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The Gothic style came in the stead of the Romanesque style in the middle of the 12th century. It brought not only innovative architectural and art forms but also a new worldview of the medieval people. This essay will explain the influence of the cult of the Virgin on Gothic society and its distinction from Romanesque themes, and compare two artworks from France and Italy.
The cult of the Virgin emerged in the Middle Ages and influenced Gothic society by shifting the focus of human attention from the external beauty to spiritual virtues. Compared to the severity of the Romanesque style, Gothic artists depicted the Virgin as more tender and humane rather than iconic. Furthermore, Madonna was pictured out of proportion, with extremely long legs and small corpus (“Distorting Madonna in Medieval Art”). Since a virtue was more important than physical attractiveness, it was a compulsory measure because “beautiful objects could lead to a misguided worship of the object rather than the worship of goodness” (“Distorting Madonna in Medieval Art”). The same is true for sculptures because artists emphasized their meaning rather than beauty. For example, the Rottgen Pieta, dated 1300-25, shows Madonna’s grieving over her dead son. Their heads are disproportionally large, which allows the viewer to see their emotions.
It is possible to compare the North Rose Window in Chartres Cathedral, France, and the interior of the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, Italy. They differ in techniques and materials since the French work is stained glass, and the Italian one is frescoes. The first work was influenced by the Gothic architecture, which became higher compared to the Romanesque one, and the ceiling did not have to be supported by solid walls. The innovative feature of Chartres Cathedral is the design of its stained glass windows, consisting of a rose window and several lancet windows beneath it. The Italian work is influenced by French masterpieces, and its innovation consists in the combination of Gothic and Romanesque themes, which laid the foundation of Italian Gothic art.
In conclusion, the similarity of these works is that they both depict scenes of Christ and Madonna’s life. Like the entire medieval art, they are influenced by the cult of the Virgin, which changed people’s perception of the world. Instead of worshipping physical beauty, humans paid more attention to spiritual ideals. These works brought some innovations to the culture of the country of their origin.
Work Cited
“Distorting Madonna in Medieval Art – James Earle.”YouTube, uploaded by TED-Ed. 2013, Web.
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