2º A BILINGÜE: CLASE DEL 4 DE MAYO DE 2020

Good morning everybody!

Last Thursday we started to study how Gothic architecture was: we saw specially Gothic cathedrals, but also civil buildings, such as lonjas or town halls. 

Today, we are going to continue with this part of the unit, focusing on Gothic sculpture and painting. You can fin them in pages 137 and 138 of your textbook.

SCULPTURE

We can remark this feautures in Gothic sculpture: 

1. The materials used were normally stone and wood. 

2. Sculpture was closely linked to architecture. Relief forms were sculptured on the façades if churches and cathedrals, especially on the columns , tympanum and archivolts of doorways. These kind of sculpture had an aim: teaching people Christian believing, due to most of them were not able to read. They represented Christ as the Pantocrator, the Virgin with Child, biblical characters, saints and scenes from the Gospel, etc. 

Artists also made free-standing sculptures. However, the themes were also religious most of the time. 

3. Like Romanesque, Gothic sculpture had a didatic purpose. 

4. The figures were more expressive than Romanesque figures. For example, Virgins had a different expression in their face (they show the maternity; they may be smiling); Christs show their suffer in the cross; etc. 

PAINTING

1. Paintings were mainly done on wood or canvas. They also painted miniature illustrations in books. There was great developement in the painting of altarpieces. 

2. The principal techniques were tempera and, at the end of the Gothic Age, oil painting. 

3. At the beginning of the Gothic Age, figures were very stylised, but little by little they became more realistic. 

4. Religious themes still predominated, but in the final phases of the Gothic Age artists began to paint scenes from daily life and also portraits. 

Now, I will give you a scheme about Gothic art that you could copy on your notebook and that may help you to study: