Medieval Art: The Age of
Faith
• 400a.d. to 1400. a.d.
• Rome Falls and the Church gains
power
Introduction
• The Middle Ages included the millennium from the
5th to the 15th century, roughly from the fall of Rome
until the renaissance. During its initial period, called
the Dark Ages, after the death of the byzantine
Emperor Justinian in 565 until the reign of
Charlemagne in 800, barbarians destroyed what had
taken 3,000 years to build. Yet the Dark Ages were
only part of the Middle Ages story, There were many
bright spots in art and architecture, from the
splendor of the byzantine court in Constantinople to
the majesty of gothic cathedrals.
Introduction
• 3 Major shifts occurred that had farreaching effects on Western civilization:
•
Cultural leadership moved north from the
Mediterranean to France, Germany, and
the British Isles.
• Christianity triumphed over paganism and
barbarism.
• Emphasis shifted from the here- and nowto the hereafter, and with it from the body
as beautiful to the body as corrupt.
Introduction
Since the Christian focus was on salvation for a
glorious afterlife, interest in realistically
representing objects of the world disappeared.
Nudes were forbidden, and even images of clothed
bodies showed ignorance of anatomy. The GrecoRoman ideals of harmonious proportions and
balance between the body and mind ceased to
exist. Instead, medieval artisans were interested
exclusively in the soul, especially in instructing new
believers in church dogma. Art became the servant
of the church. Theologians believed church
members would come to appreciate divine beauty
through material beauty, and lavish mosaics,
paintings, and sculpture were the result.
Overview
begins with the fall of Rome and extends to the
Renaissance
Rome diminishes and the Church gains power
Society ( life and death) are centered on the church
The Church is the major purchaser of Art
Constantine is the first Christian emperor, he moves the
capitol from Rome to Constantinople, therefore,there is
an Oriental influence in Art.
Most people are illiterate.
The knowledge from Antiquity is preserved and copied in
monasteries.
The Book making industry is born.
Art
distinguishing characteristics
• Flat, lack of environmental clues due to
Oriental influence as well as
determination to avoid any resemblance
to earlier pagan work.
• Symbolic not realistic, figures meant
not to remind one of earth but to
elevate persons thoughts from the
earthly realm to the spiritual .
• Collaborative efforts on Cathedrals,
mosaics, etc.
• Byzantine Art
• Romanesque
• Gothic
Byzantine
Art
Constantinople was close to
Asia as well as to Greece,
and because of this
proximity, Greek, Roman,
and Asian art and culture all
influenced Byzantine artists.
• Byzantine art featured
very rich colors and
heavily outlined figures
that appeared flat and
stiff.
Color choice symbolic(Gold or purple
sky-kingdom of god)
• John C. Weber
Collection, New
York
Icon with the Virgin
Eleousa, early 14th
century
Byzantine
4 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 1/2
in. (11.2 x 8.6 x 1.3
cm)
Enlarge for more
detail
Some of the world’s greatest art, in the form of
mosaics, was created during the 5th and 6th
centuries in Turkish Byzantium and its Italian
capital, Ravenna. Mosaics were intended to
publicize the now official Christian creed, so their
subject was generally religion with Christ shown
as teacher and all powerful ruler. Sumptuous
grandeur, with halos spotlighting sacred figures
and shimmering gold backgrounds, characterized
these works.
• Human figures were flat, stiff, and
symmetrically placed, seeming to float as
if hung from pegs. Artisans had no interest
in suggesting perspective or volume. Tall,
slim human figures with almond-shaped
faces, huge eyes, and solemn expressions
gazed straight ahead, without the least
hint of movement.
ROMAN Mosaics
Byzantine Mosaics
Used opaque marble cubes
Used reflective glass cubes
Pieces had smooth flat finish
Surfaces left uneven so work
sparkled
Colors limited due to use of natural
stones
Glowing glass in wide range of
colors
Typically found on floor of private
homes
Found on walls and ceilingsespecially church dome and apse
Subjects were secular, like battles,
games
Subjects were sacred, like Christ as
shepherd
Used minute pieces fr realistic detail
Used minute pieces for realistic
detail
Large cubes in stylized designs
Background represented landscape
Background was abstract, sky-blue,
then gold
roman
Byzantine
Roman
Byzantine
Hagia Sophia
(pronounced HAH zhee ah soh FEE ah; the name means “holy wisdom”)
Commissioned by Emperor Justinian and designed by 2 mathematicians, Anthemius of
Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus, the Hagia Sophiais is a completely innovative structure,
recognized as the climax of Byzantine architectural style.
3 football fields long the
Hagia Sophia merged the vast
scale of Roman buildings with
an Eastern mystical
atmosphere. A Byzantine
contribution to engineering:
pendentives ( 4 arches forming
a square) supported a dome.
This structural revolution
accounted for the lofty,
unobstructed interior with its
soaring dome.
40 arched windows
encircle the base of the dome,
creating the illusion that it
rests on a halo of light.
The Romanesque Period
•
•
•
•
•
1050-1200
With the Roman Catholic faith firmly established, a wave of
church construction began throughout feudal Europe.
Builders borrowed elements from roman architecture, such as
rounded arches and columns.
Due to wooden roofs being prone to fire medieval artisans began to
roof churches with stone vaulting, barrel or groin vaults resting
on piers could span large opening with fiew internal supports or
obstructions.
Interiors were dark and somber because due to the weight of the
heavy stone roofs not many windows could be added.
The exteriors were plain except for sculptural relief around the
main portal. Most church-goers were illiterate, so sculpture taught
doctrine by telling stories in stone.
Romanesque Architecture
St. Sernin facade
ILLUMINIATED MANUSCRIPTS
•With hordes of pillagers looting and razing
cities of the former Roman empire, monasteries
were all that stood between Western Europe and
total chaos. Here monks and nuns copied
manuscripts, keeping alive both the art of
illustration in particular and Western
civilization in general.
•The papyrus scroll used from Egypt to Rome was
replaced by the vellum (calfskin) or parchment
(lambskin) codes, made of separate pages bound
at one side. Manuscripts were considered sacred
objects containing the work of god. They were
decorated lavishly, so their outward beauty would
reflect their sublime contents. Covers were made
of gold studded with precious and semiprecious
gems.
•Until printing was developed in the 15 th century,
these manuscripts were the only form of books in
existence, preserving not only religious teachings
but also Classical literature.
•Painters mainly
worked on elaborate
decorations for Bibles
and Prayer books
• Elongated figures and
elegant insignificant
details are rendered
with so much care that
they become the
dominant feature.
Page from illuminater
Gospel, early
15th century
Ethiopia, Lake Tana region
Wood, vellum, pigment; H. 16 1/2 in. (41.9
cm)
Rogers Fund, 1998 (1998.66)
Leaf from a Beatus
Manuscript: Christ in
Majesty with Angels and
the Angel of God Directs
Saint John to Write the
Book of Revelation, ca.
1180
Spanish; Made in Burgos,
Castile-León
Tempera, gold, and ink on
parchment, metal leaf; 17
1/2 x 11 13/16 in. (44.4 x
30 cm)
Purchase, The Cloisters
Collection, Rogers and
Harris Brisbane Dick
Funds, and Joseph
Pulitzer Bequest, 1991
(1991.232.3)
Gothic Art/ Height and Light
1200-1500
• The Gothic Cathedral
Medieval
architecture’s greatest
triumph
• The solid, heavy
Romanesque
structures were
replaced with
structures of
lightness and grace
Gothic Style
• In Europe in the twelfth century, many people moved into towns.
Workers (stone carvers, carpenters, etc.), organized into guilds
(unions) , where apprentices were taught by masters. A wealthy
merchant class, with pride in their growing cities, and religious
faith led to the building of huge cathedrals.
• Two developments in architecture_ the pointed arch and the flying
buttress, along with the use of the vault allowed them to make taller
buildings whose walls were perforated with stain glass windows
that changed the light to a rich, glowing color and educated the
illiterate with Biblical Stories being reveled in glass.
• Gothic cathedrals were such a symbol of civic
• Pride that an invader's worst insult was to pull down the tower of
conquered town’s cathedral. Communal devotion was
• So intense that Lords and ladies worked beside butchers and
masons, dragging carts loaded with stone from quarries.
Buildings were so elaborate tat construction literally took ages—6
centuries for Cologne Cathedral.
Chartres Cathedral
Built to hose the veil of the Virgin given to the
city by Charlemagne's grandson. Charles the
Bald, in 876, it is a multi-media masterpiece. Its
Stain glass windows, the most intact collection
of medieval glass in the world, measure 26,900
feet in total area. Illustrating the Bible, the lives
of saints, even traditional crafts of France, the
windows are like a gigantic, glowing, illuminated
manuscript.
Stain glass windows s
Stain glass windows replaced frescos to instruct illiterate masses
Arches
Arches (formed by
narrow stone ribs
extended from tall
pillars)
Ribbed vault
(ceiling supported by
pointed arches)
Flying buttresses
Flying buttresses
are arm like stone
beams.
Ribbed Vault
Vault Review
3 Common types of
Vaults
1. Barrel vault
2.A groin vault
3.A rib vault
Giotto
Late Gothic Period 1266 or 7-1337
Giotto was an artist that formed a bridge between the
Medieval times and the Renaissance.He moved
toward realism in his depiction of figures and used
naturalistic backgrounds (his skies were blue).He
led the way to a new manner of painting that
transformed the flat surface into what appears to be
an open space filled with people,see The Kiss of Judas.
Art of the Middle Ages Review
Throughout the middle Ages, in a succession of 3 styles, art was concerned with religion. The
main forms of art and architecture associated with each style were:
Byzantine
Romanesque Gothic
Art
Mosaics, icons
Frescoes,
stylized
sculpture
Stained glass,
more natural
sculpture
Architectu
re
Example
Central-dome
church
Barrel-vaulted
church
Pointed-arch
cathedral
Hagia Sophia
St. Sernin
Chartres
Date
532-37
Begun 1080
1194-1260
Place
Constantinople, Toulouse, France
Turkey
Chartres,
France
Romanesque vs. Gothic
Romanesque
Gothic
Emphasis
Horizontal
Vertical
Elevation
Modest height
soaring
Layout
Multiple units
Unified, unbroken
space
Main trait
Rounded arch
Pointed arch
Support system
Piers, walls
Exterior
buttresses
Engineering
Barrel and groin
vaults
Ribbed groin
vaults
Ambiance
Dark, solemn
Airy, bright
Exterior
simple, severe
Richly decorated
with sculpture
Questions
What distinguishes medieval art from the art of other
historical periods?
What was the main focus of life for the average citizen
during the medieval period?
What institution took the place of Rome (after it’s fall) in
power and influence?
How was the knowledge of antiquity preserved during the
medieval period?
How are Roman mosaics different from Byzantine
Mosaics?
How do Romanesque and Gothic Cathedrals differ?