MEDIEVAL
-means middle ages
-starts with fall of Rome, lasts 1000 yrs until Renaissance
-age of great faith
-Church dominant institution
-almost all art is religious and for purpose of story telling
-divides into 3 parts: Dark Ages, Romanesque, Gothic
DARK AGES
-early medieval, time of "church growth"
-establish monasteries - places where monks lived
-monks lived in isolation to better serve & focus on God
-cloister - prayer garden
-monks also produced art in the form of illuminated manuscripts
-books
-illuminated meant decorated
-manuscript meant hand written
-thus decorated, hand written books
-latin
-purpose for meditation & concentrating on beauty of God's
written word
-scribes are monks who make books
-scriptorium is place in monastery where they worked
-specialized process, each monk doing a certain part of the book
-labor intensive
-costly materials
-real gold, purples, blues
-vellum - animal skin
-text focuses on 4 Gospels
Mathew whose symbol is winged man
Mark whose symbol is winged lion
Luke whose symbol is winged ox
John whose symbol is eagle
TEST SLIDE BOOK OF KELLS, ANON, DARK AGES
-made in Ireland at Kells monastery
-680 pages, this page shows Chi Rho
-each page 13"x9"
Reliquary - container for relics
Relics - holy objects believed to have miraculous powers
ROMANESQUE
-time of holy wars & crusades - "church militant"
-reflected in the harshness of the art
Romanesque church
1. part of a monastery
2. isolated in location
3. destination for pilgrimage
pilgrimage - journey to visit holy site
- a test of faith & way to get to heaven
4. pilgrimage plan
-looks like a cross
-crossing arms are called the transept
-projecting bubbles are called radiating chapels
-relics go in radiating chapels
-better plan than basilica b/c to allows the visitors to move thru interior spaces without disturbing the monks in the nave
5. called romanesque b/c it looked Roman: tiny windows, thick concrete walls,
barrel vault, looks like fortress
6. barrel vault provides for better acoustics but not much lighting
thus romanesque interiors are very dary
7. EXTERIOR story-telling
-relief sculpture (not mosaics)
-limestone (not marble)
8. Story telling capitals - lots of devils & tortures
9. Focus on portal
-doorway is called portal
-tympanum is semi-circular part at top of the doorway
-Last Judgment is most commonly shown
TEST SLIDE LAST JUDGMENT, ANON, ROMANESQUE
Madonna means "my lady"
Madonna & Child - very common subject
- shows Mary holding a baby Christ
- however, Medieval Christ doesn't look or act bery
baby-like - looks like a little man
GOTHIC
- late Medieval - time of "church mystical"
- build "cathedrals" - large main church
Gothic cathedral traits:
1. in towns - not isolated
2. for the people - connection to people
3. friendlier
4. completely covered in sculpture
5. pointed arch - stronger - pushes more down than out
6. cross vaulting - intersecting of 2 arches
- visible on interior looking up
- channels weight, allows for windows
7. flying buttress - exterior supports
- help to carry & re-distribute weight
8. skeletal looking structure - open, no walls
9. vertical lines - everything points up
10.stained glass
11.more focus on Mary
b/c Gothic is age of chivalry
b/c women helped to pay for lots of the art
Mary portrayed as like a "princess"
12.originated in France
13."Gothic" - derogatory term meaning "barbaric"
- Italians didn't like it
TEST SLIDE NOTRE DAME OF CHARTRES, ANON, GOTHIC
-In France
-Notre Dame means "our lady"
-important place of pilgrimage
-mary's robe was the relic
-tall towers act as beacons to guide pilgrims
-EARLY Gothic demonstrated 3 parts to facade
1. 3 part portal = Trinity
= connects to interior spaces (nave & 2 side aisles)
2. rose window = round stained glass window
= represents Mary
3. 2 towers - guide pilgrims
- create verticality
- hold church bells
-serve as call to prayer (9 x's /day)
-Gothic uses pilgrimage floor plan
STAINED GLASS - purpose is story telling
- very strong - thicker glass - held together with lead bars
- reds & blues dominate
TEST SLIDE NOTRE DAME OF PARIS, ANON, GOTHIC
-Mid gothic - taller, spikier, more glass, more sculpture
-Gargoyles to drain water from building
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