Late Medieval Art… and a little bit of

architecture (Romanesque &

Gothic)

Romanesque and Gothic art get lumped

together into Medieval art

principles while architecture is

divided into specifically

Romanesque and Gothic

Pope Innocent III, On the Misery of the Human Condition, c. 1200 Man is conceived of blood made rotten by the heat of lust; and in the end worms, like mourners, stand about his corpse. In life he produced lice and tapeworms; in death he will produce worms and flies. In life he produced dung and vomit; in death he produces rottenness and stench. In life he fattened one man; in death he fattens a multitude of worms….

Thus humans are horrible sinners, life is deservedly hard, and only God is good.

Thus humans are horrible sinners, life is deservedly hard, and only God is good.

Medieval Art

Scene of MartyrdomFrench Romanesque Fresco

Scene of MartyrdomFrench Romanesque Fresco

Coming out of the Dark Ages, artists had yet to figure out how to capture painted imagery naturalistically or realistically. They look childlike or cartoony.

Coming out of the Dark Ages, artists had yet to figure out how to capture painted imagery naturalistically or realistically. They look childlike or cartoony.

Human faces in paintings throughout the era were very flat, unrealistic and looked alike.

Human faces in paintings throughout the era were very flat, unrealistic and looked alike.

Human and animal body parts are disproportionate and usually elongated. Romanesque = elongated in painting. Gothic= elongated in sculpture.

Medieval painters had not yet learned how to handle perspective, so architecture and landscapes are awkward.

Medieval painters had not yet learned how to handle perspective, so architecture and landscapes are awkward.

Up to this point, we’ve been looking at

Romanesque art. Know as we move into Gothic art

that there are some principles that are true of Romanesque as well as

Gothic art. Such as elongation and missing perspective or depth.

Cimabue, Madonna

Enthroned, 1280-90

Example: NO PERSPECTI

VEFlat pictorial space similar to Ancient & Byzantine works

detail

Dematerialization– the realities and

structures of reality are absent, like it’s

occurring in a vacuum. There is no

tangible background, or

perspective, Madonna and child have no clarity of

bone. They are soft and ungrounded.

Madonna and Child, ca. 1326Simone Martini

ByzantineEnthroned Madonna and Child, 13th century, tempera on panel

Greek & Italian blend

In Gothic art, the infants (usually Jesus) look like a shrunken version of an adult.

GIOTTOMadonna in Glory, c.

1311Tempera on panel

suggestions of PERSPECTIVE in a GOTHIC ERA work; PERSPECTIVE is a major development of the RENAISSANCE

detail

Shading gives volume

Late Gothic/ Early Renaissance from 1305

BOLD

DIAGONAL

Giotto, Pieta(Lamentation)fresco

Gothic art also showcases a strong diagonal line.

GIOTTOThe

Presentation of the Virgin

c. 1305Fresco.

Cappella dell'Arena,

Padua

Is there a diagonal in

this composition?

In the Frick panel, a majestically towering Christ is shown rejecting the devil, who offers Him “all the kingdoms of the world” if Christ will worship him (Matthew 4:8–11). Duccio retains medieval conventions in depicting the figures as large and the spurned kingdoms as small, thus suggesting a scale of values rather than naturalistic proportions. Yet the story is presented in terms that are immediately meaningful. Christ expresses a sorrowful solemnity, and the cities in the foreground — packed with turrets, domes, and crenellations — vividly evoke the festive colors and crowded hill-sites of Siena.

Duccio di Buoninsegna The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain, 1308-1311

Pope Innocent III, On the Misery of the Human Condition, c. 1200

(1)

. . . man was formed of dust, slime, and ashes: what is even more vile, of the filthiest seed. He was conceived from the itch of the flesh, in the heat of passion and the stench of lust, and worse yet, with the stain of sin. He was born to toil, dread, and trouble; and more wretched still, was born only to die. He commits depraved acts by which he offends God, his neighbor, and himself; shameful acts by which he defiles his name, his person, and his conscience; and vain acts by which he ignores all things important, useful, and necessary. He will become fuel for those fires which are forever hot and burn forever bright; food for the worm which forever nibbles and digests; a mass of rottenness which will forever stink and reek.

CimabueThe Flagellation of Christ, c. 1280

Martyrdom?Softness of bone?Awkward landscape or background?

.

The earliest Gothic art was monumental sculpture, on the walls of Cathedrals and abbeys. Christian art was often typological in nature, showing the stories of the New Testament and the Old Testament side by side. Saints' lives were often depicted.

Figures were elongated

…from Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral detail

Unnatural proportions—heads way bigger than they would realistically be.

Images of the Virgin Mary changed from the Byzantine iconic form to a more human and affectionate mother, cuddling her infant, swaying from her hip, and showing the refined manners of a well-born aristocratic courtly lady.

Romanesque, because of the funny proportions—big head, kind of cartoony.

Gothic—child looks like shrunken adult, elongated, but elegant body

Recap of Medieval Art Principles

Romanesque: Not naturalistic or realistic of bodyRomanesque: look cartoony or flatRomanesque: Awkward landscapes or architectureRomanesque and Gothic: elongated bodiesRomanesque and Gothic: sculpture disproportionate body (big heads)Romanesque and Gothic: Affectionate mother and childGothic: No background at all, just colored spaceGothic: No perspectiveGothic: The stuff that is most important is largestGothic: Look soft or bonelessGothic: infants look like shrunken adultsGothic: Strong diagonal lineGothic: Stained glass

The Gothic's

were known for

their stained glass

Kylemore Abbey, Galway, Ireland

Principles of Gothic architecture

Pointed archesFlying buttressesEmphasis on the verticalStained glass (lots of light)Ornate decorationElongated sculptureRibbed vaulting

Notre Dame Cathedral

begun in 1163

Notre Dame Cathedral

flying buttresses

c. 1175

Chartres Cathedral buttresses

Flying Buttress diagram

Abbey Church of Saint Denis

ribbed vaulting

Chartres Cathedral

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SUMMARY – Late Medieval art & Gothic architecture

• ARCHITECTURE – arches get the point; buttresses fly & glass is stained – emphasis on

VERTICAL

• ART – dematerialized human figures moving towards realistic pictorial space

• IDEAS – life is bad, humans worse, God is great

• EVENTS – plague, weakening of Church authority