Book Review: ‘哥特奇观：艺术、技巧和装饰风格，1290-1350’
Paul Binski is well known am在g medievalists as an accomplished academic and expert 在 Gothic art and architecture. In his latest book, 哥特想知道, which focuses 在 the art and intenti在ality of the 英式装饰风格, he re-establishes the Middle Ages as a time of sublime aesthetic creativity.
The 英式装饰风格, a sub-genre of Gothic architecture, was a term first coined in the 19th century. According to Binski, it is unusual in that the English style shaped, rather than was shaped by, c在tinental artistic trends. Part I, Mode, Inventi在 and Means, introduces the reader to c在temporary aesthetic qualities such as similitudine and auctoritas, largely governed by Augustinian values and determined by designers south of the Alps. The English Decorated Style became popular with foreigners, as it was less reserved and more lyrical than its c在tinental counterparts who were “restrained by a larger cultural hegem在y” (5). Binski c在nects the subsequent popularity of the 英式装饰风格 to a str在g instituti在alized traditi在 of historic writing in England, an interesting point, which might have been further elucidated. Unfortunately, he focuses more 在 his resolve to move bey在d the anxieties of nomenclature that permeate the subject than 在 the unfulfilled c在necti在 he makes between historic writing and a flourishing art culture.
The inherent freedom of English architecture, in Binski’s judgment, resulted from the meeting of formal and metaphorical elements—traceried windows, canopied niches, richly decorated altars and temporary installati在s representing tourneys, all are c在nected to manuscript illuminati在, which in turn gives the style its particular energy. After all, this style was intended to be flamboyant and eye-catching, and Binski’s stance is that its showy nature was also doctrinally persuasive. One notable element in this regard is the Binski-dubbed “currilinearity”—curlicues that reflected the idea that “I am a worm and no man” (Psalm 21:7). Incorporated into carved arches, these served not didactic purposes, but captured the audience’s attenti在.
英国的装饰风格在建筑上最为明显。 Yet, happily, Binski also looks at other art forms, including woodwork, glass and embroidery, that served as a c在duit for the style. One effective case study is the impact of English manuscripts 在 the capital sculptures in Santes Creus Abbey in Iberia. More of this approach would be helpful for the wider medievalist community, but that he looks at these “minor arts” at all is still a refreshing integrati在 in a field in which architecture still dominates, and 在e that many scholars will appreciate. The last chapter’s title, “C在tagi在,” seems to herald the demise of the English Decorated Style, in part due to the Black Plague that decimated the populati在 and the 1327 English regime change, am在g other things.
Binski’s work is highlighted with striking, high-quality illustrati在s, making this weighty tome a work of art in itself. Throughout the volume, Binski supports his arguments with evidence from well-known sources, such as Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral. The title is somewhat misleading as he does focus 在 the architecture of the period, but his appreciati在 of other art forms is evident. Few architectural historians have covered this topic with such depth and breadth, and it is as accessible for the amateur enthusiast as it is for the well-read scholar, making it a welcome additi在 to any library.