Gothic Art in Italy
The Florence Cathedral is held and revered in the hearts of many. Poised in the minds of Gothic Art enthusiasts, it combines romanesque architecture with the alluringly dark twists that are quintessential to this style. The Cathedral is a prime example of The Italian Gothic era. It not only employs the stylization of Gothic architecture, many of it’s innovations helped shape the style we know and love today. It reflects in it’s pristine craftsmanship a grander movement that would one day lead us to the Renaissance.
Where does the term Gothic hail from? It is the title of a nomadic Germanic people, the Goths, who were revolting against the Roman rule with brutal military efforts during the 5th century CE. Their aggressive tactics combined with other external factors brought about the inevitable collapse of the greatest empire known to man. For this reason, Italian writers of the Renaissance coined the term “gothic” as a resentful attribution to art and architecture of a nonclassical and “ugly” era. For a majority of the terms existence, it maintained a deragatory undertone. However, by the 19th Century the term gained a positive lift. During this time, much of Gothic Architecture was reevaluated — and seen for an outstandingly important turn in art history. And through this revaluation, conspiracy rose many years later. A perfect stage for resentment, the Goths were attributed a movement much larger than themselves, for this art history phenomenon was brought by the hands of the people.
Who would dare to introduce the Gothic style to a people so utterly resentful of it? The Cistercian and Franciscan Orders were founded in lieu of the rigid Dominican Order. Intent on following the rules of Saint Benedict, they built churches that reflected Romanesque styles, but added the Gothic elements to visually reflect their new branch of monks. Some features of the Italian Gothic movement was the use of bricks, with a plaster covering, instead of the French use of stone.
One of the key elements to the Gothic Art is the architecture. The dramatic stylizations didn’t come from elaborate, and romantic minds. It did, however, come from the minds of brilliant masons. Most of the intricacies we find in Gothic architecture were innovations that allowed for higher vaulted ceilings, with little possibility of collapse. As the arch and vault were originally formed by the Romans, the European push for “larger” and “grander,” inevitably brought about a variety of vaults. The invention of the ribbed and fan vaults gave weight the opportunity to reduce into multiple pressure points. And with these intricate vaults, came about the most important feature: the flying buttress. The iconic half arch that arose during the Gothic era. It leaned against the upper exterior of the naive and spindled downward, allowing a counteraction of outward and inward thrust.
One of the greatest examples of Gothic Art in Italy is the Florence Cathedral. It’s creation began in 1296, and although Renaissance architecture had not yet been developed, it is visually evident that the Italians still revolted against the key elements of Gothic architecture. One of the key oversights is the lack of stained glass, which is a predominant feature to Gothic architecture. The Cathedral finally met it’s conclusion in 1436.
However, the details of Gothic architecture are evident within the structure. Which gives the best example of the clash between the Italian resistance towards the Gothic wave of art. Yet still incorporating the artistic movement of the people.
The Italian Renaissance has much to thank to the Gothic Art movement, which reflects what Gothic elements Italy predominantly employed in their art practice. In painting compositions and within their sculpture development they fazed away from strict and hierarchal compositions to more expressive and free flowing images and figures. However, complexities grew in other ways. The Gothic art movement pressed artists to explore space and decoration in a way that had never been explored before.
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