Gothic vs. Romanesque Architecture
The Romanesque and Gothic styles of architecture are key to the artistic development of the Middle Ages. They are they result not only of an aesthetical development, a natural consequence of improving socioeconomic conditions and a growing interest of individuals and groups to showcase their wealth and power with churches and other constructions, but also a result of technological developments. Indeed, many of the components of these styles came about as architectural necessities: to support the new constructions, technical innovations needed to be implemented and this sometimes translated into stylistic expressions.
This paper will investigate each architectural style in part, focusing both on a separate, relevant description of the main elements and on a comparison between the Romanesque and Gothic styles. To the degree to which this is possible, the paper will aim to showcase the description and the comparison with concrete examples from the civic and religious architecture.
As Toman (1997) points out, the character of Romanesque architecture was universal, in the sense that it was not limited to a particular type of building. Although it is primarily specific to churches and other ecclesiastical constructions, examples of Romanesque townhouses, castles or civic works abound. However, he is also the one showcasing that the Romanesque architecture is particularly common in churches.
Gardner (2004) points out that the first elements of Proto-Romanesque are noticeable from the 11th century, with the Church of St. Michael, in Hildesheim, Germany. In Germany, during this period of time, the architectural style is also referred to as Ottonian, from the name of the German Emperors. Some of the main elements resembling a beginning of Romanesque architecture, elements that will be further discussed below, include a regular plan, with the tower in the center of a square plan; and an apse at both ends of the church.
As previously shown, some of the characteristics of Romanesque architecture are influenced both by the scope of the building (usually a defense scope or to showcase one's power) and by architectural necessities (the need to support the rest of the construction). As...
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