ART 306: Romanesque and Gothic Art
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Exam 1 Study Guide:
Preparation:
1) You should be able to identify the objects listed below. A full identification includes artist/architect (if
known), title/name/subject of object, original place of production (city and country), and date.
2) In addition, be able to summarize what you have learned about each object from your reading and class
lecture and discussion. Be able to explain the object’s iconography/subject matter, patronage, original
audience, meaning, style, the materials and techniques used, and its relationship to other objects and
themes of the course. Know the definitions of terms introduced in your reading and in class and be able to
use these terms in relation to specific objects.
Format:
The exam will consist of three parts:
I. Slide identifications (5 minutes/25 points total): Give a full identification for five slides.
II. Slide comparisons (12 minutes each/25 points each): Fully identify two pairs of slides. And then
respond in a few paragraphs to one question/discussion topic (listed below) concerning each pair.
Potential questions/discussion topics: Two of the following will appear on the exam.
1) Beyond architectural sculpture, the Romanesque period produced sculptural objects that were
portable and used for a variety of liturgical and extra-liturgical functions. Fully identify these two
examples and discuss each in terms of material, form (style), meaning, context, and function.
2) Romanesque architectural sculpture ranges from historiated capitals to grand portal decoration.
Discuss these two examples of Romanesque sculpture (one a capital and one a lintel fragment) in
terms of iconography, meaning, and audience.
3) How does architecture serve as a metaphor in the objects we have studied, especially in one portal
sculptural program and one reliquary?
4) How were the sculptural programs of Romanesque churches designed to communicate specific
messages not only to pilgrims visiting the site but also to the local population that used the church
on a regular basis? Discuss the sculptural programs from the south portals of this Spanish and
French church.
5) During the Romanesque period, various reformers offered critiques of monastic and church life. In
what ways do these two examples of church architecture and decoration reflect reform movements
in France and Italy? Discuss the key reformers, their ideas, and how the architecture and its
decoration reflect these ideas.
III. The Cloisters Cross (12 minutes/25 points): Fully identify the Cloisters Cross, and then explain the
complex iconography, especially in terms of the visual relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
What meanings are communicated by this relationship and other details?
PLUS: Some Extra Credit questions.
Objects:
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, c. 1077-1128: plan, interior, Puerta de las Platerías (c. 11001140).
Church of St. Sernin, Toulouse, France, c. 1070-1096: plan; exterior; interior; ambulatory sculpture by
Gelduinus, c. 1096; Miégeville Door, c. 1115.
Church of St. Pierre, Moissac, France: cloister sculpture, c. 1100; south portal sculpture, c. 1100-1115.
Church of St. Foy, Conques, France, early 12th century: plan, interior, exterior, and reliquary statue (9th12th century).
Church of the Madeleine, Vézelay, 1120-1132: interior, historiated nave capitals of Rape of Ganymede
and Mystic Mill, narthex central portal sculpture.
Church of St. Lazare, Autun, c. 1120-1135: exterior, interior, nave and choir capitals (Flight into Egypt,
Dream of the Magi, Suicide of Judas, Fall of Simon Magus), western portal sculpture, north portal
sculpture, including lintel fragment of Eve along with remaining historiated capitals.
Abbey Church of Fontenay, France, 1139-1147: plan, exterior façade, interior; along with cloister.
Church of San Clemente, Rome, c. 1118-1128: interior, apse mosaic.
Nicholas of Verdun, Shrine of the Three Kings, Cologne Cathedral, c. 1190-1230.
Abbey Church of St. Etienne, Caen, 1064-1077: western façade, interior.
Cathedral of Durham, England, 1093-1133: plan, exterior, interior.
Bayeux Tapestry, England, c. 1070-1080.
The Cloisters Cross, England (Bury St. Edmunds or St. Albans), c. 1140.
Reliquary Chasse with scenes of St. Valerie, Limoges, 1175-1185.