From stained glass to paintbrushes: painting in the Gothic era!

Have you ever walked inside a Gothic cathedral at sunset, when the light filters through the stained glass windows and you feel catapulted into a world of flying saints, dragons and angels with rainbow feathers? Well, if Gothic were a playlist, it would be a mix of epicness, mysticism and… colour at full volume!

In this post, I’m not just talking about spires and flying buttresses. Today, I’m taking you to the beating heart of Gothic painting, among workshops crowded with apprentices, visionary masters and a true silent revolution: drawing taking centre stage.

From stained glass to paintbrushes: painting in the Gothic era!

Giotto, Compianto del Cristo morto. Padova

Painting in the Gothic era: saints, gold and a touch of genius

The Gothic era sang loudly of the beauty of the divine. But who were the painters of this era? They were true directors of this spectacular spirituality.

It is impossible not to mention Giotto, who began to break away from Byzantine art in the late 13th century.

His saints have large hands, feet that rest on the ground and faces that seem to be thinking. However, Giotto is not alone: there is Simone Martini, with his elegant lines and taste for refined detail, and Duccio di Buoninsegna, who paints with the delicacy of a medieval caress.

Further north, the Flemish stars shine brightly: Jan van Eyck, for example, with his obsession with detail (have you ever counted the beads on one of his cloaks?), and Rogier van der Weyden, who transforms painting into a theatrical narrative, full of pathos.

Drawing? It is no longer just a sketch!

Here is the twist: in the Gothic period, drawing is emancipated.

Until then, it had been merely a means, a preparatory tool, but now it became an art form in its own right, capable of depicting the world with the power of a single line. Artists began to keep their drawings, sign them and circulate them. They were sketches, yes, but full of character. It was as if drawing had finally found its voice.

Think about it: a pen stroke can say more than a thousand colours, if you know how to use it wisely, and that is exactly what happened between the 14th and 15th centuries. Artists’ notebooks were born, veritable mines of inventions and ideas.

Gothic stained glass: the cinema of the Middle Ages

Ah, Gothic stained glass! Those immense “canvases of light” that transformed cathedrals into lanterns of faith and stories. They were sacred comics, TV series for illiterate worshippers, mystical psychedelia in glass and lead.

Each panel told a story: the life of a saint, a parable, a miracle. And the colours? Never chosen at random. Deep blue was the Virgin Mary, bright red was martyrdom, gold was divine light.

Behind those windows were painters, true glass artists, skilled in mixing sand and metals to achieve the most incredible shades. The effect? When the sun hit the windows… it looked like God was playing with light.

Among all the glass wonders of the Middle Ages, the stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral in France are an absolute masterpiece. There are 173 windows, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries, which create a dreamlike atmosphere: a deep blue (the famous Chartres blue) that seems liquid and alive, and figures that tell the lives of saints, craftsmen, nobles and peasants in a narrative that still enchants us today.

Looking at them is like leafing through an ancient illustrated book, where every fragment of glass is a fragment of history and spirituality.

vetrate gotiche Chartres

Why is Gothic still relevant today?

Gothic has left a powerful visual legacy. Think of fantasy films, dark imagery, medieval-style tattoos: Gothic is everywhere, but above all, it has taught us that art is not just decoration: it is storytelling, emotion, a tool for seeing the world.

Next time you enter a Gothic church or find yourself in front of a 14th-century painting, stop for a second. Look at the hands, the faces, the stained glass windows and think about how much humanity and art there was in that “dark” era… yet so bright.

Did you enjoy this journey through saints and stained glass? Share the article or write to me in the comments and tell me who your favourite Gothic artist is!

Painting in the Gothic era: saints, gold and a touch of genius

The Gothic era sang the praises of divine beauty. But who were the painters of this era? They were true directors of this spectacular spirituality.

It is impossible not to mention Giotto, who began to break away from Byzantine art in the late 13th century.

His saints have large hands, feet that rest on the ground and faces that seem to be thinking. However, Giotto is not alone: there is Simone Martini, with his elegant lines and taste for refined detail, and Duccio di Buoninsegna, who paints with the delicacy of a medieval caress.

Further north, the Flemish stars shine brightly: Jan van Eyck, for example, with his obsession with detail (have you ever counted the beads on one of his cloaks?), and Rogier van der Weyden, who transforms painting into a theatrical narrative, full of pathos.

Drawing? It is no longer just a sketch!

Here is the twist: in the Gothic period, drawing is emancipated.

Until then, it had been merely a means, a preparatory tool, but now it became an art form in its own right, capable of depicting the world with the power of a single line. Artists began to keep their drawings, sign them and circulate them. They were sketches, yes, but full of character. It was as if drawing had finally found its voice.

Think about it: a pen stroke can say more than a thousand colours, if you know how to use it wisely, and that is exactly what happened between the 14th and 15th centuries. Artists’ notebooks were born, veritable mines of inventions and ideas.

Gothic stained glass: the cinema of the Middle Ages

Ah, Gothic stained glass windows! Those immense “canvases of light” that transformed cathedrals into lanterns of faith and stories. They were sacred comics, TV series for illiterate worshippers, mystical psychedelia in glass and lead.

Each panel told a story: the life of a saint, a parable, a miracle. And the colours? Never chosen at random. Deep blue was the Virgin Mary, bright red was martyrdom, gold was divine light.

Behind those windows were painters, true glass artists, skilled in mixing sand and metals to achieve the most incredible shades. The effect? When the sun hit the windows… it looked like God was playing with light.

Among all the glass wonders of the Middle Ages, the stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral in France are an absolute masterpiece. There are 173 windows, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries, which create a dreamlike atmosphere: a deep blue (the famous Chartres blue) that seems liquid and alive, and figures that tell the lives of saints, craftsmen, nobles and peasants in a narrative that still enchants us today.

Looking at them is like leafing through an ancient illustrated book, where every fragment of glass is a fragment of history and spirituality.