How to distinguish Romanesque from Gothic: their 4 main differences

A review of the most important differences between these artistic styles.

Romanesque and Gothic are two words that are very familiar to us. Those who have been minimally introduced in medieval art will know, broadly speaking, the main differences between one style and the other.

But we are not always clear about their characteristics, and we often confuse one with the other. Therefore, in this article we will see a summary of the differences between Gothic and Romanesque styles, with some examples.with some examples.

Fundamental differences between Romanesque and Gothic: distinguishing between the two styles.

Architecture was the main art in the first centuries of the Middle Ages. All the other arts were subordinated in one way or another to it, especially in the Romanesque. Later on, during the first manifestations of the Gothic period, we begin to perceive an incipient emancipation among the different artistic techniques..

In any case, one thing must be made clear from the outset: no style is absolutely pure. That is to say, we will not find in any century a Romanesque style that displays absolutely all its canonical characteristics. Sometimes we will find oriental influences, other times an original and unique expression, as in the case of Northern Europe. And the same with Gothic. Of course, it is not the same to speak of French or German Gothic as that which developed in the Mediterranean area.

However, it is possible to find a series of guidelines that can be very useful to distinguish one style from another. Let's take a look at them.

1. Dark fortresses versus multicolored cathedrals

During the Romanesque period, we find solid and strong buildingsThe walls are thick and lack openings, so the interiors are rather dark. The walls are thick and lack openings, so the interiors are rather dark.

This is one of the main differences between the two styles: during the Gothic a change of mentality is perceived, and the diaphanous interiors and the play of light are promoted.achieved through huge stained glass windows and high, thin walls.

This change was, in part, a consequence of the improvements developed by Gothic architects, who were able to successfully contain the pressure of the ceiling by means of original techniques. This facilitated the lengthening of the walls and the appearance of large windows..

Therefore, if we are inside a church or cathedral and it is full of stained glass windows, we can immediately relate it to the Gothic style. During the Romanesque period, the technique of retaining the walls had not developed enough to allow such openings in the walls. If it had, the church would have collapsed.

2. The new Gothic techniques

How did Gothic architects achieve this? By means of the invention of a unique and original element: the flying buttress.. Visually, we can recognize it at once: it is the one that gives the Gothic building the appearance of an enormous crawling spider.

The flying buttresses are external arches that start from the walls of the building and discharge the pressure of the walls outwards. To counteract this pressure, buttresses are placed against these buttresses, also on the outside, so that all the pressure is perfectly balanced.

So seeing these huge "spider legs" in a church or cathedral implies being in front of a Gothic monument.

3. They have different types of vaults.

This is a much more technical feature, but also unmistakable to distinguish Romanesque and Gothic. We will see them exemplified with images from Wikimedia Commons.

In the early Romanesque, the most used type of roof is the barrel vault, the simplest of all alternatives.The barrel vault is the simplest of all the alternatives. It is simply a semicircular arch (that is, semicircular) expanded in space. This type of vault is very typical of the French area.

In the full Romanesque period, the Normans invented another type of vault, the so-called groin vault, which is nothing more than the arched vault.which is nothing more than the crossing of two barrel vaults. This type of vault allows a greater force of containment of the weight of the ceiling.

Finally, at the end of the Romanesque period, we find the ribbed vault. It is the characteristic vault of the later Gothic period.We can see it in all Gothic cathedrals. This type of vault holds all the pressure of the ceiling in the ribs, which then transfer it to the floor. Therefore, the rest of the ceiling is only "filling", since it no longer has the function of support that the Romanesque gave it.

4. From rigidity to naturalness

Romanesque sculpture and painting did not aim to copy nature exactly.. This is one of the ideas that we must have clearer if we want to distinguish quickly one style from the other.

In the first centuries of the Middle Ages, art was only a vehicle to express ideas. Of course, beauty was taken into account (just look at the marvelous miniatures of the codices), but, in the first instance, the Romanesque is a style much more than the Romanesque, Romanesque is a style much more expressive than decorative.. Its images, whether in wood carvings or frescoes, convey a message; each element is placed according to an established order, a scheme, a conceptual logic.

With the arrival of the Gothic, everything is transformed. Or rather, we could say that it is the Gothic style that best expressed this change: little by little, artists become interested in copying reality, the world around them.. It is the triumph of humanism and naturalism. Let's look at some details that will help us understand this process.

The porticoes

In both the Romanesque and Gothic periods, the facades of churches and cathedrals speak to us. It must be taken into account that, during the Middle Ages, the vast majority of the population did not know how to read or write, to make the Bible known, art was used as a vehicle of expression..

In Romanesque porticoes we always find the same structure: the entrance door (sometimes divided in two by a profusely decorated pillar) and, above it, the semicircle in which the tympanum is located. In the tympanum we always see, as the central figure from which all the others are distributed, the Pantocrator or Christ in Majesty, surrounded by a mandorla (almond in Italian) that symbolizes his divine essence, and also serves to highlight his figure in the composition.

Around the Pantocrator it is common to find the Tetramorphos, that is, the representation of the four evangelists: the Eagle of St. John, the Bull or Ox of St. Luke, the Lion of St. Mark and the Angel or Man of St. Matthew. Although the iconography around Christ may vary (there may also be representations of other saints, or even simple geometric figures), the sculptural style in a Romanesque church will always be the same: hieratic, majestic, repetitive and lacking any attempt at naturalistic representation. If we find ourselves in front of such a portico, we will be in front of a Romanesque building.

On the other hand, in the Gothic period everything begins to change. The mentality is no longer the same, it is the time of the cities, of active commerce.. Of the bourgeoisie, of the first bankers. We are no longer facing a rural society, but an eminently urban one. Individualism begins to take its first steps, and with it the revaluation of the human being and his emotions.

In this way, sculptural representations also begin to humanize themselves.. Although the motifs remain the same (Christ in Majesty, representations of the saints, etc.), their appearance has changed considerably. In the sculptures of the Gothic cathedrals (such as the one in Chartres, France), the saints become beings of flesh and blood. Their faces are softened. Their gestures are more natural. The folds of their clothes fall more loosely and realistically. The repetition of schemes becomes less and less forceful, and the artist gradually acquires a certain freedom of representation.

Images of the Virgin

If you have had the opportunity to see a Romanesque carving of the Virgin and Child, you will have noticed that the artist wanted to represent everything except the idea of maternity. Mary is not a woman with her newborn child, but is nothing more than a throne for the little redeemer. The Virgin merely holds the Child, but does not interact with Him.. Jesus seems unaware of his mother's presence; he looks at us and blesses us. He is not a baby, he is not a child: he is God himself.

However, with the advance of the Gothic period and its incipient naturalness, these representations are also transformed. Little by little, Mary is becoming a mother.. And a real mother: she goes from being a mere seat for the Child, to being a mother who plays with her baby, caresses him, kisses him, gives him toys or food. And Jesus, in turn, goes from being God incarnate to being, simply, a child. He turns, looks at his mother, raises his little hand and plays with her cloak, wriggles in her arms like a real baby. It is the triumph of Gothic humanity.

Again, without any doubt: if you see such a representation, you are in front of a gothic sculpture. Because although we find examples somewhat "naturalized" in the Romanesque, and also hieratic examples in the Gothic, the most common is that from the twelfth century, the virgins begin to smile and the children to play and behave like children.

The birth of altarpieces

The Gothic is the time of the great altarpieces. And what is an altarpiece? We could define it as a huge medieval comic, which tells us in a succession of juxtaposed scenes a story, either of the life of Christwhether it is the life of Christ, of the Virgin, or of a saint.

In the Romanesque period, painting was limited to fresco (on the wall), on panel (wood) and on paper (miniatures in books). Already at that time, stories were conceived as "comics", but it was in the Gothic period when this form of expression found its great splendor.

Churches and cathedrals were filled with colorful altarpieces, which boasted bright and lively colors, especially blue, red and red.especially blue, red and gold. The figures represented in them are becoming more and more human, as in the case of the Virgins mentioned above. The artists began to give importance to the landscape, to the spatial elements, something that had not been given the slightest importance in the Romanesque.

In this sense, the Italian Giotto (13th century) established what would be a new art in painting, by giving his scenes a more or less precise location and attempting a hint of perspective and proportion. and attempting a semblance of perspective and proportion..

Far away are the Romanesque tables, where different characters and realities were juxtaposed without any spatial relationship between them. The Gothic is still a medieval language and we cannot think of it as a Renaissance art; it still preserves the fantastic language and maintains the union of worlds, of heaven and earth, of past and present. It is not yet a naturalistic art.

But little by little the artists give more and more importance to the representation of reality, of the world they see with their eyes.And already in the 15th century, in the late Gothic period, the Flemish primitives, among them Van Eyck, immersed themselves definitively in the representation of the sensible reality with a profusion of details.

So, when you go to a church and see a marvelous altarpiece, all shiny with gold and colors, with scenes juxtaposed in the manner of comic strips and a certain hint of realism, you are looking at a Gothic work. Likewise, if you see a painting where the artist has tried to represent (with some difficulty) a perspective and proportion, even if it is rendered in full medieval language, you are also looking at a Gothic work.

If instead what you see is a fresco in the apse of a church, with colossal and majestic figures, absolutely flat and without any sense of space and proportion between them; if above all, in the center of the image stands a magnificent Christ in Majesty, you are probably in front of a Romanesque work.

Bibliographical references

• Conti, F. (1980). How to Recognize Romanesque Art, Barcelona: Ed.
• Gombrich, E.H. (1997). The History of Art. Madrid: Debate.
• Gozzoli, M.C. (1980). How to recognize gothic art. Barcelona: Ed. Médica y Ténica.
• Various authors, (2007). Atlas histórico de la Cultura Medieval, Milan: Jaca Book.