Why was Gothic Art Important?

Gothic art was started around 1140CE in the french province known as L'Ile-de-France (Paris and vicinity) and grew to influence the rest of norther Europe. The most influential period in Gothic art was from 1150-1250 in a period known as the Age of the Great Cathedrals. Gothic style is characterized by luminosity and the filtration of light through stained glass in cathedrals as well as elaborate sculptural decorations on facades and transept portals. Gothic sculpture mean to represent scenes from the Old and New testament as well as catholic customs and traditions. During the influence of the Gothic style we see a rise in the Cult of the Virgin throughout northeastern European cathedrals. In gothic architecture we see a growing emphasis on a light almost skeletal construction of walls pierced by hundreds of brightly coloured stained glass Windows. We see an emphasized verticality and the use of clerestory levels, quadripartite vaults, and flying buttresses.

Examples of Early French Gothic cathedrals are:

The Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, France

Notre-Dame, Chartres, France

Notre-Dame, Laon, France

Notre-Dame, Paris, France

Notre-Dame, Amiens, France

Notre-Dame, Reims, France

Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, France

Saint-Urbain, Troyes, Belgium