History & styles: Neo-Gothic (ca. 1850-1914)

Unlike early neo-Gothic, the actual neo-Gothic, also called rationalist neo-Gothic, was not a rediscovery of Gothic but rather a rebirth of that style. Some of the important differences between the two similarly named styles are:

  • Early neo-Gothicism borrowed elements from Gothicism for decorative use without any understanding of the ideas behind them. Neo-Gothicism on the other hand actually tried to understand the basic principles of Gothicism, and used them; early neo-Gothicism was still closely related to neo-Classicism both in general shape of the buildings as in the use of materials; usually only the shapes of the details differed.
  • In early neo-Gothic churches the use of imitations of natural materials was standard practise, in neo-Gothicism it was almost unacceptable.
  • Early neo-Gothicism usually shows a close relation to English Gothic styles, while neo-Gothicism at first was strongly inspired by French and German Gothic examples, and by indigenous ones at a later stage.
  • Early neo-Gothic churches were often plastered or painted, neo-Gothic churches were not.

 
 
 
 
Although there had been a few attempts at a more historically correct neo-Gothic style before, the Redemptorist church in Amsterdam (left) is often considered to be the first big church in true neo-Gothic style in the Netherlands. It was built from 1852 until 1854, and was designed by Th. Molkenboer, who was at that time the leading church-architect in the Netherlands. Although this architect was a typical representative of his generation, a so-called Waterstaat-architect (an architect working under governmental supervision) designing in the then fashionable styles of neo-Classicism and early neo-Gothicism, this building definitely exceeds that latter style. Instead of just using some more or less authentic looking Gothic elements, here the architect actually had studied the medieval examples good enough to come up with a design that closely resembles them both in style and construction as well as in the principles behind them. Molkenboer proved to be one of only a few architects to successfully change styles. Other architects, like A. van Veggel, combined their old methods with an increasing knowledge of medieval Gothicism, but never reached the point of actual neo-Gothicism. For several more years early- and true neo-Gothicism coexisted next to eachother.
 
 
 
An important moment in the development of neo-Gothicism is the year 1853, when the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church was fully restored in the Netherlands. This year formed the first highlight of a proces that had been going on for a few years already, and that eventually lead to full catholic emancipation. In that year the archdiocese of Utrecht was founded, which encompassed the province of that name, as well as the entire north-eastern quarter of the country. Besides, the dioceses of Haarlem, 's-Hertogenbosch, Roermond and Breda were formed. The catholics in the Netherlands now no longer were subject to catholic mission, but could stand on their own feet. In a spirit of newly found catholic self-confidence, many new churches, monasteries, convents and schools were built, and the neo-Gothic style was chosen as the favoured one, in reference to the Middle Ages, when the Catholic church was still united and formed the back-bone of what was in the eyes of the catholics a perfect society. From now on neo-Gothicism was the pre-eminently catholic style, and churches in other styles were often quickly replaced. This goes for the churches in neo-classical style, which was now regarded 'pagan', but also for many medieval churches. Restorations often were carried out in neo-Gothic style as well.
 
The historical importance of Molkenboer's church in Amsterdam, neo-Gothic though it is, must not be exaggerated. Of much more importance to the style are architects like C. Weber, who had studied the Gothic churches of his native Rhineland, Germany, and P.J.H. Cuypers, who had attended classes with French architect E. Viollet-le-Duc, internationally recognized as one of the leaders of neo-Gothicism. These two architects can be considered to be the true pioneers of neo-Gothicism in the Netherlands. Another important architect is A. Tepe, who became the court-architect of the Utrecht archdiocese. Although there's no such thing as a true international neo-Gothic movement, many architects were in contact with each other. They shared their ideas and knowledge and learned from each other's work through various publications. Large projects, like the restoration and completion of the cathedrals in Cologne and Trondheim, had their impact in the Netherlands as well.
 
Under the influence of E. Viollet-le-Duc and of Dutch artcritic and poet J.A. Alberdingk Thijm, one of the leaders in the movement for equal rights for catholics, Cuypers tried to fully understand the medieval Gothic principles before allowing himself to move on. This second period in his career started in ca. 1870, and Cuypers from that time combined new ideas with the Gothic principles. An important example is his Vondelkerk in Amsterdam, which combines German Gothic and Romanogothic influences with centralizing elements. A far cry from Cuypers' first works, like the St. Martinus in Maastricht (right). But Cuypers is one of only a very few architects who are willing to experiment. For A. Tepe Gothicism is already the point of arrival, and his work shows little to no evolution. While Cuypers mostly takes his inspiration from early French (and to a lesser degree, German) Gothicism, Tepe takes his from indigenous late-Gothic styles. Weber is inspired by both French and German Gothicism, before moving towards a much more Romanogothic style. His neo-Gothic work is generally not regarded his best, and often shows a rather conservative approach to the style.
Of these three architects Cuypers is definitely the most important, and he built churches in most parts of the country. A refusal to settle in Utrecht lead to a boycot in this archdiocese; only in those regions far from the episcopal city of Utrecht, like the provinces of Friesland and Groningen, did he manage to get some assignments. It's A. Tepe who is the favoured architect of the archdiocese. This architect on the other hand gets relatively few assignments outside this territory. C. Weber starts his career in the province of Limburg (the diocese of Roermond), where he is Cuypers' greatest rival, but eventually concentrates his attention on the diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch. In the diocese of Breda P.J. van Genk (1844-1919) became the most important architect for new churches, which in most cases show a clear influence from Belgian neo-Gothicism, probably the result of Van Genk's education in Antwerpen, with a prominent use of natural stone combined with brick.
 
Most of the other assigments were taken by former students of Cuypers. The most important of these are E.J. Margry (1841-1891), J. Kayser (1842-1917), N. Molenaar (1850-1930), C. Franssen (1860-1932), W. te Riele (1867-1937) and J.H.H. van Groenendael (1868-1942), who were all responsible for some important but often conservatively styled neo-Gothic churches. Kayser is probably the most original because of his use of elements of North-German brick Gothic, while some of Van Groenendael's designs are among the very best examples of the style. Te Riele is one of a few architects who managed to combine a neo-Gothic style with modern ideas about architecture. He designed several centralized churches.
 

 

 

While protestants had built churches in the early neo-Gothic style, after 1853 they quickly looked for other styles. Only a very few examples of protestant churches in neo-Gothic style have ever been built since. One of these is the reformed church of Schagen (NH), designed by J.A.G. van der Steur and built in 1895-1897, but even this example is built in a style very different from catholic churches of that time. Gothic influences continued to be used, but usually in combination with other styles.
 

Until ca. 1914 neo-Gothicism remained the dominant style for catholic churches. By that time however it had received some serious competition from other styles. While neo-Romanogothicism, with C. Weber as the most prominent architect, is of a very limited importance only, the neo-Romanesque style did reach considerable popularity. Especially some other students of Cuypers, like his son Jos. Cuypers and Jan Stuyt, were co-responsible for new developments in style, and were among the first to break the neo-Gothic monopoly. Buildings in neo-Gothic style were built for several more decades. By that time the style had lost most of its original character, and was mostly favoured by older architects. The O.L. Vrouwe Onbevlekte Ontvangenis in Hilversum is an example of a late neo-Gothic church; the traditional ideas of neo-Gothicism had been abandoned, and the style is mixed with more modern influences, most notably a centralized ground-plan. It was designed by W. te Riele Gzn. and built in 1910.
 

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