During class on Friday, February 18, 2011 my group discusses impressions: Florence cathedra vs. Salisbury cathedral. In this case, I think these cathedrals can be defined in terms of region. The Florence cathedral was very geometric and very colorful, while the Salisbury cathedral was grey because it is made of stone.
In our group, we spoke about how France is the center of the gothic cathedral world and England, where the Salisbury cathedral is, is closer and more connected to France, so it more closely represents France’s cathedrals. The Salisbury puts more emphasis on its arches and is much more ornamented than the Duomo. It also has flying buttresses, more pictorial vaults, and smaller, less bulky columns that appear to be much lighter than those of the Duomo. The lighting appears to be better in the Salisbury cathedral and the arches are more pointed. The Florence cathedral had circular windows at the base of its dome, along with a separate tower that is not attached to the main building. There is a large pictorial in the Duomo and it seems that there is more use of stained glass windows.
We spoke about why the Italian cathedral might be more colorful than the English one. We said it could be due to the materials available in these different regions of the world, or once again their relation and connection to France and its truly gothic cathedrals. Both cathedrals have “wu-wu’s” pointing straight to the heavens, although the Duomo is more of a dome and the Salisbury is very pointed and sharp. The floor plans of both of the cathedrals are somewhat similar, although the Salisbury has two crosses while the Duomo has one main cross shape. Both cathedrals have triangular patterns over doors, also pointing up to the heavens and rows and stacks of ornamentation on the exterior surface. Each has a central nave and two side isles. This shows that although they are very different in some aspects, they also have very similar fundamental ideas.
This is my rendition of a cognitive map that tells something of the medieval world from which the cathedrals have been drawn. As I mentioned earlier, France was the central area of the gothic cathedral world, and in a sense most other cathedrals worked off of this design. I put the Amiens cathedral, which is located in France, in the center of the map. On either side of it, I included the Salisbury Cathedral, located in England, the Cologne cathedral, located in Germany, the Florence cathedral, located in Italy, and the Cadiz cathedral, located in Spain.
This is my rendition of a cognitive map that tells something of the medieval world from which the cathedrals have been drawn. As I mentioned earlier, France was the central area of the gothic cathedral world, and in a sense most other cathedrals worked off of this design. I put the Amiens cathedral, which is located in France, in the center of the map. On either side of it, I included the Salisbury Cathedral, located in England, the Cologne cathedral, located in Germany, the Florence cathedral, located in Italy, and the Cadiz cathedral, located in Spain.images:
http://www.sharonarts.eu/shartspages/picardy_features.html
https://portfolio.du.edu/pc/port?page=8&uid=2241
http://photos.igougo.com/pictures-photos-p185809-Cologne_Cathedral_Germany.html
http://www.italian-architecture.info/FL/FL-002.htm
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/spain/cadiz-cathedral
