Sketches, Volume four 1833 - 1843

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin created this sketch of a chapel near the Ulm Dom sometime in the mid-19th century. Pugin was an English architect, designer, and theorist who was a champion of the Gothic Revival style. Seen in this light, his sketch represents more than just a building. The pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and ornate decorations are visual cues, referencing a specific period in European history and a particular set of cultural values. This interest in the Gothic was tied to a broader cultural and political movement that sought to revive what were seen as the spiritual and social values of the Middle Ages. Historians studying Pugin's architectural drawings alongside his writings and built works, can gain insight into the cultural meanings he associated with the Gothic style.