CLASS NOTES
SECTION 1
LA CARUBA/ ART 101
EARLY CHRISTIAN & MEDIEVAL
MAIN TOPICS: Medieval World View
Celtic-Germanic Style (Barbarian Art)
Greco-Roman influence (Byzantine Art)
The denaturing of the human figure (How forms visually communicate
the World View)
Romanesque & Gothic Architecture
The divine symbolism of space and light
The re-emergence of The Classical World View
Medieval Period = mixture of 3 influences: Celtic-Germanic, Greco-Roman, & Christian… often
referred to as the "Dark Ages" because of the loss of Classical learning established by the Greeks.
The Classical outlook vanishes during the Middle Ages, Medieval man abandoned the Classical need for
knowledge and an ultimate understanding of the world. Learning and ambition were unnecessary…the
world as a whole was understood simply and preeminently as God’s creation, and thus efforts at trying to
find some logic and order in it (like the Greeks) was no longer necessary. Furthermore, any striving for
knowledge or innovation was seen as a treat to the integrity of the Church. Anything which went against
Christian dogma (accepted religious truths)…any deviation from established truth, was considered heresy,
and was punishable by death.
Great men make great inventions fueled by ambition and a craving for knowledge, however, in the Medieval period,
self-determination becomes extinct…in place of Classical humanism is a total lack of ego, no sense of
self…abandoned in place of a collective Christian consciousness…salvation was open for anyone. In the Medieval
World View, faith, not reason, becomes the guiding force and motivation behind man’s thoughts and actions.
In the Medieval period, Classical rationalism and humanism are lost. Medieval man did not question why
things were the way they were. Based on faith, their outlook required a blind acceptance of the natural state
of things. The Greeks believed in ‘educated man’, the Medieval discarded him. Henceforth, there was no
need for rationalism, with its emphasis on knowledge and learning derived from critical thought and
observation of the natural world. Likewise, just as man needs no longer attempt to learn about and master
his world, he was no longer the master of his own fate. Life was already predestined by God.
Greek artists (and Renaissance artists) sought to “capture the grace and beauty of the natural world".”. . . to
accurately portray man and his surroundings based on objective and measurable techniques, based on logic
and observation. They sought to celebrate man and his confident standing in the world. The main purpose
behind medieval art, however, was to arouse religious emotion and illustrate Christian doctrine (didactic).
Thus, an accurate rendering of form was not necessary. They were not interested in the spaces and objects
of this world. The human figure becomes dematerialized…lacking in weight and volume, heavily outlined
and simplified, and furthermore, not set into rational spaces…floating in otherworldly spaces, surrounded
by pattern and design.
(Medieval art does not reflect a spirit of inquiry and progress like Greek art and thought)
TWO MAIN FUNCTIONS of MEDIEVAL ART = 1) To arouse emotions/ inspire faith
2) To illustrate Christian doctrine
SHIFT from CLASSICAL WORLD VIEW to…….MEDIEVAL WORLD VIEW
(knowledge) reason ……………….. to ……………faith; as the guiding force behind mankind’s
(factual, observation of the real world) thoughts and actions = (abstract ideas :
hope, faith, salvation)
conceptual: based on ideas that exist in
the mind
the secular ……….
to ………….the spiritual
(pertaining to an earthly existence;
(emphasis on the inner realm of the soul;
w/an emphasis on nature, the here
the hereafter,)
and now, worldly)
“Though Rome became extraordinarily wealthy (through a succession of highly capable emperors,
beginning with Augustus in 27 B.C.E.), the empire began to falter after the death of the emperor Marcus
Aurelius in C E. 180”.Roman organization began to weaken and military troops were
experiencing great difficulty in reinforcing Roman borders against increasing numbers of nomadic
barbarian tribes, such as the Goths and Vandals, who were themselves being pressured into new
territory by the ferocious Huns who initially triggered the chain reaction of ethnic dislocations, eastward
across the Asian steppes. Roman internal organization was further weakened when the emperor Constantine
chose to relocate the Roman capital and center of power East of Rome to Constantinople, later renamed
Byzantium. The result? With this ill-fated move, the previously concentric network of Roman military and
administrative control, branching out in all directions from Rome as the center, gave up its stronghold on all
Western provinces ;opening up weakly protected territories to increasing numbers of barbarian tribes.
Constantine legalized Christianity in the Edict of Milan in C.E.313. Eventually the Roman Empire was
split in two: the Eastern portion (Byzantine),a Christian continuance of the Empire with the emperor acting
as head of both church and state, and the Western portion under the ever-increasing power of the Roman
Catholic Church ,which ,in itself was a powerful political force, and refused to totally submit to imperial
rule.
Thus, in art, stylistically speaking, Greco-Roman traditions, combined with new Christian influence and
purpose, predominated in Byzantine art. Whereas the West was dominated artistically by barbarian art,
otherwise referred to as art of the Celtic-Germanic peoples. These styles were later combined in the art of
manuscript illumination @ 600 C.E.
BYZANTINE ART
In the East, under emperors such as Justinian (see text, pg. 422-423), art was in the service of the emperor
and
the Church—created to fulfill both political and religious functions. Here we see a continuation, somewhat,
of the Greco-Roman figural tradition; however, “the Classical art of Greece and Rome emphasized the
humanity of its figures, their corporeal reality. But the Christian God was not mortal and could not even be
comfortably represented in human terms”. Images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the four
Evangelists were created in a highly stylized (abstract) and decorative manner so as not to be confused with
a real person, in keeping with a biblical commandment forbidding the making of graven, or firmly fixed
images. These images, referred to as icons, were fixed patterns handed down from artist to artist and could
not be adjusted or changed in any way. Medieval artists had little interest in the naturalism cultivated in
Greco-Roman art. Medieval artists did not copy from nature, but from a prototype. Their figures were not
of this world but functioned mainly as symbols, as didactic art
meant to educate the predominantly illiterate population in Christian doctrine. As a result, the human figure
in Medieval art (overall, not just Byzantine) becomes dematerialized, or flattened out, with no trace of
weight or solidity…floating, disproportionate, depersonalized. This is a new abstract treatment of the
human figure in contrast to the realism of former Greco-Roman forms. By the middle centuries a general
Medieval style emerged referred to as the "hieratic style", or holy, sacred. This consisted of a very rigid
depiction of form (such as the human figure) and space. The forms were not meant to actually represent
man, but rather to inspire reverence and meditation. (pg. 422-423 “these mosaics bear no relation to the
naturalism…”.
The Celtic-Germanic ‘animal style’ (Christian art in Northern Europe)
Barbarian art, known as the ‘animal style, was developed by the Eurasian nomads, and, consistent with their
migrant lifestyle, usually consisted of small, easily portable objects and trinkets such as weaponry, jewelry,
and horse trappings. Though eventually Christianized, they still maintained their own pagan folklore and
primitive beliefs, where heroes often struggle against an array of fierce monsters and deities. “The
imagination of these wandering people teemed with fantastic creatures of all sorts. Their belief that the
deep, dark forests of the North virtually swarmed with zoomorphic and demonic populations…dragons, like
Siegfried’s Fafnir and Beowulf’s Grendel, symbolize the mysterious and threatening universe… their
terrors were bound up with their tribal experience and the memory of fiend-filled forests and pagan rites.”
(de la Croix/Jansen) Thus, their fantastic zoomorphic forms were well suited to their imaginations.
Living in harsh conditions, and without the stability and sense of control over their environment established
in the Greco-Roman civilization, the barbarians did not share their emphasis on ‘man as the measure of all
things’ and instead rarely depicted the human figure. They produced an original art which was abstract,
decorative, and geometric, and often combined animal-like forms with decorative interlace and pattern.
Forms reflect a highly disciplined and ordered sense of design frequently adjusted to the basic shape of the
object. The Celts were expert in metal crafting, and frequently fashioned very small objects, requiring very
precise detailing. This tendency toward intricate and precise design of an abstract & decorative nature can
be later seen in Medieval and Renaissance art and attributed to barbarian tradition.
(See “Purse cover, pg. 428)
ROMANESQUE & GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE …Few architectural projects were undertaken in Europe
during the Early Medieval period due to the lack of stability and permanence inherent in the nomadic
lifestyle of the barbarian tribes. However, moving into the eleventh century there was a great new demand
for church construction to accommodate the now, fairly stable population of Christians. A large portion of
the European population took part in endless pilgrimages to see holy relics enshrined in large
churches along the famous ‘pilgrimage routes’ in present day France and upper Spain. Suddenly
needing large structures to accommodate these great crowds, church builders revived the
architectural style and technique of the Romans; using the traditional Roman ‘basilica plan’
as a starting point and refining the plan from there to suit their needs. The term ‘Romanesque’
originated in the nineteenth century by historians to refer to a building style which they
considered inferior to, but working up to a more perfected style referred to as the Gothic style in
the late twelfth century.
ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE (@1050) See pg.340-341) featured round arches and blunt or thick,
heavy walls which bore some resemblance to ancient Roman architecture. A huge barrel vault replaced the
former wooden roof. The buildings are usually symmetrical and have an overall blocky appearance. They
are visually heavy and have a ‘horizontal emphasis (hugging the ground) versus the later Gothic style’s
‘vertical emphasis (soaring upward toward heaven). The major drawback with this style is that the heavy
stone vault or roof made it impossible to cut windows into the thick walls—thus there was little interior
light.
They needed more space and light. Not only to accommodate the masses of pilgrims who came to view the
holy relics in each church or ‘practical reasons’, but also for ‘symbolic reasons’. Symbolically, huge space
combined with additional light and color from stained glass and mosaics--‘abstract materials’, were capable
of communicating abstract ideas like “faith, hope, and salvation”.
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE (starts @ 1150)See pg. 431 Abbot Suger, who first pioneered the Gothic style
“caught the temper of the times, which were swinging away from the obsession of the early Middle Ages
with life’s grimmer aspects, sin, guilt, and death, to a triumphant Church… the view of God’s world was
now one of beauty,
and comparative safety, in which the ordinary man could rejoice. Nature was let loose on choir
stalls, portals, and canopies in an exuberance of tendrils, birds, animals, & flowers.
Gothic builders were striving for the maximum amount of space and light possible.
Suger understood that with the new style one could “ create soaring arches which would draw the spirit of
man up to heaven ; he could transform walls into screens of glass which would teach the worshipper the
doctrine and origins of his faith in picture stories while submerging him in celestial light.
“Anybody who has walked along the triforium gallery at Chartres Cathedral, bathed in the liquid fire of
ruby and sea-green that flickers from the robes of the prophets, will know how successfully Sugar’s
followers gave flesh to his vision”. ( Nuttgens,1983)
See also the quote by Justinian on light and color…
The Gothic style features many structural improvements over the former Romanesque style. They did away
with the need for massive masonry, or thick heavy walls for support.
They accomplished this with two new structural innovations. First, round arches were replaced with taller
vertical arches. These “pointed arches” added vertical space and symbolically would reach upwards into
heaven. Secondly, they used an innovation called a “flying buttress’. Flying buttresses were exterior
skeletal supports or arches placed on the outside of the church. The heavy weight of the thick stone vault
(roof) was channeled down and out onto the buttress instead of the walls of the church. This meant that
windows could now be cut into the non-weight bearing walls. A clerestory (row of windows) added much
needed light. Now, the added huge interior space combined with added light ( which is symbolic of the
divine)from the clerestory—and the color from stained glass windows dematerialized the inside of the
church…increased space, light & color created a very mystical, otherworldly, ethereal, holy, and
supernatural space.
.
ADDITIONAL TERMS:
iconography = the study of religious symbols and images—or any set of symbols which are
understood by a given culture.
aniconic = images composed of ‘pure design’—no human figures( See pg. 425 ; tile mihrab
design
iconoclastic = against the depiction of religious imagery (iconoclast?)
‘conceptual’ art exists more so as a description of a mental concept or idea than of natural
appearance.
‘pagan’ = polytheistic…more than one god