Art Periods and Styles related to
Gothic Architecture:

• Carolingian : The title of this period owes its origin to Charles Martel, the Frankish ruler who defeated the Moors at Poitiers in 732. The artistic advances of this period were initiated by Martel's grandson Charlemagne, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800. Although the Carolingian empire itself would not survive past the ninth century, the civilizing forces set in motion during this era would form the foundation for cultural growth during the Medieval age. Rare examples of Carolingian architecture remain, excepting such sites as Minster at Aachen.
  
  
• The Decorated style : The second of the three distinctive architectural styles of England's cathedrals, the first being Early English, the later, Perpendicular. A generalized date for the Decorated era is the middle thirteenth to the middle fourteenth centuries. It is within this period that the more distinctive features of English Gothic emerge, leaving behind evident transitional links with the Romanesque. Westminster Abbey is an example of construction during this era
  
  
• Early English style : The beginnings of Gothic in England span from the final years of the twelfth century through the first half of the thirteenth. Cathedrals primarily constructed within this period are Canterbury, Wells, Lincoln and Salisbury. Within each of these, excepting perhaps Salisbury, it is plain to recognize preceding Romanesque forms and elements.
  
  Image at right: Salisbury cathedral, England.
  
  
• Flamboyant style : The closing period of French Gothic during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. A style characterized by tracery designs which resemble upward spiraling flames, dominant in the north of France. A classic example of this work is the north spire of Chartres which stands in evident contrast to the remainder of the cathedral, completed two centuries before.
  
  
• Gothic Art : Seldom separated from the building craft of the Cathedrals, the term is used loosely to refer to religious European art forms of the 12th through 16th centuries. Other mediums utilized extensively during this period, and within similar manner, were Painting, Tapestry, Metalwork, Glasswork and Manuscript Illumination.
  
  
• Mannerism : A prevalent style of art during the later half of the sixteenth century, characterized by a self-aware perspective with dominant, often disturbing, themes or moods. With roots in earlier artistic schools, Mannerist painters often projected themselves as opposition to the idealistic artists of the High Renaissance.
  
  
• Ottonian Art : A German art form which preceded the Romanesque, and followed the Carolingian, in which can be seen some early beginnings of forms and innovations what would later be fundamental to Gothic structures. A primary feature of some Ottonian churches was the use of systematic pier and column support within the Nave.
  
  
• Painterly form : A style distinctly different from Linear, emphasizing shape and color over line. Made popular by artists such as Titian, Painterly works are found in several of the later Gothic cathedrals.
  
  
• Perpendicular style : A distinctive English style within Gothic Architecture, contemporary to the French Flamboyant during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, yet having little else in common. The Perpendicular is clearly influenced by traditional Classicism in manners which are often impressively noble. While there is no cathedral constructed entirely within this style, a close candidate is Gloucester, built in the mid fourteenth century. The Nave at Canterbury was also executed during this time, and its clean, elegant lines are gracefully powerful.
  
  
• Rayonnant style : The Radiant style, originating during the reign of Louis the Fourteenth in France, sometimes referred to as the Court style or 'the style of the French.' The name which carried through the ages refers to the patterning of the windows which allowed for such radiant lighting.
  
  
• The Renaissance : Occurring after the close of the Gothic age, the Renaissance should be factored into any serious study of these cathedrals. Much of the spiritual expression silenced at the end of the Gothic building period found new voice within Renaissance art forms, although their expression was fundamentally distinct from the Gothic style, which was perceived as crude and barbaric.
  
  Image at right: Saint Peter's basilica in Rome.
  
  
• Rococo : A style originating in France, but utilized primarily in English and Italian cathedrals of the early 1700s, as well as in renovations of the period. Distinctively lighter in expression with an emphasis on smaller, more graceful motifs.
  
  
• Romanesque : The architectural style immediately preceding the Gothic, first singular influence to spread across Europe in the Medieval age. Clearly identified by broad walls and pillars, the style derives its name from inspirations of Roman architecture. Many cathedrals and churches consist of a blending of Gothic/Romanesque elements. A fine experience of this will be found at Canterbury, within its 11th century Crypt.
  
  View the Foundation Stone about the Romanesque style.
  
  
• Romanticism : An artistic style which dominated or influenced much of European art through most of the nineteenth century. With an emphasis on emotional expression, the movement embraced the art of the Gothic period. Eventually responsible for the great Neo-Gothic building period of the later years of the century.
  
  
  

Bibliography

 Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française
      du XIe au XVIe siècle,
      E. Viollet-le-Duc, Paris  (1858-68)
 Mont Saint-Michel and Chartres,   Henry Adams  (1904)
 Gothic Painting,  Jacques Dupont & C. Gnudi, Skira  (1954)
 The Gothic Cathedral,  Otto von Simson, Pantheon, NY  (1956)
 The Gothic,  Paul Frankl , Princeton U. Press  (1960)
 The Cathedral Builders,  Jean Gimpel, Grove Press, NY  (1961)
 Gothic Architecture,  Robert Branner, G. Braziller, NY  (1961)
 High Gothic,  Hans Jantzen ,  Pantheon, NY  (1962)
 Medieval Art I, II, III  Georges Duby, Skira, Geneva  (1966-67)
 The Medieval Architect,  J. H. Harvey,  London  (1972)
 The Age of the Cathedrals,  Art and Society 980-1420,
      Georges Duby, London  (1981)
 French Gothic Architecture of the 12th and 13th Centuries,
      J. Bony ,  Berkeley  (1983)
 The Gothic Cathedral,  C. Wilson ,  Thames & Hudson  (1990)
 The Art of Gothic,  Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH,  (1999)