Chapter 17
11th & 12th Century (1000-1200)
Increase in church construction due to the
following:
• pilgrimages to visit relics (said to have
healing powers)
• crusades (literally “taking of the cross”)
merged the monastic with military
• growing cities, expansion, increased
population
• many earlier churches destroyed by
Norsemen
• needed buildings that were fire proof,
hold large crowds, good acoustics and
lighting
Basic Characteristics of Romanesque style:
• breaks from old basilica hall-like space with flat
walls
• new interior divided into compartments (bays)
• clearly defined modular units, repeated
• round arch
• buttress
• cylindrical apse
• radiating chapels
• square/round towers
• portals (doorways) become important area for
sculptural decoration
Diagram of a Romanesque portal
Church and Reliquary of Sainte‐Foy, Conques,
France, c. 1050–1130
Interior & Plan
Tympanum (portal)
Reliquary statue of Sainte-Foy (Saint Faith), late 10th to early 11th
century with later additions, gold, silver gilt, jewels, and cameos over a
wooden core, 33 1/2 inches
Bayeux tapestry, c. 1070, embroidered wool on linen, 20 inches high (Bayeux Museum)
4 Main Regions in Romanesque art, each
with own characteristics
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•
•
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France/Northern Spain
Holy Roman Empire (Germany & Milan)
Normandy/England
Italy
France & Northern Spain
St. Sernin, Toulouse, France
St. Sernin Interior
Bernardus Gelduinus, Christ in Majesty, relief in ambulatory of
Saint-Sernin. c. 1096
Cloister of Saint-Pierre, Moissac
Lions & Old Testament Prophet (Jeremiah or Isaiah?)
Trumeau of south portal of St.-Pierre, Moissac, France
Giselbertus, Last Judgement, West tympanum of St.- Lazare,
Autun
1120-1135
Morgan Madonna 12th century painted wood
Holy Roman Empire
Speyer Cathedral, Germany
Sant’ Ambrogio, Milan 11th-12th century
Italy
Baptistery, Cathedral, and Campanile, in Pisa. 1053-1272
Baptistery of San Giovanni, Florence. dedicated 1059
San Miniato al Monte, Florence. 1062 and 12th century
Wiligelmo, Creation and Temptation of Adam and Eve. c. 1110,
Modena Cathedral, frieze
King David by Benedetto Antelami. c. 1180-1190
Normandy & England
St.-Etienne, Caen. begun 1067
Durham Cathedral, England. beg. c. 1093