Art History
Medieval Art Study Guide
Four power points:
1. Early Medieval
2. Romanesque
3. Gothic
4. Gothic Painting
1. Early Medieval
o Why “middle ages”?
o What are the three periods of the Middle Ages?
o What 3 elements combined to produce new political, cultural and social forms?
o What emerged as a repository of learning?
o Describe Sutton Hoo burial ship?
o Describe the significance of the Gero crucifix.
Vocab and People:
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Middle Ages
Norse
Vikings
Valhalla
Celts
Animal art style
Art Work:
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Sutton Hoo purse cover
Lindesfarne Gospel Carpet Page
Chi Ro Iota Page
Interior of Charlemagne’s Palace Chapel
West works of Palace of Charlemagne
Ebbo Gospel Page
Memorial Rune Stone
Animal Head Post
Bishop Bernward’s Doors
Otto I Presenting Magdeburg Cathedral to Christ
Gero Crucifix
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Animal interlace
Ribbon interlace
Book of Kells
Charlemagne
Holy Roman Empire
The Three Ottos
2. Romanesque
o What does Romanesque mean?
o Describe the classical revival that took place during the Romanesque period.
o What was a positive outcome of the Crusades?
o What did Romanesque churches need to be constructed of solid stone?
o What problems did this method create?
o Why did many monasteries on pilgrimage routes build new churches?
o Describe the significance of the Romanesque carved portal.
o Compare and contrast the Gero crucifix and the Batlo crucifix.
Vocab and People:
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The Crusades
Pilgrimage
Ambulatory
Radiating chapels
Apse
Sanctuary
Choir
Crossing
Transept
Nave
Side aisle
Piers
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Art Work:
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Reliquary statue of Saint Foy
Doubting Thomas
Carved West Portals, Church of Saint Foy and St Sernin
Lions and Prophet Jeremiah Trumeau, Saint Pierre Moissac
The Batlo Crucifix
Borgund stave church
Hell Mouth
Bayeux Tapestry
Cathedral Complex at Pisa
Creation and Temptation of Adam and Eve by Giseklbertus
Clerestory
Vaulting
Ribs
Cruciform
Tympanum
Sculptural jambs
Ribbed barrel vaults
Ribbed groin vaults
Trumeau
Cloister
William the Conqueror
3. Gothic
o Name the five easily identifiable features of a Gothic building.
o How does a Romanesque building differ from a Gothic building?
o Why is Abbot Suger and the Abbey Church of Saint Denis important?
o What was the philosophy behind Abbot Suger’s new building style? .
o Describe the progression in style of the sculptures on the exterior of Chartres.
o Be able to label the floor plan of Chartres.
o What was the function of Sainte Chapelle in Paris?
o Be able to compare and contrast the rose windows at Chartres and Amiens.
o What is the innovation in the tympanum at Riems Cathedral.
o What is an example of and the hallmarks of the rayonnant style?
o Describe the differences between French and English Gothic?
o Describe the significance of the floor plan of the Florence Cathedral.
Vocab and People:
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Gothic
Abbott Suger
Flying Buttresses
Composite Piers
Tracery
Close
Art Work:
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Abbey Church of Saint Denis
Chalice of Abbot Suger
Chartres Cathedral
Amiens Cathedral
Riems Cathedral
Sainte Chapelle , interior and exterior
Salisbury Cathedral
Vesperbild
Florence Cathedral
Nicola and Giovanni Pisano’s Nativity Reliefs
Andrea Pisano’s Christ’s Baptism
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Perpendicular Style
Ribbed Vaults
Quartrefoils
Trefoils
Rayonnant
Nicholas Verdun
4. Gothic Painting
o Where were the two schools of Italian Gothic painting located?
o How did Duccio’s painting style differ from Giotto’s?
o Compare and contrast Duccio’s with Giotto’s Kiss of Judas
o Compare and contrast Giotto’s and Cimabue’s Virgin and Child Enthroned.
o Who was the patron of The Scrovegni Chapel, why?
o Describe Giotto’s painting style.
o Describe the painting style and composition of Giotto’s Lamentation.
o Why is Giotto considered a great artist?
Vocab and People:
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Siena
Duccio
Maniera Greca
Martini
Gold leaf and punchwork
Triptych
Florence
Cimabue
Giotto
Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel
Palazzo Publico, Sienna
Art Work:
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Duccio’s Crucifixtion
Martini’s Annunciation
Cimabue’s Virgin and Child Enthroned
Giotto’s Virgin and Child Enthroned
Duccio’s and Giotto’s Kiss of Judas
Giotto’s Lamentation
Lorenzettis’s Good and Bad Government
The main focus of the Gothic painting lesson is as follows:
At the end of the Gothic Period (1300) in Italy, religious painting was enjoying a
comeback. Paintings were done in both fresco (wet plaster) and on wood panels.
Both Florence and Sienna were great centers of Gothic painting
In Sienna the painters held onto a more Byzantine and Northern European style.
 Lots of GOLD and figures that were elongated and decorative
 Not much of an attempt at realistic perspective
Sienese painters:
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Duccio- MOST important
Martini- (Annunciation) very Gothic style of carved panels with lots of gold
Lorenzetti- Good/Bad government fresco in Siena city hall (Palazzo
Publico)
In Florence
 Greater interest in portraying the natural world, and in creating a more 3D space.
 Figures have greater weight / substance, realistic space is attempted, observation
of nature is clear
Florentine Painters:
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Cimabue- more old school Byzantine, painted in the Maniera Greca, but
o tried to move to a more natural style
Giotto- master of late Gothic painting, set the stage for the Renaissance
 Known for asymmetrical compositions; center is
not main focus
 Look at Lamentation and Resurrection
 Emotional expressions on the figures
 Brings Humanism back to art
 Weight and volume, figures feel 3D
 Apparent use of observation not seen since
Greco/Roman era
Giotto was …….
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GREAT
True MASTER
PIVITOL figure in Western Art
A BRIDGE between past and future
INFLUENTIAL to Renaissance painters
Still influential TODAY
In short…..Giotto
RULES !!!!
Email me if you have questions.