Reply To: Stained Glass

[Gabe]

Miranda, it’s interesting that you use the term ‘grounded’ to refer to the heavier style of the Romanesque period architecture. It made me think about how the pilgrimages of that period brought people closer to the earth that they had to travel across, as well mixed different social classes together. The Gothic style however developed around Paris and its monarchy and aristocracy, and so it is much removed from the ‘common folk’. It’s thematically appropriate for this ‘high-court’ culture that Gothic churches and cathedrals have such an elevated, lofty, and impressive feeling. Almost too much so! They appear so light, grandiose, and (as we’ve seen from the fire at Notre Dame) fragile.