The tall, elegant arches that adorn French and northern Italian cathedrals are characteristic of the Gothic movement. The arches were designed to be tall, narrow and imposing as a display of disapproval of the styles being adopted by Renaissance artists of the time. There was also a practical reason for tall, narrow arches in Gothic architecture. The typical dimensions of a Gothic arch made for a stronger structure that could support more weight. This allowed for thinner walls and larger windows, as the necessity for load-bearing walls to compensate for the arch became less.
The illumination of manuscripts is one characteristic of Gothic art that has been kept alive throughout subsequent artistic movements. Typically reserved for the first letter of a new page, paragraph or chapter, illuminated letters are decorated with elaborate twists, curls and lines to make them stand out against the rest of the text.
The cross is a common theme in multiple artistic movements, including Renaissance and Classical. The Gothic cross is distinct from the form of previous crosses because it is typically almost as wide as it is high, whereas most depictions of a cross are tall, with the horizontal bar measuring approximately one third of the height. Gothic crosses are elaborate, with intertwined patterns running along the length and breadth. The Gothic cross is a common tattoo design theme.
Gothic art, due to the fact that much of it was created for display in cathedrals and churches, is typically large enough to feature a lot of detail. Because of this immense amount of detail, Gothic art frequently depicts a linear narrative, rather than a single scene. So typical Gothic paintings are comparable to cartoon strips in that they tell a story, from left to right.