Transcript The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages
Life after the fall of Rome
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I.
Fall of Rome begins the Dark Ages
A. 400 AD – 800 AD
B. Barbarian invasions destroyed 3,000
years of art, history, and learning
C. major effects:
1. cultural leadership shifted from the
Mediterranean to France, Germany and
Great Britain (England)
2. political leadership moved from secular
(non religious) to the Christian (Catholic)
church
3. Paganism was wiped out
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4. art emphasis shifted from man-centered
beauty of the here-and-now to the “here-after”,
human body viewed as corrupt and evil
a. Nudes forbidden
b. Greco-Roman ideals of harmony, balance
and proportion between body and mind lost
D. Medieval art emphasized the human soul
E. art became the servant of the Church
F. Church taught DIVINE (GODLY) beauty could
be understood thru material beauty (beginning of
magnificent cathedrals)
G. Christian architecture turned the GrecoRoman temple inside out -
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1. simple on the outside, very rich and
decorated on the inside
Greek vs. Christian
Inside an early Christian church
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I. Three styles developed:
1. Byzantine
2. Romanesque
3. Gothic
II. Byzantine art and architecture
A. from Eastern Mediterranean 330-1453 AD
B. named after the city of Byzantium (later
changed to Constantinople) in Turkey
C. Combined early Christian art w/
Greek/Oriental designs and brilliant colors
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D. Byzantine art CONVENTIONS:
1. complex
2. formal
3. rigid frontal poses
4. wide staring eyes
5. tall, slim figures (thiness = holiness)
6. almond-shaped faces
7. no hint of movement
8. mostly holy figures with ‘halos’
9. no backgrounds in artwork
Empress Theodora
• An “actress”, she
married Justinian I,
even though it was
against the law.
• During the Nika
revolt, she saved
Justinian’s empire.
(He was going to flee
and she convinced
him to stay and fight)
(copy) Emperor Justinian and his attendants
•
Note they almost
seem to be :
1. floating off the ground;
2. the gold background is
“heavenly”,
3. the figures are tall and
slim (monks took a
vow of poverty, so thin
= holy)
4.no suggestion of bodies
under the robes
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• E. Byzantine art features mosaics, carved
ivory, miniature paintings and ICONS –
small wooden panel paintings thought to
have magical properties
• Tesserae – glass embedded with color to
create vibrant, colorful mosaics
(copy) Icons – painted on wooden panels
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F. Byzantine architecture
1. Most famous – The Sophia Hagia (Church of the
Holy Wisdom)
2. merged Roman and Eastern styles
3. PENDENTIVES – engineering break-thru
a. four arches support weight of dome
b. Allows for a soaring interior with no columns
to bear the weight
c. 40 arched windows circle base of dome –
gives illusion that the dome is resting on a halo
of light
Hagia Sophia
inside
(copy) Romanesque
• Due to the weight of the stone ceiling, the
walls of the church had to be very
thick. Windows had to be small to keep
the strength of the wall strong. Because of
this, the churches interior was dim. This
was not solved till the gothic church design
was used.
Romanesque
(copy) II. Romanesque
A.
B.
C.
D.
Used elements of Roman architecture
11th C. to 12th C.
Barbarian and Islamic attacks ended
Crusades brought back Oriental/Byzantine
influences to Western Europe
E. Middle class began to emerge (craftsmen and
merchants)
(copy) II. Romanesque Churches
A.
B.
C.
Enter at West
Worship towards East (toward Jerusalem)
Terms:
1. NAVE – congregation
2. LANTERNS – towers on either side of entrance
3. APSE – large semi-circular area at choir end of
church; usually contains altar
4. AMBULATORIES – walkway around apse
5. TRANSEPT – intersects the nave at
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D. Vaults - ceilings of stone that replaced
burnable wooden roofs
1.Barrel vault - semi cylindrical ceiling
2. groined vault – formed by intersection of 2
barrel vaults
3. ribbed vault –self-supporting ribs and web of
material filling spaces between ribs
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E. Monastaries – churches with living quarters for
monks; also called Abbeys
1. cloisters – living quarters for monks
2. cathedrals – churches for Bishops – include
“cathedra” a chair in center of altar area
Barrel vault
1. barrel vault- semi cylindrical ceiling
Groin vault
Ribbed vault – system of self-supporting ribs and web of
thinner material filling spaces between the ribs
Ribbed vaults
Romanesque
(copy) II. Romanesque sculpture
A. designed to help people understand church
teachings
B. Sculpture is part of the structure –capitals of
columns
C. Some found over doors and under arches
D. Sometimes in niches
E. Sculpture is EXPRESSIONISTIC –
emphasizes a strong emotional response
instead of a natural appearance
1. sculpure is thin = holiness
III. Romanesque art
A. Painting – mostly frescoes
B. Illuminated manuscripts – monks copy
scripture (Bible) and EMBELLISH
(decorate) page with fanciful letters and
drawings
1. used parchment/vellum (calf skin),
ink, tempura, and gold
C. Stained glass – mixed color with glass,
made large jewel-tone sheets, could be
cut into shapes and held in place with
lead channels
C. Tapestry – embroidered wool that tells a
story
1. Bayeux tapestry tells of William the
Conqueror’s invasion of England in 1066
Bayeux Tapestry
230 feet long, 20 inches wide
IV. Gothic
12th C to the Renaissance (15th C)
Only art style to date that can be traced to 1 person &
place
C. Abbot Suger (France) re-designs his church
1. light represents God
2. enlarged apse and huge windows to let in light
3. developed an architecture of SUPPORTS – not
walls – allowed for massive use of STAINED GLASS
D. Elements of Gothic architecture
A.
B.
1. façade – outside of building decorated as much as
inside – 1st time outside/inside given equal importance
a. figures still long and lean
b. drapery still thin & straight
c. In 13th C., sculptors begin to ALMOST do in-theround statues
d. works of Aristotle re-discovered, body is no
longer despised, but seen as “envelope of the soul”
(begins a return to realism)
2. Verticality (by reality and illusion) Church reaching to
heaven
3. pointed arches (stronger than rounded)
The despised human body began to be seen in a
different light…
• As the envelope that
contains the soul
5. TRACERY – carvings that cover arches
6. Rose or wheel windows – huge circular windows
made of colored glass
7. FLYING BUTTRESSES – outside supports made of
a buttress and flying arch (allowed glass to take the
place of stone walls
8. Sometimes called “Stone Bibles” because tracery,
stained glass, sculpture and paintings to tell the
story of the Bible
Flying Buttresses – allows Gothic cathedrals to
reach incredible heights
The flying buttresses pushes against the
wall, making it stronger
Computer generated aerial view
Gargoyles – a reminder of Hell
And…as rainspouts
Façade (front of building)
Doorway is called “PORTAL”
Arched vaults made the cathedrals taller and provided an
illusion of height
Cologne cathedral, Germany
Gothic – slowly returning to realism
Notre Dame, Paris
Notre Dame, Chartres
Romanesque vs. Gothic
Barrel or groin
Rounded arches
Thick walls, buttresses
Small windows
Horizontal emphasis
Plain façade
Dark, gloomy inside
groin or ribbed
pointed arches
flying buttresses
lg. stained glass
vertical emphasis
decorated façade
tall, filled with light
Stone Bibles
Stained Glass – stone walls were replaced with
magnificent colored glass
Rose or Wheel window
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• Hieronymus Bosh – one of the few artists
whose name we know.
• Works include: Garden of Earthly Delights
(tryptich – 3 panels)
• Removing the Stone of Madness
Removing the Stone of Madness