Thirteenth Centry Gothic in Italy
Year of lecture: Unknown
Abstract:
"In my last lecture we considered the development of Gothic sculpture up to the high point of its achievement in the sculpture of the west portals of Rheims Cathedral which are dated to 1225; that is to the second quarter of the thirteenth century. Let us look at the Visitation group again. We know that this sculpture was inspired in part by classical models. Rheims itself originally a Roman city, Durocrotorum, and the centre of a Roman vine growing and wine producing region. But the importance of the Rheims sculpture does not consist simply in the fact that it was in part inspred by classical models. More important is the fact that within the Gothic style adistinctly classical feeling has been captured without destroying or overwhelming the Gothic quality so that here we can reasonably talk about a Gothic classicism, a classical feeling at the high point of the style itself, which is not dependent upon individual models it is inherent in the development of the style itself. Panofsky calls the classicism of Rheims sculpture an ‘intrinsic classicism’."
