#000446
The Rise of the Gothic
William Anderson; photography by Clive Hicks
*The Rise of the Gothic* is a passionate, beautifully photographed account of how the Gothic cathedral came to be—and why its author thinks it matters. William Anderson traces the emergence of the style from its twelfth-century French origins and walks the reader through the great cathedrals of Europe, explaining the engineering leaps and the spiritual impulses behind the soaring vaults and stained glass. Clive Hicks's photography does much of the persuading, capturing the light and stone that make these buildings overwhelming in person. Anderson makes a bold claim—that Gothic embodies some of the highest states of consciousness humans can reach—while acknowledging its debts to older, pre-Christian myth. It is more meditation than dry survey, and its enthusiasm is infectious. For anyone drawn to medieval architecture, the history of religion, or simply the beauty of cathedrals, it is an absorbing and richly visual book.
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The author
William Anderson (1935–2009) was a British writer on art, architecture, and the imagination, author of books including Castles of Europe and studies of the Green Man and of Dante. He wrote as an enthusiast and interpreter rather than a narrow academic, drawn to the symbolic and spiritual meanings of buildings. His frequent collaborator, the photographer Clive Hicks, supplied the images.
The book
Published by Hutchinson in 1985, The Rise of the Gothic describes the characteristics of the Gothic style, surveys the most famous cathedrals of Europe, and explains how the style developed out of twelfth-century France. Across roughly 200 pages, Anderson's text and Hicks's photography together argue that these buildings crystallize a particular height of human aspiration—while frankly acknowledging their debt to pre-Christian mythic archetypes.
How it reads
It is an interpretive, even devotional book as much as an architectural history; Anderson's grand claims about consciousness are part of its character and won't suit every reader. But its sweep, its clarity about how Gothic works, and above all its photographs make it a rewarding and immersive introduction.
For more context
It pairs with Otto von Simson's The Gothic Cathedral and with Georges Duby's writing on the age of the cathedrals.
Sources - Internet Archive - MW Books
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- William Anderson; photography by Clive Hicks
- Publisher
- Hutchinson
- Place of publication
- London
- Year
- 1985
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Art
- Location
- Colorado
Places