The Middle Ages

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The Middle Ages

• Life after the fall of Rome

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• Fall of Rome begins the Dark Ages
• A. 400 AD 800 AD
• B. Barbarian invasions destroyed 3,000 years of
  art, history, and learning
• C. major effects
• 1. cultural leadership shifted from the
  Mediterranean to France, Germany and Great
  Britain (England)
• 2. political leadership moved from secular
  (non religious) to the Christian (Catholic)
  church
• 3. Paganism was wiped out

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• 4. art emphasis shifted from man-centered
  beauty of the here-and-now to the here-after,
• human body viewed as corrupt and evil
• a. Nudes forbidden
• b. Greco-Roman ideals of harmony, balance
• and proportion between body and mind lost
• D. Medieval art emphasized the human soul
• E. art became the servant of the Church
• F. Church taught DIVINE (GODLY) beauty could
  be understood thru material beauty (beginning of
  magnificent cathedrals)
• G. Christian architecture turned the
  Greco-Roman temple inside out -

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• 1. simple on the outside, very rich and
  decorated on the inside

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Greek vs. Christian
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Inside an early Christian church
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• I. Three styles developed
• 1. Byzantine
• 2. Romanesque
• 3. Gothic
• II. Byzantine art and architecture
• A. from Eastern Mediterranean 330-1453 AD
• B. named after the city of Byzantium (later
  changed to Constantinople) in Turkey
• C. Combined early Christian art w/
  Greek/Oriental designs and brilliant colors

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• D. Byzantine art CONVENTIONS
• 1. complex
• 2. formal
• 3. rigid frontal poses
• 4. wide staring eyes
• 5. tall, slim figures (thiness holiness)
• 6. almond-shaped faces
• 7. no hint of movement
• 8. mostly holy figures with halos
• 9. no backgrounds in artwork

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Empress Theodora

• An actress, she married Justinian I, even
  though it was against the law.
• During the Nika revolt, she saved Justinians
  empire. (He was going to flee and she convinced
  him to stay and fight)

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(copy) Emperor Justinian and his attendants

• Note they almost seem to be
• floating off the ground
• the gold background is heavenly,
• the figures are tall and slim (monks took a vow
  of poverty, so thin holy)
• 4.no suggestion of bodies under the robes

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• E. Byzantine art features mosaics, carved ivory,
  miniature paintings and ICONS small wooden
  panel paintings thought to have magical
  properties
• Tesserae glass embedded with color to create
  vibrant, colorful mosaics

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(copy) Icons painted on wooden panels
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• F. Byzantine architecture
• 1. Most famous The Sophia Hagia (Church of
  the
• Holy Wisdom)
• 2. merged Roman and Eastern styles
• 3. PENDENTIVES engineering break-thru
• a. four arches support weight of
  dome
• b. Allows for a soaring interior with
  no columns
• to bear the weight
• c. 40 arched windows circle base
  of dome
• gives illusion that the dome is resting
  on a halo
• of light

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Hagia Sophia
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inside
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(copy) Romanesque

• Due to the weight of the stone ceiling, the walls
  of the church had to be very thick.  Windows had
  to be small to keep the strength of the wall
  strong.  Because of this, the churches interior
  was dim.  This was not solved till the gothic
  church design was used. 

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Romanesque
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(copy) II. Romanesque

• Used elements of Roman architecture
• 11th C. to 12th C.
• Barbarian and Islamic attacks ended
• Crusades brought back Oriental/Byzantine
  influences to Western Europe
• Middle class began to emerge (craftsmen and
  merchants)

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(copy) II. Romanesque Churches

• Enter at West
• Worship towards East (toward Jerusalem)
• Terms
• 1. NAVE congregation
• 2. LANTERNS towers on either side of
  entrance
• 3. APSE large semi-circular area at choir
  end of church usually contains altar
• 4. AMBULATORIES walkway around apse
• 5. TRANSEPT intersects the nave at 1
  end in a cross shaped church
• 6. CROSSINGS where nave and transept
  intercept

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• D. Vaults - ceilings of stone that replaced
  burnable wooden roofs
• 1.Barrel vault - semi cylindrical ceiling
• 2. groined vault formed by intersection of
  2 barrel vaults
• 3. ribbed vault system of self-supporting
  ribs and web of thinner material filling spaces
  between ribs

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• E. Monastaries churches that included living
  quarters for monks also called Abbeys
• 1. cloisters living quarters for monks
• 2. cathedrals churches for Bishops
  include
• cathedra a chair in center of altar
  area

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Barrel vault 1. barrel vault- semi cylindrical
ceiling
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Groin vault
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Ribbed vault system of self-supporting ribs and
web of thinner material filling spaces between
the ribs
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Ribbed vaults
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Romanesque
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(copy) II. Romanesque sculpture

• Sculpture designed to help people understand
  church teachings
• Sculpture is part of the structure tops of
  capitals of columns
• Some found over doors and under arches
• Sometimes placed in niches
• Sculpture is EXPRESSIONISTIC emphasizes a
  strong emotional response rather than a natural
  appearance
• 1. sculpure is thin to show vow of poverty
  which holiness

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(copy) III. Romanesque art

• Painting mostly frescoes
• Illuminated manuscripts monks copy scripture
  (Bible) and EMBELLISH (decorate) page with
  fanciful letters and drawings
• 1. used parchment/vellum (calf skin), ink,
  tempura, and gold
• Stained glass mixed color with glass, made
  large jewel-tone sheets that could be cut into
  shapes and held in place with lead channels
• Tapestry embroidered wool that tells a story
• 1. Bayeux tapestry tells of William the
  Conquerors invasion of England in 1066
• E. Mosaics continue, begin to add backgrounds

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(copy) Illuminated Manuscripts

• Medieval Monks worked tirelessly in the
  scriptoriums to hand print the Bible and other
  important texts.
• The pages were made of parchment, aka, vellum.
  This is made from calf skin.

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Bayeux Tapestry
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230 feet long, 20 inches wide
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(copy) IV. Gothic

• 12th C to the Renaissance (15th C)
• Only art style to date that can be traced to 1
  person
• place
• Abbot Suger (France) re-designs his church
• 1. light represents God
• 2. enlarged apse and huge windows to let
  in light
• 3. developed an architecture of SUPPORTS
  not walls allowed for massive use of STAINED
  GLASS
• D. Elements of Gothic architecture
• 1. Unity principles of design that relate
  to the oneness or wholeness of a work of art

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Flying Buttresses allows Gothic cathedrals to
reach incredible heights
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• 2. façade outside of building decorated
  as much as
• inside 1st time outside/inside given
  equal importance
• a. figures still long and lean
• b. drapery still thin straight
• c. In 13th C., sculptors begin to
  ALMOST do in-the-
• round statues
• d. When works of Aristotle
  re-discovered, body is no
• longer despised, but seen as
  envelope of the soul
• (begins a return to realism)
• 3. Verticality (by reality and illusion)
  Church is reaching to
• heaven
• 4. pointed arches (stronger than rounded)

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• 5. TRACERY carvings that cover arches
• 6. Rose or wheel windows huge circular
  windows
• made of colored glass
• 7. FLYING BUTTRESSES outside supports
  made of
• a buttress and flying arch (allowed
  glass to take the
• place of stone walls
• 8. Sometimes called Stone Bibles because
  tracery,
• stained glass, sculpture and paintings
  to tell the
• story of the Bible

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The flying buttresses pushes against the wall,
making it stronger
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Computer generated aerial view
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Gargoyles a reminder of Hell
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Andas rainspouts
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Façade (front of building)Doorway is called
PORTAL
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Arched vaults made the cathedrals taller and
provided an illusion of height
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Cologne cathedral, Germany
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Gothic slowly returning to realism
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Notre Dame, Paris
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Notre Dame, Chartres
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(copy) Romanesque vs. Gothic

• Barrel or groin groin or ribbed
• Rounded arches pointed arches
• Thick walls, buttresses flying
  buttresses
• Small windows lg. stained
  glass
• Horizontal emphasis vertical
  emphasis
• Plain façade decorated façade
• Dark, gloomy inside tall, filled
  with light

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Stone Bibles
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Stained Glass stone walls were replaced with
magnificent colored glass
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Rose or Wheel window
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The despised human body began to be seen in a
different light

• As the envelope that contains the soul

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• Hieronymus Bosh one of the few artists whose
  name we know.
• Works include Garden of Earthly Delights
• (tryptich 3 panels)
• Removing the Stone of Madness

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Removing the Stone of Madness