EARLY MIDDLE AGES



EARLY MEDIEVAL ART

(500 - 950 CE)

I. BARBARIAN KINGDOMS

A. Basic Characteristics

• Romans called every non-Roman who lived beyond the frontiers of their empire “barbarians.”

• But as Roman Empire declined and fell these people had adopted Christianity (in NW Europe), settled in towns, risen to prominent positions in Roman Empire, and absorbed much Greco-Roman culture.

• When Roman Empire fell:

• Armed conflict and competition fierce between tribes.

• Collapse of trade and towns

• Loss of literacy

• Rise of Romance (Roman-based) languages

o By the 800’s, French, Spanish, Italian and other Romance languages had evolved from Latin

• Spread of Christianity

B. Art of the Warrior Lords

• Portable and functional – the Germanic tribes were itinerant. So their art is practical and easy to carry (portable). These tribes moved so much that historians also refer to this period of European history as the Migration period. Because migration due to war and displacement were so commonplace in this era, large artwork and architecture were not (unable to be) produced. Not a lot of the artistic production was preserved. What we do know is mostly from burial sites. (Tumuli)

• Animal Style – are where the decoration is in the form of abstracted animals such as bird and fish. These abstract animal forms are also known as ZOOMORPHIC IMAGERY.

• Highly decorative – extensive use of gold and gems using the technique of CLOISONNE.

• CLOISONNE is a metal working technique in which cloisons (small pieces of metal) are soldered (welded) onto a metal background plate and enamel is filled in the spaces. The decorations often included INTERLACE – a design in which an artist uses single ribbon or line and intertwines it over and over for aesthetic purposes.

C. Examples

o Frankish fibula, mid-500’s, (GARDNER’S 408) – FIBULAS served as pins to fasten garments. They were like giant safety pins. Merovignian pertains to a dynasty of the Franks (barbarian tribe).

o Sutton Hoo treasures (ca. 625)

• In 1939, a treasure-laden ship was discovered in a burial mound at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England. The objects were carefully chosen to reflect the king’s high status and to equip him for the afterlife.

• Among the many precious finds were a gold belt buckle, ten silver bowls, and 40 gold coins to pay the 40 oarsmen who would row the deceased across the sea on his final voyage.

• Not sure who this burial ship is for. King may have been a Christian convert (silver spoons inscribed with St. Paul’s name)

• Helmet – (British Museum site under “Highlights of the British Museum)

• Purse Cover – GARDNER’S 409

• It contains abstract animal imagery, a common feature of early Medieval art. The art of this period is sometimes called the Animal Style. The object, a purse cover, is a small and portable piece, fitting with the migratory nature of tribes of the early Middle Ages. The purse cover was made using cloisonné and is highly decorative; all empty spaces are filled in with enamel and interlace designs, also a characteristic of art of early Medieval Europe.

• Notice the heraldic design motifs. Heraldic designs like this were also seen in the art of ____________________.

3. Vikings

• 793 pre-Christian Scandinavian traders/pirates (viks = trading places) invaded British Isles. North men (Norsemen) and continued migration (e.g. in France Norseman became Norman and now we have the Normandy coast in France).

• Mostly decorated wooden ships with intricate carvings

• Extant examples from ship burial sites

• Animal-headed post, Osterberg, Norway, ca. 825

• By 11th C. most Scandinavians were Christians. Translated Viking tradition of ship carving to ornamentation for churches.

• Wooden portal of the stave church at Urnes, Norway, ca. 1050 – 1070. Stave is a vertical wedge-shape timber).

o Elongated animal forms and intertwining flexible plant forms.

II. HIBERNO-SAXON ART (600 – 800 CE)

A. Introduction

• During the early Middle Ages there was a sudden flowering of Christian art in Ireland and the various islands off the coasts of northern Britain. Its style is called Hiberno-Saxon. (Hibernia is Latin for “Ireland.”)

• Fusion of native and imported artistic traditions

• The Christian converts developed their own monastic organizations that differed from Church of Rome (partly due to isolation: they were at the “end of the world” from Rome’s view).

• Monasteries chose inaccessible sites to minimize temptations and distractions

• Insular = Hiberno-Saxon = Irish-English monestaries.

• Illuminated manuscripts were their most distinctive products

• IM created primarily for conversion purposes.

• Most potential converts were illiterate: viewed books with awe.

B. Manuscript Illumination

• Man (symbol of St. Matthew), Book of Durrow, ca. 660 – 680

• See Gardner’s “The Four Evangelists” (page 412) for explanation of attributes of the 4 Evangelists.

• Full page devoted to pure embellishment

• Lent prestige to books (like jewelry)

• CARPET PAGES: resemble textiles made up of decorative panels of abstract and zoomorphic designs.

• NO PRECEDENTS in classical art.

• Notice St. Matthew is mostly abstract design

• Weds abstract early medieval adornment with Early Christian imagery.

• Lindisfarne Gospels, ca. 698 - 721 (GARDNER’S 16-1 and 16-7)

• Carpet Page

• Lindisfarne is an island of the coast of Scotland which had a monastery famous of producing illuminated manuscripts

• Monasteries in such remote locations were centers of learning and produced books in SCRIPTORIA – centers for producing illuminated manuscripts.

• Such monasteries were also wealthy and susceptible to Viking attacks as was the case with Lindisfarne.

• The Lindisfarne Gospels illuminates the Gospels of the Bible – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

• It contains a CARPET PAGE – a highly decorative page with INTERLACE designs which resembles an Persian carpet. More intricate than the Book of Durrow.

• Zoomorphic imagery is often included within the design

• COLOPHON (inscription in back of book with info on book’s manufacture)

• St. Matthew

• Used an illustrated Gospel book from Italy as a model.

• Curtain = indoors

• St. Matthew reading or writing in style of Greek/Roman philosopher depictions.

• St. Matthew sits on bench receding at an angle: Mediterranean perspective influence (classical)

▪ But artist mostly interested in design, not volume, shading and pictorial illusionism of Greco-Roman world.

▪ Note sharp lines and flat colors of drapery

• Who’s that guy?

• Book of Kells

• Greatest achievement of Hiberno-Saxon art

• Unprecedented number of full-page illuminations, including carpet pages, evangelist symbols, and portrayals of the Virgin Mary and Christ

• WOW – “the work not of men but of angels.” (Giraldus Cambrensis, ca. 1150 CE)

• WHEN – The Book of Kells was completed in about 800 CE

• WHERE – The scribes and artists who created the Book of Kells were monks who lived in a monastery on the remote island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland.

• WHO – The names of the illustrators are unknown. It is estimated that the artwork took a team of illustrators 30 years to complete!

• WHAT – The book consists of a Latin text of the four Gospels, written in calligraphy and lavishly illustrated in as many as TEN colors. It contains 680 pages. Only TWO of its 680 pages are without color.

• The Book of Kells were written and painted on VELLUM – made out of calf skin, which had been soaked, stretched, and scraped clean.

• It is often called an ILLUMINATED manuscript because the drawings illuminate or illustrate the t ext and the colors illuminate or brighten each page.

HISTORY

• In order to protect it from the Viking raiders, the Book of Kells was moved to Kells Monastery in Ireland in the 9th century.

• Now known as the Book of Kells, the book remained at the monastery for almost 200 years until it was stolen in 1007. Its golden jewel-encrusted cover was ripped off the book and never recovered. However, the book itself was recovered. 30 FOLIOS – pages are missing

• The Book of Kells remained in the monastery at Kells until 1541, when the Roman Catholic Church took it for protection. In 1661, it was returned to Ireland and given to Trinity College of Dublin by Archbishop Ussher. It has remained at the college since then and is now considered a national treasure.

AMAZING FACTS

• The INTERLACE (a complex pattern composed of a single line that intertwines and overlaps completely filling the available space) is truly incredible. ONLY WHEN A TEN-FACTOR MAGNIFYING GLASS IS APPLIED TO SOME OF THE FIGURES CAN ONE SEE THE BREATHTAKINGLY INTRICATE AND EXACT DECORATION. But magnifying glasses of that power did not exist until hundreds of years later.

• In one spot, there are 158 lacings of a white ribbon contained in a square inch and nowhere can there be found an error by the artists.

• In the late 1980’s, a Swiss firm specializing in the reproduction of rare illuminated manuscripts produced 1,480 copies of the Book of Kells and sold each copy for $18,000!!!

C. Stone Crosses GARDNER’S 16-9

• The crosses have a circle in the center of them. These crosses are known as CELTIC CROSSES and are important to Hiberno-Saxon art.

• Exceptional mass and scale (18 ft!)

• Grave markers

III. CHARLEMAGNE AND THE CAROLINGIAN REVIVAL

A. The Rise of the Franks

• Clovis converts to Christianity (496)

“Meekly bow thy proud head…Adore what thou has burned, burn what thou has adored.”

• Charles “The Hammer” Martel defeats the Muslims at the Battle of Tours (732)

• Pepin forms a close alliance with the Pope and is crowned “king by the grace of God.”

B. Charlemagne (768 – 814)

• Personality

• Conqueror

• Reviving the glory of the Roman Empire

• Holy Roman Emperor – crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope on Christmas day 800 in Old St. Peter’s Basilica. The spot is marked in new St. Peter’s.

• Revived learning

• Court at Aachen

• Scholars such as Alcuin were brought into expand education

• Saved Greek and Roman manuscripts

• Invented Carolingian Miniscule – our own cursive writing is based upon Carolingian Miniscule

C. Carolingian Art

• Imperial Imagery

• Equestrian Portrait of Charlemagne (Gardner 416)

Equestrian portrait is reminiscent of Roman imagery for emperors; think Marcus Aurelius in Rome

It is a figurine of small statue just 9 ½ inches high

• Two Portraits of St. Matthew

• Classical St. Matthew from the Coronation Gospels (Gardner 16-3) 800 - 810 – classical calm

o Charlemagne encouraged use of classical style in Aachen (his capital) to reinforce his connection to the Roman emperors.

o Carolingian artist (if not an Italian who would have absorbed this style) fully absorbed classical manner

o Use of color and shading to mimic the modeling of light on forms (3D) – not just 2D graphic linear design

o Toga, cross-legged chair, lectern are Roman accessories

o Landscape like Roman painting (think 3rd style in Pompeii)

o Framed in acanthus leaf pattern found in Corinthian capitals.

• Impassioned St. Matthew from the Ebbo Gospels (Gardner 417), 816 - 835

• Matthew wears a toga and the modeling of his head, hands, and feet create a sense of three-dimensional illusionism.

• Saint Matthew writes with an energy that suggests a frenzy of divine inspiration. The saint almost leaps under its impulse. His hair stands on end, his eyes open wide, the folds of his drapery writhe and vibrate. Even the landscape seems to be alive. Matthew appears to take down in frantic haste what his inspiration (the tiny angel in the upper-right corner) dictates.

• Artist translated classical prototype into a new Carolingian language merging classical illusionism with northern linear tradition.

• Utrecht Psalter, ca. 820 – 835

o Psalms of David in 3 columns in Latin letters with pen and ink drawings across the bottom of the page across all three colums.

o Perhaps artist copied manuscripts from 400 years earlier.

o Regardless, artist wanted manuscript to appear ancient and used perspective illusion.

o Figures have a gestural quality, not stiff at all.

o Figures have modeling, a sense of mass

o Many similarities to the Ebbo Gospels, nervous energy.

• Crucifixion, front cover of Lindau Gospels, ca. 870

o Retain taste for sumptuous, portable objects from time of the Warrior Lords

o Glorified the word of God

o Christ is young, unbearded

o Does not seem to be suffering

o Repousse (hammered or pressed relief)

o Mediterranean style (classicism) prevails: calm and idealized.

D. Carolingian Architecture

• Schematic Plan for a monastery at St. Gall, Switzerland, ca. 819

• The Carolingian period left a legacy on the building of MONASTERIES

• Saint Benedict established rules for monks living communally that ordered the day into periods of manual labor and sacred reading. These rules are considered the Benedictine Rule (Regula Sancti Benedictus). Charlemagne encouraged the following of St Benedict’s rules for monasteries.

• Abbey is the name for a monastery operating under St. Benedict’s Rule.

• Abbot: absolute ruler of abbey as elected by monks.

• Manual labor was encouraged and raised in status in direct contradiction to antiquity’s view of manual labor being disgraceful.

• Monks followed these rules and separated themselves from worldly living in MONASTERIES. It is a cure for worldly intrusions onto monks’ meditations

• Charlemagne encouraged the building of monasteries which were centers of learning

• Monasteries continued the literary culture of the Greco-Roman world

• Monasteries were self-sufficient communities.

• Notice a new feature attached to the church – a CLOISTER - a courtyard surrounded by columns similar to the Roman ATRIUM but attached to the side of the church

• Much of the Met’s Medieval Art collection is housed in a separate museum called the CLOISTERS

• Clergy, who were also often scribes, held monopoly on literacy. Reading and copying manuscripts as well as studying music for chanting, and teaching were all considered manual labor, eventually.

E. Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, Germany, 792 - 805

• The Problem

• Charlemagne want to have a Royal Chapel

• But what plan should he use?

• Solution One: The Basilica-Plan

• Nave – a large central hall where the congregation sits

• Clerestory – row of windows in the upper part of the wall

• Apse – a projecting part of a basilica, usually semicircular in shape

• Transept – cross arm placed at right angles to the nave

• Narthex – an entrance porch of a church

• Solution Two: The Central Plan

• The rectangular basilica church was long the favorite in Western Europe.

• But Early Christian architects also adopted another architectural type: THE CENTRAL PLAN building.

• This type is so named because the building’s parts are of equal or almost equal dimensions around the center.

• In Western Europe, CENTRAL PLAN structures were first used by Christians as tombs, baptisteries, and shrines to martyrs

• In the CENTRAL PLAN, the DOME is the natural focus of the church. The DOME functions symbolically as the “vault of heaven.”

• What did Charlemagne choose? (Gardner 16-17)

• Charlemagne’s Palatine Chapel at Aachen

• Palatine Hill in Rome is where the patricians and emperors lived. It was the site where Romulus founded the city of Rome.

• Charlemagne’s Palatine Chapel was designed by Odo of Metz

• Influenced by SAN VITALE in Ravenna – Charlemagne probably related better to the Germanic kings who ruled Ravenna, and he made several trips to Ravenna

• Notice the significant Roman elements of Palatine Chapel – It reflects how Charlemagne wanted to revive the glory of the Roman Empire

• First vaulted (domed) structure of Middle Ages north of the Alps.

• Reinterpretation of earlier Christian sources in Rome and Ravenna

• Emulated splendor of Byzantine empire (San Vitale, Ravenna)

• Floating quality of San Vitale translated into massive form, foreshadowing Romanesque architecture (11th and 12th C.)

F. Carolingian architecture left a legacy on the development of Western European church design.

• Carolingian architecture favored the basilica plan which was used in Western Europe for centuries to come

• At the west entrance of the basilica, architects included two large towers at the corners. The architects enlarged the entire western façade to unite it with the towers. This large western entrance made popular during the Carolingian period is called a WESTWORK.

• Abbey church, Corvey, Germany, 873 – 885

• Towers incorporated into west end facade of basilica church. German,Westwork = western entrance structure, also called a castellum (Latin for castle or fortress) or turris (tower).

• Corvey is only surviving example.

• Stairs in westwork for emperor to ascend to second story which had a separate chapel. Chapel was also used for special celebrations.

• Boys’ choir also stationed in 2nd story chapel.

G. Decline of the Carolingian Period and the Frankish Empire

• After the death of Charlemagne, his son Louis the Pious reigned. Louis the Pious was not a strong ruler like his father.

• After his death, three of Louis’ sons split the Frankish Empire

• Charles the Bald – inherited the western lands which eventually formed the foundation of France

• Louis the German – took the eastern Frankish lands which eventually became Germany

• Lothair – took the “Middle Kingdom” which extended from the North Sea to Italy

IV. OTTONIAN ART

A. Who are the Otto’s?

• A line of Saxon kings

• Ruled what are now parts of Germany, Austria, and Northern Italy

• Three Otto’s ruled from 936 – 1002

• Supported culture and the arts – carried on the tradition established during the Carolingian period

B. Bishop Bernward

• Tutor of Otto III

• Skilled in diplomacy

• Scholar

• Lover of the arts

• Expert craftsman and bronze caster

C. Nave of the church of St. Cyriakus, Gernrode, Germany, 961 – 973

• Has transept at east with square choir (space reserved for clergy and singers in church) in front of the apse.

o Crossing is the area where the basilica’s long axis intersects the transept (the “horizontal” part of the cross)

o Square crossing is a crossing where the transept and basilica have the same width and so the crossing area is square.

• Nave is one of the first to have a gallery between the ground-floor arcade and the clerestory: Very popular in Romanesque era.

• Note ALTERNATE-SUPPORT SYSTEM: Heavy square piers alternate with columns. Division continues on gallery; leads eye upward.

• Note: flat timber ceiling.

D. Cathedral of Saint Michael’s Hildesheim

• Built for an Ottonian Monastery

• Resembles a basilica – long rectangular structure

• Notice the use of an ALTERNATE-SUPPORT SYSTEM – This means that the nave arcade is supported by columns alternating with piers (rectangular).

• A distinctive feature of the Saint Michael’s church that separates it from Early Christian basilicas – It has TWO TRANSEPTS

• Note the arch at the end of the nave in plan view – it resembles a Roman triumphal arch

• Lateral entrances leading into aisles from north and south. Loss of traditional basilican orientation toward east (usually enter in the westwork).

E. Bronze Doors of Saint Michael’s at Hildesheim

• 16 feet high

• 8 scenes from the Book of Genesis on the left and 8 scenes from the life of Christ on the right

• Old Testament scenes prefigure the New Testament scenes. EXAMPLE – the panel with God judging Adam and Eve for the original sin is juxtaposed with Jesus being judged by Pontius Pilate

• An inscription mentions their initiator and their date of origin: "In the year of the Lord 1015, Bishop Bernward, in divine memory, had these cast door wings suspended on the façade of the Angels' Temple, for his remembrance."   

• Technical marvel: most art since Late Antiquity were small objects. These doors were cast as single objects.

• Conceptually though the panels almost read like book covers: If you are casting a 16 ft. tall door you could have made one large figure on the door.

• Right door relates life of Christ from Annunciation to Resurrection (Bottom to Top).

• Left door depicts Old Testament prefigurations of the events in Christ’s life (Top to Bottom).

o Fall of Adam and Eve across from Crucifixion

o Eve nursing Cain across from Mary with infant Christ.

F. Bronze Column in Saint Michael’s Hildesheim (Gardner page 448)

• Column reminiscent of the Roman tradition of recording great events with triumphal column.

• 12 ½ feet high

• Modeled after ______________ Column in Rome

• Narrative tells the story of Jesus’ life in 24 scenes

• Reads from bottom to top.

• Relates scenes from Christ’s life not covered in doors.

G. Crucifix carved for Archbishop Gero (Gardner 449)

• Commissioned by Archbishop Gero

• Carved in oak and then painted and gilded

• Highlights Christ’s agony and intense suffering.

• Dramatically different view of Crucifixion from Lindau Gospels.

Ottonian Illuminated Manuscripts

A. Annunciation to the Shepherds, folio in the Lectionary of Henry II, 1002 – 1014

a. Book of Gospel readings for Mass.

b. Angel’s wings still beating as he announces Christ’s birth.

c. Gesture of authority.

d. Terrified shepherds.

e. Hierarchy of scale

f. Rocky landscape with grazing animals derived from Late Antiquity painting

g. Golden background from Byzantine mosaics

i. Otto II had married a Byzantine princess, was Henry II’s predecessor.

B. Otto III enthroned, from the Gospel Book of Otto III, 997 - 1000

a. Emperor with German and Byzantine roots (mother was Byzantine princess, Theophanu).

b. Shows Emperor enthroned with scepter and cross-inscribed orb – universal authority from Christ – goes back to Constantine iconography.

c. Barons and clergy are at his sides – both support him (like Justinian mosaic).

d. Itemize Byzantine styles in painting:

i. Frontal

ii. Flat

iii. Drapery rendered graphically, not forms modeled with shadow.

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