art history medieval christendom

MEDIEVAL CHRISTENDOM

AP ART HISTORY

Sofi Sandoval

Middle ages art

• The degraded, humiliated, suffering god in human form is peculiarly Christian conception.

• Christ as a healer, teacher, law giver and judge. The cross was a symbol of triumph over death and the Crucifixion was seldom represented even in cycles of new testament.

• (England, Norway, Denmark) Northern artistic traditions of intricate flat were to contribute much to the creation of medieval art in Western Christendom.

Cross of lothar,

• Gold precious stones and cloisonne (soldering flat metal strips to the surface of the object) enamel. A very different in spirit and significance, magnificent gold cross.

Cross of gero, Oak wood, germany

• The cross as a whole symbolized the union of the church and state under an emperor anointed and crowned by the pope, a union passionately sought in the middle ages.

• Simple, naturalistic figure, Muscles stretch on arm. Meant to engender the reflection and sorrow. Development of emotionally moving art in the Romanesque style.

ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE ITALY

• Baptisery, cathedral and campanile, Pisa, 1063-1272

• Churches built on traditional plans, but highly decorated externally.

• White marble with thin horizontal lines of black, which give a gently shimmering effect.

• Bruscheto responsible for a remarkable decorative scheme.

Baptisery, cathedral and campanile in pisa

Cathedral complex at pisa

• The complex is an example of the Italian Romanesque style, characterized by the use of colored marbles on the exterior.

• The complex contains three separate buildings, cathedral, baptistery, bell tower.

• French Romanesque churches incorporated the cathedral, the bell tower into one building.

Morgan madonna, wood

• This is a western version of the Byzantine Theotokos, with Mary representing the Church and Jesus holding a bible (now lost) which was a symbol for WISDOM.

• Sculptures like this one became popular devotional objects and were common during this time period, Very few of these still exist.

Sn marco, venice

Sn marco, venice

S MARCO• S Marco in Venice, is essentially

Byzantine, designed by a Greek architect about 1063 closely modelled on the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.

• It was a chapel attached to the palace of the Doges (the elected leaders of Venetian republic).

• Spiritual atmosphere with its dime light, mysterious spaces and lean faces of saints.

• Gleaming gold mosaics on wall and roof.

• Gold altarpiece on the high altar – was enlarged by the addition of cloisonne enamel plaques imported from Constantinople (pala d oro)

S MARCO, VENICE• The finest Byzantine works of art of

their time, superbly elegance of line and color. = Pala d Oro

• The interior of S Marco was gradually transformed with mosaics in non byzantine styles. = Windows were filled to provide additional wall space, dimming (closing) the light to which Byzantine architects gave much importance.

• S Marco symbolizes the rise of Venetian republic to international importance and by implication its independence even from the Papacy.

Gothic art

• Pointed arches were devised to allow higher ceilings in the nave area of the church.

• Ribbed vaults carried the weight of the roof and allowed the walls to be opened up to accommodate larger windows.

• Stained glass became the NORM for filling there large windows. Since they were not structural, they had to be reinforced with crossbars.

• Stained glass window served: to depict biblical stories, brought colored light to the interior of churches, and created a mystical atmosphere inside the churches.

• Romanesque architecture is heavy, while the gothic architecture is light and soaring.

High gothic

Nave of Amiens Cathedral, FranceFrench architects – to create a system in which structure of construction and visually expressive form = embracing religious faithHigh Gothic reached its peak at Amiens, France. An example of the high gothic style, this cathedral is the tallest of the Gothic French churches. It became an important pilgrimage church when the head of Saint John the Baptist was deposited there by the crusaders, who had taken it from Constantinople

Amiens Cathedral france

Chartres cathedral, france

Notre dame, parisGothic architects –Slender skeletal supports and integrate the interior and exterior of High gothic into a whole. – Romanesque facadeCathedral of Notre dame in Paris, states clearly a very GEOMETRICAL SYSTEM. Much grater emphasis placed on Verticals.

Notre dame

• This church as an important Marian pilgrimage center, due to the relics of Mary that were housed here.

• The plan of this cathedral is a cross with 3 aisles, and a short transept and ambulatory.

• The west portral known as the Royal portral was completed in 1150. the Jamp sculptures depict kings, queens and figures of old testament.

• The sculptures are full of expression, gazing down on the visitor with elegant condescension.

• The figures show a visible transition from Romanesque to Gothic.

Virgin and dead christ, rottgen pieta

The image of Mary, seated alone and mourning over the body of her son, became popular devotional subject in the gothic period.The image developed from mystical writings that focused on the contemplation of the suffering of jesus and his mother. This image is a variation of the lamentation theme that was common in the Byzantine art

Sculpture

• All things came to be seen as a manifestation of the divine, a great impetus was given to naturalism in the figurative arts, specially sculpture.

• Columns are still decorated with geometrical patterns, but also heroic scale saints and angels are like detached from the building conceived as grandiose scale, sunk in meditation. (figures occupying the same space and apparently breathing the same air as the spectator.)

West portal, chartres cathedral

English gothic

“Decorated style” double curving arches and bars of window tracery sacrifices logic to decorative effect.

Nave vault, Lincoln Cathedral , England 1240

Gothic architecture

• Flamboyant style – elaborate curvilinear ornament with elaborate vestments.

The Percy Tomb, Beverley Minister, England 1339

Bonaventura berlinghieri, st francis 1235, tempera

Coarse, gray-brown habit and rope girdle with three knots symbolizing poverty, chastity and obedience, hands and feet marked with the stigmata, lean, ascetic, lightly bearded face and tonsured head.

Informative rather than expressive, reminding the expectator how st Francis received stigmata. Suffering because of their believes offered to religion.