Chapter 7

Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine Art

Catacombs of Commodilla, Jesus the Alpha and OmegaRome, Italy 4th c. AD. fresco

Catacombs of Commodilla, Jesus the Alpha and Omega

• This panel shows a bearded Jesus flanked by two Greek letters: on the left alpha, the first letter of the alphabet, on the right, omega, the last letter of the alphabet. The picture evokes Rev 1:8: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Menorahs and Ark of the Covenant, wall painting in a Jewish catacomb, Villa Torlonia, Rome, 3rd Century.

Dura-Europos in Syria c.244-245 wall with the Torah Niche, tempera on plaster

Detail of Niche at Dura-Europos in Syria c.244-245 wall with the Torah Niche, tempera on plaster

Finding of the Baby Moses, Wall painting Dura-Europos, Syria. Copy in tempora on plaster 244-45 AD.

Maon Synagogue floor,Eretz Yisrael, 530 AD.,mosaic detail.

Menorah

• During the wanderings of the Children of Israel through the desert, the artisan, Bezalel, the son of Uri, was commanded to fashion a seven-branched candelabrum or menorah, for use in the Lord's Tabernacle:

CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM

• Like Musical Notation, Christian Symbolism illustrates that for which it stands. And it adds a certain beauty and mysticism to religion, speaking as it does of an unseen world and a supernatural faith. For the proper understanding of Christian Art and Architecture some knowledge of symbolism is absolutely necessary.

Symbols• The Dove represents the HOLY GHOST, under which figure the

Holy Spirit descended upon Christ at His Baptism. • The Fish represents Christ - The Greek word "Ixthus" which means

"Fish," is spelled from the first letters of Greek words meaning, "Jesus CHRIST, Son of GOD SAVIOR." This sign was used as a secret symbol by the early Christians in the days of persecution.

• The Gospels are symbolized by the Figures of a Man, a Lion, an Ox, and an Eagle referring to Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke and Saint John, who respectively represented Our Lord as Man, King, Priest and Victim and GOD.

• The Lamb typifies Christ as the Lamb of GOD symbolizing Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. It is usually seen holding a Banner and Cross. The Good Shepherd also represents Christ. This is probably the earliest of all Christian symbols. CHRIST is sometimes shown with the Sheep in His Arms.

Symbol of the Cross

• The Cross represents the mode of Christ’s Death. Though long antedating Christianity it was early adopted as a Sacred Symbol. Of the many forms of the Cross, the Latin, the Celtic, the Greek and the Maltese are those most generally seen. The shape of the "True Cross" was probably the Latin (or perhaps the "T") Cross, having the lower arm longer than the others.

Tau Cross -This form of cross (resembling the Greek letter Tau) predates the Latin cross.

Greek Cross - All arms are of equal length.

Latin Cross - The most common depiction of a Christian cross in modern times.

St. Peter’s Cross -Representing St. Peter’s upside-down crucifixion.

Catacomb Painting: Good Shepherd, Orants, and the Story of Jonah4th century AD, Rome

Good Shepherd, marble statue, 3rd century19 ¾” H 16” W

Early Christian Architecture• The invention of the Christian church was one of the brilliant--

perhaps the most brilliant--solutions in architectural history. This was achieved by a process of assimilating and rejecting various precedents, such as the Greek temple, the Roman public building, the private Roman house, and the synagogue.

• The Early Christian period saw the growth of Christianity, effectively an underground Eastern mystery cult during the first three centuries AD. It was established as the state religion of the Empire under the successors of Constantine. Ecclesiastical administration set up within the framework of the Roman Empire.

• Little change in social and economic order. Gradual split between Eastern and Western Empire in state and church. Political and economic breakdown of the West, ending in barbarian invasions.

• Early Christian Architecture: basilical church developed from Roman secular basilica; centralized type from Roman tombs. Basilical plan modified for liturgical requirements; congregation and clergy segregated in nave and aisles vs. transept and apse. Different variants in East and West.

• In Rome, classical marble wall membering and vocabulary, and emphasis on massive wall, gradually replaced by broad, flat surfaces, evenly lighted; plain brick exteriors; mosaic bands of interiors. Long planes with little articulation, either horizontal or vertical.

•

Baptistry in Christian House, Dura Europos, miracles of Jesus, Dura Europos, 3rd century AD., Syria.

• Following the Edict of Milan in 313 Constantine began an extensive building program to provide churches and meeting places for Christians. Previously they met in private homes that had rooms for worship.The first Christian churches used Roman structural and design elements.The basilica evolved into the essential design for the church that is still used today.

Basilica Plan Churches

Central Plan Churches

Reconstruction drawing of St. Peter’s, Rome c. 333-390 AD right: interior view of St Paul outside the Walls, Rome c. 385 AD.

Old St. Peter's, Rome, c. 330, AD.

Santa Sabina, Rome, c. 422-432 AD.

Interior of Santa Sabina, Rome

CHURCH OF SANTA SABINA : Doors Panel 17: Elijah taken to Heaven

Plan of Santa Costanza, brick, c. 350 CE, Rome right: interior view of Santa Costanza.

Santa Constanza, Rome c. 350 AD. Second type of ancient building – the Tholos. A round structure with a central plan.

Harvesting of Grapes, mosaic in the ambulatory vault, Church of Santa Costanza

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, c. 425-26 AD.

• “Built between 425 and 433, this small mausoleum adopts a cruciform plan, and the crossing is covered by a dome. On the outside, the architect simply juxtaposed masses. However, in contrast to Romanesque architecture, the mausoleum walls give the impression of being simple partitions designed to mark off the interior spaces. Blind arcades are its only decoration. The inside is relatively small and extremely simple. The mausoleum was intended from the very start to be covered with mosaics, and these are the oldest in Ravenna. The principal scene depicts the martyrdom of St. Lawrence at the moment when the saint approaches the red-hot gridiron. The other niche represents the Good Shepherd, and on the upper walls are the apostles.”

Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, lunette mosaic, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, c. 425-26 AD.

Good Shepherd, lunette mosaic, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, c. 425-26 AD.

Bookcase with the Gospels in codex form – Detail of a mosaic in the eastern lunette, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Baptism of Christ, with Twelve Saints; dome mosaic, Baptistry of the Orthodox (Neonian Baptistery), mid-5th century A.D.

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. c. 359 A.D.

Detail from the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. c. 359 A.D.

Early Byzantine art: The First Golden Age

• The style of the Eastern Empire (called Byzantine) begins with the re-naming of the capital and continues in some parts of Europe and Russia well into the 15th century A.D. Architecturally, the Byzantine style is distinguished by an emphasis on centrally planned, domed structures such as San Vitale. San Vitale is located in Ravenna, a major Byzantine outpost in Italy. It is a particularly good example of the style's mystical, surging spaces: chapels seem carved out of the radiating aisle, and the plan is a complex octagon-within-an-octagon shape. This church dates to the first great flowering of Byzantine art, the First Golden Age, when the Emperor Justinian ruled from Constantinople.

Isidore of Miletus: Hagia Sofia exterior, cross section, and plan

Cathedral built at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I

The Dome

• It was not always possible to have a cylindrical base to support a dome. To support a dome on a square base arches could be built to bridge the corners and create an octagonal base. These were called squinches. An even more elaborate system of transferring the thrust of a dome to four points was to employ segments of vaults which are called pendentives.

Plan, The Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547

The Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547

The Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547

The Lamb of God supported by Angels, 546-548, dome apse mosaic, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547

San Vitale, aerial view, apse nearest viewer

Justinian and his Retinue, 546-548, mosaic, north wall of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547

Theodora and her retinue, 546-548, mosaic, south wall of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547

Apse mosaic of St. Appolinaris and Transfiguration of Christ, Sant’Apollinare in Classe, ca. 550

The Archangel MichaelRight leaf of a diptych, early sixth century. Ivory, approx. 17" X 151/2" Constantinople, ca. 500 A.D. An ivory panel depicting Saint Michael the Archangel

Rebekah at the Wall and Abraham's Servant, page 13, The Vienna Genesis, 6th cent.

Detail of The Vienna Genesis

Illumination from the Rabbula Gospels Syriac, AD 586, 33x26.7 cm.

IconVirgin and Child with

Saints and Angelsencaustic on wood

from St. Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai, Egypt

late sixth century

Middle Byzantine Art

• The resolution of the Iconoclastic controversy in favor of the use of icons ushered in a second flowering of the empire, the Middle Byzantine period (843–1261). The arts flourished, Greek became the dominant official language, and Christianity spread from Constantinople throughout the Slavic lands to the north.

• In 1204, Crusaders from western Europe took Constantinople, founding the Latin Empire, which lasted until 1261, when Byzantine rule was reestablished. The final great artistic flowering that followed lasted until Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, more than 1,100 years after its founding. Long after its fall, Byzantium set a standard for luxury, beauty, and learning that inspired both the Latin West and the Islamic East.

IconOur Lady of Vladimir

Egg Tempera on Wood Panel12th century Byzantine faces,

with later restorations45 x 27 in

Icons and Iconoclasm

• The term icon comes from the Greek eikon, which means "image" or "likeness." In a religious context, it refers to some image or representation of important religious figures, but especially divine or semi-divine figures. Often, these images are venerated in some fashion.

The Iconoclastic Controversy

• Occurred between the mid-8th century and the mid-9th century in the Byzantine Christian Church over the question of whether or not Christians should continue to revere icons. Most unsophisticated believers tended to revere icons (thus they were called iconodules), but many political and religious leaders wanted to have them smashed because they believed that venerating icons was a form of idolatry (they were called iconoclasts).

• The controversy was inaugurated in 726 when Byzantine Emperor Leo III commanded that the image of Christ be taken down from the Chalke gate of the imperial palace. After much debate and controversy, the veneration of icons was official restored and sanctioned during a council meeting in Nicaea in 787. However, conditions were put on their use - they had to be painted flat with no features which stood out. Down through today icons play an important role in the Eastern Orthodox Church, serving as "windows" to heaven.

• One result of this conflict was that theologians developed the distinction between veneration and reverence (proskynesis) which was paid to icons and other religious figures, and adoration (latreia), which was owed to God alone. Another was bringing the term iconoclasm into currency, now used for any attempt to attack popular figures or icons (outside of the strict religious sense of the word).

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, 1037 - 46

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, 1037 - 46

St. Nicholas Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois

Hosios Loukas Monastery: Phocis, Greece, c.1020 - 1040.

Hosios Loukas Monastery: Phocis, Greece, c.1020 - 1040.

Interior

The Crucifixion, Church of the Dormition, Daphni. c. 1090-1100

Interior of St. Mark's Basilica, Venice. begun 1063

Objects of Veneration and Devotion

• During the second Byzantine golden age, artists of great talent and high aesthetic sensibility produced small luxury items of a personal nature for members of the court as well as for the church.

The Harbaville Triptych. Late 10th Century. Ivory

Multiple – dome church plans

• Domed Greek Cross

• Greek Cross domes over square plan

• Quincunx domes over square plan

• Expanded quincunx

Interior of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy

Domed Greek Cross Greek Cross domes over square plan

Expanded quincunx

The Palatine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Palatina) is the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily situated on the ground floor at the center of the Palazzo Reale in Palermo.The chapel was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132. It took eight years to build and many more to decorate with mosaics and fine art. The sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Peter, is reminiscent of a domed basilica. It has three apses, as is usual in Byzantine architecture, with six pointed arches (three on each side of the central nave) resting on recycled classical columns.

Marble and mosaic decoration in the Chamber of King Roger, Palazzo Normano, Palermo, 1154-66.

The late Byzantine period (1204–1453)

• Quite a number of buildings from the late Byzantine period survive in Istanbul, Thessaloníki, and throughout Greece and the Balkans. In general they are on a small scale and follow the plan of those of the middle Byzantine period.

Paracclesion of the church of the Monastery of the Savior in Chora

IconArchangel Michael

silver gilt with enamel and gemstones

late 10th or early 11th century

Michael is one of the principal angels in

Abrahamic tradition; his name was said to have been the war-cry of the

angels in the battle fought in heaven against Satan

and his followers.

• The name of the church, "in Chora" means "in the country" because the very ancient monastery to which it was attached was outside the walls of the Constantinian city; later when it was included within the Theodosian walls, the name remained the Holy Savior of Chora. The mosaics and frescoes are by far the most important and extensive series of Byzantine paintings in the city and among the best and most beautiful in the world.

Fresco of the Resurrection (Anastasis) in the Church in Chora

The Old Testament Trinity Prefiguring the Incarnation" by Andrei Rublev, c.1410, is painted on wood, 56" X 45". This late Byzantine style can be seen in the art of the west in late Gothic and early Renaissance painting.

Islamic Art

Chapter 8

The Kaaba is the "cubic" shrine in Mecca, the center of Islamic worship and the holiest place in Islam. ("Kaaba" means "cube" in Arabic.) It was originally a shrine built by Abraham devoted to the one God, about 2000 B.C.

• Muslims pray five times a day facing the Kaaba in Mecca, and if they are able, they will make a Pilgrimage, or "hajj", there at least once in their lives.

• At the time before Islam, the Kaaba was used to house about 360 idols for the various tribes of Arabia. The Prophet Muhammad was against idol worship and preached that there was one God (Allah). This started the hostilities against him and his followers. After leaving Mecca and going to Medina, the Prophet Muhammad and his followers finally returned triumphantly into Mecca. There the Muslims destroyed the idols and rededicated the Kaaba to the one God.

Dome of the Rock

• This is the oldest Muslim building which has survived basically intact in its original form. It was built by the Caliph Abd al-Malik and completed in 691 CE. The building encloses a huge rock located at its center, from which, according to tradition, the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven at the end of his Night Journey. In the Jewish tradition this is the Foundation Stone, the symbolic foundation upon which the world was created, and the place of the Binding of Isaac. The Caliph Omar is said to have cleared the waste which had accumulated on the rock during the Byzantine period. The structure is octagonal and the dome is borne by a double system of pillars and columns. The walls, ceiling, arches, and vaults are decorated with floral images. The dome, on the inside, is covered with colored and gilded stucco.

Dome of the Rock

Cross section of the Dome of the Rock (Tower of David Museum)

Dome of the RockInterior

Dome of the Rock• The plot of land on the elevated stone platform known as Haram

Ash-Sharif on Temple Mount upon which sits the Dome of the Rock is sacred to three of the world's major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

• The site was first consecrated by the Israelites of Exodus. Later, according to Jewish tradition, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac upon a rock that protruded from the centre of the platform. Later still, upon the same platform, Solomon erected his temple.

• For Christians, in addition to the Old Testament Jewish associations, the Temple Mount was revered because of its place in the life and ministries of Jesus Christ.

• For Moslems, the rock was sanctified by the story of the Prophet Mohammed's Miraaj or Night Journey to Jerusalem and back to Mecca (Qur'an 17:1). From the top of the rock, Mohammed began his ascent to Heaven.

Detail from Frieze, Façade of the Palace at Mshatta

• Islamic belief in Aniconism and the doctrine of unity (al-twahid) demanded a rich vocabulary of abstract, geometric forms that translated into the architecture of mosques.

• Artists reiterated these forms in complex decoration that covered the surface of every work of art from large buildings, to rugs, paintings and small sacred objects.

Jordan, Mshatta Palace, c. 750, Plan

Plan of Typical, Early Islamic Mosque The numbers below correspond to the circled numbers to the right.

1. Qibla wall.

2. Mihrab niche.

3. Hypostyle hall.

4. Courtyard (or "sahn").

5. Minaret.

The Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia, 836 - 875

The Great Mosque , Cordoba

(785-786)

The double horseshoe arcades of the prayer-hall

Dome of the great mosque of Cordoba, 965

Arches and Muqarnas

Horseshoe ArchesTiled Moorish style Arches in Seville Palace, Reales Alcazares.

Pointed arch

Muqarnas is the Arabic word for stalactite vault, an architectural ornament developed around the middle of the tenth century in north eastern Iran and almost simultaneously, but apparently independently, in central North Africa.

Page from Koran in kufic script, from Syria. Ink, pigments, and gold on vellum, 9th century

Leaf from a Qur’an manuscriptAhmad ibn al-Suhravardi al-Bakri, calligrapherMuhammad ibn Aybak, illuminatorBaghdad, IraqIlkhanid, 1307–1308Ink, colors, and gold on paper; 20 3/16 x 14 1/2 in. (51.3 x 36.8cm)

The most complete documentation of Samanid art is to be found in its ceramics, and during the 9th century, the wares of Transoxiana were very popular throughout the eastern provinces of Persia. The best-known and most refined pottery of this Samarkand type is that bearing large inscriptions in Kufic (the earliest version of Arabic script used in the Koran, named after the city Kufa in Iraq) painted in black on a white background.

Part of the St. Josse silk, Khorasan 10th century.The inscription wishes 'glory and prosperity to Abu Mansur

Bukhtegin, may God prolong (His favours to him?)'.

Mosque lamps

• Throughout the Islamic world, mosques and other religious structures were frequently illuminated with oil lamps suspended from the rafters or ceiling. During the fourteenth century, hundreds of such lamps were commissioned by the powerful Mamluk ruler and patron of the arts, Sultan Hasan (reigned 1344–51 and 1354–61), for his vast religious complex in Cairo.

• These mosque lamps were elaborately decorated with paint, gilt, and enamel, and often included the sultan's name as symbolic representations of a specific Koranic verse (sura 24, verse 35), known as the Light verse, which encircles the tall neck of the lamp.

• They provided light by means of a wick placed in a container of oil within the lamp.

Egypt, Mamuk dynasty, about 1350-5 glass, enameled and gilded

• The lamps are also decorated with a bold inscription frieze containing the name and titles of Sayf al-Din Shaykhu al-Nasiri, an important patron of art and architecture in Cairo. His heraldic device incorporating a red cup appears in the centre of the roundels on the neck and the underside of the lamp.

Isfahan is already a city of ancient history and considerable wealth when Shah Abbas decides, in 1598, to turn it into a magnificent capital. It has a Masjid-i-Jami, or Friday Mosque, dating from the Seljuk period (11th-12th century), still surviving today and noted for its fine patterned brickwork. And it has a thriving school of craftsmen skilled in the making of polychrome ceramic tiles.

Islamic Terms

• Mihrab - A mihrab is a niche in the wall which points the worshipers toward Mecca.

• Minbar - A minbar is a "pulpit", or a place from which a religious leader (an "imam") speaks to the people. It looks something like a staircase.

• Minarets - Minarets are towers of a mosque. From the minaret a person (a "muezzin") calls people to prayer five times a day.

MihrabIsfahan, IranIlkhanid, 1354Mosaic of monochrome-glaze tiles on composite body set on plaster; 135 1/16 x 113 11/16 in.

Egypt, Cairo, Mihrab and Minbar of the Mosque of Sultan Hasan, 1356-1360. This liwan, or niche is the side of the mosque used as a madrasa by the Shafi, one of the four schools of Islamic legal and theological thought.

Alhambra-Court of Lions

Five Pillars of IslamArt and Context

• The Five Pillars of Islam are core beliefs that shape Muslim thought, deed, and society. A Muslim who fulfills the Five Pillars of Islam, remains in the faith of Islam, and sincerely repents of his sins, will make it to Jannah (paradise). If he performs the Five Pillars but does not remain in the faith, he will not be saved.

The First Pillar

• Shahada • The Shahada is the Islamic proclamation that "There is

no true God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

• This is the confession that Allah is the one and only true God, that Allah alone is worthy of worship, that Allah alone is the sovereign lord who does what he wills with whoever he wills. It means that all his rules and laws found in the Koran are to be followed. It means that the Christian doctrine of God as a Trinity is false as are all other belief systems including pantheism.

• Muhammad is the true and greatest prophet of Allah and recognition of Muhammad as the Prophet of God is required. It was through Muhammad that Allah conveyed the last and final revelation.

The Second Pillar

• Prayer (Salat) • Prayer involves confession of sins which begins

with the purification of the body and ends with the purification of the soul. Prayer is performed five times a day. The first prayer is at dawn and the last at sunset.

• The names of the prayers are Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha. The Maghrib prayer is the sunset prayer. Isha is the prayer that is said after sunset. There is also a prayer that is said right after Fajr known as Shurooq.

Prayer (Salat)

Third Pillar

• Fasting (Saum)

• The month of Ramadan is the month of fasting in Islam. It is an act of worship where the faithful follower denies his own needs and seeks Allah. Usually, this fasting entails no drinking or eating during the daylight hours for the entire month of Ramadan.

Fourth Pillar

• Alms-giving or charity (Zakat)

• Charity given to the poor. It benefits the poor and it helps the giver by moving him towards more holiness and submission to Allah. Alms-giving is considered a form of worship to God.

Fifth Pillar

• Pilgrimage (Hajj)

• This is the pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims, if they are able, are to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. It involves financial sacrifice and is an act of worship. Muslims must make the pilgrimage the first half of the last month of the lunar year

Muqarnas dome, Hall of the Abencerrajes, Palace of the Lions, built between 1354 - 1391

Portable Arts

• Metal Work – inherited skills of the Roman and Byzantine craftsmen

• Ceramics – development of lustrous metallic surface

• Textiles – traditional silk weaving passed from Persian to Islamic artisans

Griffin. Fatimid, (Egyptian), Islamic

11th century

Pen box, 13th centuryWestern Iran or northern Iraq (al-Jazira)Brass inlaid with gold and silver; H. 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm), L. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm)

• Muslim metalworkers produced large numbers of pen boxes, many of which were richly decorated with inlays of gold, silver, and copper. A typical medieval Islamic calligrapher's pen box is an elongated rectangular object with rounded corners, about ten inches long, three inches wide, and two inches tall. In its simple construction, it is composed of a main body and a lid with two hinges along one of the long sides and a clasp on the opposite side. The interior includes a receptacle to hold the inkwell in one corner while the remaining space is reserved for a variety of reed pens and penknives.

The Macy Jug, from Iran, 1215 – 16

Composite body glazed, painted fritware* and incised with pierced outer shell. 6 5/8” x 7 ¼”

*a flux that is stabilized by melting it with silica and regrinding it into a fine powder

Muslim Tapestry preserved in the Monastery of the Royal Strikes Burgos. It is called "banner of Navas de Tolosa," because it was taken by King Alfonso VIII of Castile the Almohad ben Muhammad Yaqub. Very richly decorated, upper and lower bands bearing phrases written religious significance. To the sides, the scripts are made so that they can be read by the setback of the tapestry. In the center, a star with eight points evolves in different ways to death in a circle, according to Muslim taste for geometry. The predominant colors red and gold.

Medallion rug with a field of flowers, 17th century; SafavidProbably Kirman, IranWool pile on cotton, wool, and silk foundation; 81 x 56 in. (205.7 x 142.4 cm)

Textiles

• Roses, hyacinths, narcissi, campanula, irises, carnations, and lilies are among the many types of flowers that blossom in the field and borders of this carpet, which is generally attributed to the seventeenth-century production of Kirman, Iran. The flora are arranged symmetrically in pattern and color around a central octagonal medallion and four quarter medallions in the corners. The art of illumination, especially that of book covers, might have provided the inspiration for the central and corner medallion design, which was woven into so many Persian carpets. The decorative theme of the medallion has Central Asian roots and was known in the Timurid period, but its popularity greatly increased during the rule of the Safavids and beyond.

Carpet Making

• Making knotted carpets were surely regarded as a tradition in ancient Persia like in today. The oldest piece of rug in the world is an Iranian knotted one called Pazyrik (named after an area where it has been discovered in a frozen tomb in Southern Siberia). It dates back to 400-300 B.C.

• Iranian carpets consist of warp, weft, silk pile, wool, cotton or fuzz knotted with weft forming the flesh of carpets. In different parts of Iran, carpet makers created their own styles and schools. Techniques were sometimes different from tribe to tribe or city to city.

• Plain flat-weave or kilim weave implies a tapestry-like flat woven structure. The coloured woollen threads forming the motifs are interwoven across the warps, not from edge to edge, but only where the pattern and colour make it necessary. The result is a thinner, soft yet hardy reversible tapestry-like weave.

Symmetrical Knot, used extensively in Iran

Asymmetrical knot used extensively in Turkey

Manuscripts and painting• Calligraphy is the most highly regarded and most

fundamental element of Islamic art. It is significant that the Qur’an, the book of God's revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, was transmitted in Arabic, and that inherent within the Arabic script is the potential for developing a variety of ornamental forms. The employment of calligraphy as ornament had a definite aesthetic appeal but often also included an underlying talismanic component. While most works of art had legible inscriptions, not all Muslims would have been able to read them. One should always keep in mind, however, that calligraphy is principally a means to transmit a text, albeit in a decorative form.

• Objects from different periods and regions vary in the use of calligraphy in their overall design, demonstrating the creative possibilities of calligraphy as ornament. In some cases, calligraphy is the dominant element in the decoration. In these examples, the artist exploits the inherent possibilities of the Arabic script to create writing as ornament. An entire word can give the impression of random brushstrokes, or a single letter can develop into a decorative knot. In other cases, highly esteemed calligraphic works on paper are themselves ornamented and enhanced by their decorative frames or backgrounds. Calligraphy can also become part of an overall ornamental program, clearly separated from the rest of the decoration. In some examples, calligraphy can be combined with vegetal scrolls on the same surface though often on different levels, creating an interplay of decorative elements.

• Consisting of, or generated from, such simple forms as the circle and the square, geometric patterns were combined, duplicated, interlaced, and arranged in intricate combinations, thus becoming one of the most distinguishing features of Islamic art. However, these complex patterns seem to embody a refusal to adhere strictly to the rules of geometry. As a matter of fact, geometric ornamentation in Islamic art suggests a remarkable amount of freedom; in its repetition and complexity, it offers the possibility of infinite growth and can accommodate the incorporation of other types of ornamentation as well. In terms of their abstractness, repetitive motifs, and symmetry, geometric patterns have much in common with the so-called arabesque style seen in many vegetal designs. Calligraphic ornamentation also appears in conjunction with geometric patterns.

• The four basic shapes, or "repeat units," from which the more complicated patterns are constructed are: circles and interlaced circles; squares or four-sided polygons; the ubiquitous star pattern, ultimately derived from squares and triangles inscribed in a circle; and multisided polygons. It is clear, however, that the complex patterns found on many objects include a number of different shapes and arrangements, allowing them to fit into more than one category

Leaf from a Qur’an, 1302–8; IlkhanidIraq (Baghdad)Ink, gold, and colors on paper; 17 x 13 7/8 in. (43.2 x 35.2 cm)

• This illuminated page originally formed the right half of a double-page opening to a section of a Qur’an. It combines the three main Islamic types of nonfigural decoration: calligraphy, vegetal patterns, and geometric patterns. The vegetal patterns here are the classical scrolls utilized as the background to the calligraphy, within the compartments of the geometric interlace, and in the text frame and margin medallion. Two ground colors are used to introduce additional patterning.

The Ottoman Empire

• The empire they built was the largest and most influential of the Muslim empires of the modern period, and their culture and military expansion crossed over into Europe. Not since the expansion of Islam into Spain in the eighth century had Islam seemed poised to establish a European presence as it did in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Like that earlier expansion, the Ottomans established an empire over European territory and established Islamic traditions and culture that last to the current day (the Muslims in Bosnia are the last descendants of the Ottoman presence in Europe).

• The Ottoman empire lasted until the twentieth century. While historians like to talk about empires in terms of growth and decline, the Ottomans were a force to be reckoned with, militarily and culturally, right up until the break-up of the empire in the first decades of this century. The real end to the Ottoman culture came with the secularization of Turkey after World War II along European models of government. The transition to a secular state was not an easy one and its repercussions are still being felt in Turkish society today; nevertheless, secularization represents the real break with the Ottoman tradition and heritage.

The mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1574. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture.The Selimiye Mosque (Turkish:

Selimiye Camii) is a mosque in the city of Edirne, Turkey.

Sinan (1489 -1588)

• Prolific and brilliant master-architect of the Ottoman Empire, holding responsibilities for an enormous range of public works. One of his greatest buildings was the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul (1550–7) which shows how much he had absorbed of Byzantine forms and construction, especially those of the Church of Hagia Sophia, but Sinan improved and rationalized the system of buttressing for the central dome, and clarified the subsidiary elements.

Interior, Mosque of Sultan Selim

Illuminated Manuscripts and Tugras

• A peculiarly Ottoman Turkish phenomenon is the calligraphic "tughra" (handsign), unique to each sultan, which gives his name and titles and appears at the head of every firman (royal edict). The spectacularly bold calligraphy contrasts with the dense yet delicate flowering plants, arabesques, and floral scrolls.

Tughra of Sultan Sulaiman the Magnificent, 16th century; Ottoman period (c.1555-60) attributed to Istanbul, TurkeyInk, colors and gold on paper; H: 20 1/2 in. W: 25 3/8 in.

Chapter 14

Early Medieval Art In Europe

• The term Middle Ages refers mainly to the history of Christian and Jewish Europe between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance, around 400-1500 AD. Historians usually divide this into three smaller periods, the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, and the Late Middle Ages.

The Visigoths

• Also known as the Goths, were a barbaric tribe. Living on the delta of the Danube River, their kingdom was inherited by Alaric I.

Eagle Brooch Spain 6th Century. Gilt, Bronze, crystal, garnets, and other gems. 5 1/2”

The Norse

• The last great waves of European migrations began in the eighth century and picked up dramatically in the ninth and tenth centuries. This time it was a group of relatively sedentary Germanic tribes in the northernmost reaches of Europe, the Norsemen. These were really not one ethnic group, but an entire spectrum of peoples speaking many different languages. For all that, the principal Norsemen that raided and emigrated out of Northern Europe were Norwegians and Danish. Again, however, these are not single ethnic groups—the Danes, for instance, were an entire set of different peoples.

The Celts and Anglo-Saxons

• Europe throughout most of the historical period was dominated by a single cultural group, a powerful, culturally diverse group of peoples, the Celts. By the start of the Middle Ages, the Celts had been struck on two fronts by two very powerful cultures, Rome in the south, and the Germans, who were derived from Celtic culture, from the north.

• This monolithic culture spread from Ireland to Asia Minor (the Galatians of the New Testament). The Celts even sacked Rome in 390 BC and successfully invaded and sacked several Greek cities in 280 BC. Though the Celts were preliterate during most of the classical period, the Greeks and Romans discuss them with disdain.

• The Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes who invaded Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries are known as the Anglo-Saxons. They left their homelands in northern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland and rowed across the North Sea in wooden boats.

Gummersmark brooch, Denmark. 6th century. Silver gilt, height 5" (14.6 cm). Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen

Purse cover, from the Sutton Hoo burial ship, Suffolk, England. c. 615 - 30. Cloisonné plaques of gold, garnet, and checked enamel, length 8" (20.3 cm). The British Museum, London.

Man (symbol of St Matthew), from Book of Durrow. c. 660-680

Chi Rho Iota page, Book of Matthew, Book of Kells. Tempera on velum, late 8th or early 9th century

Probably the earliest group of ringed high crosses, the Ossory group includes these two fine high crosses, the North and South Cross at Ahenny in Co Tipperary. Found at the monastic site of Kilclispeen these two crosses imitate the earlier wooden crosses which were encased with a metal binding, the stone bosses imitate the studs which would have covered the rivets that held the metal and wooden crosses together.

Left: Began by Maius of Escalade, finished by Emeterius, “Emeterius and Senior next to the Tower of Tabara,” Tabara Apocalypse, 970Right: Heavenly Jerusalem from the Morgan Beatus, ca. 940-945

Battle of the Bird and the Serpent, Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus and Commentary on Daniel by Jerome.

Monastery of San Salvador at Tabara, Leon, Spain July 6, 975

Tempera on Parchment

15 ¾” x 10 ¼”

Charlemagne’s Palace• The creation of a "New Rome" was Charlemagne's guiding vision

when he began the construction of the Palace Chapel in the former Roman spa resort Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) in ca. 786 - laying the foundation stone for one of Europe's oldest Northern stone buildings.

The cathedral obtained its present shape in the course of more than a millennium. The core of the Aachen cathedral is the formerly mentioned Palace Chapel - at the time of its construction it was the largest church north of the Alps. Its fascinating architecture with Classical, Byzantine and Germanic-Franconian elements is the essence of a monumental building of greatest importance. It was modeled after the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna. For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, Aachen cathedral was the church of coronation for 30 German kings. In order to bear the enormous flow of pilgrims in the Gothic period a choir hall was built: a two-part Capella vitrea (glass chapel) which was consecrated on the 600th day of Charlemagne's death.

Interior of the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, Germany. 792-805

In 786-787 A.D. Pope Hadrian authorized Charlemagne to transport marble from Italy to Aachen. In 798, the precious ancient columns were erected in the church. The delivery of the relics in 799 / 800 assured the completion of the building.

Cutaway view of the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen

Monastery church of St Riquier, Centula, France. c. 800

Schematic plan for monastery at St. Gall, Switzerland. c. 819

St. Matthew from the Coronation Gospels, 795-819 A.D.

St Matthew, from the Ebbo Gospels.

c. 816-835 ink and tempera on vellum, 10 1/4 x 8 3/4"

Illustrations to Psalms 43 and 44, from the Utrecht Psalter. c. 820 - 832

43:22 “Because for thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter”; 43:23: “Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord?”; 43:25: “For our soul is humbled down to the dust: our belly

cleaveth to the earth.”

Crucifixion, front cover of Lindau Gospels. c. 870

Early Medieval (Carolingian) Gold, precious stones, and pearls, 1' 1 3/8" x 10 3/8"

Viking Era

• Nearly all Viking Age art is applied art, that is, the decoration of a wide variety of objects used in daily life. However, woodcarvers, sculptors and metalworkers brought a dynamism and inventiveness to their task which has left a rich legacy of extravagant animal ornament.

• Most of the finest surviving examples of art from the early Viking Age have been found in graves, especially on jewelry and weapons, while later Viking art is best represented on objects from silver hoards, from the developing towns and on the Scandinavian runestones. There are also small-scale carvings in other materials - amber, jet, bone, walrus ivory and, where it survives, wood - which remind us both of the skills of the Scandinavian craftsmen and of how well suited Viking Age animal motifs were to their purpose.

Oseberg ship of Oseberg ship-burial. 1st half 9th century

Gripping Beasts, Detail of Oseberg Ship

c. 815 - 820

Royal Rune Stone, Ordered by King Harald Bluetooth

Jelling, Denmark. 983 – 985. Granite height about 8’

Inscribed in Old Norse, Younger Futhark, a form of Germanic Celtic Ogham, the oldest of the Rune Stones was raised by the first King of all of Danmark, King Gorm the Old, in memory of his wife Thyra (Thyrvé) who he referred to as Denmark's Salvation.

Carved as memorials to King Gorm "the Old" and Queen Thyri, over a thousand years ago, these two stones stand in the yard of a Romanesque church in Jelling, Denmark, an old Viking royal site. One of the stones, the smaller one, is considered to be the birth certificate of Denmark.

The largest of the Rune Stones was raised by the son of King Gorm and Queen Thyra, Harald Bluetooth, in their memory. It celebrates the union of Danmark and Norway; as well as, the offspring of their Sangreal Christ Lineage. The Danes were followers of the true teachings of Christ under the auspices of Apostle Mary Magdalene, and the Gospel according to Mary; rather than, the teachings of Apostle Peter and the prevailing by brute force Christian doctrine of the times.

• Originally painted in bright colours, one side of the largest Rune Stone had a figure of Christ. The other side of the Rune Stone had the image of a snake (DNA Spiral, Genetic Coded Bloodline) entwined about a lion (Symbol of Ra Royalty). A symbolic code left behind for the discerning that King Gorm and Queen Thyra were of Sangreal Lineage of the royal bloodline of Jesus The Christ and his companion wife Mary of Magdalene.

Viking History

• Seafaring bands of Norse seamen known as Vikings (Viken, “people from the coves”) descended on the rest of Europe. Frequently their targets were wealthy isolated Christian monasteries.

• The Viking Leif Eriksson reached North America in 1000. In good weather a Viking ship could sail 200 miles in a day.

There are 28 stave churches left standing in Norway, dating from c.1130 and onwards, with elements of older origin. What we see are the structural consequences of the builders' actions

The north portal of the Urnes stave church (11th cent.): "The intertwined snakes and dragons represent the end of the world according to the Norse legend of Ragnarök".

Built just before 1150, and dedicated to the Apostle St. Andrew. It is one of the best preserved stave churches and it has not been added or rebuilt since it was new. The pulpit is from the last period of the 1500’s. The altar-piece is from 1620.

On the church walls are found several runic inscriptions. Two of them are dated back to the middle of the 1100’s. They read: "Tor wrote these runes in the evening at the St. Olav’s Mass" and "Ave Maria"

BORGUND STAVE CHURCH

Ottonian Europe

• Otto I or the Great is considered by many historians to be the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. He was an effective military warrior who encouraged military expansion, colonization, and missionary activity eastward into the Slavic world. His campaign was to restore kingship on the Carolingian model.

• Succeeding his father Henry I as the Duke of Saxony in 936, his military genius was tested early. Otto I faced the continuous raids and sieges of the dukes, the Ducal Rebellions, which were led by his brother Henry of Bavaria. The war was the result of him acquiring an increasing amount of power that others resented. It ended with Otto's victory in 941 in which he replaced the rebellious dukes with his own relatives, thus compelling them to accept royal over lordship. In 951, he commanded a successful invasion of Italy and declared himself King. Magyars invaded the empire in 954, and this invasion forced the nobility to reunite with Otto in order to defend themselves. He was able to defeat the Magyars in the battle of Lechfield in 955 and this temporarily restored peace throughout his empire.

• In order to unify and control the major territories of Germany, he established the Church-State Alliance; this strengthened his power and decreased the power of the duchies. He gave large grants of royal land to bishops and abbots, who became his royal vassals and were obligated to provide him with military and political services. It was successful for both the Church and the State because it had church officials ruling the land, but allowed Otto the power to appoint them.

• Otto was crowned Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII, the same office Charlemagne held in 800. Pope John XII eventually turned against Otto and his increasing power, so the papacy was taken away from him. Otto then imposed the rule that no pope could be elected without the approval of the emperor. This proclamation opened an era of German domination of the papacy and, in effect, made him the head of the Christian community.

• Otto died in 973 and was succeeded by his son Otto II. His policies continued with success until 1056. Many people believe that Otto revived the Roman Empire and consider him one of the greatest Saxon rulers.

Ottonian Architecture

• Near Quedlinburg in Gernrode stands the only almost entirely preserved church from the early Ottonian period, the Collegiate Church of St. Cyriakus. The decorations that the master masons of the Romanesque created here are still unparalleled. Even though almost no right angles were used in the architecture of the church it has still survived for over thousand years.

Church of Saint CyriakusGernrode, Germany

961-973

Nave, Church of Saint Cyriakus

Doors of Biship Bernward Made for the Abbey Church of St. Michael, Hildesheim, Germany

Bronze doors of St. Michael’s

Story of Adam and Eve and Life of Christ

Ottonian Sculpture

• The Gero Cross reintroduced into Western sculpture the modeled-in-the-round technique that had practically disappeared after the Classical period. The crucifix has a monumental scale of 6’2”. It demonstrated the deep suffering of Christ. What is striking about this image is the note of emotionalism and naturalism that is seen in the forward bulge of the body that shows the physical strain on the arms and shoulders. The face expresses the agony that was felt before death, but is now left lifeless. The horror of the martyr’s tortured death is exposed. Archbishop Gero presented the crucifix to the Cathedral. It functions as both sculpture and a reliquary, where the Eucharist is held in a receptacle in the head.

Gero CrucifixCologne (Köln)

Cathedral, Germanyca. 970

Painted and gilded wood

Ottonian Sculpture

• Ottonian religious sculpture is monumental in scale and executed with clear, round forms and highly expressive facial features. The wooden Gero Crucifix (969-76; Cologne Cathedral) reflects a humanitarian concern for the sufferings of Jesus. Sophisticated relief bronzes were cast for the cathedral doors at Hildesheim (1015). Ottonian manuscript illumination was superbly developed; produced at several flourishing artistic centers, including Regensburg and Fulda, it combined Carolingian and Byzantine influences. Manuscripts such as the Gospel Book of Otto II are two-dimensional, figural, and linear, incorporating much gold leaf.

Page with Otto III enthroned, Liuthar Gospels (Aachen

Gospels) Germany, c. 997-1000. Ink, gold, and Tempera on vellum, 11" X 8 ½".

• From the so-called Aachen Gospels made for Otto III about the year 996. Otto III was the heir to the Ottonian dynasty. The Ottonians were heirs to the Carolingians. In the tenth century the Ottonians revived the disintegrated Holy Roman Empire. The dominion of the Ottonians was not as extensive as the Carolingians. Their territories included Germany and northern Italy. Like the image from the Codex Aureus, this image is based on the Book of Revelation. The central figure here is Otto who is in the guise of Christ. In a detail not shown in the Codex Aureus image, the Revelation passage describes that the Lamb appeared surrounded by Four Beasts.

Romanesque Art

Chapter 15

• Romanesque appears to have been the first pan-European style since Roman Imperial Architecture and examples are found in every part of the continent. One important fact pointed out by the stylistic similarity of buildings across Europe is the relative mobility of medieval people. Contrary to many modern ideas of life before the Industrial Revolution, merchants, nobles, knights, artisans, and peasants crossed Europe and the Mediterranean world for business, war, and religious pilgrimages, carrying their knowledge of what buildings in different places looked like.

ROMANESQUE EUROPE (c. 1000-1200)

Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, Spain. Capitol detailc. 1100

• The Romanesque was not confined only to architecture. It was accompanied by changes in design for woodworking seen, for instance in, chests and cupboards. The exterior of the book changes at this time, and as does manuscript design as scribes start to use a new clear style of writing (Caroline minuscule). Texts are set among intricate spirals and elaborate and finely-drawn nature motifs. This became an international graphic style, influencing even Jewish illuminated manuscripts. In western painting, mosaic and fresco design, from around 1150 a spirit emerged across Europe. This attempted to revive the styles of the art of classical antiquity, and yet it also drew heavily on ancient Christian Celtic and Byzantine arts.

The Main Characteristics of the Style

• A combination of masonry, arch and piers is the basis of the Romanesque style. The main concept for buildings was the addition of pure geometrical forms. The new concept of stone vaulting required stronger walls for support. Because of the lack of knowledge of the building statics it was necessary to build strong, thick walls with narrow openings.

• The Pier (an upright support generally square, or rectangular in plan) is a better solution for masonry walls, than the column. Columns are subsequently replaced by piers, or transformed to better support the masonry arches. Geometrisation and rigidity in Romanesque architecture is evident in the transformation of column capitals from Corinthian to cubic capitals, as found in the church of St.Michael, Hildesheim. There is also one new element in the capitals developed during Romanesque period - the impost. It's a trapezoid form which stands between capital and arch.

Some important aspects of Romanesque architecture

• “Romanesque” is the first international style since the Roman Empire.

• Competition among cities for the largest churches, which continues in the Gothic period via a “quest for height.”

• Masonry (stone) the preferred medium. Craft of concrete essentially lost in this period.

• Rejection of wooden structures or structural elements.

• East end of church the focus for liturgical services. West end for the entrance to church.

• Church portals as “billboards” for scripture or elements of faith.

• Cruciform plans. Nave and transept at right angles to one another. Church as a metaphor for heaven.

• Elevation of churches based on basilican forms, but with the nave higher than the side aisles.

• Interiors articulated by repetitive series of moldings. Heavy masonry forms seem lighter with applied decoration.

• Bays divide the nave into compartments• Round-headed arches the norm.• Tripartite division of the elevation continues from

the earlier periods.

• The Romanesque period, from roughly 1000 to 1137 A.D., has been dubbed the "Period of the Church Triumphant." It was during these years that the Catholic Church was able to unify Western Europe in a manner unparalleled since Roman times. This is the Age of Monasticism, when vast monastic settlements like Cluny were becoming the focus of both the religious and scholarly life of the Romanesque populace.

• This is also the Age of the Crusades, when Western Christians sought to "liberate" the Holy Lands. Both of these features (monasticism and the Crusades) spurred the economy, for the churches required mighty building campaigns and the Crusaders (as a consequence of their mobility) opened up new trade routes and spurred commerce. It has been noted that the cosmopolitan quality of Romanesque culture was reminiscent of Roman imperial times; it is equally appropriate to compare the unifying power of the Pope during the 11th century A.D. with that of the Roman Emperor. There are good cultural reasons, thus, for naming this period "Romanesque."

Political and Economic Life

The social and economic classes become vividly clear in the Worcester Chronicle, which depicts the three classes of Medieval society:

• King and Nobles

• Churchmen

• Peasant farmers

King Henry I's Dream in the Chronicle of John of Worcester.

The author died in 1140 AD so it's from before that. Original work by John of Worcester.

King Henry I and his Court returning to Englandfrom The Chronicle of John of Worcester

Intellectual Life

• The 11th and 12th centuries were a time of intellectual rebirth as Western scholars rediscovered the classical Greek and Roman texts that had been preserved in Islamic Spain and the eastern Mediterranean. The first universities were established in the growing cities –

• Bologna• Paris• Oxford• Cambridge

Romanesque Art

• The word Romanesque means “In the Roman manner.”

• The word was coined in the 19th century to describe European church architecture, which often displayed solid masonry walls and rounded arches and vaults characteristic of imperial Roman buildings.

Interior, Church of Sant Vincenc, Cardona 1020s – 1030s

Church of Sant Vincenc, Cardona 1020s – 1030s

Pilgrimage Churches

• The growth of a cult of relics and the desire to visit shrines such as Saint Peter’s in Rome or Saint James in Spain inspired people to travel on pilgrimages. Christian victories against Muslims also opened roads and encouraged travel.

Plan of Cathedral of Saint James, Santiago De Compostela

Durham Cathedral Durham, England early 12th century

Reliquary Statue of St. Foy from the Auvergne region, France Silver gilt over wood core, with gems and rock crystal Late 9th century with later additions

This complex contains a baptistry, a church and a bell tower. The bell tower or campanile is the most famous of all. The "Leaning tower of Pisa" is 6 stories of arcaded galleries. Round arches were a Roman inspiration. The foundation lies on tufu and is sinking. Efforts have been tried to raise it upright. Most of them have been disastrous and nearly destroyed the tower, such as when they flooded the foundation with water to "float" the tower, which only made it lean more. It is 13 feet out of plumb.

• The Baptistry of Pisa is part of the church complex, and as with most baptistries, is usually round or octagonal in shape. The sacrament of baptism is administered. Inside is a baptismal front, a receptacle of stone or metal which holds water for the rite.

**NOTE: The baptistry also kept accurate population records in bean jars, a jar for girls and a jar for boys. As one is born or dies the bean is added or subtracted from the jar.

Church of Saint-ÉtienneCaen, France

1067-1120

Church of Sant’AmbrogioMilan, Italy1080-1117

Creation and FallWiligelmus, sculptorModena Cathedral

Modena, Italy1106-1120

Cathedral of Saint-Lazare West Portal Last Judgment Autun, France ca. 1120-1135

Cathedral of Saint-Lazare West Portal Last Judgment

Church of Saint-PierreMoissac, France

South Portalca. 1115-1130

Trumeau figure—the Prophet Jeremiah

Virgin and Childfrom the Auvergne region of

FrancePainted wood

late 12th century

Batlló Crucifixfrom Catalonia, Spain

Painted woodmid 12th century

Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe

Franceca. 1100

Christ in Majesty Church of San Clemente, Lérida, SpainFresco ca. 1123

The Bayeux TapestryEngland or France

wool embroidery on linenca. 1066-1082

The Bayeux Tapestry - detail

The Bayeux TapestryDetail

Hildegard and VolmerLiber Scivias

(reproduction)1165-1175

Cast bronze baptismal font by Renier de Huy, 1107–18. In the church of Saint-Barthélemy, Liège, Belgium. Height 64 cm.

Romanesque metalwork

• In the 12th century the church supplanted secular rulers as the chief patron of the arts, and the work was carried out in the larger monasteries. Under the direction of such great churchmen as Henry, bishop of Winchester, and Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis, near Paris, a new emphasis was given to subject matter and symbolism.

• Craftsmen were no longer anonymous; work by Roger of Helmarshausen, Reiner of Huy, Godefroid de Claire (de Huy), Nicholas of Verdun, and others can be identified; and the parts they played as leaders of the great centers of metalwork on the Rhine and the Meuse are recognizable. Their greatest achievement was the development of the brilliant champlevé enameling, a method that replaced the earlier cloisonné technique. Gold and silver continued to be used as rich settings for enamels; as the framework of portable altars, or small devotional diptychs or triptychs; for embossed figure work in reliquary shrines; and for liturgical plate.

• The masterpieces of the period are great house-shaped shrines made to contain the relics of saints; for example, the shrine of St. Heribert at Deutz (c. 1160) and Nicholas of Verdun's Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne (c. 1200). In the latter, the figures are almost freestanding, and in their fine, rhythmic draperies and naturalistic movement they approach the new Gothic style.

Detail of baptismal font by Renier de Huy

Page with the Tree of JesseExplanatio in Isaiam(St. Jerome’s commentary on the book of Isaiah)Burgundy, Franceca. 1125

Page with Hellmouth(Angel locking the gates of Hell)Winchester PsalterWinchester, Englandca. 1150

Page with self-portrait of the nun GudaBook of Homiliesfrom Germanyearly 12th centuryFirst self-portrait of a Woman artist.

Gothic Art of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

Chapter 16

Abbey Church of Saint-DenisAmbulatory and choirSaint-Denis, France

1140-1144

Abbey Church of Saint-Denis Saint-Denis, France 1140-1144

Rib Vaulting

• The barrel-vaulted spaces of early Romanesque naves covered vast spaces and were relatively fireproof. But the barrel vaults failed in one critical requirement—lighting. Due to the great outward thrust the continuous semicircular vault exerted, a clerestory was difficult (but not impossible) to construct. A more complex and efficient type of vaulting was needed. Structurally, the central problem of Romanesque architecture was the need to develop a masonry vault system that admitted light.

• A major advantage of the Gothic vault is its flexibility, which permits the vaulting of compartments of varying shapes. Pointed arches also channel the weight of the vaults more directly downward than do semicircular arches. The vaults, therefore, require less buttressing to hold them in place, in turn permitting the opening up of the walls beneath the arches with large windows. Because pointed arches also lead the eye upward, they make the vaults appear taller than they actually are. Both the physical and the visual properties of rib vaults with pointed arches aided Gothic architects in their quest for soaring height in church interiors.

Chartres Cathedral West façade ca. 1134-1220

(note that left [north] tower is much later than right

[south] tower)

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral West plan

West (Royal) portalChartres Cathedral

ca. 1145-1155

Column figures of West Portal Chartres CathedralProphets and ancestors of Christ

1145-1155

South Transept entrance Chartres Cathedral Saints 1210-1235

Chartres Cathedral of Notre Dame GlassW facade: Passion window, Life of Christ, Tree of Jesse (L to R)c. 1134

The oldest complete Jesse Tree window is in Chartres Cathedral, 1145.

The north rose window in Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France

How were stained glass windows made?

• The earliest examples of windows with figurative scenes are known from St. Remi in Reims from around the year 1000. Glass is a mixture of silicic acid and metal oxides, which solidifies after melting. It consists of up to 70% silicic acid, with up to 20% alkali's for durability and soda for fluidity.

• The only colors available in the Middle Ages were saffron-yellow, purplish-red, green, blue and copper-red. Miniatures often provided the models for the stained glass windows. One cut the small colored glass panes to size and then painted them with black solder/flux? (Schwarzlot), a mixture of iron and copper powder. After 1300 silver solder/flux? (Silberlot) was also available, which allowed for a new range of colors, for example light yellow and reddish-yellow. The colors were melted onto the glass. The panes could be leaded as soon as they had cooled. The pliable lead strips could be easily bent to shape. The lead grid had to be carefully applied, as it provided the frame for the pictorial design. Any cracks were then filled with clay. Generally the complete window would then be inserted into the masonry window frame and fixed with mortar.

Creating stained glass windows

• The first stage in the production of a window is to make, or acquire from the architect or owners of the building, an accurate template of the window opening that the glass was to fit.

• The subject matter of the window is determined to suit the location, a particular theme, or the whim of the patron. A small design called a Vidimus is prepared which can be shown to the patron.

• A traditional narrative window has panels which relate a story. A figurative window could have rows of saints or dignitories. Scriptural texts or mottoes are sometimes included and perhaps the names of the patrons or the person as whose memorial the window is dedicated. In a window of a traditional type, it is usually at the discretion of the designer to fill the surrounding areas with borders, floral motifs and canopies.

• A full sized cartoon is drawn for every "light" (opening) of the window. A small church window might typically be of two lights, with some simple tracery lights above. A large window might have four or five lights. The east or west window of a large cathedral might have seven lights in three tiers with elaborate tracery. In Medieval times the cartoon was drawn straight onto a whitewashed table, which was then used for cutting, painting and assembling the window.

• The designer must take into account the design, the structure of the window, the nature and size of the glass available and his own preferred technique. The cartoon is then be divided into a patchwork as a template for each small glass piece. The exact position of the lead which holds the glass in place is part of the calculated visual effect.

• Each piece of glass is selected for the desired color and cut to match a section of the template. An exact fit is ensured by grozing the edges with a tool which can nibble off small pieces.

• Details of faces, hair and hands can be painted onto the inner surface of the glass in a special glass paint which contains finely ground lead or copper filings, ground glass, gum Arabic and a medium such as wine, vinegar or (traditionally) urine. The art of painting details became increasingly elaborate and reached its height in the early 20th century.

• Once the window is cut and painted, the pieces are assembled by slotting them into H-sectioned lead cames. The joints are then all soldered together and the glass pieces are stopped from rattling and the window made weatherproof by forcing a soft oily cement or mastic between the glass and the cames.

• Traditionally, when the windows were inserted into the window spaces, iron rods were put across at various points, to support the weight of the window, which was tied to the rods by copper wire. Some very large early Gothic windows are divided into sections by heavy metal frames called ferramenta. This method of support was also favored for large, usually painted, windows of the Baroque period.

• From 1300 onwards, artists started using silver stain which was made with silver nitrate. It gave a yellow effect ranging from pale lemon to deep orange. It was usually painted onto the outside of a piece of glass, then fired to make it permanent. This yellow was particularly useful for enhancing borders, canopies and haloes, and turning blue glass into green glass for green grass.

• By about 1450 a stain known as Cousin's rose was used to enhance flesh tones.

Notre-Dame de Paris (1163 – c. 1350) Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in Paris.

Notre-Dame de Paris (1163 – c. 1350) Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in Paris. Probably the most famous Gothic cathedral, Notre-Dame is a superb example of the Rayonnant style. Two massive Early Gothic towers (1210 – 50) crown the western facade, which is divided into three stories and has doors adorned

with Early Gothic carvings and surmounted by a row of figures of Old Testament kings. The single-arch flying buttresses at the eastern end are notable for their boldness and grace. Its three great rose windows, which retain their 13th-century glass, are of awe-inspiring beauty.

The Rayonnant Style

• The glass is heavily colored, the masonry heavily painted, and there is much carved detail. One of the characteristics of the second half of the 13th century is that glass became lighter, painting decreased, and the amount of carved decoration dwindled. Thus, in its chronological context, the Sainte-Chapelle is a Janus-like building--Rayonnant in its architecture but, in some ways, old-fashioned in its decoration.

• In a sense, the Rayonnant style was technically a simple one. Depending, as it did, not primarily on engineering expertise or on sensitivity in the handling of architectural volumes and masses but on the manipulation of geometric shapes normally in two dimensions, the main prerequisites were a drawing board and an office.

Romanesque vs. Gothic (Abbey of St. Etienne, Caen)

Nave (1064-1120) Choir (c. 1200)

Main arcade

Triforium

Clerestory

Vaulting

Rayonnant: St. Chapelle Rayonnant (Decorated Gothic in England) was

characterized by the application of increasingly elaborate geometrical decoration

More St. ChapelleDuring the period of the Rayonnant style a significant change took place in Gothic architecture. After 1250, Gothic architects became more concerned with the creation of rich visual effects through decoration. This decoration took such forms as pinnacles (upright members, often spired, that capped piers, buttresses, or other exterior elements), moldings, and, especially, window tracery.

(Some classify this as Flamboyant)

Martin Le Franc, Manuscript on vellum, in French,

illuminated by the Master of the Échevinage de

Rouen.France, Rouen, c. 1465-75.

Blanche of Castile, Louis IX, and two monks, moralized Bible, 1226-1234,

(Paris)

Art Patronage and Function of Medieval Manuscripts

• Art patronage is an active collaboration between the artist and the patron leading to completion of a work of art. In the Middle Ages it was of essential importance for the artistic creation; both sides provided contributions to the realization of the project without which no medieval work of art could have been made. We can see the phenomenon of patronage of book production in the Middle Ages from two angles: the collective ownership of books intended for the common use by a religious community and the individual patronage of a religious person or layman, the phenomenon that gradually took over during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The books ordered for individual use mirror a variety of personal interests. They were collected for the purpose of self-education and study, satisfying one's eagerness for information. A phenomenon of ardent bibliophile interest also occurs relatively frequently during the Middle Ages. Finally, a specific kind of a book intended for private devotion and contemplation of an individual was favored in the Late Middle Ages.

• The finest books belonged to the most powerful people, the highest aristocracy. Saint Louis was an avid collector. This is the dedication page from a Moralized Bible painted for the Queen mother and King Louis IX. Above we see the two in architectural frames much like those for sculpture on the cathedrals. Below in a similar frame are the monks, one writing and painting the text in a manuscript while the older one dictates it. If we look at the page before him, the younger monk has divided the page into two columns and set four rondels, the format for moralized bible comparisons. Again in this format too we can see formulas we have already seen in the glass windows of the cathedrals .

• Though we saw these forms first in the architecture, there is no reason to think that the formulas weren’t developed as significantly in manuscript and decorative arts forms at the same time.

• The actual process of manuscript illumination was a compounded one, involving a number of skills, from the manufacture of parchment from sheep skin to the manufacture of pens and inks, bindings for pages into books and so on. This manufacturing process involved a good number of people in a well financed workshop.

Gothic Art In England• In England the early Gothic phase had its own

particular character (epitomized by Salisbury Cathedral) that is known as the early English Gothic style (c. 1200-1300 AD). The first mature example of the style was the nave and choir of Lincoln Cathedral (begun in 1192).

• Early English Gothic churches differed in several respects from their French counterparts. They had thicker, heavier walls that were not much changed from Romanesque proportions; accentuated, repeated moldings on the edges of interior arches; a sparing use of tall, slender, pointed lancet windows; and nave piers consisting of a central column of light-colored stone surrounded by a number of slimmer attached columns made of black purbeck marble.

• Early English churches also established other stylistic features that were to distinguish all of English Gothic: great length and little attention to height; a nearly equal emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines in the stringcourses and elevations of the interior; a square termination of the building's eastern end rather than a semicircular eastern projection; scant use of flying buttresses; and a piecemeal, asymmetrical conception of the ground plan of the church. Other outstanding examples of the early English style are the nave and west front of Wells Cathedral (c. 1180-c. 1245) and the choirs and transept of Rochester Cathedral.

This Beatus page with its appealing picture of the graceful young David playing the harp represents some of the most refined English painting of its time and is one of a group of manuscripts showing a court style at the end of the thirteenth century and in the first decade of the fourteenth century. Other manuscripts sharing features of this style but without known royal connections are the Windmill Psalter (now Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, M.102) and the opening page of the Peterborough Psalter in Brussels

Salisbury

The spire of Salisbury Cathedral—the tallest in England at 123m

(404 ft)—soars to the heavens, and marked a revolution in cathedral architecture when it was built 800 years ago.

Salisbury

Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral,c. 1190 – c. 1205

The Shrine of the Three Kings

• Reliquary said to contain the bones of the Three Wise Men, also known as the Three Kings or the Magi. The shrine is a large gilded and decorated triple sarcophagus placed above and behind the high altar of Cologne Cathedral. It is considered the high point of Mosan art and the largest reliquary in the western world.

The Dormition of the Virgin1190-1439,

Dormition of the Virgin, Coronation of the Virgin, Tympana, South Transept Portal, Strasbourg Cathedral

• According to the legend, the Virgin died at age 60, surrounded by the Apostles who had been miraculously transported to her deathbed from all parts of the world. Christ too, depicted with a halo, is in the center, prepared to take her soul (the small child in his hand) to Heaven. This lyrical scene depicts various figures in sorrow.

Saint Maurice in the Cathedral of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany, next to the grave of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. The cathedral is actually named "cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice" after Saint Maurice and Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The sculpture was created around 1250, and is considered to be the first realistic depiction of an ethnic African in Europe. Unfortunately, the figure is no longer complete and misses the lower legs and an item in the right hand, presumably a lance.

Ekkehard and Uta, from Naumburg Cathedral.

c. 1249-1255

Painted limestone, approx. 6' 2" high

Ekkehard and Uta

• Ekkehard and Uta are among a group of life size sculptures of 12 ancestors of a bishop who was a member of the ruling family of Naumburg. The ancestors were patrons of the church; their images were placed in a new chapel at the west end of the church. Unlike the more idealized French Gothic sculptures, Ekkehard and Uta are treated in a highly individualistic manner, in a style akin to Greek Hellenistic.

• They reveal a strong naturalistic trend in German Gothic Sculpture

Assisi's Basilica of Saint Francis • In 1226 St. Francis was buried (with the outcasts he had stood

by) outside of his town on the "hill of the damned." Now called the "Hill of Paradise," this is one of the artistic highlights of medieval Europe. It's frescoed from top to bottom by the leading artists of the day: Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, and Pietro Lorenzetti. A 13th-century historian wrote "No more exquisite monument to the Lord has been built."

• From a distance you see the huge arcades "supporting" the basilica. These were 15th-century quarters for the monks. The arcades lining the square leading to the church housed medieval pilgrims.

• There are three parts to the church: upper basilica, lower basilica, and the saint's tomb (below the lower basilica). In the 1997 earthquake, the lower basilica (with nine-foot-thick walls) was undamaged. The upper basilica (with three-foot-thick walls and bigger windows) was damaged. Restoration was completed in November 1999.

Assisi's Basilica of Saint Francis

Damaged structures still awaiting demolition.

Adoration of the Magi (detail) by Nicola Pisano, c. 1259–60; part of the marble pulpit in the Baptistery at Pisa.

"The Annunciation and the Nativity," detail of pulpit of Pisa Cathedral baptistery, by Nicola Pisano, 1259-1260. The marble relief displays an

interest in Roman art and is similar the sculpture on ancient Roman sarcophagi.

Nicola PisanoSculptor whose work, along with that of his son Giovanni and other artists employed in their workshops, created a new sculptural style for the late 13th and the 14th centuries in Italy. This pulpit in the Baptistry is Nicola's earliest authenticated work. The hexagonal pulpit is divided into three registers: the lower with lions and other figures, with the lions depicted as vanquishing prey--a Romanesque symbol for Christianity triumphing over paganism. The middle level depicts personified Virtues and Prophets, and the upper, has reliefs depicting events in the life of Christ. Classical influences are evident in the style with some of the deeply cut figures traced to Roman sources.

Arnolfo di Cambio, Francesco Talenti, Andrea Orcagna, and others. Florence Cathedral, Florence. Begun 1296; redesigned 1357 and 1366; drum and dome by Brunelleschi,1420 - 36; campanile by Giotto, Andrea Pisano, and Francesco Talenti, c.1334 - 50

Coppo di Marcovaldo. Crucifix, from Tuscany, Italy. c. 1250 - 1300. Tempera and gold on wood panel, (2.93 x 2.47 m). Pinacoteca, San Gimignano, Italy

Saint Francis Master. Miracle of the Crib of Greccio, fresco in upper church of San Francesco, Assisi, Italy. c. 1295 - 1301/30

Marble tabernacle designed and sculpted by Andrea Orcagna between 1349 and 1359.Late Gothic work finished and enriched with enamel and precious stones. The painting on the panel is the work of Bernardo Daddi, dated 1347.

• Fourteenth-century Europe was ravaged by famine, war, and, most devastatingly, the Black Plague. These widespread crises inspired a mystical religiosity, which emphasized both ecstatic joy and extreme suffering, producing emotionally charged and often graphic depictions of the Crucifixion and the martyrdoms of the saints.

• While the great boom of cathedral building that had marked the previous century waned, cathedrals continued to serve as the centers of religious life and artistic creation. Wealthy patrons sponsored the production of elaborate altarpieces, as well as smaller panel paintings and religious statues for private devotional use. A growing literate elite created a demand for both richly decorated prayer books and volumes on secular topics. In Italy, the foremost Sienese painter, Duccio, sought to synthesize northern, Gothic influences with eastern, Byzantine ones, while the groundbreaking Florentine Giotto moved toward the depiction of three-dimensional figures in his wall paintings.

Fourteenth-century collapse

• The fourteenth century saw a series of catastrophes that caused the European economy to go into recession.

• The Medieval Warm Period was ending as the transition to the Little Ice Age began. This change in climate saw agricultural output decline significantly, leading to repeated famines, exacerbated by the rapid population growth of the earlier era.

• The Hundred Years' War began between England and France, disrupting trade throughout northwest Europe, most notably when, in 1345, King Edward III of England repudiated his debts, leading to the collapse of the two largest Florentine banks, those of the Bardi and Peruzzi.

• In the east, war was also disrupting trade routes as the Ottoman Empire began to expand throughout the region. Most devastating, though, was the Black Death that decimated the populations of the densely populated cities of Northern Italy. The population of Florence, for instance, fell from 90,000 to 50,000 people.

• Widespread disorder followed, including a revolt of Florentine textile workers, the ciompi, in 1378.

The Duomo - Florence Cathedral. Drawing with cross-section of interior. 1294 plan 1296-1420

The original design was by the architect and sculptor, Arnolfo di Cambio, but his plans were later revised and enlarged after the decision of a panel of architects and painters. The new designer was Francesco Talenti.In 1420,Filippo Brunelleschi started building the enormous dome, il cupola, and finally on March 25, 1436 Pope Eugene IV consecrated the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

The Dome of the Florence Cathedral was designed and built by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1425.

South Door of the Baptistery of San GiovanniAndrea Pisano 1336Gilded bronzeFlorence, Baptistery of San Giovanni

Cenni di Pepo (Giovanni)

• Better known by his nickname “Cimabue” (c. 1240 — c. 1302) also known as Bencivieni Di Pepo or in modern Italian, Benvenuto Di Giuseppe, was an Italian painter and creator of mosaics from Florence. He is also well known for his student Giotto, who revolutionized painting in Italy. Cimabue is generally regarded as the last great painter working in the Byzantine tradition. The art of this period comprised scenes and forms that appeared relatively flat and highly stylized. Cimabue was a pioneer in the move towards naturalism, as his figures were depicted with rather more life-like proportions and shading.

"Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets," by Cimabue, ca. 1280-1290. Tempera on wood, 12' 7" x 7' 4". Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Cimabue's art is influenced by the Byzantine style.

Giotto di Bondone • Giotto di Bondone (c. 1267 – January 8, 1337), better

known simply as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence. He is generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to the Italian Renaissance.

• The 16th-century biographer Giorgio Vasari state that "...He made a decisive break with the ...Byzantine style, and brought to life the great art of painting as we know it today, introducing the technique of drawing accurately from life, which had been neglected for more than two hundred years."

• Giotto's masterwork is the decoration of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, commonly called the Arena Chapel, completed around 1305. This fresco cycle depicts the life of the Virgin and the passion of Christ. It is regarded as one of the supreme masterpieces of the Early Renaissance.

"Madonna and Child Enthroned," by Giotto, ca.1310. Tempera on panel, 10'8" X 6' 8 1/4". Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

The Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel, near Padua Giotto di Bondone 1305-1306

• The Arena Chapel (so-called because it occupies the site of a Roman arena) was built by Enrico Scrovegni in expiation for the sins of his father, a notorious usurer mentioned by Dante. It was begun in 1303 and Giotto's frescos are usually dated c. 1305-06. They run right round the interior of the building; the west wall is covered with a Last Judgement, there is an Annunciation over the chancel arch, and the main wall areas have three tiers of paintings representing scenes from the life of the Virgin and her parents, St Anne and St Joachim, and events from the Passion of Christ.

Giotto's "The Lamentation," at the Arena Chapel, ca. 1305, fresco.

Virgin and Child in Majesty (Maesta)," by Duccio di Buoninsegna. Main panel of Maessta Altarpiece, from Sienna Cathedral. 1308 - 11. Tempera and gold on wood, 7' X 13' 6

The Nativity

with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel (1308-1311)

Duccio di Buoninsegna

Cennino d'Andrea Cennini (c. 1370 – c. 1440)

• Italian painter influenced by Giotto. He was a student of Agnolo Gaddi.

• Cennini was born in Colle Val d'Elsa, Tuscany.• He is remembered mainly for having authored Il libro dell'arte,

often translated as The Craftsman's Handbook. Written in the early 15th century, the book is a "how to" on . It contains information on pigments, brushes, panel painting, the art of fresco, and techniques and tricks, including detailed instructions for underdrawing, underpainting and overpainting in egg tempera. Cennini also provides an early, if somewhat crude, discussion of painting in oils. His discussion of oil painting was important for dispelling the myth, propagated by Giorgio Vasari and Karel Van Mander, that oil painting was invented by Jan van Eyck (although Theophilus (Roger of Helmerhausen) clearly gives instructions for oil-based painting in his treatise, On Divers Arts, written in 1125).

Ambrogio LorenzettiEffects of Good Government on the City

Fresco in the Palazzo Publico (Siena, 1338-1340)

Allegory of Good Government, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, fresco, c. 1338-1339, Palazzo

Pubblico, Siena, Italy (Gothic-Early Renaissance).

Allegory of Good Government, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, fresco, c. 1338-1339, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy (Gothic-Early Renaissance).

Buon Fresco-Italian for true fresco, is a fresco painting technique — in which alkaline resistant pigments, ground in water, are applied to wet plaster.It is distinguished from the fresco-secco (or a secco) and finto fresco techniques, in which paints are applied to dried plaster..

France

• Manuscript illumination was a favorite of French kings and high-ranking nobles. A French king, possibly Louis XI, sits surrounded by elegantly dressed courtiers in this miniature, which accompanies a letter describing courtly life in bluntly critical terms. The king looks directly out at the viewer instead of paying attention to his courtiers, echoing the text's claim that the king neglected the troubles and burdens of those around him.

Jean Pucelle (c. 1300 – 1355)

• Parisian Gothic-era manuscript illuminator, active between 1320 and 1350. His style is characterized by delicate figures rendered in grisaille, accented with touches of color. Pucelle's most famous work is the The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, c. 1324-1328.

• Grisaille (grĭ-zī', -zāl'; French: gris, grey) is a term for painting executed entirely in monochrome, usually in shades of grey or brown, particularly used in decoration to represent objects in relief. Italian examples may be described as work in chiaroscuro, although this term has other meanings as well. Some grisailles in fact include a slightly wider colour range, like the Andrea del Sarto illustrated.

The Hours of Jeanne d'Évreux, ca. 1324–1328 Jean Pucelle (French, active in Paris, ca. 1320–34) French; Made in ParisGrisaille and tempera on vellum; 3 1/2 x 2 7/16 in. (8.9 x 6.2 cm)The Cloisters Collection, 1954 (54.1.2)

Sequence of Events

c. 1307 -21 Dante writes The Devine Comedy

1307-77 Papacy transferred from Rome to Avignon

1348 Arrival of Black Death to mainland Europe

1378 – 1417 Great Schism in Catholic Church

1396 Greek studies instituted in Florence; beginning or the revival of Greek literature

Sculpture

• Sculpture of the 14th century is exemplified by its intimate character. Religious subjects became more emotionally expressive. In the secular realm chivalry was revived just as the era of the Knight on horseback was rendered obsolete. Tales of love and valor were carved on luxury items to the delight of the rich, middle class, and aristocracy alike.

Casket with Scenes of Romances (Attack on the Castle of Love) Lid of box – Paris, c. 1330-50 Ivory with iron mounts 4 ½ x 9 11/16”French Gothic ivory casket made in Paris between 1330 and 1350

• The casket is one of the relatively few larger ivory caskets dealing with a secular theme from the period, one of about a dozen examples showing variations of a number of scenes,

• By this period, Paris was the main European centre of ivory carving, producing large numbers of religious and secular objects, including small diptychs with religious scenes that used the same relief technique; these and smaller secular objects such as mirror-cases are more common than these caskets or larger religious statues like the Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle of the 1260s.

• This casket may well have been a gift of courtship or upon marriage, and was probably intended for an aristocratic female owner, to keep her jewels and other valuables in. The carved scenes were possibly originally painted; as the paint on Gothic ivories tended to peel in places, it was very often removed by later dealers and collectors. The unusually large size of the piece allows a wide range of the repertoire of popular scenes from different literary sources in French Gothic art to be shown, which display a variety of medieval attitudes to love and the role of women.

Virgin and Childfrom Saint-Denissilver gilt and enamelca. 1339

Peter Parler

• German architect, best-known for building Saint Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge in Prague, where he lived since about 1356.

• Peter Parler became the master mason of Saint Vitus Cathedral in 1352, after the death of its original architect, Matthias of Arras. Apart from the cathedral, he was the main designer of the New Town of Prague and built Charles Bridge and its towers. In the Royal Palace of Prague Castle, Parler built the All Saints' Chapel. After the fire of 1541 it was redecorated in the Baroque style.

• Saint Vitus's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral. Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings, is the biggest and most important church in the country

Saint Vitus's Cathedral

Attributed to Master TheodoricSaint Luke, 1360-1364Paint and gold on panel45 1/4 x 37 x 3 15/16 in. (115 x 94 x 10 cm)Narodni Pamatkovy Ustav, Uzemni OdbornePracoviste Strednich Cech, Prague

Vesperbild or Pietà Germany painted wood ca. 1330