Gothic architecture originated in 12th century France and is characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses. It was most prominently featured in European cathedrals, churches, and other religious buildings from the 12th to 16th centuries. The gothic subculture began in the 1980s in England, drawing from 19th century gothic literature and horror films. It is associated with dark fashion, styles from different historical eras, and a variety of dark music genres. Gothic art and literature from the 18th-19th centuries combined elements of horror and romance. Notable influences on the goth subculture include TV shows, films, musicians, and artists known for dark,

1. Gothic

2. Gothic Architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of
architecture that flourished during the high
and late medieval period. It evolved from
Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by
Renaissance architecture .
Originating in 12th-century France and
lasting into the 16th century, Gothic
architecture was known during the period as
Opus Francigenum ("French work") with the
term Gothic first appearing during the latter
part of the Renaissance. Its characteristics
include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault
and the flying buttress.

3. Gothic architecture is most
familiar as the architecture
of many of the great
cathedrals, abbeys and
churches of Europe. It is also
the architecture of many
castles, palaces, town halls,
guild halls, universities and
to a less prominent extent,
private dwellings.
It is in the great churches and
cathedrals and in a number of
civic buildings that the
Gothic style was expressed
most powerfully.

4. The pointed arch, one of the defining
attributes of Gothic, was earlier
incorporated into Islamic
architecture following the Islamic
conquests of Roman Syria and the
Sassanid Empire in the Seventh
Century. The pointed arch and its
precursors had been employed in Late
Roman and Sassanian architecture;
within the Roman context, evidenced
in early church building in Syria
and occasional secular structures,
like the Roman Karamagara Bridge; in
Sassanid architecture, in the
parabolic and pointed arches
employed in palace and sacred
construction.

10. Gothic
Subculture
The goth subculture is a
contemporary subculture found in
many countries. It began in England
during the early 1980s in the
gothic rock scene, an offshoot of
the post-punk genre. The goth
subculture has survived much
longer than others of the same era,
and has continued to diversify. Its
imagery and cultural proclivities
indicate influences from the 19th
century Gothic literature along
with horror films.

11. The goth subculture has
associated tastes in
music, aesthetics, and
fashion. The music of the
goth subculture
encompasses a number of
different styles,
including gothic rock,
deathrock, post-punk,
darkwave, ethereal wave,
dark ambient,industrial
music, and neoclassical.
Styles of dress within
the subculture range
from deathrock, punk,
and Victorian styles, or
combinations of the
above, most often with
dark attire, makeup, and
hair.

12. Gothic Art
18th and 19th centuries
Gothic literature combines
dark elements of both horror
and romance: English author
Horace Walpole, with his
1764 novel The Castle of
Otranto is one of the first
writers who explored this
genre. The Revolutionary
War-era "American Gothic"
story of the Headless
Horsemen, immortalized in
Washington Irving’s story
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
(published in 1820), marked
the arrival in the New World
of dark, romantic
storytelling.

13. By the 1960s, TV series such as The
Addams Family and The Munsters used
these stereotypes for camp comedy. The
Byronic hero, in particular, was a key
precursor to the male goth image, while
Dracula’s iconic portrayal by Bela
Lugosi appealed powerfully to early
goths. They were attracted by Lugosi's
aura of camp menace, elegance and
mystique. Some people credit the band
Bauhaus' first single "Bela Lugosi’s
Dead", released in August 1979, with the
start of the goth subculture, though
many prior arthouse movements
influenced gothic fashion and style, the
illustrations and paintings of Swiss
artist H.R.Girer being one of the
earliest. Notable examples of later icons
include several bandleaders: Siouxsie
Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Robert Smith of The Cure, and Dave
Vanian of The Damned.

14. Visual Art Influences
The gothic subculture has
influenced different artists—not
only musicians—but also painters
and photographers. In particular
their work is based on mystic,
morbid and romantic motifs. In
photography and painting the
spectrum varies from erotic artwork
to romantic images of vampires or
ghosts. Other contemporary graphic
artists with this aesthetic include
Gerald Brom, Luis Royo, Dave McKean,
Trevor Brown, Victoria Frances.

15. Victoria Frances Art

17. Gothic Fashion
Gothic fashion is stereotyped as
conspicuously dark, eerie,
mysterious, complex and exotic.
Typical gothic fashion includes dyed
black hair, dark eyeliner, black
fingernails and black period-styled
clothing; goths may or may not have
piercings. Styles are often borrowed
from the Elizabethan, Victorian or
medieval period and often express
pagan, occult or other religious
imagery. Gothic fashion may also
feature silver jewelry.

19. Sources:
Wikipedia
Handyman in Hammersmith
By Eve Stanley