The interior of the room is in the Gothic style. Interior design in the Gothic style. Furniture and other interior items

The Gothic style in the interior originated in Western Europe during the dark and gloomy Middle Ages. You probably wrote more than one essay on this topic at school.

It has come down to our time as, perhaps, the most unusual direction in the interior design of an apartment, restaurant, cafe or house, combining bright colors, grandeur and grace.

To get a better idea of \u200b\u200bwhat the Gothic style is in the interior, just look at photographs of churches, cathedrals, castles and palaces of the nineteenth century: the design includes colored stained glass windows, brickwork, archery towers, loopholes, drawbridges, fireplaces , wall painting ...

Precisely because of such a scale of the Gothic style, it is impossible to fit it within one room or room. To recreate all the majesty of the Gothic, you need a lot of space. An average apartment is not suitable for these purposes: a small area and low ceilings do not at all contribute to the creation of an atmosphere of something comprehensive, large-scale, monumental.

Interior features

If the size of an apartment, cafe, restaurant or house allows you to touch the culture of medieval Europe, then it is better to start with the planning of the future interior. First, you need to decide on the functional areas and make a description of them.

So, for example, for a living room it is necessary to highlight several areas:

• rest zone;
• fireplace;
• guest room;
• dining room.

For the bedroom, this will be:

• zone directly for sleeping;
• functional area where wardrobes with clothes will be;
• wake-up area and morning toilet with an indispensable dressing table and mirror.

In fact, there can be many more such zones. It all depends on the preferences of the owner, his habits and, of course, the area of \u200b\u200bthe room. It is important to take into account the need to highlight a particular area. A small presentation with slides containing photographs, sketches and sketches of the future interior will help to determine the zoning of the space. The presence of unused space in everyday life can ruin the entire design idea. As soon as the space of a room, apartment or house is divided into zones and all the features are taken into account, you can start decorating.

Walls

The decoration and interior design of a house, cafe or restaurant in a Gothic style in a modern home does not imply uniformity of wall decor. Each area of \u200b\u200bthe room is individually designed. For example, the fireplace area and the space around the living room windows, as a rule, are decorated with brickwork with the effect of aging.

The seating area is decorated in calm tones, and the dining area is the brightest.

Natural wood, stone and brick should be used as the main materials. Metal is used only as decoration: furniture handles, fireplace grates, poker racks, door hinges, metal elements on the body and furniture facades. That being said, chrome gloss should be avoided in design. Metal with a copper sheen is also suitable, but it is better to use ordinary iron, brass or cast iron.

Frescoes, paintings and other decorative elements will be useful in the design. For windows, it is advisable to use large and heavy curtains. The thing is that it was very problematic to heat medieval castles, and therefore the stone walls were covered with a large number of tapestries, and the windows were insulated with thick curtains that did not allow cold air to pass through. In principle, even a school essay can give an idea of \u200b\u200bthe living conditions of those times.

Ceiling

To create a gothic style, the ceiling must meet two requirements: it must be tall and beautiful. The peculiarities of the Gothic interior of the living room, like any other room, are that the main attention is paid to the upper plane. In order for the room to correspond to the best traditions of medieval Europe, it would be appropriate to create the effect of stone or brickwork on the ceiling, complementing it with stucco, decorative vaults, ceiling painting and a huge heavy chandelier.

In some cases, you can replace the chandelier with a stained glass window made of colored glass, hiding the light sources behind it.

Floor

To install the floor of a living room or other room in a Gothic style, you can resort to one of the following two methods:

• use stone, for example, marble, or ceramic tiles as the main material. And cover the whole thing with carpets;
• make the floor wood. For this, dark wood species should be used.

At the same time, attention should not be focused on the flooring. The Gothic style in the interior is not a presentation of modern materials, but an immersion in antiquity. Ornaments, drawings and other decorations should be avoided.

Furniture and other interior items

It should be remembered that Gothic design implies the harmony of the entire interior of an apartment, house, cafe or restaurant. All interior items should not only be in their place, but also correspond to it. At a cursory glance, all cabinets should seem to be an extension of the wall, its integral part. The main decoration of the furniture will be metal hinges, handles and other functional elements made of dark metal.

It will not be superfluous to complement the design of a living room or another room with a chest or chests. If you have ever written an essay on the topic of the Middle Ages, you should remember that chests were used as the main piece of furniture for storing things. At the same time, the chest should not resemble a cartoon treasure decorated with gold and red velvet. These furnishings should be dark, gloomy, with metal padding and possibly a heavy padlock.

In general, furniture design should create a sense of strength, reliability and durability inherent in medieval castles. Massive bases should be in harmony with graceful carvings and curly metal elements. It is quite appropriate to make several secret cabinets, niches and pull-out shelves. This will add some mystery to the interior. And it will allow you to hide things from prying eyes, the presentation of which would be inappropriate.

Lighting

Lighting a room in the Gothic style is perhaps the most important and most difficult thing to implement. Most of the space should be submerged in twilight.

A large chandelier or stained-glass window on the ceiling should be used as the main light source, behind which the lighting fixtures will be hidden. At the same time, the most illuminated area should be the dining room.

For a restaurant or cafe, it will be advisable to light the room in the manner of a banquet hall. The functional area and the recreation area should be in semi-darkness. Near reading chairs and on desks, it is permissible to use table lamps on carved metal supports or made in the form of oil lamps.

Video gallery

The culmination of the development of medieval European art is the restrained mystical Gothic, which replaced the lush luxury of the Romanesque style. Bright mosaic stained glass windows, spire needles directed upwards, gilding shine, expression, symphony of harmonious combination of light, glass and stone - this is how it can be figuratively characterized in the interior. The term originated in sunny Italy during the Renaissance. This is how the Romans ironically called the primitivism of the barbarian culture of the receding Middle Ages. At first, this word was used in literature when the author wanted to denote distorted Latin in the text with some degree of irony. Later, this term began to call a certain architecture, which in a nutshell can be called eerily majestic.

It is not so easy to reproduce the Gothic style in modern dwellings, but some of its elements are quite often used when creating projects of country houses.

In the construction of Gothic buildings and their decoration, expensive natural materials are used:

• a rock;
• marble;
• oak, pine, spruce, walnut, cedar and juniper wood.

The decor of a Gothic house always implies the presence, therefore, it is decorated with:

• tiled mosaic;
• multi-colored stained-glass windows;
• curly painted or gold-plated stucco;
• chests covered with natural leather;
• an abundance of bronze and metal fittings.

Color solution

Rich colors are an integral part of the Gothic style. As a rule, the color scheme of a Gothic room is based on concentrated reds, browns, yellows and blues. Stylistic accents are made with gilding and silver. And for introducing contrasting elements into the interior, purple, ruby, green or bluish-black colors are great.

The main attributes are a wrought-iron spiral staircase, a fireplace with a wrought-iron grate and colorful artistic stained-glass windows. Colorful artistic stained-glass windows with built-in interior lighting can become an effective decoration of the walls. Images of a Gothic rose, lily, shamrock, grape leaves or cruciferous flower on stained glass windows or applied to a fabric, wood or stone surface are characteristic features of the Gothic.

In the dawn era, easel painting and book miniatures were actively developed. Therefore, guild craft items are typical here, such as:

• wood carving;
• stone carving;
• ceramics;
• glass products;
• hardware;
• miniature ivory sculptures.

Furniture

The room must have high sideboards and double-leaf wardrobes with panels, palace beds and high-backed chairs imitating architectural fragments of knightly castles and majestic medieval churches.

A separate place in the Gothic interior is given to chests, which, if necessary, can serve as tables, beds and benches. It is customary to put the chests one on top of the other, decorating the resulting structure with lancet arches, in order to thus obtain an improvised cabinet.

A Gothic table should have a fairly deep drawer and a significantly protruding tabletop, the base of which is two supports. And under the folding table top, many tiny drawers and compartments should be hidden from prying eyes.

Massive Gothic furniture, as a rule, is made of dark wood, decorated with exquisite carvings and various wrought iron elements.

The ceiling in a Gothic room should be high enough, because Gothic is, first of all, an upward-looking architecture. If the design requires it, an imitation of carved beams is made on the ceiling.

The walls are usually finished with wood paneling or decorative stone, decorated with bright Gothic paintings, multi-colored tile mosaics and antique tapestries.

Of course, the presence of huge high windows, for which the walls are just a small frame, multicolored stained glass windows, the play of natural light and a large stained glass rose window above the entrance to the room creates a unique "face" of the Gothic. The lancet-shaped stained glass windows are considered the most recognizable feature of the Gothic style. Doors should be oak and paneled.

Photo

As you can see, contrary to popular belief, the Gothic is not synonymous with gloom and severity, on the contrary, it can be bright and light, spiritualized, irrational, directed to spiritual heights. Gothic stylization turns an ordinary apartment into a mysterious castle, in which the kitchen becomes the laboratory of the magician-alchemist, the dining room becomes a magnificent banquet hall, and the usual bedroom becomes a luxurious bedchamber.

If you have dreamed of living in a beautiful castle since childhood, let your imagination run wild and feel free to start design experiments.

Video

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with a video about the history of the creation of the Gothic style.

The dark beauty of ancient castles with libraries of thousands of books and stained glass windows is embodied in the modern Gothic style in the interior. A slightly gloomy, but beautiful fairy tale is a youth's dream, which can now be settled at home. If magic lives in your heart, and the usual apartment designs reflect only boring reality, take matters into your own hands!

It is not necessary to follow the bored standards, our article will show you how to turn an ordinary modern apartment into real royal chambers. And the program "Interior Design 3D" will help to think over the situation. With it, you can independently develop a visual project.

Mystical and beautiful gothic style

Features of the Gothic style

Gothic is often associated with a kind of black castle, vampires and ghosts, with a cemetery theme and the like, not the most pleasant things. However, this image of creepy films and otherworldly photos does not give a complete and correct idea of \u200b\u200bthe style.

Gothic is the splendor of stained glass windows, luxury and medieval beauty. It is very difficult to confuse a style with any other, here are its characteristic features:

• ✔ - one of the most important markers of the Gothic style, a characteristic technique. Unlike the usual rounded arches, the pointed arches are pointed at the top. Such a construction resembles oriental architecture, and it is no coincidence. It was from there that the idea was borrowed, after which pointed vaults, windows, doorways became an integral part of the Gothic style.

Pointed arches of a gothic cathedral

• ✔ High ceilings. Unfortunately, if your apartment does not have such luxury, it is better to refuse the Gothic style. It requires a lot of space and a sense of elevation, which is absolutely impossible in an apartment with ceilings below 2.6 - 2.7 meters.


• ✔ Big windows. Remember the Gothic cathedrals with huge windows directed upwards and you will understand that this style is simply unthinkable without this architectural element. The ideal option is lancet windows with colorful stained-glass windows.

Of course, in a standard apartment with standard frames, it is difficult to create the desired shape, pointed at the top. This is where the mastery of illusion comes in. If you hang the curtains in such a way that they are connected at an acute angle, then from the inside you will get the impression of a pointed arch.

Curtains, hung in a special way, create an imitation of an arch

• ✔ The feeling of a fairy tale with noble knights, generous kings and beautiful princesses is difficult to create without chic armchairs, solid carved chests and beds under painted canopies. Beautiful and expensive semi-antique furniture is an essential element of the interior.

Gothic style is impossible without luxurious furniture

• ✔ Fine little things. The Gothic style consists not only of tall, like a castle, ceilings and solid sofas. Small but iconic details like antique vases or heavy candelabra help create the right atmosphere.

Gothic style finishes

Gothic design is not an easy one, you have to make an effort and connect your imagination to recreate it in an ordinary modern apartment or private house. But you can get acquainted with a lot of examples of successful implementation, get inspired by them and get down to business. And we will give you a few ideas and talk about what you should pay attention to when thinking over the layout.

Walls. If you want a complete immersion in historical realities, then draping the walls with fabrics, for example, velvet or cloth, would be a good option. Of course, this is not the most practical solution, since it will cost a lot, and the coating will get dirty, absorb moisture and collect dust. A compromise can be the usual painting or pasting with textured wallpaper with floral patterns.

Light version of the Gothic interior with light wallpaper

Decorate the walls with tapestries or themed carpets to give the setting a more resemblance to late medieval chambers. But familiar pictures are rarely used.

A Gothic-style room is often zoned with different wall finishes. For example, decorate the corner of the living room where you are going to slowly drink coffee at a table in calm tones, make an imitation of brickwork around the fireplace, and let the place for receiving guests be more lively and colorful.

Ceiling. It is unlikely that today anyone pays attention to the ceilings - they are almost the same everywhere. But to create a Gothic interior you have to try - the usual whitewash, simple tension and hinged options will not work here. Complex structures resembling an open umbrella with stucco and paintings are not always available in an apartment, but it is quite possible to make a spectacular stylization. Themed prints, decorative vaults, exposed beams will come to the rescue.

Ceiling design option

Floor. Antique or semi-antique. No unpretentious laminates! Sophisticated ornate patterns of art parquet or mosaic ceramic tiles are the most suitable options. It is advisable to choose finishing materials in dark colors - this is a tribute to history, since during the heyday of the Gothic it was problematic to care for light floorboards.

Intricate patterns on the floor are a sign of the Gothic style

In the interior, carpets and paths are appropriate, which, on the one hand, will emphasize the luxury of the home, and, on the other hand, will soften the severity and pretentiousness of the situation.

Gothic furniture

If you want a complete immersion in the gothic atmosphere, it is important to think over everything inside and out. Not only follow the rules of finishing, but also choose the right furniture. We recall the lancet architectural elements; the motive of aspiration upward should also be present in the design of interior items. Furniture should be purchased only of solid and high quality, suitable for the general style of the environment. Please note that there is a sufficient number of wooden elements decorated with lace carvings.

Beautiful carved furniture will emphasize luxury and nobility

The bedroom in the Gothic style has wide massive beds with beautiful colorful canopies and mysterious screens. The living room can accommodate carved wardrobes, chairs and armchairs with backs reminiscent of the royal throne. Install a Luxurious Antique Bronze Chest. In general, furniture should be solid, heavy, with carved patterns, upholstered in expensive fabric. It is worth giving preference to dark wood species.

Decor

Exquisite, antiquated details make up an amazing mosaic of the Gothic interior. Without tastefully selected accessories, the design will not be complete. Not only guests, but also the owners themselves will be pleased to look at the quaint little things that have settled on the shelves and countertops.

Cups, sculptures, antiques - matching decor accessories

Pick up antique vases, metal trays, candelabra, crosses, small sculptures. Knightly paraphernalia like crossed swords and a shield will look great. Or maybe you even install an entire armor rack?

Surprise your guests with real knightly armor!

Tapestries, stained glass, a fireplace behind a forged grate, and a throne chair are also iconic Gothic objects. Do not skimp on decorating elements, they allow you to finally immerse yourself in a fairy tale.

The iconic element of the Gothic style is the stained glass rose or rosette. It is a round window divided into parts by a curly binding. A flower or star pattern is formed in the center. Such decor can be used to decorate not only windows, but also walls or even a ceiling.

Stained glass rose in the interior

Colors commonly used in the Gothic style

Despite the fact that the Gothic style is firmly associated with a gloomy, slightly eerie atmosphere, one should not assume that the only colors possible in the interior are black, crimson and dark gray. Forget about stereotypes! Saturated, beautiful colors are not prohibited at all. On the contrary, red, brown, yellow, green and blue shades in their bright manifestations will perfectly complement the interior. In fact, even white and beige is not a taboo. All the salt is in the general concept, which can be conveyed by various means.

Gothic bedroom in shades of green and brown

The walls can be made monochromatic, diluted with bright accents in the form of colored stained glass windows, colorful tapestries and tapestries, luxurious furniture upholstery. Use silver and gilding for more chic.

This style cannot be called universal. For example, in a children's room, it is hardly appropriate. Nevertheless, it can be chosen by all those who are not afraid to deviate from the standards in the interior. A luxurious throne room-like living room, a darkened bedroom with a king-size bed or a room for a teenager who is interested in Gothic culture will look great.

Ready to try your hand at this impressive design? Then it's time to turn to the 3D Interior Design program. With its help, you can try various options for decorating the premises and choose the one that will be closest. Next, we will tell you how to prepare a Gothic-style home project.

Step 1. Installing the program. and double click on the downloaded file. Wait a while while the software is installed on your computer. Now start 3D Interior Design using the shortcut that appears on your desktop. Click "Create Project" to get started.

Step 2. Preparing the premises. With the help of the handy tool "Draw a room" we accurately arrange the walls according to their real dimensions. Add windows and doors from the catalog. Remember that Gothic tends to be arches. You can also make stairs, columns, and hang chandeliers and lamps.

Ready-made premises without finishing

You can make the process of creating a layout easier for yourself if you live in a typical house. The program offers templates for apartments, from which you can choose the one you want and go straight to setting up materials.

Step 3. We carry out the finishing. Now the most interesting and crucial part lies ahead. You need to choose the wallpaper, flooring, color of windows and doors. To go to the finishing settings, select the room you are going to work with and click the "Properties" tab. Find the right finishing materials to decorate your room in a Gothic style.

Do not forget that it is preferable to choose a parquet floor from dark types of wood. On the ceiling, use the rectangle model found under Furniture\u003e Miscellaneous to create a beam structure.

Gothic-style room

Step 4. Choosing furniture. In the right pane, find the appropriate section. In the program catalog you will find a large number of interior items for the living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, study, hallway and other premises. Choose your favorites and place them in the rooms.

Kitchen furniture catalog built into the program

Adjust the size of furniture, rotate, change materials of manufacture through the "Properties" tab. Remember that upholstery and woods must be expensive and noble. Couldn't find matching ones in the base directory? Download textures from the web and upload via the "Add your materials" button.

Living room design in the Gothic style, developed in the program

Step 5. Saving and printing the project. After finishing work, go to the "Virtual visit" tab to evaluate the result from the inside. If it suits you, save and, if necessary, print the layout on paper. To do this, on the top panel there are icons with a floppy disk (Save) and a printer (Print). You can adjust the position of the image on the sheet, as well as select the desired view.

Preparing to print a project

It is not easy to create a Gothic style in the interior of an apartment, but the efforts will be more than rewarded. It is a truly luxurious, expressive and memorable design that will impress guests every time. Every day, returning home, you will immerse yourself in the amazing atmosphere of knightly tournaments, unbridled feasts, magnificent dresses and romance. Create your own personal fairy tale with the 3D Interior Design program!

Interiors in historical styles always attract attention. A room in a Gothic style is a wonderful confirmation that graceful and majestic Gothic can be organically embodied in the design of the premises of a modern apartment. For this, of course, you should adhere to some recommendations. But first, let's look at the features of the Gothic style.

Gothic style in the interior is graceful and noble materials and furniture, tending to the ceiling

Notre Dame Cathedral is a fine example of the Gothic architectural style

Gothic is a great achievement of Western European architecture. This style originated in the 12th century in France. The most famous architectural structure in the Gothic style is the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedrals in Chartres and Reims are also recognized as the standards of the purest Gothic. These magnificent buildings are characterized by:

• visual "lightness" of the structure, achieved with the help of pointed arches, soaring spiers and other tricks;
• vertical composition;
• ribbed vaults;
• complex frame support system;
• arched windows and colored stained glass;
• openwork tents and portals;
• powerful columns as supporting structural elements;
• inner space permeated with light;
• expressiveness of decorative elements;
• general proportionality and harmony.

Arched windows with stained-glass windows - an attribute of the Gothic style in the interior

The vaulted ceiling is typical of the Gothic living room

The room in the Gothic style is dominated by openwork elements and print

The late period of the development of the style is also called "flaming" Gothic: for the aspiration upward, similar to a flame, dynamism and plasticity of forms.

All forms in the living room in the Gothic style tend upwards

In the Middle Ages, mainly cathedrals were built in the Gothic style - the centers of religious life in any city in Western Europe. In the Gothic era, cathedrals became symbols of the universe created by God, its harmonious structure. The general "symphony" was also embodied by the synthesis of all arts, characteristic of this architectural style: architecture, sculpture, theater, music, painting, arts and crafts.

The walls in the living room in the Gothic style can be complemented by frescoes

Gradually, the Gothic style became universal and penetrated into many spheres of life, including the decoration of the house, embodied in interior items and decor.

Gothic is especially interesting in the art of furniture. This was facilitated by the invention of sawmills, the ability to make pieces of furniture not from thick logs, but thin boards. Furniture in the Gothic style is characterized by:

• an abundance of decorative details: spiers, turrets, sculptural figures, "Gothic roses";
• openwork carving;
• forged items.

The living room in the Gothic style is characterized by an abundance of elegant accessories

Forged carved elements perfectly complement the interior in the Gothic style

In general, Gothic furniture is solid and beautiful in its own way. The buildings and decoration of the house in the Gothic style significantly changed the picture of the world of medieval man, subordinating it to the algebra and geometry of divine design. The Gothic crisis is associated with the establishment of a "new sweet style" by Dante and other creators of the Renaissance.

Gothic-style furniture is massive and solid, yet elegant at the same time

Gothic style in interior design

The Gothic style remains in demand today. Now it is chosen not only by connoisseurs of medieval aesthetics, but also by followers of the recently super popular "Gothic" subculture. Therefore, when choosing an interior style, it is necessary to clarify: whether the interior design will be made in the spirit of a youth trend or stylized as medieval Gothic.

The interior of the room in the style of the Gothic subculture combines the atmosphere of the afterlife and medieval Gothic

A room in a Gothic style, created for the lover of antiquity, should contain the following elements of decoration:

1. Arched window and doorways.
2. Colored stained-glass windows. Making such stained-glass windows yourself is quite troublesome and laborious. It's expensive to buy. Tip: Use an adhesive tape that simulates stained glass.
3. Fireplace decorated with carvings and faced with stone. If you cannot equip a real fireplace, you can install a false fireplace.
4. Heavy and dense textiles, carpets.

Colored stained glass windows will revive the Gothic interior

Gothic style fireplace can be beautifully decorated with carvings and spiers

To create an interior in the Gothic style, thick curtains are suitable

Decorating a room in a Gothic style

Making an interior in the Gothic style requires special care and considerable financial costs.

Important! A gothic room should be very spacious. Only in this case can you feel the splendor and grace of this style.

Gothic style is suitable for spacious rooms

Gothic does not tolerate plastic and other artificial materials. When decorating a room in this style, you must use only natural, natural materials:

• wood;
• metal;
• natural fabrics;
• marble;
• natural stone.

The Gothic style includes the use of natural materials and stone

In the interior design of a Gothic room, when finishing the ceiling, ceiling beams and ceilings often remain uncovered. Also, the ceiling is decorated with openwork paintings and sculptural elements. The chandelier should be massive and metal.

Massive chandelier in the Gothic style

There are three options for floor finishing:

• cover the floor with ceramic tiles or stone;
• cover with carpets;
• make the floor wood.

In the interior of the Gothic style, you can put carpets on the floor, and decorate the walls with medieval accessories

The walls can be painted with genre scenes from the life of knights and beautiful ladies. Plots with dragons, unicorns and other wonderful creatures from medieval bestiaries are also appropriate. An interesting solution - "fish bones" - relief ribs emerging from the wall and closing under the ceiling. This creates a tall and lancet dome.

The lancet ceiling is actively used in the Gothic style

The color scheme of the premises in the Gothic style

A Gothic room doesn't have to be gloomy. This style has had no luck twice. For the first time that the humanists of the Renaissance proclaimed the Gothic as a barbaric style inherent in a semi-savage nomadic people - the Goths. In the second, when the gloomy aesthetics of other Goths, representatives of the modern subculture, began to be associated with him.

However, one can also recall the beginning of the 19th century - the heyday of the genre of the Gothic novel, full of eerie and mystical secrets. The main characters of this "Gothic" are vampires, werewolves and other Frankensteins.

Deep, noble and dark shades are suitable for decorating a Gothic interior.

The historical Gothic style is more harmonious, although exaltation and expression are characteristic (especially in the later period) for him.

Advice! Gothic-specific dark tones, with an equilibrium alternation with lighter shades, are able to create an atmosphere of romantic mystery, but in no way unambiguous gloom and severity.

Gloomy Gothic style can be alternated with natural and even light shades

A Gothic style room can be done using the following colors and shades:

• purple;
• purple;
• cherry;
• ruby;
• dark brown;
• blue;
• dark green;
• gold;
• bright red;
• cream;
• beige;
• sand;
• orange;
• dairy;
• silvery.

The interior is significantly enlivened by bright and colorful stained-glass windows in the window and doorways, filling the room with light and energy.

Interior items and decor in the Gothic room

Properly selected interior items and accessories play an important role in shaping the image of a room in the Gothic style. Furniture should be wooden and massive, richly decorated with carvings and with forged elements - legs or backs. Furniture types:

• high-backed chairs;
• tables with marble trim;
• chests;
• buffets;
• double-leaf wardrobes;
• benches;
• canopy beds.

Gothic furniture decorated with beautiful carvings

Other items and accessories include:

• mirrors and paintings in massive frames;
• forged Products;
• tall candlesticks;
• fireplace;
• pendant lights;
• sculptures.

Gothic style mirrors - massive structures, forged or carved

The Gothic style is considered "high", so the interior is decorated with sculpture and paintings

The windows are decorated with thick and heavy curtains fixed on wooden or metal eaves. A tapestry with scenes from medieval life will be a good authentic element in the interior.

Note! In addition to stained glass windows, flickering candles, reflections of fire in the fireplace, play of shadows and light play an important role in creating a mysterious atmosphere in rooms in the Gothic style.

Candles can be used to form a gothic interior, which will add antiquity to the room.

The Gothic style in the interior allows you to create unusual and expressive images full of mysteries and secrets. This style will undoubtedly delight romantics and mystics, lovers of travel in time and space.

I like

Romanesque art and the prevailing style were replaced by Gothic art ( gothic; from ital. gotico - Gothic, by the name of the Germanic tribe is ready). Term gothic as a synonym for barbarism, it was first used by the people of the Renaissance to characterize medieval art (as opposed to Roman art), which did not follow the traditions and stylistic features of antiquity and therefore was not of interest to contemporaries.

Increased exaltation and interest in feelings distinguish this art from romance. Between romanesque and gothic style it is difficult to draw a chronological boundary.

The flourishing of the Romanesque style, which falls on the XII century, simultaneously served as an impetus for the emergence of another style with different characteristic aesthetic ideals and principles of the addition of forms. In art history, it is customary to distinguish early, mature (high) and late (so-called flaming) Gothic. High Gothic reached its heights in the XIII century, the late - in the XIV-XV centuries. Gothic art, developing in countries dominated by the Christian Church, remained predominantly cult in purpose and religious in topic. It is characterized by a symbolic and allegorical type of thinking and the conventionality of artistic language. The Gothic inherited the primacy of architecture in the art system and traditional types of buildings from the Romanesque style. A special place in the art of Gothic was occupied by the cathedral - the highest example of the synthesis of architecture, sculpture and painting.

Gothic style in architecture

Cathedral in Strasbourg. End of XII-XV centuries. France - Strasbourg Cathedral Cathedral in Cologne. Start of construction in 1248, completed in 1842-1880. Germany - Cologne Cathedral Cathedral in Reims, west facade. Construction began in 1211, completed in the 15th century. Notre Dame Cathedral, west facade. 1163 - mid. XIV century. France - Notre Dame Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, pointed arches. England - Salisbury Cathedral Exeter Cathedral. 1112 -1400 England - Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Exeter Lincoln Cathedral of the Virgin Mary. 1185-1311 England - The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln Cathedral of Chartres, north portal. Start of construction in 1194, consecrated in 1260 France - Chartres Cathedral ... the western (royal) portal, completed in 1150. The sculptures are a visible transition from Romanesque to Gothic

The gigantic space of the cathedral, directed upward, the subordination of sculpture to the rhythms of architectural divisions, stone carving of decorative ornaments, painting of stained-glass windows had a strong emotional impact on believers.

Urban architectural ensembles included religious and secular buildings, fortifications, bridges, etc. The main city square was often built up with residential buildings with arcades, in the lower floors of which were located trade and warehouse premises. Along the streets diverging from the square and along the embankments, two- and three-storey houses were built, often with high gables.

The cities were surrounded by powerful walls with passage towers. Castles gradually turned into complex complexes of fortresses, palaces and cultural structures.

Usually a cathedral was erected in the city center, which was the cultural center of the entire city. Divine services were held there, theological debates were held, mysteries were played out, and meetings of the townspeople were held. In that era, construction was carried out not only by the church, but also by the community through professional workshops of artisans.

The most significant buildings and, above all, cathedrals, were built at the expense of the townspeople. Many generations have often worked on the creation of one temple. The grandiose Gothic cathedrals were in stark contrast to the Romanesque monastic churches. They are tall, richly decorated and very roomy.

The dynamism and picturesqueness of the cathedrals began to define the character of the urban landscape. Following the cathedral, city houses rushed upward. The entire composition of the cathedral, with the rhythm of all its main elements becoming more frequent from bottom to top, was generated by the religious, idealistic aspiration of the soul to heaven. The Gothic cathedral developed a basilical type of building, in which all its elements began to obey a single style system. The main difference between a Gothic cathedral and a Romanesque one is a stable frame system, in which the main role is played by the cross-ribbed lancet vaults, laid out of stone, and lancet arches, which largely determine the internal and external appearance of the cathedral.

Frame arches formed at the intersection of the cross vaults, the so-called ribs (from the French nervure - rib, fold) in mature Gothic, connected the supports of the spans of the central and side naves, where for each rectangular span of the main nave there were two square spans of the side naves.

The forms of architecture began to express the Christian idea of \u200b\u200bspirituality, ascension, striving upward, to heaven. A feature of the Gothic style is the dematerialization of the form. Design and material properties no longer determine the visual appearance. Entering the temple, a person saw a row of thin, upward-going columns, which ended with a bundle of even thinner ribs of the vaults (ribs), as it were, soaring in height. In fact, these huge vaults were pressing on special pillars-pillars hidden in a bundle of thin columns. The side brace of the vaults of the main nave was extinguished not by walls, which were a solid stone lace, but through flying buttresses by massive pillars-buttresses, carried out and supporting the frame of the buildings and therefore invisible to a person inside the cathedral. Here the visual image did not coincide with the work of the real structure. If the design worked for compression, then the visual image expressed the idea of \u200b\u200bascension, the aspiration of the soul to the sky.

The complex frame structure of the Gothic cathedral, the highest manifestation of the architectural and construction art of that time, made it possible to overcome the massiveness of Romanesque buildings, to lighten the walls and vaults, to ensure the unity and interconnection of all elements of its object-spatial environment.

Gothic originated in the northern part of France (Ile-de-France) in the middle of the XII century, reached its peak in the first half of the XIII century. and lasted until the mid-20s. XVI century. Stone Gothic cathedrals received their classical form in France. As a rule, these are 3-5-nave basilicas with a transverse nave-transept and a semicircular bypass of the choir (deambula-thorium), which is adjacent to radial chapels (crown of chapels). The impression of movement upward and towards the altar is created by the rows of slender columns and the rise of pointed pointed arches, the accelerated rhythm of the arcades of the upper gallery (triforia). The picturesque interior of the cathedral is primarily due to the contrast between the illumination of the main and semi-dark side naves and colored stained-glass windows.

The facades of cathedrals are decorated with pointed arches and such compositional and figurative-plastic elements of architectural decor as patterned vimperg, phial, crabb, etc. Statues on consoles in front of the columns of the portals and in the upper arched gallery, reliefs on the capitals of the columns, plinths and tympans of the portals form a kind of multi-plot picture, which, as it were, shows various episodes of Scripture, allegorical images, real characters, etc.

Town halls begin to be built on the main squares of cities, which are usually decorated. Castles are converted into palaces (for example, the papal palace in Avignon, 1334-1352). In the XV century. a type of rich town house-mansion arose, the so-called. hotel (for example, the Jacques Coeurre hotel in Bourges, 1453, the Cluny hotel in Paris, the end of the XIV century, etc.).

At this time, there is an enrichment and complication of the synthesis of arts, which was already outlined in the novel, which reflected the medieval idea of \u200b\u200bthe real and the afterlife. The main type of fine art was sculpture, which received a new plastic interpretation in the Gothic style. The static Romanesque sculpture was replaced by a dynamic Gothic one, where the depicted figures seem to turn to each other and to the viewer.

Mature Gothic is marked by a further increase in vetricism of lines, a dynamic aspiration upward. Reims Cathedral - the place where the French kings were crowned - is one of the most complete works of the Gothic, a wonderful synthesis of architecture and sculpture.

An important place in Gothic art, including sculpture, begins to take the plot. The role of secular plots is increasing, but the Last Judgment remained the most widespread plot in Gothic. Iconographic plots begin to expand gradually. Interest in man, in his spiritual and worldly life, found expression in the depiction of scenes from the lives of the saints. An outstanding example of the depiction of legends about saints is the one dating from the last quarter of the 13th century. tympanum The story of Saint Stephen on the portal of Notre Dame Cathedral.

The inclusion of real motives is also typical for many small reliefs. As in Romanesque temples, images of monsters and fantastic creatures - the so-called chimeras - occupy a large place in Gothic cathedrals.

It is believed that the first piece of Gothic architecture appeared during the rebuilding of the church of the Abbey of Saint-Denis in 1137-1144. The early Gothic also includes cathedrals in Lanis, Chartres and Paris. The greatest achievement of the early Gothic - Notre Dame Cathedral (Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris), founded in 1163, was completed until the middle of the XIV century. Cathedral in Chartres, founded in the XII century. and consecrated in 1260, remains one of the most beautiful in Europe.

The perfection of the architectural composition, the richness of the sculptural and picturesque decor are distinguished by the grandiose cathedrals of mature Gothic in Reims (1211-XV century) - the largest cathedral in France (150 m long with 80 m high towers) and in Amiens (1220-1269). , where the cathedral is 145 m long and the main nave 42.5 m high, and the Church of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris (1243-1248), built as a royal palace chapel, with its many stained-glass windows. From about the middle of the XIII-XIV centuries. majestic Gothic cathedrals were built in other European countries: in Italy (Venice, Siena, Milan), Germany (Marburg, Naumburg, Ulm, Cologne), England (London, Salisbury), Spain (Barcelona, \u200b\u200bBurgos, Lona, Toledo ), Austria (in Vienna), Flanders (in Brussels), Czech Republic (in Prague), etc., where Gothic received a kind of local interpretation. As a result of the Crusades, the architects of Rhodes, Cyprus and Syria got acquainted with the Gothic building principles.

In the Gothic era, genuine masterpieces of sculpture were created: reliefs and statues of the north portal of the cathedral in Chartres, the deeply human image of the blessing Christ on the western façade of the cathedral in Amiens, images of the group Maria Elizabeth's visit to the western portal of the cathedral in Reims. These works greatly influenced the development of all Western European sculpture.

The sculpture of cathedrals in Germany (in Bamberg, Magdeburg, Naumburg) is distinguished by expression, vital concreteness and monumentality of images. Temples were decorated with reliefs, statues, stained-glass windows, floral ornaments, images of fantastic animals. In the decor of temples, in addition to religious, there were already many secular motives.

In Gothic painting, stained glass became the main element of interior color design. The stained glass windows of the Sainte-Chapelle chapel and the Cathedral of Chartres stand out. Fresco painting, which, along with canonical scenes, included secular subjects and portraits, adorned the walls of palaces and castles (paintings of the papal palace in Avignon). In Gothic miniature, the desire for a reliable reproduction of nature intensified, the range of illustrated manuscripts expanded, and their themes were enriched. Under the influence of Dutch and Italian art, easel paintings and portraits appeared.

The French Gothic style manifested itself, in addition to cathedrals, in the creation of comfortable and, at the same time, solemn buildings, palaces of kings and high nobility, elegantly decorated urban private houses. For example, in the castles of Amboise (1492-1498), in Gaillon (1501-1510), in the palace of justice in Rouen (1499-mid XVI century), etc.

In the late (flaming) Gothic, especially in France, sculptural altars in interiors became widespread, combining painted and gilded wooden sculpture and tempera painting on wooden boards. Among the finest examples of French Gothic art are small ivory sculptures, silver reliquaries, Limoges enamel, trellises and carved furniture. Late Gothic is characterized by abundant decor, hiding architectural divisions, the appearance of curved lines, whimsical, reminiscent of tongues of flame, pattern of window openings (the Church of Saint-Maclou in Rouen, 1434-1470, the completion of construction was delayed until the 1580s). In miniatures, there was a tendency to transfer space and volume. The number of secular buildings under construction (city gates, town halls, workshop and warehouse buildings, etc.) is increasing.

Gothic style furniture

The interiors of the early Gothic are still rather modest, and their elements still bear traces of Romanesque. This time is characterized by plank or tiled floors covered with carpets. The walls are faced with board panels, decorated with bright wall paintings or carpets. The windows are glazed, but there are no curtains yet. Paintings for decoration of premises are rarely used, instead of them wall painting and woodcuts are performed, ceilings are made, as a rule, of wooden, beamed structure with rafters open to the outside, however, well decorated. There are also suspended ceilings, faced with smooth boards or dissected with frequent slats and decorated with decorative painting. In countries such as France and England, the heart of the interior was a very richly decorated fireplace. In Germany, already from the middle of the 15th century. tiled stoves begin to play an important role in the interior. All furnishings are heavy proportions, oversupplied, clumsy and usually placed along walls. At first, almost every furniture (and not only) product of the early Gothic is of a church origin. Later, with the development of furniture technology, excellently executed church furniture for sacristy, kliros, etc. was created, which greatly influenced the further development of furniture in urban dwellings. This was facilitated by the introduction into the design of furniture objects of the technique of frame-panel knitting of wood and almost all other joinery techniques for joining parts, as well as the invention of a two-handed saw, forgotten since antiquity. The saw was re-invented only at the beginning of the XIV century. in Germany, and from that time on, it became possible to get thin and even sawn boards instead of hewn thick boards, roughly cut with an ax. Already by the beginning of the 15th century. all known techniques of box corner knitting of boards were developed.

Gradually, the houses of the medieval aristocracy are more and more decorated, this is especially noticeable in the interiors of the reception halls and guest rooms, furnished with well-decorated furniture. Residential houses of wealthy citizens follow the example of the nobility, but retain a certain restraint and simplicity of decoration and furnishings. The whole design matches the architectural decor of stone buildings, especially temple buildings. Only by the 15th century, during the period of flaming Gothic, when Gothic architecture began to be especially actively saturated with sculptural decor, the Gothic ornament began to abundantly decorate the previously established stable furniture forms, in which constructive techniques appeared associated with the building principles of Gothic architecture. In addition to the borrowed architectural forms of bindings of windows, portals, peaked turrets with phials (spiers), columns, pointed vaults, niches, etc., furniture is also decorated with carved ornamentation along the frame and panels, in which four main types can be distinguished. This is an openwork geometric ornament, plant (foliage) ornament, ribbon weaving ornament and so-called ornament. linen folds or napkins. In addition, in the late Gothic, furniture, in addition to carving, is decorated with painting, gilding and richly decorated metal parts of fittings, locks, hinges, oarlocks, as well as sculptural images of human faces and figures.

At the heart of the Gothic openwork geometric ornament are simple geometric shapes: a circle, a triangle, a square, which are easily drawn using a ruler and compass. The openwork ornament represents the so-called. masverk (from German maßwerk - literally work on the applied dimensions) in the form of a complex intersection of parts of a circle and straight lines, as a result of which a complex pattern with pointed arches and weaves resembling the ribs of Gothic structures is obtained.

The famous Gothic shamrock, rosette, quadrifolium, drawing of the central window of the cathedral - a large rose were built in a similar way. The late Gothic masverka ornament was very common throughout Europe and England. As a rule, the walls of chests, cabinet doors, chair backs were decorated with such an ornament. Masverk is performed by the techniques of deepened carving, when the background deepens relative to the ornament, due to which the elements of the ornament are thinly profiled, their outlines are smoothed and rounded. This is a bit like a relief carving, although the relief here is cut entirely in the plane of the board (panel), without rising above its surface. The floral ornament is executed in the form of stylized sharp leaves and curls, gradually acquiring naturalistic forms.

Since the end of the 15th century. on the panels, a flat ornament in the form of a piece of parchment or canvas with patterned edges laid with double-sided byte folds is especially common. The ornament is made with a flat relief. This type of ornament is found in large numbers on furniture objects in France, Germany and England. It was especially widely used on wardrobes and chests made in Cologne and Ghent.

Gothic furniture in the north and west of Europe (in France, the Netherlands, north-west Germany and England) was made mainly of oak, in the south and east (in Tyrol, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary) pine and spruce, as well as larch and juniper were used ...

The main type of furniture for storing things, as well as sitting and lying in the houses of the nobility and ordinary townspeople is a chest, from the forms of which such new types of furniture objects as a chest chair, a dressing room, a credenza and a sideboard were formed over time. In size, Gothic chests are wider and taller than Italian Renaissance cassone chests. As a rule, chests have overhead iron hinges, with which the lid was attached. These hinges, as well as large overhead iron locks with openwork ornamentation, are elements of the chest decoration.

Since the 15th century. the side walls of the chests are covered with rich carving in the form of masverk ornaments, floral ornaments, stone bindings of Gothic windows and other architectural elements of decoration of buildings. The front wall is also richly decorated, a special place is reserved for the coat of arms of the owner of the chest and a patterned, well-minted lock. Sometimes, in addition to architectural motives, entire sculptural scenes are performed on religious and secular themes. A painter and a gilder are also involved in the final decoration of the chest.

In medieval houses, regardless of the status of the owner, it was cold and even damp, so furniture had to be raised above the floor level. Therefore, some chests had not only a massive in shape and highly profiled base, but were also made with legs that were a continuation of the side racks of the frame or flat side walls with a figured cutout at the bottom. In southern Germany, pine chests with engraving and painting with flowers became widespread. This decor was complemented by cut ornaments on a painted background. The openwork pattern undoubtedly comes from a deep carving, but the process of creating it is less laborious. With the advent of thin sawn boards, through ornaments began to be used, superimposed on the main painted board, which made up the background. With much less labor input, the same impression of decor in two planes was created. This technique became very widespread and lingered for a long time not only in German, but also in Swiss folk art.

The types of containers typical for the Gothic were, in addition to chests, supplies (dressings). The prototype of such a cabinet is a chest, set on four high legs, which were connected at the bottom by a horizontal frame, the upper part of which was sewn up with a board. Thanks to this, the bottom shelf, at the very floor, was obtained. Subsequently, the legs of the cabinet from three sides (from the back and two side) also began to be tightly sewn up with boards - a kind of niche was obtained. The upper part of the supply had shelves that were closed by swing or hinged doors.

Such suppliers were intended, as a rule, for the storage of dishes and drinks. In the upper compartment, the most valuable metal, including silver, and glassware were placed, and on the lower shelf, located in the basement, polished copper dishes. The supplier was borrowed from church use, where it was purely altar furniture, and only then penetrated into worldly life. Such containers were called kredenza there, sometimes in the form of a tall chest with a horizontal top surface. And only with the passage of time such a chest was raised and put on high legs. In the earliest French suppliers, the upper parts were made in the form of a rectangular box, the plank walls of which were connected with the simplest box-stitching. The back and two side walls of the box continued to the floor and were connected for rigidity and strength at the bottom with another plane, so that the supplier stood high above the floor. Two, and sometimes three, front doors, made of solid thick planks, were attached to openwork iron hinges. The doors themselves were decorated with ornaments made in the techniques of in-depth carving. Above the supplier, a boardwalk was made to protect from the ash and soot of the fireplaces that were still smoking. Dishes were placed under a canopy and on the lower plane.

In the future, with the development of the frame-panel construction, the suppliers begin to make a more complex hexagonal shape, which clearly shows the desire of the masters to facilitate proportions, to develop the shape vertically, including due to the upper chiseled decorative elements in the form of phials, or spiers. In later and richly decorated supplies, its side walls rest on thin twisted columns, which are connected in the upper part by pointed arches. The front three sides of the delivery have the same arches, but without supports, ending with weights hanging in the air. The ribs, formed at the intersection of the edges of the walls, are decorated with carved peaked Gothic turrets, or phials. Supplier's walls are composed of several frames with panels. The frames are heavily profiled from the sides and top, which creates the impression of niches in which panels with carvings on religious subjects are deeply placed. In other cases, the panels are filled with either Gothic floral ornaments, or masverk, or linen folds, which will be very actively used along with Renaissance ornaments on furniture objects in the 16th century.

In the XV century. large and rather bulky wardrobes appear with two or four doors (in the form of bunk wardrobes), the panels of which are usually decorated with a pattern of linen folds.

Seating furniture gradually became more diverse, but it was still reluctant to detach from the walls, although some of such furniture was already beginning to be freely placed in the room. For a long time, benches and chests attached to the walls remained the most common furniture for sitting and lying.

The seats of stools and chairs acquire various shapes in terms of - square, round, rectangular, multifaceted.

A characteristic type of Gothic armchair is a chest, to which a very high deaf back with deaf elbows was attached. The seat was usually arranged as a lifting one, and the back was decorated with floral ornaments or masverki and ended with an openwork Gothic crest, phialas, French lilies, etc. The front and side panels of the box (chest) of such a chair were processed, as a rule, with linen folds. Chairs were usually placed near the bed and therefore were called bedside chairs. They also served as a household closet. The seat was a plank, hard, the lower box interfered with the legs when sitting, because they could not be taken back, and the carved vertical back did not contribute to the comfort of a seated person. These chairs were very common in France, and in the countries lying to the north of it, they were of little use.

In addition to armchairs, seating furniture such as stools, benches and chairs was the most common.

In poor houses, the only type of seating was probably stools, the construction of which consisted of a round or triangular board with three or four cylindrical or rectangular legs. Stools of a more complex shape were also made with a rectangular seat standing on lateral supports, which were sometimes decorated with Gothic pointed arches. The benches were often made in the form of elongated stools with a rectangular seat for several people, or they resembled ordinary chests, the top cover of which was adapted for seating. Such benches had a high back and, as a rule, were placed against the wall. There were also benches with a reclining back (with a recess), which were freely placed in the room or installed by the fireplace. A rather primitive type of cylindrical chair is also known, which was made on the basis of a conventional barrel, to which several additional backrest parts were attached. Other types of chairs were also used, for example, a swivel chair (the so-called Lutheran), chairs (armchairs) with three or four legs, lathe work, reminiscent of seating of the Romanesque era. The rest of the seating furniture was much more perfect and better adapted for humans. These were stools and chairs made on the basis of ancient X-shaped stools, chairs and curule chairs. These seating areas with criss-cross seating have the oldest ancestry, dating back to ancient Egypt and antiquity.

Such furniture spoke of the power that the owner of the chair or chair possessed, which was additionally emphasized by a special elevation on which they stood, and in some cases, also by a canopy.

The earliest known X-shaped stools could be folded. The supporting parts were fastened with crossbars, the upper ones of which were pulled together by brightly painted straps that formed the seat. In other cases, in order to make a chair, the back support was made higher than the seat and turned into a back support. Additional comfort of this chair was achieved with the help of felt upholstery, cushion and footrest.

Appearing in the late Gothic, especially in Italy and Spain, X-shaped chairs and armchairs only imitate a folding shape and represent, in fact, already furniture of the Renaissance, the so-called. curule chairs, in which their lateral parts rise above the seat and are a kind of elbows, sometimes connected to the back. Such chairs were richly decorated with flat carvings, painted and gilded.

Very few beds have survived since the Gothic, mainly due to the dilapidation of the lush draperies. Beds played an important role in expressing the social status of the owner, which can be seen, at least from the numerous paintings that have survived from that era. During this period, ceremonial beds in the homes of noble nobles were considered one of the most expensive and prestigious furniture objects and were often intended more for display than for sleeping.

Like chests, beds in Western Europe needed to be raised to a high level to protect them from drafts and cold damp floors. Beds in the Gothic era, if they were not built into the wall, had a semi-canopy, a full canopy or a large wardrobe-like wooden canopy decorated with carvings and paintings. Warm draperies appeared that could be unfastened and packed into chests during the move.

The design of the Gothic tables is similar to the tables of the Romanesque period, however, their nomenclature has increased. The most characteristic type of table is a rectangular dining table with a strongly protruding tabletop on two plank rectangular side supports. These shields had flat carvings with Gothic ornaments, and the middle part had openings made in the form of a single or double Gothic temple window with its characteristic shape, including a lattice binding. Sometimes deep drawers were made in the underframe boxes. The side shields at the bottom of the floor were pulled together with a special bar or a board-prog.

On the basis of this type of table, the early form of a desk with a massive lifting tabletop was subsequently formed, under which there were many compartments and small drawers in the underframe box, and below there was a container hidden from prying eyes. These types of tables, typical, for example, for southern Germany and Switzerland, were used by merchants and money changers until the 16th century.

Traditional ribbon weaving or floral Gothic ornamentation made with in-depth oak carvings fills the tabletops of these tables. Additional decorative effect is achieved by the contrast of this wide, flat carved ornamentation, rubbed with wax, and a slightly recessed flat background. The lateral support shields are connected by a horizontal bar, the outer ends of which were usually locked with wedges. There are also known tables, standing on four obliquely set legs, connected by legs. These legs usually had flat threads. In late Gothic, sliding tables were also known. Tables began to appear with rectangular and round tops, standing on one central support. The tabletops begin to be covered with veneer. Attempts at still primitive incrustation are known.

The tables, borrowed from the Romanic style, continued to exist in the form of a simple wooden shield, which was installed on trestles or on two hollow rectangular frames folding together.

Gothic style in furniture characterized by significant local differences. The greatest elegance of proportions, decorations, as well as the proportionality of parts was distinguished by French furniture, which is characterized by a large number of types of chests, armchairs with drawers and high backs, chairs, benches, suppliers, cabinets, etc. True, in Northern France, furniture was strongly influenced by the Netherlands. furniture and had very heavy forms, but it was still beautifully decorated. This influence was due to the work of many visiting Dutch woodcarvers. In other countries, the furniture range was much poorer, and the shape of the products was somewhat monotonous. Nevertheless, in Spain, the development of furniture art proceeded in the mainstream of the French direction of Gothic, however, the decor of furniture objects, as well as architecture, was strongly influenced by the Arab-Moorish style - a kind of mixture of geometric motifs, as well as motifs of climbing plants with already intricate lines of openwork ornament of late, flaming, Gothic. Spanish furniture is characterized by an extremely complex and rich flat surface finish. Unfortunately, apart from church pews and choir chairs, we know of no other Spanish seating furniture from the Middle Ages. Wood carving flourished in medieval Spain, but other types of decoration were also used. For example, the chests were covered with colored or embossed leather, rich metal (iron and bronze) fittings, stalactite motifs, and carved bars were used.

In the Gothic, furniture art in Germany and the Netherlands was highly developed and also had a lot in common with the art of France. Artically and structurally, the furniture was beautifully executed. The material was solid wood. Furniture, as a rule, had a frame structure with thin panels. Beautiful carved plant elements, free openwork and folded ornaments were used as decorations. Typical furnishings are tall double-door wardrobes with four, six or even nine panels, as well as canopy and high-legged sideboards. The carpentry work was done very carefully, with great precision. The carved works were distinguished by their subtlety and grace. In Northern Germany, on the Rhine, they used high-quality Gothic furniture with a tenon corner connection. Large cabinets are similar in design to Flemish ones. Noteworthy is the tall wardrobe with legs, decorated with folded ornamentation, and later with floral ornaments on the panels. In most cases, such cabinets were decorated with decorative forging. Typical bench chests were also made. The South German style would be common in the Alpine countries (Switzerland, South Bavaria, Tyrol, Upper Austria). South German furniture was made mainly of soft and semi-hard wood, had a plank structure and was decorated with flat carvings.

Such furniture was more varied both in form and decor than the northern ones. The furniture was decorated with openwork ornamentation in floral motifs with curls and ribbons using the flat carving technique, made on a colored base and enriched with animal figures and heraldic shields. The interiors were clad with timber with profiled strips.

This technology of decorating living quarters, including furniture, with a shallow flat carved ornament (Flachschnitt), painted, as a rule, in red and green, is called Tyrolean carpentry Gothic (Tiroler Zimmergotik). Fine Gothic furniture has been preserved in Tyrolean castles. These are various types of tables, four-poster beds decorated with rich carvings, chests, chairs, benches, narrow cabinets built into the wall for washbasins and other furniture objects. Here we see the first attempts at veneering and primitive inlays.

The southern direction of the Gothic style also captured Upper Hungary, where fine furniture was made. First of all, the objects of church furnishings have come down to us: chairs for the choir, libraries, tables, etc., which have simple shapes, flat openwork carving, painting and gilding.

The Gothic style had a very superficial influence on Italian architecture and furniture art, which can be explained by differences in living conditions and climate.

In Italy, where the influence of ancient traditions was still extremely strong, the Gothic style was considered barbaric; already in the very name it found an expression of disdain for the art of the northern countries, alien in spirit. The Gothic style in Italy brought its own ornamentation, but all the sharp Gothic corners were blunted. The flat carving of South German furniture influenced the ornamentation of North Italian cabinets. In the XV century. in Venice and Verona, wooden chests were adorned with beautiful openwork carvings with rosettes and Gothic foliage. Chests from Central Italy (Tuscany and Siena, circa 1400) had figured stucco moldings that were painted and covered with gilding (stucco).

The Gothic style in England lasted a very long time. It is customary to divide English Gothic into three periods: early Gothic (1189-1307), decorative Gothic (1307-1377) and late, so-called. vertical, rectilinear Gothic (1377-1590). This is exactly the time when the Renaissance was already in full bloom in Italy, and England was still experiencing the Gothic of the third period, which the British call the perpendicular style, which received this name due to the predominance of vertical rectilinear lines of structural and decorative elements. At this time, it was customary to sew up the walls of the premises with wooden panels of frame-panel construction. The panels were decorated with carved ornaments. The internal wooden floors of the premises were also decorated with carvings. In the early period of English Gothic, furniture was heavy, its profiles were simple and crude. The main decorative element is a folded ornament. Later, the influence of architecture begins to be felt in the divisions of furniture.

Even late Gothic English furniture is distinguished by its simplicity of design and a small amount of decoration.

The main furniture universal object continues to be the chest. As in the rest of Western Europe, the frame of the chest consists of thick bars, between which are inserted panels with flat carved decorations. The frame of the chest is also bound with iron strips for strength, and locks are attached above the panels. The prototype of the English cabinet, as elsewhere in Europe, is two chests stacked one on top of the other. The front part of such a cabinet is divided by frame bars into six frame cells, into which panels are inserted. Moreover, the central panels are wider, and the side panels are narrow. The narrow side panels are ornamented with linen folds. The frames of the wide panels are cabinet doors hung on massive and well-decorated metal hinges.

Late Gothic English furniture is characterized by massive armchairs, the frame of which is connected from thick rectangular in cross-section bars, between which thin panel-panels decorated with flat carvings are inserted into the tongue. The panels of the back are processed with masverk ornament, and the panels of the elbows and the lower part of the chair - with a folded ornament.

The side pillars of the backrest and elbows are additionally decorated with vertical pillars and spiers. In addition to cabinets, low and wide supplies - coupe boards - are widespread in England. Tables at this time, as a rule, have a rectangular table top and a massive underframe, which is attached to the side panels instead of legs. These shields and the underframe are primitively decorated with figured cut edges and shallow carvings of a simple plant pattern. Side support boards of tables are often held together by strips, into the outer ends of which wedges are inserted.

The beds have a canopy, which is attached to four posts, which are a kind of continuation of the legs. In the lower part, the legs have a tetrahedral section, and above the bed frame, the posts are carved with plant motifs in the form of polyhedrons, interceptions of various shapes, etc. The headboard of the bed is made high, and its five panels are decorated with low relief carvings.

In general, English Gothic furniture had a simple structure, elements of which were never masked and were used in the same way as decorative elements. All nodes and joints are clearly visible and understandable. All furniture was made exclusively from oak. At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. in England, a mixed style is formed - a kind of transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance, which is called the Tudor style. A classic pattern begins to appear on the Gothic structure.

The cut-through openwork ornament and a special type of arched decoration still belong to the Gothic style, however, according to the new profiling of furniture parts, rosettes and other motives, the invasion of the early Renaissance is already noticeable. In most cases, this applies to furniture with a Dutch influence, such as cupboards. Coats of arms of the owners begin to appear on the panels of a wide variety of furniture objects.

The influence of the new Italian Renaissance art began to penetrate into Central Europe around 1500, primarily in France, where Italian artists worked at the royal court. French furniture of the late 15th - early 16th centuries acquires a new, completely original character.

The decor of this time in the form of grotesque ornament, for example, is combined here with Gothic decorations. Overhead openwork iron loops and locks are still in use. One part of the supplier's panels, for example, is decorated with linen folds, and the other with grotesque. The front supports are made in the form of bars, but the plank back wall continues to fall to the bottom. The supplier continues to be hex, but its front wall is wider than the side ones. However, in Germany, for example, the suppliers usually differed from the French in a simpler rectangular hull shape and the absence of a solid rear wall. In their decoration, the profile images of human faces in grotesque ornamentation are sometimes replaced by sculpted male and female heads that are strongly pushed forward. It was a transitional time, when constructive and compositional clarity and certainty begins to be felt in the morphology of furniture objects, and all divisions and profiles are specially emphasized and manifested in their external form.

Gothic style - an important stage in the history of the development of furniture styles. Many new types of furniture were created and forgotten antique furniture techniques were revived. Carpentry, with its lively original form of expression in ornamentation, was on the rise. In the Gothic interior, furniture is still not entirely mobile: many of its types still gravitate towards the walls or are built into the enclosing structures, have a close connection with architecture in terms of borrowing its forms, the nature of their articulations and decorative finishes. Already in the late Gothic period, carpentry was highly developed, which served as the basis for even more complex tasks in the Renaissance.

Used materials textbook. manuals: Grashin A.A. A short course on the style evolution of furniture - Moscow: Architecture-S, 2007