Hello, Artenauta! In our historical tour through the different artistic movements today we make a stop in this historical-artistic period that developed in Europe between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.
Gothic art represents a break with the simplified and idealized representations of the Romanesque. It was born in France, in the year 1137, with the construction of the church of the abbey of Saint Denis, expanding from there to the rest of Europe.
Characteristics of Gothic Painting
- The main characteristic of Gothic is naturalism. The aim is to show, as realistically as possible, the scenes of everyday life.
- The descriptive painting stands out, paying attention to details that were not previously represented, such as houses, trees, plants…
- Great importance is given to the light, proliferating the stained glass windows and the golden background in the paintings. The intention is to capture the divinity through the use of light and religious elements, as well as playing with bright colors.
- The dominant theme is religious, although other themes, such as landscape, are also gaining importance. The church used art as a means of transmitting certain aspects of Christianity to a population that, for the most part, could neither read nor write.
Miniaturism, consisting of small paintings or drawings framed in initial letters, medallions, arabesques, etc., is of great relevance.
Famous artists of gothic painting
Cimabue 
Pietro Cavallini
Duccio di Buoninsegna
Giotto
Simone Martini
Ferrer Bassa
Hubert van Eyck
Jan van Eyck
Bernat Martorell
Some famous works of gothic painting
The Garden of Paradise. Anomino. 1410
Maestà of the Duomo of Siena. Duccio di Buoninsegna. 1308-1311
Descent. Roger van der Weyden. 1443
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife. Jan van Eyck. 1434
We hope you enjoyed this post and, as always, we invite you to continue researching and discovering much more about gothic painting.
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