Gothic Era

Paris was considered the central hub of Gothic design. There was a lot going on all around Europe at this time, and the churches were the center of city life, which sparked competition among cathedral designs. This was also a time where religion became a major religious player- churches were no longer just places of worship but places of wealth and power. How far we've come since praying under the city streets of Rome!

Back to the architecture though, Gothic cathedrals were extremely grandiose. Although the layouts were similar to those of the Romanesque period, they started included beautiful stained glass windows, which were meant to be very ethereal, and give church goers a sense of being one with those they worshiped. The arches became more pointed, the vaults were higher, and there were the addition of gargoyles, which I think are synonymous with Gothic design.

Gargoyle at the St.-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk, Ostend, Belgium

Although gargoyles have a little bit of mythology behind them, they also actually served an architectural purpose- they would deflect rainwater from the building which helped keep the mortar from eroding. Something I didn't know before looking into this chapter further!

The most famous example of Parisian Gothic architecture is the Notre Dame de Paris, which I found a great video on, here.

Enjoy!

Here's a really great bed frame inspired by Gothic arches. I actually would really love to own this bed for myself.


Other blogs- I looked at Yo's blog on the Gothic period and I enjoyed his inclusion on Gothic furniture. He explains how high back chairs designed in the Gothic style actually reclined slightly back, which would make things more comfortable for those using the chair than the traditional 90* angle chair.

Islamic Design

The religion of Islam began in 628 CE. According to the Qur'an (the Islamic sacred text), the prophet Mohammed was given the word of Allah, which he recorded as a way to live. Islam had a wide reaching following spreading from Asia to Europe and into Africa, which meant there was a lot of variety in terms of its architecture. Although the mosque is considered the universal place of worship, different mosques had different architectural features which made them unique. There are two types of arches found commonly in Muslim architecture-

The horseshoe arch

And the Ogival Arch, sometimes referred to the Persian Arch.

Another feature common in mosque designs are muqarnas

Which served as a transition piece from the four sided walls of the mosque to the domed prayer area. They not only added visual appeal, but helped with the load bearing of the domes. 

Islamic places of worship are interesting in that it is impermissible to use religious imagery,  unlike Christian places of worship, which almost always depict images of Christ and other key figures. Muslims instead use symbols and patterns to decorate their mosques, which make for a really gorgeous visual. 

This is a modern day application of Islamic inspired design. You can see hints of geometrical patterns on the arch of the fireplace. It's also reflected on the material in the doorway. 

Other Blogs- I think Rachel had a really gorgeous example of a modern day Islamic interior. I also like that she focused on the mosque of Sultan Ahmed. It really is a stunning bit of architecture that should be highlighted in any discussion on mosques. 

I also looked at Samantha's blog on Islam and really enjoyed the video she posted on Alhambra of Granada. It gives a really in depth look at this marvelous palace and thought it was lovely that the palace was inspired by poetry. They also describe how the palace is alive in all of its architectural details, which is an interesting thought.  

Pompeii

Pompeii was an ancient Italian city that was ruined by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Although the entire town was destroyed, the volcanic ash that blanketed the city kept it very well preserved which made it easy for archaeologists to discover how the people of Pompeii lived. The architecture of Pompeii was similar to the rest of the Roman empire, but there with a few noticeable differences which were discovered by studying the House of Vettii.

The Garden at the House of Vettii

The layout of the House of Vettii

The House of Vettii was owned by Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva, two wealthy freedmen, who represented the "nouveau riche" of Pompeii. The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius wasn't the first disaster to strike Pompeii, there was an earthquake in 62 AD, which led to many of the wealthy citizens of Pompeii to move and make room for people like Vettius Restitutus and Vettius Conviva. The House of Vettii had many murals that depicted some rather...obscene images; a depiction of Priapus (the God of fertility) and scenes from brothels, but there were also images of cupids making wine which makes historians think that the Vettii relatives made their money by selling wine. Also, many of the walls were painted in red and gold, which were considered the colors of Pompeii.

Cupid wine mural

Other Blogs- I was really excited when I decided to look at Natalie's blog to see she had actually been to Pompeii. She had some really great images from her trip and I always think it's beneficial to be able to have a point of reference with someone who has actually been to an area before. Also, the picture of the "fast food" restaurant was really neat.
Rachel's blog discusses the four wall painting styles of Pompeii which was interesting. The first style is supposed to resemble marble, the second style highlights architectural features, the third style focused on intricate detailing and the fourth focused on panoramic scenes.

Byzantine Empire!

I feel like Byzantine (!) just needs an exclamation point after it. Which is kind of justified, since the Byzantine Empire was the longest political entity in European history, no small accomplishment! While Christianity remained the major religion in the Byzantine empire, the style of the churches changed under the ruling of the Emperor Justinian. They went from the long and narrow basilica style, to a more centralized style. The most famous example of this being the Hagia Sophia - a church dedicated to the "Wisdom of God".

(Exterior of Hagia Sophia)

The modern day Hagia Sophia is actually the third church that was built on that site, and completed under Justinian's rule. The exterior mixes architectural styles from all around the world (at the time) and the interior is a decorative hodgepodge of materials. 

If you look at modern day images of Hagia Sophia, you can clearly see Arabic text, the reason for this being that the church was turned into a mosque around the 1450's, and although the site is now a museum, the Arabic texts were left from the transition. 

Other Blog discussions- Melanie did a great job differentiating between Christian and Byzantine. She explains how Christianity wasn't really an architectural style, but just has to do with the religion, while Byzantine was about politics and economy. Megan's blog went really in depth on the art of the Byzantine period which I loved. She talks about how it moves in stages and gets away from the typical Roman art.

Early Christian

With the acceptance of the new Christian religion, came the need for a new place of worship. After Christianity was legalized, believers could come out of their homes and underground spaces and worship in public, but where? Enter the Basilica. Christian basilicas were based on the ancient Roman basilicas, which weren't actually places of worship but were nonsecular areas used for law courts and other civic purposes, but their layouts made sense to be used for the group worship Christians required. Some were long and narrow and others added transepts on either side of the apse, such as the one below.

One of the most famous basilicas is Old St. Peter's Basilica. It was commissioned to be built by the Roman emperor Constantine and took over 30 years to completion. It had a very plain exterior but a very ornate interior, and was 700 feet long (crazy).

 (Floor plan and elevation of Old St. Peter's)

Unfortunately Old St. Peter's was torn down, but people today can visit St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

 (Current day St. Peter's Basilica interior shot)

And even to this day, the long and narrow basilica style is the prominent architectural style for Christian churches.

(Modern day Catholic church)

Other blogs- I looked at Hannah's blog for early Christianity and I really liked her in depth discussion on the catacombs of ancient Rome. While I only slightly touched on the fact that Christians had to hide their religious practices, she really got to the meat of it. The video on the Catacombs on San Callisto was great! It really showed how intense these underground lairs were. Some of them had five different level. That takes a lot of dedication to the early believers. Fascinating. 

I also looked at Margaret's blog and I enjoyed reading her explanation on the importance of the fish symbol. Christians would use this drawing of a fish to let other Christians know that they could trust each other.