art 111- medieval art

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Early Medieval art

• The art of the early Middle Ages took shape as Early Christian art absorbed a new influence: the art of the invaders.

• Many nomadic peoples traveled across the Eurasian grasslands, which extend from northwest China to central Europe.

• Their migration occurred over a long period that began in the 2nd millennium BC and lasted well into the Middle Ages.

• These “barbarians” were considered a constant threat and Hadrian’s Wall + Great Wall of China were both built to keep them out.

• The meeting of decorative nomadic style with Christianity can be seen most clearly in the illustrated holy books created in Ireland.

The Irish

• The Irish had never been part of the Roman Empire, and in the 5th century they were Christianized without first becoming Romanized.

• During the chaotic centuries that followed the fall of Rome, Irish monasteries became the major centers of learning and the arts in Europe

• and they produced numerous hand-lettered copies of religious manuscripts.

Book of KellsIrelandlate 8th CenturyInks + Pigments on Vellum

• The initial letters in these manuscripts were increasingly embellished over time, moving first into the margin and then onto a separate page.

• The initial page is known as the “Chi-Rho monogram” because it is composed of the first two letters of Christ in Greek (XP) and is used to represent Christ or Christianity.

• Except for XP and two Latin words beginning the story of Christ’s birth, most of the page is filled with a rich complexity of spirals and tiny interlacings.

If we look closely at the knots and scrolls we see angels to the left of the X, a man’s head in the P, and cats and mice at the base.

THE MIDDLE AGES (EUROPE) 400-1400

AD

The main purpose for drawing was to produce art

mainly to glorify God and to teach religion.

Painting and drawing merged in the illustration of

Bibles and prayer books produced by monks, called

Illuminated Manuscripts

These beautifully decorated manuscripts were hand-

lettered on vellum (calfskin), or later, on paper.

Medieval Period410-1400

■ Christianity became the state church of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 CE, when Emperor Theodosius I made it the Empire's sole authorized religion

■ The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at times the Middle East and North Africa.

■ Medieval life was consumed by superstition, unsanitary conditions and an extreme form of Christianity.

■ Medieval art in Europe grew out of the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and the iconographic traditions of the early Christian church

Christianity

■ The rise and power of the Christian church consumed all of Medieval Western life.

■ Daily life was under the eye of the God and the teachings of the Church

■ What do the teachings of the Church tell us about the views of the body?

■ 1 Corinthians 6:19

– Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own

■ Proverbs 31:30

– Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised

Medieval and the Body

Medical knowledge in the Middle Ages must have appeared to have stood still.

In Britain, as an example, most things linked to the Romans was destroyed – villas were covered up as the Ancient Britons believed that they contained ghosts and evil spirits

medicine became steeped in superstition and the Roman Catholic Church effectively dominated what direction the medical world took.

Any views different from the established Roman Catholic Church view could veer towards heresy with the punishments that entailed.

Medieval and the Body

Therefore, when the Roman Catholic Church stated that illnesses were punishments from God and that those who were ill were so because they were sinners, few argued otherwise.

As a result, very little was known about the body and how it functioned. Little was known about diseases and many medical schools were closed.

In many parts of the medieval Europe, operations and dissection were illegal.

• The Middle Ages saw a decrease in

prosperity, stability and population in

the first centuries of the period—to

about 800 AD

• massive setback of the Black Death

around 1350, which is estimated to

have killed at least a third of the

overall population in Europe

• Claimed about 75 million lives.

• When facing death, medieval looked

to the Church, just as they did to

medics, for rituals of comfort.

• Healing was an alluring promise of

many saints venerated during the

plague epidemics.

• As a result, saints became part of the

iconography of the plague.

ARTIST UNKNOWNADAM AND EVEFROM THE ESCORIAL BEATUS, 950In the Middle Ages, there was very little interest in the human body, which was seen as only a temporary vessel for the soul.

The body was seen as sinful, the cause of temptation.

In the Old Testament, Adam and Eve eat the apple from the tree of knowledge, realize their nakedness, and cover themselves.

Due to the nudity in this important story, Christians associated nudity with sin and the fall of humankind.

Medieval images of naked bodies do not reflect close observation from real life or an understanding of the inner workings of bodies.

Characteristics

• Vivid use of color

• Lack of perspective/ space

• Lack of accurate scale and proportion

• Most works created for the church

• Thus most works are religious (mostly saints and the Holy Family)

• Human bodies are thus subjected to Catholic ideologies

• Medieval paintings were also called illuminations since there were no portrait paintings during this time.

• The term illumination was inspired by the gleaming effect of a gold leaf, which was often applied to the pages of the manuscript together with ink and paint***

MEDIEVAL

Unlike paganism, Christianity required no images of naked divinities, and new attitudes cast doubt and opprobrium on nude athletics, public bathing, and the very value of the human body.

The early Christian emphasis on chastity and celibacy further discounted depictions of nakedness.

In this climate, there was little motive to study the nude, and unclothed figures are thus rare in medieval art.

The head was the chief symbolic part of the body for Western culture

in the Middle Ages

Since antiquity it signified not only the intellect, the center of

power, but was also regarded as the seat of the soul.

The face is not only central to identity, but is also the primary

vehicle for human expression, emotion, and character.

Depiction of the head becomes a true test of the quality of the

artist and a telling indicator of style.

Thus, the head becomes the only true sense of reality in the Medieval

period.

Head of King DavidDate: ca. 1145Paris, France.

The Head in the Middle Ages

ARENA CHAPELPADUA, ITALY1305

GiottoLamentation of ChristArena ChapelPadua, Italy1305

Giotto and his team covered all the internal surfaces of chapel with frescos, including the walls and the ceiling.

The largest element is extensive cycles showing the Life of Christ and the Life of the Virgin

Lamentation= After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over his body

Space + foreground and background.

Elongated body

Emotion is back!

ROMANESQUE 1050-1200

The stylistic term Romanesque was first used to designate European Christian architecture of the 11th & 12th centuries

They revived Roman principles of stone constructions- especially- the round arch + the barrel vault.

This term is now applied to all medieval art of Western Europe during that period

ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

The arrival of the style coincided with a great increase in church-building, and in the size of cathedrals and larger churches

Romanesque architecture is dominated by:

•Stone structures (like the Romans)

•thick walls

•massive structures

•vaulted roofs

• round-headed windows and arches

ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

•Religious pilgrimages brought large groups of Christians to remote places, creating the need for larger churches.

•Made liberal use of round arches & vaults- creating a feeling of solid stability

•Stone vaults gradually replaced wooden ceilings giving the structures a close resemblance to Roman interiors.

•Consistent throughout the architecture is a common feeling of security provided by massive, fortress-like walls.

ABBEY CHURCH OF SAINTE-FOY

CONQUES, FRANCE1050-1130

• As a Romanesque church, it has

a barrel-vaulted nave lined with

arches on the interior.

• The main feature of these

churches was the cruciform

plan.

AMBULATORY + PILGRAMEGE

WHY DID PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE AGES TAKE PILGRIMAGES?

• For the medieval pilgrim, life was a spiritual journey.

• There are many reasons, but visiting a holy site meant being closer to God. And if

you were closer to God in this life, you would also be closer to God in the next.

PILGRIMS + AMBULATORY

The main feature of these churches was the cruciform plan.

Not only did this plan take the symbolic form of the cross but it also helped control the crowds of pilgrims.

In most cases, pilgrims could enter the western portal and then circulate around the church towards the apse at the eastern end.

The apse usually contained smaller chapels, known as radiating chapels, where pilgrims could visit saint’s shrines, especially the sanctuary of Saint Foy.

They could then circulate around the ambulatory and out the transept, or crossing.

This design helped to regulate the flow of traffic throughout the church

THE RELIQUARY

Reliquary statue of Sainte-Foy (Saint Faith), late 10th to early 11th century

Pilgrims arriving in Conques had one thing on their mind: the reliquary of Saint Foy. This reliquary, or container holding the remains of a saint or holy person, was one of the most famous in all of Europe

The reliquary at Conques held the remains of Saint Foy, a young Christian convert living in Roman-occupied France during the second century. At the age of twelve, she was condemned to die for her refusal to sacrifice to pagan gods, she is therefore revered as a martyr, as someone who dies for their faith. Saint Foy was a very popular saint in Southern France and her relic was extremely important to the church

The gold and gem encrusted statue would been quite a sight for the pilgrims.

Over time, travelers paid homage to Saint Foy by donating gemstones for the reliquary so that her dress is covered with agates, amethysts, crystals, carnelians, emeralds, garnets, hematite, jade, onyx, opals, pearls, rubies, sapphires, topazes, antique cameos and intaglios.

Her face, which stares boldly at the viewer, is thought to have originally been the head of a Roman statue of a child.

The reuse of older materials in new forms of art is known as spolia.

Using spolia was not only practical but it made the object more important by associating it with the past riches of the Roman Empire.

Tympanum: the

surface enclosed by

the arch and lintel of

an arched doorway,

frequently carved

with relief sculptures

ROMANESQUE +LAST

JUDGEMENTThe Last Judgement was a prevalent theme in Romanesque art.

the artwork was designed to teach the masses about Christian ethics with dramatic scenes of heaven and hell.

This scene would have served as a reminder to those entering the Church about the joys of heaven and torments of hell.

Saint lazare of AutunAutun, France1120-1146

• a Roman Catholic cathedral, and a national monument of France.

• Famous for its Romanesque sculptures by Gislebertus it is a highlight in Romanesque art

• The sculptures created by Gislebertus successfully integrate biblical iconography relating to the new and old testament's with ease and amazing artistic ability.

• The size and quality of the tympanum of the Last Judgment, and the lintel of the Temptation of Eve are impressive and exquisitely detailed pieces of art

Interior

Latin-Crossfloor plan

Last Judgment Tympanum, Cathedral of St. Lazare, Autun

The Last Judgement. Tympanum Autun Cathedral by Gislebertus 1130

SCULPTURAL RELIEFSRomanesque churches feature imaginative stone carvings that are integral part of the architecture.

Subjects + models came from miniature paintings in illuminated texts + added level of naturalism.

In addition to stylized and at times naïve figures from biblical stories, relief carvings included strange beasts and decorative plant forms.

The largest and most elaborate figures were placed over the central doorway of churches.

Such figures were the first large sculpture since Roman times.

THE TEMPTATION OF EVE

• Of the main figures that adorned

this entrance, only Eve has

survived.

• Eve is considered one of the

greatest art works in the Western

tradition.

• It is the first large scale nude

sculpture produced since Roman

times.

THE TEMPTATION OF EVE

GISLEBERTUS DREAM OF THE MAGI, 1120-30 CATHEDRAL OF SAINT-LAZARE, AUTUN

Gislebertus

THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY1070’S ENGLAND

• is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres (230 ft) long and 50 centimetres (20 in) tall, which depictsthe events leading up to the Norman conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy.

• Conquered is Harold, Earl of Wessex known as the Battle of Hastings (1066).

• The tapestry consists of some fifty scenes with Latin , embroidered on linen with colored woolen yarns.

• It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo, William's half-brother, and made in England—not Bayeux—in the 1070s