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Gothic art emerged in the 12th century and developed until the 16th, from the Iberian

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Peninsula to Scandinavia, from Ireland to the Middle East, spread by the Crusaders.

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The origins of this great artistic revolution can be found in the Paris region, in the Abbey

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of Saint-Denis. Thanks to Abbot Suger and his overarching idea, the contemplation of

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material beauty allows us to rise to the knowledge of God. And this is the key to Gothic architecture.

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Its cathedrals and churches seem to rise and seek the sky with the marked verticality of its towers

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and its broad soaring naves. Behind this aesthetic change was a great technical revolution which

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overcame previous constructive limitations. Ogival or pointed arches form ribbed vaults which would

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gradually become more complex until they evolved into fan vaults in England.

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Outside, a network of flying buttresses, braces, separated from the wall with pinnacles crowning

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them, bore the pressure of the vaults, which allowed these buildings to be built ever higher

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and lighter. In contrast to the sturdiness and darkness of the Romanesque, Gothic churches were

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suffused with light. Frescoed walls were replaced with massive, colorful stained glass windows

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and rose windows that flooded the buildings with light, favoring a mystical experience.

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Paintings on the walls, increasingly scarce, gave way to a new medium,

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altarpieces, which would become the focal points of the main altars and chapels,

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and Gothic sculpture, which came about closely linked to architecture,

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freestanding with a hieratic elongated aesthetic to convey spirituality,

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would gradually become more naturalistic and realistic, succeeded by portraits.

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Gothic art would evolve and adapt in each different territory,

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which is why today we speak of classical Gothic and flamboyant Gothic in France,

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perpendicular in England,

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Manuline in Portugal,

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and Isabelline in Spain.

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A journey through Spain allows one to view brilliant Gothic architecture,

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such as the Cathedral of Burgos,

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recently celebrating its 8th centennial, and those of León, Toledo, Cuenca, Palencia, and Girona,

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the cloister of the Cathedral of Pamplona, the Church of San Pablo in Valladolid,

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the Cathedral of Seville, the largest Gothic church in the world,

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and for a civil building, the Lonja de la Ceba, or Silk Exchange, in Valencia.

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you