Though rare in South Carolina, the spotlight on Gothic art is shining brighter than ever thanks to recent pop-culture phenomenons such as “Twilight” and “True Blood.” Gothic art refers to any art, whether it’s a painting, a sculpture, or some other medium, created from about the mid-12th century through the end of the 14th century. Art was still created over the next century that’s often called International Gothic, but this type of art was more secular and generally had a more natural style than the Gothic art produced during the preceding 200 hundred years. It’s those 200 years that are considered the span of the Gothic art movement. The last century of International Gothic eventually turned into the Renaissance period.

Gothic art began as sculptures of Christian icons, and then artwork telling Christian stories. Eventually the art style became popular in the secular world, with it being used to tell non-religious stories, as well. It was during the Gothic period that often artists were required to belong to some sort of artists’ trade guild. Recordkeeping for artists and their work was more detailed than ever before. More Gothic artists are known than from any of the previous eras. It was also during the Gothic period that some artist began regularly signing their names to their work.

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