Gothic Architecture: Art 318
Reed College Fall
1995
TU & TH 9:00-10:20 in L41
Prof. Minott Kerr
Lib. 321 ext. 7883 E-mail: mkerr@reed.edu
Office Hours: M & W 1:00-2:00, Tu & Th 10:45-12:00, and Fri 8:00-8:45
© 1995 Minott
Kerr. All rights reserved.
Texts (available at the Reed
Bookstore. Powell's (downtown) also has copies):
Whitney Stoddard, Art & Architecture in Medieval France (1972)
Christopher Wilson, The Gothic Cathedral (1990)
Reserve: There is also substantial reading from the text and other sources, all
on open art reserve in the basement of the library (i.e. on north wall, east
side, Lower Level of the Library). Some books are available in multiple copies,
e.g. Panofsky's Abbot Suger and his Gothic Arch. &
Scholasticism, from multiple copies 4th floor of the south wing. Both
Panofsky books can also be purchased at Powell's.
Students are expected to have done the reading for a given day before coming
to class. Please ask me for additional bibliography on any related subject
that you would like to investigate in greater depth. Concerning both the
readings and the lectures: there may be times when I am distinctly unclear or
have assumed, wrongly, that you know something that you do not and probably
cannot possibly know. As well the terminology may seem arcane and overwhelming.
If you have a question, seem lost or for whatever reason, stop me, seek me out
or whatever for an explanation. Remember, the only dumb question is the
one you do not ask.
I ask that you engage yourself seriously in the topic, that is take an
interest in the material outside of class; peruse the plates of the books on
reserve; track down additional readings. Finally, I urge you to see me on a
regular basis to keep in touch about your progress, interests and paper
topic.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Reading and participation in conference discussions
- Précis of an assigned reading, 3 pp., Due in class on Tuesday 12
September
- 5 min. class presentation of above in class on Tuesday 12 September
- Analysis Paper, 3-5 pp. with transverse section, Due 5:00 PM Friday 29
September
- Mid-term Exam (Slide and Essay), in class Tuesday 9 October
- Paragraph outlining long paper topic, Due 5:00 PM Friday 13 October
- Long Paper thesis statement and annotated bibliography, Due 5:00 PM Fri. 17
Nov.
- Long Paper (ca. 12 pp.), Due last day of Classes (I will read drafts of papers
received up to 5:00 PM Friday 1 December)
- Final Exam (Slide and Essay), Wednesday 16 December 6:00-9:00 PM in Lib.
41
ALL WORK MUST BE COMPLETED SATISFACTORILY TO PASS THIS COURSE.
TENTATIVE CLASS TOPICS AND READING (may be changed at my
discretion to accomadate the pace of the class):
Tu 29 Aug An Introduction: What is Gothic? Damned if I
know......
- Vasari (photocopy handout),
- Wilson, 7-12
- Stoddard, 93-100
Further reading: - Louis Grodecki et al., Gothic
Architecture Ch. 1 (9-34
, 1977 edtn; 7-22; 1985 edtn.)
- Marvin Trachtenberg, "Gothic/ Italian
'Gothic': Toward a Redefinition" JSAH 50 (1991): 22-37 (photocopy)
Th 31 Aug & Tu 5 Sept An Introduction to Medieval Architecture: all
you really wanted to know but were afraid to ask.....(understandably)
- St Peter's, Vatican City, 320s (?)
- St Paul's Outside the Walls, Rome, late c4
- Sta Sabina, Rome, ca 530
- St-Martin de Canigou, 1001-27
- St Michael's, Hildesheim, Germany, 1001-1033
- Notre-Dame, Paray-le-Monial, France, begun ca. 1120
- Durham Cathedral, England, 1093-1130
- Wilson, 13-24
- Stoddard, 31-68
Further: - M. Trachtenberg & I. Hyman, Architecture, from prehistory
...., Chs. 4 & 5
- J. Bony, French Gothic Architecture. of
the 12th & 13th Centuries, 5-43
Th 7 Sept And now for a word from our sponsor, Politics, Personality, and
Theology: Abbot Suger & the abbey church of St-Denis
-
Erwin Panofsky, Abbot Suger, 41-137 (odd pages) Multiple copies
available in the multiple copies stacks, 4th floor of the Library.
NOTA BENE: This is a crucial primary text by the patron of the building,
Suger, and deserves to be read twice. After your first go, read Panofsky's,
introduction, pp. 1-37, and then reread Suger. Panofsky's intro is excellent,
and should be read, but NOT before you have tackled Suger himself, as it
presents a very particular point of view, which can be very convincing. Zinn
& Maines in Gerson along with Kidson are important antidotes to Panofsky,
see below.
Tu 12 Sept St-Denis: The Sources, Origins and Beginnings of Gothic
- Stoddard, 101-111
- Wilson, 31-43 (Ignore Wilson's belief in flying buttresses at St-Denis, you'll
see why he's gotta be wrong a bit later in the semester)
Further: - Bony, "What Possible Sources...," in Abbot Suger &
St-Denis, ed. P. Gerson, 131-42
- Bony, French Gothic...: 45-64,
79-95
Th 14 Sept St-Denis Slugfest: What does it all mean, if anything?
You'll be assigned one of the following readings to summarize in a ca. 3 pp.
précis and in a 5 minute class presentation
- Grover Zinn, "Suger, Theology & the Ps.-Dionysian Tradition.," in Gerson,
33-40
- Clark Maines, "Good Works, Social Ties, and the Hope for Salvation: Abbot
Suger & St-Denis," in Gerson, 77-94
- Peter Kidson, "Panofsky, Suger & St-Denis," JWCI 50 (1987): 1-17
- John Onians, Bearers of Meaning: The Classical Orders in Antiquity, the
Middle Ages & the Renaissance
74-90
- Charles Radding & William Clark Medieval Architecture, Medieval
Learning, 63-76
Tu 19 Sept The Ideology of Architecture: The Cistercian Example
- Wilson, 73-74
- Stoddard, 21-29
- Peter Fergusson, The Architecture of Solitude, 3-16
- C. Rudolph, `The Things of Greater Importance', 233-287, esp. 279-85
(odd pages only)
- Wolfgang Braunfels, Monasteries of Western Europe, 243 (Cistercians
Legislation)
Further: - Fergusson, 38-48, 52-53;
- Grodecki, (1977 edtn: 70, 94-106), (1985
edtn: 41, 52-55);
- K. J. Conant, Carolingian & Romanesque Archit.,
223-32 (1977 edition);
- Braunfels, 67-110
Th 21 Sept Early Experimentation I, Sens & Laon
- Wilson, 44-48, 54-60
- Stoddard, 113-19, 129-35
- Peter Draper, "Architecture & Liturgy," in Age of Chivalry,
83-91
- Eric Fernie, " The use of varied nave supports ..." Gesta 23
(1984): 107-117 (photocopy)
Further: - Bony, French Gothic Arch., 64-76, and 96-131
Tu 26 Sept Early Experimentation II: Notre-Dame, Paris
- Wilson, 48-54, 60-72
- Stoddard, 137-45
- Robert Mark, Light, Wind and Structure, 3-36, 43-46, and 91-104
Further: - Robert Mark, ed., Architectural Technology up to the Scientific
Revolution : the Art and Structure of Large-scale Buildings;
- H. Kraus,
Gold Was the Mortar, 18-38;
- C. Wright, Music Ceremony at Notre-Dame
of Paris (1989): 3-31, & 98-139 (esp. 98-104);
- Bony, French
Gothic, 131-55
Th 28 Sept Canterbury
- Wilson, 72-90
- Gervase, photocopy handout
Further: - Peter Kidson, "Gervase, Becket and William of Sens," Speculum
68 (1993): 969-991;
- Geoffrey Webb, Architecture in Britain: the Middle
Ages, Ch. 5, esp. 72-76;
- Francis Woodman, The Architectural History of
Canterbury Cathedral, 87-130;
- Bony, French Gothic Arch.,
157-69
Tu 3 Oct Chartres: The New Synthesis?
- Stoddard, 173-90
- Wilson, 91-100
Further: - John James, Chartres, the masons who built a legend, 1-50;
- Otto
von Simson, The Gothic Cathedral, 159-241, esp. 159-82;
- Bony, French
Gothic Arch., 195-202, 220-43
Analysis Paper, 3-5 pp. with transverse section, Due 5:00 PM Friday 29
Sept.
Th 5 Oct Chartres as Gesamtkunstwerk (Total Work of Art): The Synthesis of
Architecture, Glass and Sculpture
- Peter Kurmann and Brigitte Kurmann-Scwartz, "Chartres as a Work of Artistic
Integration: Methodological Reflections" Artistic Integration in Gothic
Buildings, eds. V. Raguin, et al., 131-52
- Jane Williams, Bread, Wine & Money, reading TBA
- Louis Grodecki and Catherine Brisac, Gothic Stained Glass, reading
TBA
- A. Katzenellenbogen, The Sculptural Programs of Chartres Cathedral,
reading TBA
Tu 10 Oct Chartres versus Bourges
- Stoddard, 223-31
- Wilson, 107-111
- Mark, Light, Wind and Structure, 105-17
- Bony, French Gothic Arch., 202-20
Further: - Robert Branner, The Cathedral of Bourges
Th 12 Oct Mid-term exam
Paragraph outlining long paper topic, Due 5:00 PM Friday 13 October
Mid-term Break
Tu 24 Oct The Social Context of Cathedral Building: the Example of Reims
- Wilson, 102-104, 129-34
- Stoddard, 197-209
- Barbara Abou-el-Haj, "The Urban Setting for Late Medieval Church Building:
Reims and Its Cathedral Between 1210 & 1240," Art History 11
(1988): 17-40 (photocopy)
- Barbara Abou-el-Haj, "Artistic Integration and Social Consensus," Artistic
Integration in Gothic Buildings, eds., V. Raguin, et al.,
214-35
Further: - Mark, Light, Wind and Structure, 118-23;
- Robert Branner,
"Historical Aspects of the Reconstruction of Reims Cathedral, 1210-1241,"
Speculum 36(1961): 23-37
Th 26 Oct Amiens and the Iconography of Architecture
- Wilson, 104-107
- Stoddard, 211-21 (cf. Murray below for a more recent construction
chronology)
- Bible: Ezechiel, Ch. 40-42 & Revelations (a.k.a. Apocalypse), Ch. 1, 4-5,
21, 23
- Peter Fingsten, "Topographical & Anatomical Aspects of the Gothic
Cathedral," The Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism 20:1
(1961): 3-23
- Paul Crossley, "Medieval Architecture & Meaning: the Limits of
Iconography," Burlington Magazine 130 #1019 (Feb. 1988):
116-21
- Hans Jantzen, High Gothic, 169-81
Further: - Stephen Murray, "Looking for Robert de Luzarches," Gesta 29
(1990): 111-31;
- Mark, Light, Wind
and Structure, 123-28;
- Kraus, 40-59
Tu 31 Oct. The Mystery of Villard de Honnecourt: Who was he? And by the way,
just what did it mean to be an architect in the 13th Century anyway?
- Wilson, 140-44
- Stoddard, 207-209
- Carl D. Barnes, Villard de Honnecourt, the Architect & His
Drawings, xix-xxxix
- François Bucher, Architector : the lodge books..., plates
only, pp. 43-175
- Nicola Coldstream, Medieval Craftsmen: Masons and Sculptors, 5-70
Further: - François Bucher "Medieval Architectural Design Methods,
800-1560," Gesta
11(1972): 37-51; - John Harvey, The Master Builder's, 30-51
- John Fitchen,
The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals;
- David Macaulay, Cathedral;
- J.-P. Adam, Roman Building;
- Ken Follett, Pillars of the Earth (at
your own risk)
Th 2 Nov. And now for something completely different.....: Salisbury and
Lincoln
- Wilson, 160-17
Further: - Webb, Ch 5 & 6;
- Age of Chivalry, exhibition catalog
Tu 7 Nov. Gothic Architecture and Scholasticsm?: Saint-Denis and the
Rayonnant
- Stoddard, 279-80, 289-92
- Wilson, 120-29, 134-140
- Panofsky, Gothic Architecture & Scholasticism, 1-88
Further: - Caroline Bruzelius, The Thirteenth-century Church at St-Denis,
1-13, 33-81;
- Robert Branner, St Louis & the Court Style in Gothic
Architecture
Th 9 Nov. Royalty and Relics at Sainte-Chapelle
- Stoddard, 292-95
- Beat Brenk, "The Sainte-Chapelle as a Capetian Political Program," Artistic
Integration in Gothic Buildings, eds., V. Raguin, et al., 195-212
(text) and 341-48 (plates)
- Louis Grodecki and Catherine Brisac, Gothic Stained Glass,100-108
Tu 14 Nov. Westminster Abbey: Rayonnant as a 13th-Century International
Style?
- Wilson, 178-83
- Paul Binski, Westminster Abbey and the Plantagenets, 1-51
Further:- Branner, Court Style, 1-11, 56-65, 112-113, 123-128
Th 16 Nov. Franciscans & Dominicans
- Wilson, 258-69
- Rona Goffen, Spirituality in Conflict, 1-10
- Marvin Trachtenberg, "Gothic/ Italian 'Gothic': Toward a Redefinition"
JSAH 50 (1991): 22-37 (photocopy)
- John Onians, Bearers of Meaning: The Classical Orders in Antiquity, the
Middle Ages & the Renaissance, 112-125
- John White, Art & Architecture in Italy: 1250-1400, 2nd & 3rd
editions, 21-58
Long paper thesis statement & annotated bibliography, Due 5:00 PM Fri.
17 Nov.
Tu 21 Nov. Duomo of Florence: A Gothic Camel?
- Wilson, 261-69
- White, 2nd & 3rd editions, 495-502
- Trachtenberg
Further: - F. Toker, "Arnolfo's Sta Maria del Fiore," JSAH 42 (1983):
22-37;
- H. Saalman, "Sta Maria del Fiore: 1284-1418," Art Bulletin 46
(1964): 22-37
Th 23 Nov. No Class Thanksgiving Break
Tu 28 Nov. South Meets North (Nil - Nil): The Cathedral of Milan
- Wilson, 269-76
- White, 2nd & 3rd editions, 517-31
- Teresa Frisch, ed., Gothic Art 1140-ca.1450, 145-47
- Trachtenberg
Further: - James Ackerman, "'Ars sine scientia nihil est': Gothic Theory of
Architecture at the Cathedral of Milan" Art Bulletin 31(1949): 84-108
Th 30 Nov. "Stadt Luft macht frei": The Medieval City and the Italian Example
- Tim Benton, "The Three Cities Compared," in Diana Norman, ed. Florence and
Padua, (vol. II, Case Studies): 7-27.
- Howard Saalman, Medieval Cities, 11-45
DRAFTS OF FINAL PAPERS ACCEPTED UP TO 5:00 PM FRIDAY 1 DEC.
(OPTIONAL)
Tu 5 Dec. Italian Medieval Civic Architecture
- Colin Cunningham, "For the Honour and Beauty of the City," in Norman: 29-53
- White, 2nd & 3rd editions 59-71, 227-231, 241-44, 251-56
Long Paper (ca. 12 pp.), Due 5:00 PM last day of Classes (6 December)
Reading for the Final: What is Gothic?
- Louis Grodecki et al., Gothic Architecture,
Ch. 1 (1977 edition: 9-34; or 1985 edition: 7-22
- Paul Frankl, The Gothic, 826-838
Wednesday 16 December 6:00-9:00 PM Final Exam (Slide and Essay), Lib.
41
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Last Modified: 24 Oct. '95