Early Middle Ages
C. 650-1150 AD
Artist as Propagandist
New Vocabulary:
Enamel
Westwork
Narthex
transept
Choir
Apse
Crypt
Psalter
•“The Dark Ages”- period between classical antiquity
and its rebirth (the Renaissance)
•650-750- the center of civilization moved northward
into Northern/Western Europe
•Artwork was portable at first due to movement of the
people
•Decorative animal motifs prevailed
•Metalwork was principle medium- small objects
translated into wood, stone, manuscript illustration
•Celtic-Germanic Style
•Animal style- Germanic tribes that entered Western Europe during the
declining years of the Roman Empire brought artistic traditions with themfrom Iran and Scythian Gold
•Made of gold and enamel
•Four pairs of symmetrical motifs- man between fighting animals- this is a
popular motif in early Christian Art
Purse Cover, 625-33 AD
•Details are realistic
but surface is
covered with lacy
ornamentation
•Used to endow
Viking ships with
character of
mythical sea
dragons
Animal Head, from Oseberg Ship-Burial c. 825 AD
Cross Page from Lindisfarne Gospels,
c. 700 AD
•Hiberno-Saxon Style
•Earliest Christian works made north of
the alps
•Irish (Hiberians) assumed the spiritual
and cultural leadership in Western Europe
•“The Golden Age of Ireland”-never
became part of the Roman Empire
•Converted to Christianity by missionaries
but were never Rome-centered
•Hermits living in countryside formed
first monastaries-these became centers of
learning and the arts, missionaries spread
Christianity over Scotland, France,
Netherlands
•Manuscripts used to spread the Gospelmonks produced them in large numbers
•Word of God was looked upon as sacred
object with visual beauty- more
decorative than narrative
•Precise and maze-like- followed strict
rules
•Human figure was beyond the
Celtic or Germanic artist’s
reach
•Cannot view human figure as
an organic form- overcome
with decoration
Crucifixion, plaque from a book cover, 8th C. AD
Carolingian Art-•Charlemagne’s empire split into 3
parts by his grandsons- political power
held by local nobility
•Collection and copying of ancient
Roman texts-an attempt to restore
classics so they could link themselves
to Roman empire
•Palace Chapel Aachen (capital for
Charlemagne) based on S. Vitale- tried
to recreate the Justinian Era
•Much harder to create on Northern
soil-columns and bronze were
imported
•Designed by Odo of Metz- earliest
known architect north of the Alps
•Not as fluid as Byzantine- more
compartmentalized
•Has a monumental entrance called a
westwork- a two-tower façade that will
Palace Chape at Aachen, 792-805 AD become common in Medieval churches
Cutaway drawing of the same
•St. Riquier- has been completely
destroyed but pictures remain
•More elaborate westwork
•Leads into a vaulted Narthex
•Separated from eastern transcept by a
compartment known as the choir
Abbey Church of St. Riquier, 799 AD
•Important document of the time
period, shows the importance of the
monastery
•Plan of a basic monastery agreed
upon by central council that could be
modified to local needs
•Complex structure that emphasized
the church as central to the plan
•Church plan is unique to the
monastery system- to fit the needs of
the monks rather than the public
•No monastery fits this plan, but it
serves as a guide
Plan of a Monastery, St. Gall, 820 AD
Redrawn so its more
understandable
•Gospel books of
Charlemagne have survived
in great numbers
•St. Matthew- very classical
style except for the halo
•Monks were very
knowledgeable about
Roman style of painting
Gospel Book of Charlemagne, c. 800-10 AD
•Utrecht Psalter- entire book is
illustrated with pen drawings
•Architecture, landscapes are
very Roman, but very rhythmic
rather than static
Utrecht Psalter, 820-32 AD
•Classical style translated into
Carolingian terms
•Entire picture has intense
energy and motion
•“the frenzy of divine
inspiration”
•Gazes on the symbol of St.
Mark, the winged Lion- the
divine
St. Mark, Gospel Book 816-35 AD
•Celtic-Germanic metalwork
tradition
•Crucified Christ shows no
pain- had not endowed him
with human suffering yet
(this will come later in
medieval art)
The Lindau Gospels, c. 870 AD
Ottonian Art
•870 AD -remains of Charlemagne’s empire was ruled
by two grandsons who ruled France and GermanyEurope was weak and exposed to attack
•Normandy section of France raided by Norsemen
(Danes and Norwegians)
•Adopted Christianity and from 911 on, leaders were
recognized as dukes subject to king of France-they
became an important political force
•Germany- power shifted north to Saxony- King was
Otto I-extended rule over most of Italy and was
crowned emperor by the Pope
•Germany led nations politically and
artistically
•Gero Crucifix at cathedral at
Cologne
•Image of Christ that was new to
Western art- that of the savior (Christ
died for sins of humans)-concerned
with the human suffering of Christ
•Physical strain and mask of agony
seen here
•Realistic depiction of pain, but not
really gravity (he’s kind of floating
rather than hanging)
The Gero Crucifix, 975-1000 AD
Plan, Hildesheim Cathedral, 1001-33
•Similar to St. Michaels but much more symmetrical
•Has a harmonious balance between longitudinal and transverse axes
•Nave is majestic and spatial
•Introduction of a crypt
beneath the choir- usually
housed the tomb of a saint
Hildesheim Cathedral, 1001-33
Gospel Book of Otto III
•Echoes of ancient art-pastel
background similar to Roman
landscapes
•Architectural scenes are now
churches
•Figures look very different- Christ
is seen as clean-shaven (Roman
tradition)
•Emphasis has shifted from physical
to spiritual action
•Christ and Peter are larger than the
rest, disciples are crushed together
Christ Washing The Feet of Peter,
from the Gospel Book of Otto III
c.1000 AD