| < BACK |
|
The Gothic Lives on in London:
Westminster Abbey |
|
Francesca Drew |
|
NEXT > |
If as Binski says, the art of Westminster constructs rather than illustrates the notion of a political center, then it still does so today. The value of Westminster Abbey to Gothic Art and art as a whole is priceless for it preserves the intentions of its first patrons and translates an age which would otherwise be considered a relic. That is not to say that other Gothic Cathedrals are unable to do this, but as I quoted Otto von Simson above, they are too often taken for granted and not appreciated as 'living' objects. The physical evidence of the Gothic Age that Westminster reveals is of courses its flying buttresses, scaffolding on the interior of the vaults, crossed nave and transepts with aisles and clearstory windows, but there is a silent language being spoken within Westminster which the physical members of the edifice only act as words. The consumption of these words and their meaning are invoked by the active part that the Abbey plays in the life of England today. England is fortunate to have a surviving foundation to her tradition and history. Gothic has not passed, yet, at Westminster Abbey.
|
|