Contenido

La decoración se centra ahora en las tracerías, que decoran los muros con redes vegetales. Las ventanas se cierran con tracerías cada vez más complicadas, como auténticos tapices, dando el aspecto de una obra de orfebrería. Se usan muchos más materiales que sólo la piedra, materiales que fingen ser otros, como yesos, maderas, estucos, etc., que son más baratos y más ligeros, a la hora de ser colocados, por ejemplo, como remates en las claves de las bóvedas.

Vault

The vaults turn out to be the only elements that show a novel character, although these novelties turn out to be more decorative than truly structural. The vaults of the early Gothic period were six-partite, followed by four-partite ones. From the middle of the century, architects experimented with new solutions, increasing the number of secondary ribs, giving rise to much more decorative vaults, such as those with tercelet, those with warped ribs, etc., but all being variations of the ribbed vault, with star shapes.

While the rest of Europe is experimenting with the previously mentioned star-shaped vault, in England the fan vault, typical of the English century, now appears. They follow the same structural guidelines as European vaults, but are much more decorative. They are made up of a load-bearing block, which acts as a capital, a conoid, which distributes the loads, and a soffit, through which the nerves proliferate, creating decorative networks. In the existence of fan vaults, three phases are distinguished:

The first experiments were made entirely of stone, but the result was very heavy, and many of those first vaults fell, so the later ones were made with wood and plaster panels, much lighter, and even removable elements were placed, such as decorative finials on the keystones, or hanging elements.

Pillar

The pillar will also be an element that evolves during this period, towards more vertical forms, such as an authentic bundle of columns "Column (architecture)"), with attached pilasters converted into baquetons, very thinned and stylized, which will make the pillar fasciculated"), the resulting one, the most used during the century. The helical pillar "Helix (geometry)") will also be used in the chapter houses of monasteries, and in rooms with a centralized plan. The pillar loses the capital with archaic shapes, and becomes a line of impost of testimonial presence.

Bow

The arches also evolve, always in a decorative way. The use of semicircular arches is almost completely abandoned, and the uses of the more decorative arches are promoted, the ogee, the ogival, the polylobed, the carpanel, etc. As decorative elements, pinnacles emerge, which are placed almost anywhere, and, if they are larger, they become tabernacles. The fronds, decorative networks of plant elements, are also another very typical element of the century, along with the gables, a decorative element to enhance the arch.

Plant

As for the floors, no new typologies appear, only existing typologies are enhanced, such as the hallenkirche (hall floor), a floor plan that will be very useful, since it leaves space between the buttresses for the funerary chapels, and will be widely used in the monastic floors, because it accommodates more faithful. The head becomes the most important area of ​​the temple, at this time many previous headers are torn down and rebuilt, resulting in macrocephalic churches. In churches with more limited resources, headers are made based on polygonal, multi-lobed shapes, but in a much simpler way, without an ambulatory.

A new organization of the interior space is also now born. Modern Gothic had been characterized by theories of the mysticism of light, which radically lost their influence in this period. Darker headboards begin to be made, the windows are covered, all due to the birth of the altarpieces, at first timidly, but little by little they will become the place for the indoctrination of the faithful, coming to have monumental forms and become intertwined with the architecture, creating hybrids between architecture and sculpture. They are the place for the placement of iconography, when before it was limited to sculptural groups on the facades. The light goes into the background, and spaces will appear in front of the altarpieces to be contemplated, just as the importance of seeing the priest gesturing while addressing the faithful grows, so the altar and pulpits rise above the nave, all due to the influence of the religious heresies that caused so much fury at that time. In this way, the faithful could be better controlled.

Towers, spiers and spiers

Spiers and towers became popular during this period, and many already completed buildings added these elements, to exalt and give packaging, to 'dress up' the temple. The sketchbooks were the ones that spread these ideas; On facades of French origin, pinnacles and spiers are added, typical of Nordic architecture. (Appearance of the Book of Pinnacles) There are different types, which are built on an octagonal or square base; They have very openwork windows, to provide lighting, and are finished with plant shapes. Examples in the cathedrals of Freiburg and Strasbourg with openwork finials, with tracery.

In Spain these forms were first introduced in the finishings of the Burgos Cathedral. The bishop of Burgos, Alonso de Cartagena, had traveled through northern Europe and had seen the openwork towers in the churches and cathedrals of the North, so he called Juan de Colonia in 1442 to finish the towers, with an element that overlaps the previous work, and that will be later imitated in the cathedrals of León "León (Spain)"), Oviedo, Toledo, etc. and it will influence those built at that time, such as the one in Astorga. They are towers with an octagonal base, and 70 meters high, which were topped by sculptures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, removed in the 19th century.

During this period, many of the projects that had been left unfinished were completed, although the leitmotif will be the funerary chapels. In any case, new, very avant-garde projects will also be made, such as the cathedrals of Milan or Toledo, which will be a synthesis of all the ideas of the period.

The century had been a century of crisis, but in the century both the economy and demographics grew again, and people once again had money to finish the artistic works that they had left unfinished. At this time, foot facades, transept facades, etc. will be finished, using the aforementioned decorative elements.

France will lose its dominant role during this period, in favor of Spain and the Netherlands. The façade of the Saint-Gathien Cathedral in Tours, which had been started in the 19th century, is completed. It is not an innovation, it will be a façade of three streets with two towers, an idea that already came from the Carolingian westwerk. The decoration becomes almost a goldsmith's work. Importance of the gables, a triangular element that overlaps the arch, framing it; the use of tabernacles and pinnacles. The space previously dedicated to the iconographic program almost disappears, being dedicated to the archivolts. Plant motifs and traceries appear on the tympanum, there is no longer a sculptural group. In the central body, a large tracery rose window, which is partly hidden by the pinnacles and gables.

Another façade that is now being finished is the façade of the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne de Toul, following a scheme similar to that of Tours, in three streets, and with many flamboyant decorative elements.

Around Paris, the Chambiges (Pierre Chambiges and Martin Chambiges) worked in the 2nd century,[3]​ a family of architects who participated in the construction of numerous cathedral facades, such as that of the transept of the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne de Sens, completed in the 19th century, although started in the 19th century. The wall is almost completely pierced with a large tracery rose window, radiant Gothic. Prismatic buttresses are arranged. The façade of the church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen"), for its part, escapes the approach of a harmonious façade of three streets and two towers, and is closer to the concept of 'Baroque Gothic' that we have already talked about. It has five openings, and advanced pillars, forming a semicircular portico. Everything is decoration, based on gables and pinnacles.

The forms of flamboyant Gothic were introduced in Spain starting with the Kingdom of Aragon, later moving to Castile, with Burgos as the first example. The style was introduced by new architects who were brought from Europe by bishops and kings. There are two generations, that of foreign architects who arrive to the Iberian Peninsula, with French training, such as Guillem Sagrera, Jusquin from Utrecht") or Hanequin from Brussels. The second generation will be the children of these architects, already born in Hispanic lands, but with European training, for example Juan Guas or the Egas brothers.

Contenido

La decoración se centra ahora en las tracerías, que decoran los muros con redes vegetales. Las ventanas se cierran con tracerías cada vez más complicadas, como auténticos tapices, dando el aspecto de una obra de orfebrería. Se usan muchos más materiales que sólo la piedra, materiales que fingen ser otros, como yesos, maderas, estucos, etc., que son más baratos y más ligeros, a la hora de ser colocados, por ejemplo, como remates en las claves de las bóvedas.

Vault

The vaults turn out to be the only elements that show a novel character, although these novelties turn out to be more decorative than truly structural. The vaults of the early Gothic period were six-partite, followed by four-partite ones. From the middle of the century, architects experimented with new solutions, increasing the number of secondary ribs, giving rise to much more decorative vaults, such as those with tercelet, those with warped ribs, etc., but all being variations of the ribbed vault, with star shapes.

While the rest of Europe is experimenting with the previously mentioned star-shaped vault, in England the fan vault, typical of the English century, now appears. They follow the same structural guidelines as European vaults, but are much more decorative. They are made up of a load-bearing block, which acts as a capital, a conoid, which distributes the loads, and a soffit, through which the nerves proliferate, creating decorative networks. In the existence of fan vaults, three phases are distinguished:

The first experiments were made entirely of stone, but the result was very heavy, and many of those first vaults fell, so the later ones were made with wood and plaster panels, much lighter, and even removable elements were placed, such as decorative finials on the keystones, or hanging elements.

Pillar

The pillar will also be an element that evolves during this period, towards more vertical forms, such as an authentic bundle of columns "Column (architecture)"), with attached pilasters converted into baquetons, very thinned and stylized, which will make the pillar fasciculated"), the resulting one, the most used during the century. The helical pillar "Helix (geometry)") will also be used in the chapter houses of monasteries, and in rooms with a centralized plan. The pillar loses the capital with archaic shapes, and becomes a line of impost of testimonial presence.

Bow

The arches also evolve, always in a decorative way. The use of semicircular arches is almost completely abandoned, and the uses of the more decorative arches are promoted, the ogee, the ogival, the polylobed, the carpanel, etc. As decorative elements, pinnacles emerge, which are placed almost anywhere, and, if they are larger, they become tabernacles. The fronds, decorative networks of plant elements, are also another very typical element of the century, along with the gables, a decorative element to enhance the arch.

Plant

As for the floors, no new typologies appear, only existing typologies are enhanced, such as the hallenkirche (hall floor), a floor plan that will be very useful, since it leaves space between the buttresses for the funerary chapels, and will be widely used in the monastic floors, because it accommodates more faithful. The head becomes the most important area of ​​the temple, at this time many previous headers are torn down and rebuilt, resulting in macrocephalic churches. In churches with more limited resources, headers are made based on polygonal, multi-lobed shapes, but in a much simpler way, without an ambulatory.

A new organization of the interior space is also now born. Modern Gothic had been characterized by theories of the mysticism of light, which radically lost their influence in this period. Darker headboards begin to be made, the windows are covered, all due to the birth of the altarpieces, at first timidly, but little by little they will become the place for the indoctrination of the faithful, coming to have monumental forms and become intertwined with the architecture, creating hybrids between architecture and sculpture. They are the place for the placement of iconography, when before it was limited to sculptural groups on the facades. The light goes into the background, and spaces will appear in front of the altarpieces to be contemplated, just as the importance of seeing the priest gesturing while addressing the faithful grows, so the altar and pulpits rise above the nave, all due to the influence of the religious heresies that caused so much fury at that time. In this way, the faithful could be better controlled.

Towers, spiers and spiers

Spiers and towers became popular during this period, and many already completed buildings added these elements, to exalt and give packaging, to 'dress up' the temple. The sketchbooks were the ones that spread these ideas; On facades of French origin, pinnacles and spiers are added, typical of Nordic architecture. (Appearance of the Book of Pinnacles) There are different types, which are built on an octagonal or square base; They have very openwork windows, to provide lighting, and are finished with plant shapes. Examples in the cathedrals of Freiburg and Strasbourg with openwork finials, with tracery.

In Spain these forms were first introduced in the finishings of the Burgos Cathedral. The bishop of Burgos, Alonso de Cartagena, had traveled through northern Europe and had seen the openwork towers in the churches and cathedrals of the North, so he called Juan de Colonia in 1442 to finish the towers, with an element that overlaps the previous work, and that will be later imitated in the cathedrals of León "León (Spain)"), Oviedo, Toledo, etc. and it will influence those built at that time, such as the one in Astorga. They are towers with an octagonal base, and 70 meters high, which were topped by sculptures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, removed in the 19th century.

During this period, many of the projects that had been left unfinished were completed, although the leitmotif will be the funerary chapels. In any case, new, very avant-garde projects will also be made, such as the cathedrals of Milan or Toledo, which will be a synthesis of all the ideas of the period.

The century had been a century of crisis, but in the century both the economy and demographics grew again, and people once again had money to finish the artistic works that they had left unfinished. At this time, foot facades, transept facades, etc. will be finished, using the aforementioned decorative elements.

France will lose its dominant role during this period, in favor of Spain and the Netherlands. The façade of the Saint-Gathien Cathedral in Tours, which had been started in the 19th century, is completed. It is not an innovation, it will be a façade of three streets with two towers, an idea that already came from the Carolingian westwerk. The decoration becomes almost a goldsmith's work. Importance of the gables, a triangular element that overlaps the arch, framing it; the use of tabernacles and pinnacles. The space previously dedicated to the iconographic program almost disappears, being dedicated to the archivolts. Plant motifs and traceries appear on the tympanum, there is no longer a sculptural group. In the central body, a large tracery rose window, which is partly hidden by the pinnacles and gables.

Another façade that is now being finished is the façade of the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne de Toul, following a scheme similar to that of Tours, in three streets, and with many flamboyant decorative elements.

Around Paris, the Chambiges (Pierre Chambiges and Martin Chambiges) worked in the 2nd century,[3]​ a family of architects who participated in the construction of numerous cathedral facades, such as that of the transept of the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne de Sens, completed in the 19th century, although started in the 19th century. The wall is almost completely pierced with a large tracery rose window, radiant Gothic. Prismatic buttresses are arranged. The façade of the church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen"), for its part, escapes the approach of a harmonious façade of three streets and two towers, and is closer to the concept of 'Baroque Gothic' that we have already talked about. It has five openings, and advanced pillars, forming a semicircular portico. Everything is decoration, based on gables and pinnacles.

The forms of flamboyant Gothic were introduced in Spain starting with the Kingdom of Aragon, later moving to Castile, with Burgos as the first example. The style was introduced by new architects who were brought from Europe by bishops and kings. There are two generations, that of foreign architects who arrive to the Iberian Peninsula, with French training, such as Guillem Sagrera, Jusquin from Utrecht") or Hanequin from Brussels. The second generation will be the children of these architects, already born in Hispanic lands, but with European training, for example Juan Guas or the Egas brothers.