Krassimira Loukitcheva
Russian State University for the Humanities, Russia
This paper analyses images of the Last Judgment in Gothic monumental sculpture of the 13th century in different regions of France, Germany, Spain and England, with the aim to:
• Identify common and specific features of the development of narrative and iconographic programmes;
• Study how the historical and sociocultural context influences the interpretation of the theme;
• Characterize the factors affecting the formation of iconographic programmes and stylistic features of the studied monuments;
• Explore the nature of new ways of producing meanings, and new types of verbal and visual interaction within these images.
Chronologically studied images of the Last Judgment cover the period from the turn of the 12th to 13th centuries until the last decade of the 13th century, coinciding with the development of High Gothic architecture in Western Europe. The study of these monuments also applies to the problem of stadial differences in the interpretation of the Last Judgment within the Gothic style in terms of its regional specificity.
The key place occupied by images of the Last Judgment in the Gothic monumental arts of the 13th century, gave rise to a long tradition of its study in terms of iconographic interpretation and style (in the case of well-preserved monuments). This study builds on this tradition, but this feature is a comparative approach, summarizing the main trends of interpretation of the theme in areas where it is particularly actively represented. This allows us to approach the creation of a comprehensive picture of the functioning of the Last Judgment theme in the specified period.