Difference between gothic sculpture and renaissance sculpture
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Previous to these innovations, in order to obtain height in construction, it was necessary to provide massive, heavy, thick stone walls that thinned as they rose. These massive walls supported the lateral forces from wide interior spaces. Spanning distances required many intermediate columns and rounded barrel vaults over large, long spaces. This resulted in spaces with little lighting close to the ground, rounded forms and high windows for light. This was fine for Mediterranean churches where light was plentiful, but poor for northern climates where light was scarce.
The barrel vault could be considered a series of arches perpendicular to the length of the vault. Every arch tries to spread, so massive walls were required to resist that spreading along the entire length of the structure.
Gothic architecture changed how we engineered vaults. Instead of considering the arches of the vault perpendicular to the space, they ran diagonally, forming an X shape between the column grid. The remaining vault was just infill. What this did was transfer the load directly to the columns rather than the walls, meaning only the columns now needed bracing. This freed up the requirement of the interstitial space to be used for structure, and could now be infilled with windows, bringing large volumes of light into the space. As light was symbolic of Good in Christian religion, this was an ideal solution. The flying buttress enabled builders to transfer those lateral loads on the columns outside of the structure, freeing up the interior space, making it feel lighter and more spacious. The ribbed vault also created a pointed arch form that further reinforced the vertical aspect of the structure that was picked to in the pointed arch of the windows. The arch form not only “pointed to heaven" but also transferred loads to the columns enabling the windows to extend clear to the ground. Large, intricate stained glass were now practical.
This form was a highly skeletal construction form, different from the massive paneled forms of the Mediterranean, and was suited for northern climates where light was scarce. It didn't provide a lot of wall space for murals and frescoes, so the stained glass art form predominated, as well as stone carving, such as the gargoyles used to shed water, and statues of saints and apostles. As a predominantly northern form, it was given the appellation “Gothic" (for the Goths of Germanic origin) as an insult by later critics who felt it was harsh, cold, skeletal, and devoid of aesthetic appeal from a perspective of proportion. This didn't stop later designers from using some of the principles such as the cross vault in later….
Renaissance architecture…
The Renaissance is the term for the explosion of discovery, innovation, and intellectual thought following what we call the medieval period. It did two things. First, it looked back to the Greek and Roman “classical” period, and it marked a shift toward innovation and dissemination of knowledge to the masses rather than through the church.
In terms of architecture, the Renaissance period thrived in the Mediterranean, and harkened back to the classical period, rediscovering proportions, golden ratio, classical orders, and other aspects of early thought, and recreated these using the technology of the day. Rounded arches, circles, wide expanses of painted surfaces dominated the period, with an increasing reliance on decoration and embellishment hiding the structure that was on display in gothic construction.
The engineering principles of gothic architecture, however, allowed renaissance architects the ability to create larger and larger structures spanning greater and greater spaces with domes and vaults, using the crossing ribbed/infill techniques to make thinner and lighter domes. Being in the south, the need for large glass panels was reduced, as it allowed too much heat into the buildings, so the need for flying buttresses was minimal, and they could rely on mass construction, but that mass was relegated to columns rather than walls, allowing for thinner exteriors than in the past.
1. Gothic architecture had pointed arches in roof while Romanesque architecture had round arches.
2. Gothic architecture had large windows and lot of stained glass while In Romanesque architecture the windows were small and less stained. And hence, the Gothic structures have bright light inside and are airy while the Romanesque structures are darker inside
3. Gothic Architecture has groin vaulted cathedrals while Romanesque has mostly barrel vaults and some groin vaults.
A groin vault is formed by two barrel vaults intersecting at right angles. The result is four curving surfaces that draw the eye up and toward the center. The areas where the barrel vaults come together create ribs that add both strength and visual appeal.
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design.
4. Gothic Architecture has flying buttresses and few structure supports. Romanesque architecture has large pillars inside of the building.
5. In Gothic architecture they have gargoyles (a gargoyle is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between.) while in Romanesque very less decoration is on the exteriors.
6. The Romanesque structures came with heavy frames. On the other hand, the Gothic structures had a slender skeleton.