History of Interior Design II: Gothic Period

The Gothic period took place from 1140-1500. During this time, the quality of life was low, as the living conditions were brutal and disease was common, the black plague happened during this time and the population was lowered by about a third. Churches, however, were still the center of city life and Paris was the center of the Gothic world.
Gothic architecture is characterized by:

Saint Denis

Height and light
Pointed arches resulting in higher ceilings and wider vaults (the idea being the height to the church, the closer to God)
Less concern for accommodation of pilgrimages and more concern for the spiritual experience of visitors
Interest in light and windows resulting is less structurally sound walls which led to flying buttresses
Stained glass windows
Orientation to the East (Jerusalem)
Architectural experimentation

One of the first churches during this time was Saint Denis which was a royal church. This church had already previously existed and was reconstructed by Abbot Suger who believed that all churches should be beautiful, expensive places. Abbot Suger was given to a monetary as a baby and eventually because the most trusted individual to the royal family becoming the private confessor of Louis VI and VII.

Another design feature that became prominent in this era was the idea of Lux Nova or 'new light.' This was achieved by creating stained glass windows in the churches. By filtering light into something new it created the idea of noeplatonic ascent which is looking for the divine in immaterial things. One of the more prominent designs created with stained glass windows was rose windows which were round stained glass windows that were meant to keep track of the the rosary. The stone in the the stained glass windows is called tracery and it's meant to proved strength to support the structure.

There were two styles of churches during this time. The first being Rayonnant style meaning radiant or radiating pattern. This style focused on the Rose window which for this style is more circular and round and meant to aide in praying the rosary. The second style was the Flamboyant style which was meant to to look like flames radiating from the center. This type of style had tracery on the exterior and was not only used in churches.

Rayonnant Style Rose Window

Flamboyant Style Rose Window Interior

Flamboyant Style Church

Flamboyant Style Rose Window Exterior

An example of stained glass windows is Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, France (built 1243-1248). It was built int he courtyard of the palace by Louis VII. It was built to house a relic he bought from his cousin, the crown of thrones although it was never proven to be the actual crown of thrones worn by Jesus. The building cost about 40,000 francs to build and more than 6,000 square feet of stained glass can be found in the chapel. Blue and red are the most prominent in this design because blue and red were the most difficult to make and therefore the most expensive.