MEDIEVAL ART Part 1: Early Christian, Byzantine, Migratory
Early ChristianAPAH 250 Images:48. Catacomb of Priscilla (Greek Chapel, Orant, Good Shepherd frescos)
49. Santa Sabina 
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In the European West, Medieval art is often broken into smaller periods. These date ranges vary by location.
c.500-800 – Early Medieval Art c.780-900 – Carolingian Art c.900-1000 – Ottonian Art c.1000-1200 – Romanesque Art c.1200-1400 – Gothic Art (Dr. Nancy Ross) CONTENT: What do you see?
FORM: The details (what you see more exactly). How the artist delivers the content. CONTEXT: Everything NOT observable. FUNCTION: The intended purpose of the work.
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VOCABULARY
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EARLY CHRISTIAN CONTEXT 1. Constantine legitimizes Christianity - Edict of Milan in 313 CE. He makes Byzantium the capitol of the eastern Roman Empire and changes the name to Constantinople. In 600 CE Pope Gregory (in Rome) establishes the papacy as a political power.
2. The fall of Rome/Roman Empire. In 410 CE the Visigoths sack Rome. Ravenna becomes the capital of the Western Roman Empire under Honorius. The Western Roman Empire falls in 476 CE, Odoacer conquers Italy and Ravenna becomes the capital of the Ostrogothic kingdom. 3. The early Christian church appropriates Greek and Roman forms for architecture, sculpture, painting, and mosaics for purposes of illustrating the characteristics of Christianity (below). By 392 CE Christianity is the o ficial religion of the Empire. 4. Distinctive characteristics of Christianity: a. proselytizing (converting from one religion or belief to another) making didactic art work(art that teaches/ulterior motive) in sacred spaces b. congregational with shared prayer, sermons, sacrament, confession making large assembly halls necessary for worship c. burial requirements makes catacombs and sarcophagi necessary d. mysticism and miracles are cornerstones of the faith = didactic art work requires images and storytelling |
KEY IDEAS
- Note: The style of early Christian works is described as late Roman or of late antiquity. Early Christianity is not the style of the works itself- just subject matter.
- No known artworks before 3rd century
- Christianity starts as an underground religion, as the pagan religion of the Romans was still the majority.
- Earliest works can be found in catacombs or on sarcophagi
- Architecture: mostly basilican or centrally planned buildings
- Founded by Jesus Christ in the early 1st century
- Early leaders/popes were martyred such as St. Peter
- Early Christians were persecuted by the Roman Empire but given restitution of property in 313 with the Edict of Milan.
- Constantine is the single most advocator for the Christian faith, often favoring them in political positions and patronizing religious buildings. He was officially converted on his death bed.
- Christians bury their dead because it resembles the burial of Jesus Christ. Under Rome are hundreds of miles of catacombs where Christians, Jews, and pagans are buried (cheaper too).
- Christianity, Judaism, and Islam stem from the same branch
- Christian (Bible): believe that Jesus was the son of God and will judge again
- Jewish (Torah): believe that they are the chosen people and wait for the Messiah (anointed one)
- Muslim (Quran): believe that Jesus was a prophet like Mohammad, not the son of God.
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BYZANTINE
APAH 250 Images:52. Hagia Sophia
51. San Vitale (including Justinian and Theodora panels) 54. Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George 50. Vienna Genesis (Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well and Jacob) 
Byzantine Art (and Early Christian)
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BYZANTINE CONTEXTConstantinople:
Founded in 330 CE by Constantine as the center of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire ended with Constantinople falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. Theocracy: The belief that the ruler as head of state is also the religious leader (the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church). Justinian claimed to be “Vicar of Christ on Earth”. The Eastern Orthodox Church splits with the western church in 1054. Justinian: Was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in 550 CE. He invades Ravenna and eastern Italy comes under his control. Justinian declares Christianity to be the only lawful religion of his empire. Mosaics: The main decorative element in church interiors - they were best preserved in Ravenna. Mosaics were iconic representations of complex theological ideas. 
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KEY IDEAS |
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MIGRATORYMigratory Art
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APAH 250 Images:
53. Merovingian looped fibulae
55. Lindisfarne Gospels, St. Matthew, cross-carpet page; St. Luke incipit page NEED TO KNOW DATESMerovingian: 600
Carolingian: 800 Ottoman: 1000 
VOCABULARY
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Migratory + Early Northern Medieval Context:
Fall of the Roman Empire: Roman traditions diminish in importance and infl uence as northern European ethnic groups and indigenous art traditions assert themselves.
Impermanence/mobility: Nomadic traditions of northern European peoples and Viking marauders threaten stability of northern Europe therefore, no signi ficant architecture or large scale sculpture.
Craft traditions/portable art objects: The creation of ornamental art with zoomorphic “animal style” serpentine and interlacing designs as portable art objects that had value and “currency”, especially jewelry and gold, leather goods, and wood carving.
Rise of Monasticism and the Benedictine Order: The order was founded in 529 CE with emphasis on work - manual labor and religious study. Irish monks (missionaries to the “barbarian” north) are known for copying the gospels and Bible by hand in scriptoria in monasteries on the islands of Lindesfarne and Iona from 600 - 800 CE. This was the “Golden Age” of Irish art .
Impermanence/mobility: Nomadic traditions of northern European peoples and Viking marauders threaten stability of northern Europe therefore, no signi ficant architecture or large scale sculpture.
Craft traditions/portable art objects: The creation of ornamental art with zoomorphic “animal style” serpentine and interlacing designs as portable art objects that had value and “currency”, especially jewelry and gold, leather goods, and wood carving.
Rise of Monasticism and the Benedictine Order: The order was founded in 529 CE with emphasis on work - manual labor and religious study. Irish monks (missionaries to the “barbarian” north) are known for copying the gospels and Bible by hand in scriptoria in monasteries on the islands of Lindesfarne and Iona from 600 - 800 CE. This was the “Golden Age” of Irish art .
MEDIEVAL ART Part 2: Romanesque
APAH 250 Images:58. Church of Sainte-Foy
- Reliquary of Sainte-Foy - Tympanum of Sainte-Foy (the Last Judgment) 59. Bayeux Tapestry |
History of 11th Century Europe:c 1000 Leif Erickson reaches America
Pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain or St. Peter’s in Rome (less frequently) 1054 Great Schism - Christian Church splits between western (Rome) and eastern (Orthodox) branches - Pope of Rome consolidates political and religious power in Western Europe c 1066 Battle of Hastings - William the Conqueror invades England and is crowned King of England after defeating Harold, uniting England with much of France. Normans conquer Sicily (freed from Byzantine control) c 1080 Hugh of Semur Abbot of Cluny (St. Benedict, founder of western monasticism, est. Benedictine Order c 540) c 1095 The First Crusade - encouraged by Pope Urbane II (former Abbott of Cluny) Free Jerusalem from Islam/Turks 1149 The Second Crusade 
KEY IDEAS
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CONTEXT
10 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROMANESQUE STYLE (MATT CURESS)
- First international style since the Roman Empire (Germany, Normandy, England, Tuscany)
- Competition for the largest church (Pisa Cathedral)
- Mansonry (no concrete)
- East end of church is the religious focal point for services
- Portals act as a "billboard" for elements of faith (The Last Judgement)
- Cruciform plans, church as a metaphor for heaven
- Plans/elevation based on basilican forms
- Bays divide the nave into compartments
- Rounded arches are the norm
- Tripartite division of the elevation continues from earlier periods
Characteristics of Romanesque Pilgrimage Churches
1. Barrel vaulting over nave with transverse ribs
2. Round - headed windows “punched out” of thick load bearing walls 3. Exterior buttresses counter - thrust force of barrel vaults 4. Compound piers on interior nave wall with galleries below triforium 5. Ambulatory around apse/altar with radiating chapels 6. Extended choir behind crossing and altar 7. Latin cross plan - distinct transepts with radiating chapels 8. Twin towers on westwork of facade, single tower over crossing 9. Narthex between towers of westwork 10. Relatively dark interiors (compared to later Gothic structures) due to load bearing walls 11. Plan of church based on a square module (a bay) repeated throughout the church in multiples (2X, 4X) 
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VOCABULARY
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MEDIEVAL ART Part 3: Gothic
APAH 250 Images:60. Chartres Cathedral
- West, North, South Portals - Notre Dame de la Bella Verriere 61. Dedication Page with Blanche of Castile and King Louis IX of France 62. Röttgen Pietà 64. Golden Haggadah (The Plagues of Egypt, Scenes of Liberation, and Preparation for Passover). |
History in 12th Century France:1. “Ile de France”: Paris is at the center of the region about 100 miles around Paris. King Louis of France asserts his power.
2. Economics: Paris was the mercantile hub of Europe with trade fairs, European banking, new methods of taxation, and a money economy developed during the 12th century under a strong monarchy (Louis VI and VII) 3. Scholasticism (Thomas Aquinas): a new, rational approach to philosophy and theology - School of Chartres (cathedral) and University of Paris (founded around 1150) was intellectual center of Europe (also Oxford, Cambridge, and Padua) 4. Courtly Love: Eleanor of Aquitaine established a center of culture in Poitiers - status of courtly women/ cult of the Virgin 5. History: Two catastrophic events occur: -Hundred Years War between England + France in 1337 and decimates much of Europe -Black Plague strikes Europe in 1348 and decimates the population of Europe by 40% 6. Religion: Cult of the Virgin - new devotion to “Our Lady” - elevation of the Virgin to new status as “Queen of Heaven” -The Great Schism - 1378 the Catholic Church has two popes claiming title - one in Avignon, one in Rome (until 1417) 
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CONTEXTContext for development of Gothic style in Sculpture:
1. Re-emergence of the human body as a central subject matter of art - religious character still within the context of architectural decoration/embellishment - still primarily surrounding portals to churches. 2. Growing belief that the Christian “soul” must be manifested within the human body. ( Aristotle’s writings rediscovered - the human body is the form of the soul - a manifestation of it, and therefore should be beautiful, to represent God’s creation.) |
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Characteristics of Gothic Style: 1. Choir, ambulatory, radiating chapels become one uni ed space - interior walls “dissolve”
2. Rib-groin vaulting carries weight of roof structure above down to cluster piers and columns 3. Stain glass windows replace heavy walls of Romanesque style 4. Pointed arch (instead of round headed arch) transfers weight more vertically, reducing outward thrust of vaulting 5. Greater flexibility in spanning spaces using ribbed groin vaulting and pointed arch 6. Flying buttresses transfer weight of walls and roof to exterior of Gothic cathedral 7. Increased verticality is possible using the above building forms - nave and tower become higher 8. Light, through large stained glass windows fi lls interior space with colored light = divine light |
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VOCABULARY
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KEY IDEAS
- "Gothic" term coined by the historian Georgia Vasari during the Renaissance. Originally meant to be derogative as he thought the gothic style was crude and ugly.
- Perfected the Romanesque style (ribbed vaults, groin vaults, pointed arches, and clerestories.
- The quest for Height and Light is very important. The higher the architecture, the closer to God you'll be. Light is the manifestation of God known as lux nova, new light.
- Sculpture/reliefs are higher in relief and emphasizes the verticality of the architecture.
- Women were no longer considered "handmaidens of the devil". The Cult of the Virgin replaced a previous veneration of Eve, the great sinner.
- Saint Denis is the first fully Gothic structure in France. The ambulatory becomes the new focus. Abbot Suger is credited to creating this new gothic style. He believed the church should be of great beauty. The more grand, the closer to God the worshipper could become.
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