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Introduction to the Humanities - The Ancient World to Medieval Times

I'm really asking about the artistic inspiration (Gothic architecture) for this radical departure from the classical style.

Short and right to the point answer would be nice! Many thanks!

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Good morning from Cleveland, Ohio.

Let's see if we can help your out with your architectual quandry.

Gothic architecture and art, structures (largely cathedrals and churches) and works of art first created in France in the 12th century that spread throughout Western Europe through the 15th century, and in some locations into the 16th century. The essential character of the Gothic period, particularly at the outset, was the predominance of architecture; all the other arts were determined by it. The character of the Gothic visual aesthetic was one of immense vitality; it was spikily linear and restlessly active. Informed by the scholasticism and mysticism of the Middle Ages, it reflected the exalted religious intensity, the pathos, and the self-intoxication with logical formalism that were the essence of the medieval. Gothic style was the dominant structural and aesthetic mode in Europe for a period of up to 400 years.

It is generally agreed that Gothic architecture made its initial appearance (c.1140) in the à?le-de-France, the royal domain of the Capetian kings. However, the inception of the style owes ...