Photograph, Hauser y Menet GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN This tower, seen through the picturesque Calle de Santa (The Cathedral of Toledo) THE COUNTER-INFLUENCE IN SPAIN Important Moorish buildings in Spain profoundly influenced the Spanish renderings, not only of Gothic, but of Renaissance architecture (Puerta del Sol, Toledo) Frankfurt, Strassburg, Freiburg, Ulm and Regensburg. The Gothic style was not indigenous in Germany, but in spite of the fact that borrowed architectural styles do not often develop much individuality, the German builders attained many architectural masterpieces in this French style. Their contribution in the way of departure from precedent was the development of the Gothic style in brick. As in Belgium and Holland, Gothic architecture in Germany was distinguished by its picturesque secular buildings in brick, stone, halftimber and all these materials combined. In Spain, as might be supposed, the expression of the Gothic style was quite different from its expression in other parts of Europe. Two reasons for this difference might be cited, out of many. Spanish builders, by reason of the comparative isolation of Spain behind the barrier of the Pyrennees, had little opportunity to study or observe the great Gothic edifices of France, which so dominantly influenced Gothic developments in England, the Netherlands and Germany. There was, too, the ever-present influence of the Moors, to which may be ascribed the Spanish fancy for surface decoration, intricate ornamentation, and ornamentation without reference to construction or constructive lines. Moorish influence was most pronounced in the entire southern portion of Spain, notably in Toledo, and, even after Christian supremacy was established, many Moorish workmen were employed in the building of churches, by reason of their great skill and ability. The greatest Gothic monument of Spain is generally conceded to be the Cathedral of Burgos, in the northern part of Spain, though the Cathedral of Toledo is not only a remarkably fine example in itself, but dis tinctly characteristic of the more peculiar of the Spanish Gothic traits. The most conspicuous difference in Spanish Gothic from the essentially perpendicular Gothic of other European countries lies in the frequent introduction of horizontal lines, formed by bold projections, casting marked horizontal shadows, or by traceried galleries or ornamental courses. This introduction of the horizontal is apparent in the tower of the Toledo cathedral. As in France, the period in Spanish architecture representing the transition from Gothic to Renaissance forms produced many buildings of the most peculiar architectural interest-the two styles rendered additionally picturesque by the subtle infusion of Moorish feeling and much that was purely Spanish. In Italy a full development of the Gothic style was checked by certain of those influences and conditions which so potently mould the course of architecture. Technically, the ability and ingenuity of Italian architects and artisans was more than equal to the task of mastering the intricacies of Gothic construction and design, but on Italian soil there was always the great, overshadowing, ever-dominant Classic influence of Roman architecture, later to blossom so luxuriantly in the works of the Renaissance. Romanesque and Byzantine influences were also to be reckoned with. In Europe, these styles were transplanted from Italy, and Gothic was a native growth: in Italy the reverse condition existed, and the Italians were surrounded not only by a profusion of edifices of Romanesque and Byzantine design, but by the immortal remains of ancient Rome itself. Many features, then, entirely strange to the Gothic A characteristic Italian rendering of Gothic architecture, rich in the colour, detail and surface decoration later seen in Renaissance architecture An architectural composition, full of detail and colour, recalling the Byzantine style, yet with many points which forecast the later architecture of the Renaissance (The Palazzo della Ca 'd 'Oro, Venice) SECULAR GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN ITALY |