Glossary Term: Gothic
Gothic art developed in the late Middle Ages. It lasted from about 1150 A.D. to 1400. Italian Renaissance scholars named this style "Gothic" because they thought it was barbaric and uncivilized—like the Goths who invaded Italy in the 400s.

Painting in the Gothic era was most known for the development of oil painting in Flanders. Some of the better known painters of this time are Jan van Eyck and Roger van der Weyden.

Some of the best-known examples of Gothic art are Gothic cathedrals. Gothic architecture is known for its gigantic size and height. The invention of the flying buttresses in about 1175 made these large buildings possible. Flying buttresses reduced the amount of solid wall space needed for support and made it possible to have large stained glass windows.

Gothic sculpture was mostly used to decorate the doorways of cathedrals. It often showed figures and scenes from the Bible's Old Testament. It differed from Romanesque sculpture in that it was grander, calmer and closer to human scale.

Copyright 1998-2005 Sanford