Romanesque

Introduction

• This style appeared during the Middle Ages• It is the first style that can be found all over

Europe, • The expansion of the style was linked to the

pilgrimages, mainly to Santiago di Compastela.

Introduction

• Romanesque art developed because of…– The end of Barbarian invasions– The decomposition of Cordoba’s government – The establishment of peace in

the Christian world, with the

development of the cities,

commerce and industry.

Expansion

• The factors of the expansion of Romanesque art were:– Development of a feudal system,

that demanded works (castles)– The expansion of religious orders

(Benedictines), developed the monasteries– The pilgrimage routes– The crusades

FUEDAL SYSTEM

TIMBER FRAMING

Typologies

• There are three main types of buildings:

Churches

Monasteries

Castles

Monastery

• It was designed as the “City of God”• They had several functional areas:

– Church– Cloister– Chapter room– Abbot’s house– Monks/ nuns rooms– Refectory – Hospital

                                                                            

Church

• It was the main building

• It symbolized God’s kingdom

• The holiest part was the apse

• It had cross shape

• Symbolism was important:– Circular parts reflect perfection so they were

linked to God– Squared parts are related to the human.

Church

• Characteristics:– Monumental, trying to imitate the Roman models in

the Pilgrimage churches– Small in country churches– They were designed for advertising Catholic church– They were lasting, made of stone– Plans could be:

• Latin cross• Polygonal• Basilical

Latin cross Polygonal Basilical

Church

• Parts of the plan

Church

• Parts from the outside

Church

• Elevation:• The church is covered by stoned vaults• Wall are thick• They need strong buttresses• Foundations are strong• Few windows

Church

• Interior elevation: it consists of three levels:

• First floor with columns or cross-shaped pillars

• Second floor with the tribune (corridor over looking the nave, over the aisles)

• Clerestory: area of windows opening to the outside.Column

Pillar

Tribune

Clerestory

Interior of a RomanesqueCathedral

Church

• Type of covers:

Barrel vault: it was used mainly to cover the central nave

Groin vault was common in aisles and ambulatory

Dome: spherical were used in apses. The central could stand on pendentives or squinches

Romanesque in France

• It was the original region of Romanesque art

• It appeared in Cluny’s abbey

• From there it expanded thanks to the pilgrimage routes, specially to Santiago in Spain.

Romanesque in France

• Burgundy: barrel-vaulted, three-aisled basilica

• Normandy: Lombard influences with groined vaults supported by flying buttresses and façades with two flanking towers.

Sainte Magdalene, Vezelay

Cluny

Romanesque in France

• It is characterized by various vaulted styles

• Provence: pointed domes and façades decorated with arches

• Auvergne with long choir, side aisles around the semicircular sanctuary forming the ambulatory in which radiating chapels open

Saint Trophime, Arles

Saint Sernin

Toulouse

ST. DENISPARIS

St. Filibert, France, 10c

Romanesque in Italy

• Italian provinces developed a great diversity of architectural styles– Lombardy with groined

vaults of heavy proportions– Central Italy classical

decorative elements: Corinthian capitals, coloured marble, open arches, colonnades and galleries and façades with sculptures

Saint Ambroggio, Milan

Saint Miniato, Florence

Romanesque in Italy

– South with Byzantine and Arabic influences, using mosaics, interlaced pointed-arches.Cefalu, Sicily

Romanesque in Italy

– South with Byzantine and Arabic influences, using mosaics, interlaced pointed-arches.

• Three separate buildings: church, baptistery and bell tower.

Cefalu, Sicily

Pisa Cathedral, in Tuscany, presents three separate buildings.

BAPTISTRY-FLORENCE

Romanesque in Germany

• Churches were planned on a large scale• They used to be very high• They had an apse or sanctuary at each end.• Numerous round or octagonal towers that conferred

them a picturesque silhouette.

Worms

Church of St. Sebaldus, Nürnberg

Romanesque in England

• Long, narrow buildings were constructed with heavy walls and piers, rectangular apses, double transepts and deeply recessed portals

• Naves were covered with flat roofs, later replaces by vaults, and side aisles were covered with groined vaults.

Romanesque in England

• Before the 10th century were made of wood

• Stone buildings were small and roughly constructed

• The Norman Romanesque style replace the Saxon in 11th century

DURHAM CATHEDRAL

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

The flying buttress

Romanesque in Spain

• First Romanesque: Catalonia

• In the 11th century the region was almost assimilated to France

• Due to this they receive the art early

• The rest of the Spain would receive it with the pilgrimage

Romanesque in Spain

• Catalan churches present, in the outside, ordered volumes

• Wall are decorated with Lombard bands, and blind arches and galleries

• The plan has three naves, with a small narthex

• The head has triple apse

Spanish Castle, 14c

Romanesque in Spain

• There are polygonal buildings too

• They are related to the Temple

• They are inspired in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre

• Examples are Eunate, Torres del Rio (both in Navarre) and Veracruz (Segovia).

Romanesque in Spain

• Castile and Leon:• It is deeply influenced

by the pilgrimage routes

• The churches are identified with the spirit of the Reconquist

Romanesque in Spain

• Buildings are simple and small

• It created a contrast in relation to the refined Hispano Muslin architecture.

• They frequently have a covered area in the outside for the meetings of the councils.

Romanesque in Spain

• The best examples are:– Santiago’s cathedral– Fromista– Sant Climent de Tahull– San Pere de Roda– San Juan de la Peña

• There are other buildings such as castles (Loarre, in Huesca) or bridges, essential for pilgrims (Puentelarreina, Navarre)

castles

Castle

• Castles were defensive constructions

• They were fortified for providing shelter

• The wall was one of the essential elements

• They tend to be build in stepped areas, easier to defend.

MOTT AND BAILEY

STARTED BY THE NORMANS

STONE CASTLE

WARWICK

AVILA

CARCASSONNE

Cathedral of Mont-Saint Michel:

A Fortress & A Church

DURHAM CASTLE

DURHAM CASTLE

LUMLEY CASTLE

THE WHITE TOWER LONDON

CHAPEL OF ST. JOHN