The Gothic Period
The gothic style arrived in Spain as a result of European influence in 12th century when late Romanesque alternated with a few expressions of pure Gothic architecture like the Cathedral of Ávila. The High Gothic arrived in all its strength through the Way of Saint James in the 13th century, with some of the purest Gothic cathedrals, with German and French influence: the cathedrals of Burgos, León and Toledo.
The most important post-13th century Gothic styles in Spain are the Levantino and Isabelline Gothic. Levantino Gothic is characterised by its structural achievements and their unification of space, with masterpieces as La Seu (cathedral) in Palma de Mallorca, Valencia's silk market, (Lonja de Valencia), and Santa Maria del Mar (Barcelona).
Isabelline Gothic, created during the times of the Catholic Monarchs, was part of the transition to Renaissance architecture, but also a strong resistance to Italian Renaissance style. Highlights of the style include Saint John of The Kings in Toledo and the Royal Chapel of Granada.
See also: Isabelline GothicRead more about this topic: Spanish Architecture
Famous quotes containing the words gothic and/or period:
“The gothic is singular in this; one seems easily at home in the renaissance; one is not too strange in the Byzantine; as for the Roman, it is ourselves; and we could walk blindfolded through every chink and cranny of the Greek mind; all these styles seem modern when we come close to them; but the gothic gets away.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“We are now going through a period of demolition. In morals, in social life, in politics, in medicine, and in religion there is a universal upturning of foundations. But the day of reconstruction seems to be looming, and now the grand question is: Are there any sure and universal principles that will evolve a harmonious system in which we shall all agree?”
—Catherine E. Beecher (1800–1878)