International Gothic

noun

1. a style of Gothic art, especially painting, developed in Europe in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, chiefly characterized by details carefully delineated in a naturalistic manner, elongated and delicately modeled forms, the use of complex perspective, and an emphasis on the decorative or ornamental aspect of drapery, foliage, or setting.

International Gothic

noun

1. a style in art during the late 14th and early 15th centuries characterized by elegant stylization of illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, stained glass, etc, and by increased interest in secular themes. Major contributors were Simone Martini, Giotto, and Pisanello

Word History and Origins

Origin of International Gothic¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

He replaced the stylizations of International Gothic with a new emphasis on real figures with frank, expressive faces and body postures that animate the space around them.

From Washington Post

The city’s artists and its famous patrons — above all the House of Medici — wanted a new style to distinguish Florence from Milan, where the French-influenced forms of International Gothic prevailed.

From Washington Post

A priest’s wine-colored velvet chasuble decorated in designs of gold thread and thick, dimensional embroidery connects religious pageantry with the International Gothic style of an adjacent Sienese painting by Gentile da Fabriano.

From Los Angeles Times

As a rule, they dress all in black and gray, the International Gothic of metropolitan chic.

From Time Magazine Archive