Romanesque (Part Twelve).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Ely Cathedral, England.

Photo: June 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:Tom-.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Central Western Tower, and framing smaller Towers, 

all had Transitional Features, 1180s. 

The Tower, to the left, fell. 

Gothic Porch, 1250s; 

Lantern, 1390s.

English: San Lorenzo Cathedral, Genoa, Italy.

Italiano: Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, Genoa.

Photo: 9 July 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jensens.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The facade of the Cathedral of Genoa 

has both Round, and Pointed, Arches, 

and Paired Windows, a continuing 

Romanesque feature of 

Italian Gothic architecture.

During the 12th-Century, features that were to become typical of Gothic architecture began to appear. It is not uncommon, for example, for a part of building that has been constructed over a lengthy period, extending into the 12th-Century, to have very similar Arcading of both Semi-Circular and Pointed shape, or windows that are identical in height and width, but in which the later ones are Pointed.

This can be seen on the Towers of Tournai Cathedral, and on the Western Towers and facade at Ely Cathedral. Other variations, that appear to hover between Romanesque and Gothic, occur, such as the facade designed by Abbot Suger at the Abbey of Saint-Denis, which retains much that is Romanesque in its appearance, and the facade of Laon Cathedral, which, despite its Gothic form, has Round Arches.

Abbot Suger's innovative Choir, of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, 1140 - 1144, led to the adoption of the Gothic style by Paris and its surrounding area, but other parts of France were slower to take it up, and provincial Churches continued to be built in the heavy manner and rubble stone of the Romanesque, even when the openings were treated with the fashionable Pointed Arch.

Português: Sé de Évora ou Sé Catedral de Évora.

English: The Nave of the Cathedral of Évora, Portugal.

Photo: 19 February 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: João Carvalho.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Nave of the Cathedral of Évora, Portugal, 

has Pointed Arches, but retains the Barrel Vault 

and robust quality of Romanesque.

In England, the Romanesque ground-plan, which, in that country, commonly had a very long Nave, continued to affect the style of building of Cathedrals and those large Abbey Churches, which were also to become Cathedrals at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th-Century. Despite the fact that English Cathedrals were built or rebuilt in many stages, substantial areas of Norman building can be seen in many of them, particularly in the Nave Arcades.

In the case of Winchester Cathedral, the Gothic Arches were literally carved out of the existent Norman Piers. Other Cathedrals have sections of their building which are clearly an intermediate stage between Norman and Gothic, such as the Western Towers of Ely Cathedral, and part of the Nave at Worcester Cathedral. The first truly Gothic building in England is the long Eastern End of Canterbury Cathedral, commenced in 1175.

In Italy, although many Churches, such as Florence Cathedral and Santa Maria Novella, were built in the Gothic style, or utilising the Pointed Arch and Window Tracery, Romanesque features derived from the Roman architectural heritage, such as sturdy Columns with Capitals of a modified Corinthian form, continued to be used. The Pointed Vault was utilised, where convenient, but it is commonly interspersed with Semi-Circular Arches and Vaults, wherever they conveniently fit. The facades of Gothic Churches in Italy are not always easily distinguishable from the Romanesque.

English: The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Laon, France.

Français: La Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon.

Photo: 9 July 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Martoss8.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The facade of Laon Cathedral, 1225. 

A Gothic Cathedral which maintains Rounded Arches 

and Arcading in the Romanesque manner.

Germany was not quick to adopt the Gothic style, and when it did so, in the 1230s, the buildings were often modelled very directly upon French Cathedrals, as Cologne Cathedral was modelled on Amiens Cathedral. The smaller Churches and Abbeys continued to be constructed in a more provincial Romanesque manner, the date only being registered by the Pointed Window openings.

The Romanesque period was a time of great development in the design and construction of defensive architecture. After Churches, and the Monastic buildings with which they are often associated, Castles are the most numerous type of building of the period. While most are in ruins through the action of war and politics, others, like William the Conqueror's White Tower, within the Tower of London, have remained almost intact.

In some regions, particularly Germany, large Palaces were built for Rulers and Bishops. Local Lords built Great Halls, in the countryside, while rich merchants built grand Town Houses. In Italy, city councils constructed Town Halls, while wealthy cities of Northern Europe protected their trading interests with warehouses and commercial premises. All over Europe, dwellers of the town and country built houses to live in, some of which, sturdily constructed in stone, have remained to this day with sufficient of their form and details intact to give a picture of the style of domestic architecture that was in fashion at the time.

Stanford Memorial Church, 

Stanford University, Stanford, California.

An example of Romanesque Revival.

Photo: 7 May 2011.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Author: King of Hearts.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Stanford Memorial Church

at Stanford University, Stanford, California, 

is a loose interpretation of a Romanesque facade.

Examples of all these types of buildings can be found scattered across Europe, sometimes as isolated survivals, like the two merchants' houses on opposite sides of Steep Hill, in Lincoln, England, and sometimes giving form to a whole medieval city like San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. These buildings are the subject of a separate article.

During the 19th-Century, when Gothic Revival architecture was fashionable, buildings were occasionally designed in the Romanesque style. There are a number of Romanesque Revival Churches, dating from as early as the 1830s, and continuing into the 20th-Century, where the massive and "brutal" quality of the Romanesque style was appreciated and designed in brick.

Royce Hall at UCLA,

Los Angeles, California.

An example of Romanesque Revival.

Photo: 17 March 2010.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Author: NativeForeigner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Royce Hall, at UCLA. Inspired by The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, Italy.

The Natural History Museum, London, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, 1879, on the other hand, is a Romanesque Revival building that makes full use of the decorative potential of Romanesque Arcading and architectural sculpture. The Romanesque appearance has been achieved, while freely adapting an overall style to suit the function of the building. The Columns of the foyer, for example, give an impression of incised geometric design similar to those of Durham Cathedral. However, the sources of the incised patterns are the trunks of palms, cycads and tropical tree ferns. The animal motifs, of which there are many, include rare and exotic species.

The type of modern buildings, for which the Romanesque style was most frequently adapted, was the warehouse, where a lack of large windows and an appearance of great strength and stability were desirable features. These buildings, generally of brick, frequently have flattened Buttresses, rising to wide Arches at the upper levels, after the manner of some Italian Romanesque facades. This style was adapted to suit commercial buildings by opening the spaces between the Arches into large windows, the brick walls becoming a shell to a building that was essentially of modern steel-frame construction, the architect Henry Hobson Richardson giving his name to the style, Richardsonian Romanesque. 

Good examples of the style are Marshall Field's Wholesale Store, Chicago, by H.H. Richardson, 1885, and the Chadwick Lead Works in Boston, USA by William Preston, 1887. The style also lent itself to the building of cloth mills, steelworks and power stations.

THIS CONCLUDES THE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON "ROMANESQUE".

COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR YOU: "GOTHIC".

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