Romanesque v. Gothic Architecture

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Recommended: Compare and contrast Romanesque and Gothic art

Romanesque v. Gothic Architecture
Art is constantly changing because of influential people with great ideas. The Romanesque, and Gothic periods are no different. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, many Germanic tribes called the “Goths” adopted Christianity and gave birth to the Gothic art style, which is mostly present in architecture, that spanned from the 1200s to the 1300s. During the 1000s and the1100s the church began taking hold of Europe to become what was known as The Holy Roman empire, this period is known as the Romanesque period or “Period of the Church Triumphant”.
The Romanesque period began around the 1000s at a time when the Holy Roman Empire was beginning to take control over Europe. During these times the Church and the Byzantine empire fought to “liberate” the holy lands, Jerusalem, from the Turks. The art of the period was mostly architecture, and it was heavily influenced by Christianity. Most of the Architecture in this period had many similarities with roman architecture, like arches, columns, and slightly slanted roofs; but much of these attributes aren’t only aesthetic. For example Arches, and columns provide support for the building’s large concrete domes, and the domes and slanted rooftops prevents water from stagnating. The Romanesque style ,unlike the older Roman architecture, is more complex, and decorated. The buildings of this time have a few sculptures, carvings and engravings which decorate the buildings' exterior and interior. In summary the buildings of this time resembled the roman architecture, but added Christian culture to the mix creating a hybrid of the two.
The Gothic period began in the 1200s and ended around the 1300s. Europe during the 1200s was still fighting a war with t...

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...at they look much blockier than Gothic buildings. Romanesque buildings were mostly square and without much windows, but Gothic Buildings had many large stained Glass windows decorating the buildings walls, Tall Peaks soaring from the buildings’ roofs, and dozens of flying buttresses supporting the building. This caused Gothic buildings to look much lighter than the blocky Romanesque buildings of the time. In the end both buildings have strengths and weaknesses in different areas.
To conclude both the Gothic and the Romanesque architectural styles were advanced and influential during their time. Gothic architecture is overly decorated, and very fancy, while Romanesque architecture is much more blocky and conservative. Both are beautiful in their own way and both provided advancements that served as stepping stones for the architects that build today’s great buildings.

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