'The Art Of Gothic' BBC

'The Art Of Gothic' BBC

This documentary by Andrew Graham-Dixon, explains and analyses the meaning of the term Gothic Horror and the history of where it originated from. It describes the word Gothic, which made me feel inspired to think of new words such as, sinister, barbaric, wild, gloomy, terror, weirdness, whisper, desire, midnight and threat of punishment. This documentary touched on all the aspects of the word Gothic and the different properties which come under it such as, architecture, paintings and art work, buildings, landscapes, imagery, religion, superstition and poetry. Because the meaning and understanding of the word Gothic is so broad and has many tangents it has helped me to focus on more research into the word. The origins of this word comes from the architecture from France, and the novel written by Walpole, his state of mind was mentioned and the ins and out of the novel he wrote; his writing and the story line was one of the first of its time, and although considered shameful to read gothic horror books, it was a terrifying thrill that people in the 18th century and onwards enjoyed to read.  

In this documentary, Dixon explains on depth the meaning behind some of the gothic paintings and sculptures; in the art work by Salvator Rosa, one in particular was a painting that showed a number of witches doing dark deeds. He explains what each member in the painting is doing and the creepiness of a painting like this brought out in this time. Many people of this era would have looked upon the painting seeing its terror and imagining the hours of what witches were known for, making potions and bringing the dead back to life, this was looked upon in a magical way because the onlookers would be able to see what was happening without having the risk or fear of seeing it in real life.