Maria Cristina Gozzoli

Another in this micro series on different periods genres of art. This one is about Gothic Art...or, as they say the period of the middle ages that spanned the period from the 12-15th Centuries. It's thought that the term "Gothic " came from the Italians ..basically regarding anything that came from North of the Alps as barbarian. Like the rest of the books in this series there is a very brief overview of Architecture, sculpture , Applied Arts (stained glass, goldsmithing, illuminated parchments) and painting. I guess the most notable aspects of gothic Architecture are the high pointed arches and stained glass of the cathedrals ...supported by flying buttresses. ..especially in France. The basic technique used in this series is to supply a number of examples ..with some text...and you are supposed to be able to recognise Gothic art from this. (I guess this works in some cases but ..how about wooden polychrome sculpture which is not illustrated at all?). But, for a micro book, they do a reasonable job of drawing out some of the major features of gothic art. I give it 3 stars.… (meer)