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Gothic art, the painting, sculpture, and architecture characteristic of the second of two great international eras that flourished in western and central Europe during the Middle Ages. Gothic art evolved from Romanesque art and lasted from the mid-12th century to as late as the end of the 16th.
The earliest large-scale applications of Gothic architecture in England were Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. Many features of Gothic architecture had evolved naturally from Romanesque architecture (often known in England as Norman architecture).
There are three main periods of English Gothic: (1) "Early English Gothic" (1180-1250). (2) "Decorated Gothic" (1250-1350), separated into the "Geometric" style (1250–90) and the "Curvilinear" style (1290–1350). (3) "Perpendicular Gothic" (1350-1520).
The earliest Gothic art was monumental sculpture, on the walls of Cathedrals and abbeys. Christian art was often typological in nature (see Medieval allegory), showing the stories of the New Testament and the Old Testament side by side. Saints' lives were often depicted.
Salisbury Cathedral. A superlative example of Early English Gothic, Salisbury grew taller and pointier in the 14th century. Today its spire tilts 27 inches southeast.
The Gothic style first appeared in the early 12th century in northern France and rapidly spread beyond its origins in architecture to sculpture, textiles and painting, including frescoes, stained glass and illuminated manuscripts.
Some of the most outstanding monuments of the Decorated Gothic style are sections of the cloister (c. 1245–69) of Westminster Abbey; the east end, or Angel Choir, of Lincoln Cathedral (begun 1256); and the nave and west front of York Minster (c. 1260–1320).
