Gothic vs Gothic Revival

ゴシック / ゴシック・リヴァイヴァル

The pointed arch, the ribbed vault, the tracery and the vertical ornament are the same vocabulary in both, so a photograph settles nothing.

How to tell them apart. See whether the repeated ornament matches. Medieval work carries hand cut variation and uneven stone, while the Revival cuts by machine and every unit comes out identical.

Gothic

Gothic — シャルトル大聖堂 北のバラ窓 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainGothic — パリ ノートルダム大聖堂 西正面 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Summons mystery, awe and permanence through verticality and dark ornament. What is described here is the medieval body of work; the nineteenth-century movement that dug it up stands separately as Gothic Revival.

Gothic Revival

Gothic Revival — エドマンド・F・アラス《英国国会議事堂 貴族院議場》1913年 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainGothic Revival — ダーク・ハーパー《ジョージ・ギルバート・スコット設計 セント・パンクラス駅ミッドランド・グランド・ホテル外観》2007年撮影 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0Gothic Revival — Acabashi《ウィリアム・バターフィールド設計 オール・ハロウズ教会内陣》2016年撮影 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

A movement that deliberately chose the pointed arch and the verticality of the Middle Ages again, in objection to industrialization and to classicism. It was not simple nostalgia. It created the idea that choosing a style is an argument about morality and national character.

GothicGothic Revival
Era12th–16th century1740s–1900s
FamilyHistorical StylesHistorical Styles
KindStyleStyle
CuesBlackletter / Pointed forms / Black / Minute ornamentThe pointed arch and an emphasis on the vertical / Rib vaults and pinnacles / Stone used together with iron / Ornament drawn from medieval manuscripts
Best used forHeavy narrative for fashion and music · A sense of ritual and mysteryGiving institutions and scholarship the weight of accumulated time · Giving a place tension and height through verticality
TypeBlackletter for headlines only; keep text faces disciplinedBlackletter for headings only, with a readable face for text.
CompositionVertical axis, symmetry, heraldic centerStrengthen the vertical divisions and lead the eye up and down.
MaterialBlack, dull silver, deep crimson, fine lineworkPair the texture of stone with light passing through colored glass.
CautionNot a pile of horror symbols. Stay aware of period and religious context.Applying a pointed arch is not enough. Unless the vertical runs through the structure you get a theme park.

Put these two together

Historical Styles

IndexStyle