"), cardinas (thistle leaves), clumps, trefoils, quatrefoils, etc. In classical art, only two or three plants, acanthus, ivy and laurel, had been accepted in the decorative repertoire, but Gothic art uses all the species of the plant kingdom and also reproduces birds and even fantastic beings, monsters that sometimes stand upright as guardians on top of balustrades and other times crouched condemned to serve as gargoyles to throw rainwater collected on the roofs.
Gothic moldings are distinguished from Greco-Roman moldings in that they do not offer a circular cut or section like these but rather semi-elliptical, piriform, cordiform, etc. all so that the arches and other members that are molded appear very faint and almost aerial to the eye.
The pictorial decoration of several of the aforementioned elements must have been common in its time but has survived to this day. The sculptures on the portals, tombs, capitals, keystones of vaults, their ribs and even more so the roof if it was made of wood were frequently painted. And although there were few paintings of figures on the walls, they were largely made up for by the polychrome stained glass windows. In many buildings in Spain, participating more or less in Mudejar architecture, tile decoration was used in friezes and plinths "Zócalo (construction)").