Hegel e l’architettura gotica

Abstract

The present essay aims to show the importance of Hegel’s reflection on gothic architecture as a perspective to understand some contemporary problems regarding aesthetics and architecture. According to Hegel, within the entire history of art architecture is the first discipline, which deals with the spiritualization of the mere material, by transforming its heaviness into a beautiful building. Starting from the Pyramids and the huge monuments of the ancient times, throughout the Greek temples, this process of spiritualization leads us to the cathedrals of the Christian Age. Christian Architecture takes to extremes this trend of spiritualization by removing the right angle, which characterizes the relationship between column and architrave in the Greek temple. In fact, in the gothic cathedral we can observe the dissolution of the two main classical architectural features, i.e. the roof and the enclosure, thus achieving the most effective attempt to reunite spirit and material, sky and ground. According to Hegel, with the end of the Gothic age, the art of building reduces to the civil architecture. This topic will be developed in different contexts during the XXth century by Simmel, Valéry, Heidegger and Foucault.