138. Synagoga, second south-side pillar of the chancel,
St. Peter and St. George Cathedral,
Bamberg (Germany), 1225-1237.

Stone. In situ.

 

 

Gothic Sculpture in England

 

English sculpture began in the middle of the thirteenth century when French artists were invited to England. The English taste preferred the bas relief, which was used for decorating buildings. Gravestone sculptures that closely resembled the deceased were popular among the nobility and wealthy townsfolk. A characteristic of English sculpture is walking figures. Typically English are also the magnificent, small works of decoration, carving and stonemasonry that masterfully ornament countless vault spandrels, pillar capitals, arcades and more. English sculpture reached its peak in the middle of the fourteenth century, soon before its demise. This is clearly visible in tomb sculptures; their lively, natural expression became stiff and expressionless.

 

Gothic Sculpture in Germany

 

The ecclesiastic sculptures that were created in Germany during the Gothic era cannot compare in number or quality to those in France. The reasons for this lie in the over all development of German sculpture, but also because of Germany’s political conditions. After the dazzling political period of the twelfth to thirteenth centuries, the country increasingly disintegrated, which significantly curtailed the expenditure for church decoration. Sculpture had reached its highest point in Germany when Gothic architecture first spread. This highest display of strength was naturally followed by a gradual recession, which ultimately ended in utter weakness.

 

During the initial Gothic phase, which was still close to the Romanesque, a variety of excellent sculptures were created that combined the majestic character of the Romanesque style with the new style’s stronger aesthetic sense and natural truth. When Gothic architecture’s completed system arrived in Germany, it brought with it a new attitude to sculpture as a subservient art-form. This found acceptance wherever new building forms were adopted, namely in the two big cathedrals of Freiburg and Strasbourg. In their initial phase these new building forms had soulful expression and an inner feeling. Already in the second half of the fourteenth century German sculpture had declined, at least in the use of external church decorations. Artists became craftspeople and art retreated to the interior of churches, where it did not have to succumb to the architectural guidelines as much.

 

Germany developed its own version of the Late Gothic, which differs significantly from that of France and Italy. An exceptional example is the Rottgen Pietà, which an unknown artist created near Mainz sometime in the first half of the fourteenth century. This intimate scene of lament shows the bloody, crucified Christ, with drastically exaggerated stigmata, in the arms of His mother. It is a vivid image of torment that intends to inspire prayer rather than to achieve formal perfection. Its mystical power is typical for the Middle Ages, but its moving depiction of suffering makes it timeless.