The Classical versus the Gothic

L’église Saint-Eustache, Paris

The typical narrative regarding the origins of Gothic architecture is that it was an evolution of the Romanesque, itself a debased form of Roman Classicism. There is undoubtedly a measure of truth to this description as we can readily verify that much detailed Classical architectural understanding was lost during the Early Mediæval period whilst a measure of knowledge of means and methods did indeed pass through the Romanesque into the Gothic era. That being admitted, what is often overlooked or at least not fully accredited is the incredible architectural innovation of the Gothic period.

Despite a few interesting attempts to merge them towards the end of the period, Gothic architecture was decidedly not a derivative variant of the Classical at all as it was founded on entirely unique principles that the following quick comparison will well illustrate.

Adaptation vs. Innovation

The monumental Classical* as we've come to best know it proceeds from the Renaissance essentially having adapted two forms: the Roman basilica and the Roman temple, the respective seats of temporal and eternal power (although such civic architecture as theatres, colossae, triumphal arches, etc. have contributed their minor influences). Initially, it was the basilica form that was Christianised in the Constantinian, late Roman Empire period for the seats of the bisphoric, in many cases constructing new prominent churches whose bishop physically occupied the tribunal-converted-to-altar, wielding much of the temporal power formerly pertaining to the magistrates, a secular architecture consisting of a large rectangular nave and side aisles adapted to religious, Christian use.

By far the most adapted Roman form during and subsequent to the Renaissance was the Roman temple. A few notable temples were refashioned and dedicated to Christian use already in antiquity. However, Christian religious service differed considerably from that of the pagan Romans whose interiors were reserved for the exclusive use of the priests. Interiors were comparatively small and devoid of light, thus being of ill use for a congregation and Christian services. Nevertheless, by modifying a basilica plan with a temple façade this modified Roman temple/basilica hybrid became the dominant building type for ecclesiastical, civic, university, and eventually commercial architecture.

La Maison Carrée, Nimes

 

By contrast, the Gothic was not an adapted architecture of Roman types. Many parish churches and especially cathedrals were almost exclusively laid out according to a cruciform plan. Likewise, the chapels, ambulatories, and choirs typical of these houses of worship were bespoke, the function of these spaces integral to the floor plan from which the walls and roof would unfold so that the elevations were adapted to the function of the cathedral, not the other way around as was typical of Neoclassical architecture. The same general principle permeated the design of collegiate, civic, and the manor houses of the Gothic period. 

Wood vs. Stone

Although lost to antiquity, the origin of Classical architecture is almost assuredly timber and earth. Due to the fugitive nature of the materials, none of the ancient buildings of the Greeks and Etruscans, (from which the Romans derived much of their own architecture), remain to us. What does remain are many of the later stone temples that emulate expressively the original joists, rafters and other construction components in stone. A common feature is the pseudoperipteral pilastres or engaged columns of many Neoclassical monumental buildings that serve no structural purpose whatsoever. This was a characteristic dating back to Roman architecture such as the 1st century La Maison Carrée pictured above. Romans did make efforts through the use of arches and vaults to take advantage of the inherent property of stone that it is very strong in compression.

However, Gothic buildings for the elevations originated as a construction that fully took advantage of the compressive strength of stone. The characteristic pointed and lancet arches are far more effective for distributing lateral forces to the ground and taking pressure off the supporting walls. Groin vaulting based on the same principles directed all gravitational force along the length of the ribs in compression through columns directly to the ground. Combined with a system of buttresses and pinnacles Gothic architecture was able to reach unfathomable elevations and open up the interior as the walls had only to support their own weight. Gothic represents the very nadir of monolithic stone masonry.

Cologne Cathedral

Horizontal vs. Vertical

L' église Saint-Gervais

The Parthenon is undoubtedly the example par excellence of Classical architecture. Despite the fact that its cella is surrounded with a forest of vertical Doric columns the comparatively low width to height ratio, the low pitched roof, and large entablature establish it to the eye as a predominantly horizontal architecture. This is characteristic of Classical architecture in general. There are only a couple of design moves that can be utilised to give it a more vertical character and they come with aesthetic consequences. The first of these is superposition, hierarchically stacking one order of architecture over another, typically from the Tuscan or Doric ascending to the Corinthian order. The difficulty is always the same, each order is terminated with an entablature, reasserting the horizontal appearance of the building even for façades that are overall very vertical in their orientation.

In the Gothic, even for rather low buildings such as dormitories for monasteries and abbeys the vertical character of the design is maintained, restricting the entablatures, string courses, and drip moulds to an appropriate size needed to protect the façade from erosion. Likewise the true sources of structural support such as the buttresses and pinnacles are enriched and celebrated rather than standardised or hidden.

Mosteiro Da Batalha

Magnification vs. Multiplication

St Mel's Cathedral, Longford

Alternative tools for Neoclassical monumental verticality are colossal orders of architecture and towers. Because the Classical orders strictly adhere to a fixed proportional relationship of the various elements, creating tall colonnades and porticoes is a simple matter of magnifying those elements. Towers for Neoclassical buildings always present a challenge. Either they are placed in front of the building or are placed further back, over the crossing.

Gothic structures on the other hand maintain the human scale for even very large and high piers by subdividing them with colonettes either in compound or clustered arrangement. These are placed so as to align with and receive the thrust of the ribs holding up the vaults. Gothic towers may be found either over the crossing or at one side or more often in pairs flanking the façade. Unless left uncompleted, Gothic towers are always intended to receive a spire.

There are many other differing details that could be elaborated upon such as the rather low pitch of Classical roofs compared to the typical steepness of Gothic roofs, the tendency for large constructive elements in monumental Classical structures in contrast to the composition of Gothic buildings from smaller ones, the proportionally smaller windows in Classical buildings in comparision to Gothic examples which are almost always splayed inside and out. The point is not to pit these incredible traditions against each other, rather to recognise that they have different origins and are perhaps best suited to certain climates and for their own purposes.

*I use the term 'Neoclassical' to architecture in the Classical styles including and proceeding from its revival in the Renaissance

Contributed by Patrick Webb

The Mythological Craftsman ― Part II, Classical Greece

Alexander Rothaug - The Three Fates

"Chaos was first of all, but next appeared broad-bosomed Earth, sure standing-place for all the Gods who live on snowy Olympus peak, and misty Tartarus, in a recess of broad-pathed earth and Love, most beautiful of all the deathless gods." ― Hesiod, Theogony

Quite different from the Christian conception of a God who creates the physical universe ex-nihilo (out of nothing) or the strikingly similar (some might say compatible) scientific theory of a Big Bang, the ancient Greek view held that matter is eternal, that it always existed. The primal state of matter was personified as Chaos, literally a chasm or abyss to indicate something infinite, shadowy, alive, and perhaps even conscious. A number of primal entities, powerful yet primitive deities were said to emerge from her into independent being. There was an initial bringing into an orderly arrangement of the unformed matter originating in Chaos by these primal entities. Notable among these figures are the Moirai or Fates, depicted as weavers who through their craft set limits thereby imposing a natural law and order that formalises a "cosmos" to which even the Titan and Olympian gods were subject.

The Demiurge

Constantin Hansen - Prometheus

It is into this existing cosmos that the Olympian gods make their debut. Chief among them is Zeus (Jupiter), also known as "Zeu pater" exalting his role as both father and pattern maker. Zeus was not a creator of things ex-nihilo, instead he was depicted as an artificer of existing material that continued the project of increasing physical order in the cosmos as well as in human activity through law and justice. Plato in the Timaeus describes this activity as the work of the "demiurge", literally meaning a working man or craftsman. The later neoplatonist philosopher Plotinus directly identifies this demiurge fashioner of the world with Zeus. At times Zeus' interventions were direct; however, more commonly he would command other gods and titans to do his bidding. A preeminent example of this is the creation or fashioning of men and women.

William Bouguereau

Pandore

Zeus had commanded the titan brothers Prometheus and Epimethus to fashion mortal creatures to fill the earth. Epimethus took the lead with the animals whereas Prometheus held a particular interest in man whom he sculpted in his own image out of a mixture of elements of the very earth, smoothing the contours with his own tears. His handiwork complete, Prometheus called upon Athena to animate the clay so that it became a living man. Prometheus was very proud of and jealous for mankind, famously stealing the divine fire from Zeus on their behalf. Furthermore, he raided the workshops of Hephaistos and Athena to supply man with all the tools for craftsmanship. Displeased with Prometheus' actions, Zeus subsequently commanded Hephaistos to fashion woman which he sculpted from the earth following Promethus' example. Once again, Athena breathed life into her; the Olympians in turn all provided her with a parting gift, hence her name "Pandora" meaning many gifts. Thus both man and woman are presented in Greek myth as artefacts, crafted objects made by and separate from the divine.

Gods of Craft

"As when a man adds gold to a silver vessel, a craftsman taught by Hephaistos and Athena to master his art through all its range, so that everything that he makes is beautiful." ― Homer, The Odyssey

Theodoor van Thulden

The Forge of Vulcan

All of the Olympians at one time or another are shown to be capable craftsmen and artists, reflective of the value placed on craft and the respect accorded the craftsman in ancient Greece. Nevertheless, Hephaistos and Athena are particularly renown for both their skill as well as their generosity with mankind. Hephaistos was considered primarily as a metalsmith of bronze; his eternal forge located within Mount Etna. Additionally, the arts of carpentry and stonework are likewise credited to him. Hephaistos was a lover of philosophy and the arts that helped to civilise mankind by bringing him forth from the cave, equipping him for a societal life in houses of his own construction.

Athena was likewise known by the title "Ergane", meaning "worker" thereby highlighting her role as mistress and patron of architecture, the arts and crafts. She was particularly skilled in weaving, an echo of the Moirai who weave the very cosmos. Likewise she held great expertise in carpentry, instructing a number of men in shipbuilding and famously in the building of the wooden horse that led to Greek victory in the Trojan war. Athena was quite generous with her skills and had the reputation of being the most personal of the gods with mankind, always seeking their enculturation and betterment. Though a virgin goddess, she was the one to endow life to the first man and woman and thus has been rightly construed as a mother figure who perhaps elides the sharp distinction between god and man. Naturally, she was the patron goddess of ancient Athens and the Parthenon dedicated to her was the centrepiece and crowning jewel of the acropolis temple complex.

The Heroic Craftsman

Frederic Leighton

Icarus and Daedalus 1869

The Parthenon is widely acknowledged as among the mostly finely crafted buildings in human history as contemporary restoration attempts are bearing out. It was constructed under the direction of Iktinos‎ and Callicrates, two architects each of whom quite literally was an arch (master) tektōn (craftsman) that is to say master masons. They were assisted by significant contributions of the great sculptor Phidias placed in charge of the carved decorations. The Athenian philosopher Socrates would have witnessed the erection of the Parthenon from start to finish in his lifetime. Socrates' father was a stone carver and he proudly claimed descent from the hero craftsman Daidalos so ultimately Hephaestus himself! Daidalos was by far the greatest craftsman of mythical antiquity credited with initiating the tradition of humanistic lifelike statuary. He was commissioned by King Minos of Crete to design the labyrinth containing the Minotaur who subsequently locked him up within so its secrets could not be revealed. Undaunted, Daidalos proceeded to fashion wings for he and his son Ikaros by which they make their escape, tragically so for Ikaros. Burying his grief, Daidalos continued on to Sicily where he constructed a temple to Apollo.

Unfortunately, this crowning zenith of admiration for the craftsman ensconced in religion, myth, and culture was not to endure in waning Classical Greek or for that matter Western civilisation. The craftsman possessing skills such as the tektōn or ergos were initially distinguished from the thetes (foreign day labourers) or dmoes (slaves and serfs). Yet, the distinction collapses a mere two generations later as Aristotle makes his case for why banausoi (a derogatory term for so-called vulgar artisans) should never be allowed citizenship: "Now we speak of several forms of slave; for the sorts of work are several. One sort is that done by menials: as the term indicates, these are persons who live by their hands; the vulgar artisan is among them...those who provide necessaries for an individual are slaves, and those who provide them for society are handicraftsmen." Aristotle further expounds on why craftsmen should be considered the very lowest form of subhuman, even below slaves as he offers his justificaiton: "For a slave shares his master’s life, whereas a vulgar craftsman is at a greater remove."

In our next essay in the series we'll explore Judaic cosmological foundation stories and biblical perspectives on the role and value of the craftsman.


Contributed by Patrick Webb