Sam,
That work looks more Romanesque than Gothic because of the rounded arches. This crypt was the earliest part of what developed to be a (very gothic) Winchester Cathedral. Sometimes these buildings took over 100 years to build. I just love Romanesque architecture and find it to be very spiritual, perhaps because of the arching, heaven-like space we are put into.
I confess to not remembering exactly what romanesque architecture is...seems that I like it, though. I'm still awed by the gothic cathedrals, but haven't found a photo to do one justice.
I had another thought on absractions in realistic art and why they are important - since it's a truism that even in realism, art can't reproduce reality, it follows that to illustrate reality, something of the abstract must be introduced by the artist, something of himself, in other words. Done skillfully, it produces "great" art. I suppose this is all very obvious, but it's making me happy to figure it out.