Paper Thin? The Evidence for 12th-Century Gothic Design Drawings
No Gothic design drawings on paper or parchment have survived from the 12th century, and only a few have survived from the 13th century. For this reason, most recent scholars tend to concur at least broadly with Robert Branner, who argued in an influential 1963 article that such drawings were first...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Arts |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/220 |
| _version_ | 1797382120518189056 |
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| author | Robert Bork |
| author_facet | Robert Bork |
| author_sort | Robert Bork |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | No Gothic design drawings on paper or parchment have survived from the 12th century, and only a few have survived from the 13th century. For this reason, most recent scholars tend to concur at least broadly with Robert Branner, who argued in an influential 1963 article that such drawings were first produced only after 1200. This conclusion deserves critical re-examination, however, for two principal reasons. First, the continuity of the Gothic architectural tradition in both time and space strongly suggests that early Gothic builders used similar techniques to those used by their late Gothic successors. From this perspective, the lack of surviving design drawings from before 1200 seems likely to reflect their disappearance over time, rather than their not being used in the crucial period when the conventions of Gothic design and construction were first coming into focus. A second argument for the use of drawings in the 12th century comes from consideration of early Gothic buildings, whose complex and carefully calibrated forms would be literally inconceivable without such graphic aids. Churches such as Saint-Denis Abbey and Notre-Dame in Paris, for example, already display a level of geometrical sophistication and coherence that argues strongly for the use of scaled drawings in their original conception. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:00:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b564c8c8d222458bb5f88869d31c8dc8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0752 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:00:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arts |
| spelling | doaj.art-b564c8c8d222458bb5f88869d31c8dc82023-12-22T13:52:25ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522023-10-0112622010.3390/arts12060220Paper Thin? The Evidence for 12th-Century Gothic Design DrawingsRobert Bork0School of Art and Art History, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USANo Gothic design drawings on paper or parchment have survived from the 12th century, and only a few have survived from the 13th century. For this reason, most recent scholars tend to concur at least broadly with Robert Branner, who argued in an influential 1963 article that such drawings were first produced only after 1200. This conclusion deserves critical re-examination, however, for two principal reasons. First, the continuity of the Gothic architectural tradition in both time and space strongly suggests that early Gothic builders used similar techniques to those used by their late Gothic successors. From this perspective, the lack of surviving design drawings from before 1200 seems likely to reflect their disappearance over time, rather than their not being used in the crucial period when the conventions of Gothic design and construction were first coming into focus. A second argument for the use of drawings in the 12th century comes from consideration of early Gothic buildings, whose complex and carefully calibrated forms would be literally inconceivable without such graphic aids. Churches such as Saint-Denis Abbey and Notre-Dame in Paris, for example, already display a level of geometrical sophistication and coherence that argues strongly for the use of scaled drawings in their original conception.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/220drawingsGothic architectureRobert BrannerNotre-DameParisSaint-Denis Abbey |
| spellingShingle | Robert Bork Paper Thin? The Evidence for 12th-Century Gothic Design Drawings Arts drawings Gothic architecture Robert Branner Notre-Dame Paris Saint-Denis Abbey |
| title | Paper Thin? The Evidence for 12th-Century Gothic Design Drawings |
| title_full | Paper Thin? The Evidence for 12th-Century Gothic Design Drawings |
| title_fullStr | Paper Thin? The Evidence for 12th-Century Gothic Design Drawings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Paper Thin? The Evidence for 12th-Century Gothic Design Drawings |
| title_short | Paper Thin? The Evidence for 12th-Century Gothic Design Drawings |
| title_sort | paper thin the evidence for 12th century gothic design drawings |
| topic | drawings Gothic architecture Robert Branner Notre-Dame Paris Saint-Denis Abbey |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/220 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertbork paperthintheevidencefor12thcenturygothicdesigndrawings |