# Interior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ARCHITECT, Flemish]() - Date: 1351-1400 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary In the Mechelen Cathedral, the earlier Romanesque structure was covered with a Gothic filigree net consisting of small units of tracery that spread over the three-part elevation. English decorative exuberance and a French basic plan came together in a new unity. The result is the so-called "Brabant Gothic," a style which did not, however, remained restricted to Brabant. The second large church building in the Brabant style, the Cathedral of Our Lady \(Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal\) in Antwerp, was begun in 1352, its design a reaction to that of Mechelen. The usual transversely oblong nave bays used in Mechelen were replaced by bays extended longitudinally. There are no other such examples in basilica construction except in the Mediterranean Gothic architecture of Italy and Catalonia. This arrangement results in a broad hall-like space that stands in marked contrast to space created in the usual Gothic cathedral. In contrast the ground plan of the apse, with its ambulatory and five radiating chapels, follows the example of Reims Cathedral. The elevation is divided into just two stories. The areas above the arches are covered with ornamentation, the pattern of decoration originated in England. Brabant Gothic architecture was the only form of European architecture of the 14th and 15th centuries which successfully combined English and French elements in a purposeful way. The photo shows a view of the nave looking east. View the <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/support/plans/zzzarchi/14c/6/antwerp.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=400,height=600'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">ground plan</a> of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp. ## Related artworks - [Belfry]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()