ROMANESQUE ART

1050-1150

(but some stuff is as early as 1000 and as late as

1200)

• Romanesque architecture looked like an offshoot of ancient Roman art (to 19th century historians), so they called the period “Romanesque” (“in the Roman manner”)• Not sure what they were thinking- There are

SOME similarities, but far more differences.

?

Some main ideas:• Rebirth of large-scale architecture and

sculpture• People and ideas flow around Europe as

pilgrimages to sacred European shrines increase

• Apses of churches enlarged to accommodate all these pilgrims!

• Church portal sculptures – themes of the Last Judgment and the need for salvation.

• Manuscript painting and weaving flourish

A little history…• By 1000, migration seen in Medieval period settles down• Vikings Christianized (they need to repent for all their

destruction, haha) – settled in Normandy, France, and southern Italy and Sicily

• Europeans invade Muslim lands (the Crusades)• Triumph of Christianity in Europe – Pope acts as ruler

(spiritual empire similar to Roman empire)• There was fighting among Europeans, but enough peace

to allow trade and the arts to flourish, cities expand• People cross Europe on pilgrimages to Rome, Jerusalem,

and Spain (Santiago de Compostela is probably the most famous)

• Journey took about a year or longer to make• Shrines at key points along the way (still exist today)• Pilgrimage movement influenced building boom- one of

the great revitalizations in history

Being an artist or patron…• Artists were “middle class”. Lords owned land,

peasants worked for the Lords, Lords provide security (symbiosis). Artists were somewhere between those two classes.

• Painting is a “higher art” than sculpture or architecture because painters worked less with their hands.

• Women stuck doing “feminine arts” like ceramics, weaving, or manuscript decoration.

• Powerful, wealthy women commission the construction of architecture (such as nunneries) or illuminated manuscripts.

• Hildegard von Bingen = famous author, composer, and patroness of the arts.

• Christian-themed AND secular works survive• Constructed castles, manor houses,

monasteries, and churches – master builders oversaw the whole process (designing to contracting).• Master artists, such as Giselbertus,

supervised the artist design of the buildings

Architecture was a BIG deal, so hang in there through this part……

• Cathedrals = civic pride, artistic expression, and spiritual devotion

• Took hundreds of years to build, big $$$, lots of care put into construction and maintenance – used stone roofs (not wood) to prevent all their hard work from catching on fire! Using stone for the whole thing is a

reason it’s “Roman-like”

But there are some issues with using strictly stone…

Using JUST stone has some drawbacks…

• It’s freaking heavy! – walls have to be extra thick to hold up heavy stone roof

• Small windows- can’t have too many holes in walls• Small windows = dark interior – made even darker

with introduction of stained glass• Rib vault introduced to help support roof

• Rib vault introduced in Durham Cathedral (below)• At first they were decorative moldings placed on top of

groin vaults – eventually added to roof support• Help channel stress of roof down to walls and onto piers• Rib vaults open up the ceiling space more dramatically –

allows for larger windows (yay, light!) in the clerestory.

Using JUST stone has some perks!

• It’s fireproof! • It’s easy to maintain! • It’s durable!• It’s weatherproof!• It conducts sound very well – good news for

Gregorian chanting (everyone can hear!)

Romanesque introduced the BAY

• BAY = a vertical section of a church often containing arches, a triforium, and a cleristory

• Arch on first floor• Trifornium with smaller

arches on second floor• Windows in cleristory on

third floor• This bay structure is

repeated all over the church to create unity in the design

• Added AMBULATORY on east end of buildings to accommodate large pilgrimage crowds (we also see this in early Christian churches like Santa Costanza)

• The AMBULATORY (walkway) directed crowds around the church without disturbing the ceremonies taking place in the apse

• Chapels placed at intervals around the ambulatory so pilgrims could admire relics/sacred items displayed there

Plan of St. Sernin (more about this place later…)

• You walk along this part and then visit these little chapels along the way while the ceremonies are going on in there

Let’s look at some major works of Romanesque Architecture!

Pisa Cathedral, begun 1063 (11th century), Pisa, Italy

ARCADE: a series of arches supported by columns. When the arches face a wall and are not self-supporting, they are called a blind arcade (integrated into wall)

Exterior covered in marble – typical of Romanesque architecture in Tuscany, Italy

Separate CAMPANILE (bell tower) famous for leaning

Campanile

Cathedral

Baptistery

Graveyard

Football (soccer field)

•Wood roof over nave continues early Christian tradition of wood roof•Groin vaults over side aisles•Inspired by classical architecture – arches, columns, capitals•Granite columns taken from a Roman temple in Elba

This is a view from the campanile. On the exterior of the cathedral we see…

• Multiple arcades and marble veneer• Use of blind arcades• Continuous horizontal molding• Articulated bandings and geometric veneers• Prominent baptistery in front of cathedral

•Broadly projecting transepts•Apses intersect the nave at the crossing

Saint-Etienne, 1067 (11th century), Caen, France

• Hints of the upcoming Gothic style (vertical emphasis) – spires are a Gothic feature added later

(spire)• Commissioned by

William the Conqueror

Exterior of St. Etienne

St. Etienne interior• Originally had timber roof, replaced by six-part rib vaults, and engaged columns were added

• Piers are uniform• Three parts to nave

wall: arcade, gallery, and cleristory

• Very wide arches• Engaged columns

run the full height of the nave- emphasize height

Saint-Sernin, 1070-1120 (11th-12th century), Tolouse, France

St. Sernin exterior• Sernin was the first bishop of Tolouse

• Charlemagne donated many relics to the church – it became an important stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela

• Constructed mostly of brick• Bell tower is directly over

transept- in five tiers (spire added in 15th century)

• Ambulatory around apse with radiating chapels for relics

• Barrel-vaulted interior with ribs – corresponding buttresses on exterior

• Buttress strips on exterior mark the internal structure of the bays

• Double side aisles• Very dark inside- lacks a

clerestory

Square schematism: a church plan in which the crossing square is used as a unit of measurement for the rest of the design. Each nave bay is ½ a square. Each side aisle is ½ a square.

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 1090-1120 (11th- 12th century)

“Saint James Cathedral” - held the body of Saint James

• Nave organized into bays

• Compound piers with attached half columns on all four sides support huge ribbed barrel vault on ceiling

• Nave and transept have two stories- arcade and gallery

• See more details in chapter 15

• Ambulatory allows worshipers to move around church, visit chapels, say prayers (and not disrupt service at the high altar). Designed for large groups of pilgrims.

• Design of transept mirrors nave in size and structure• Building made of local granite• Pilgrims arrive here, tired after weeks of difficult

travel through mountains and woods – grateful to St. James for his protection along the way

• Cathedral had no doors- open 24 hours

Durham Cathedral, begun 1093 (11th century), Durham, England

• Houses relics and remains of notable saints and leaders

Durham Cathedral interior

• First use of rib vaults• Very long nave- English tradition• Abstract patterns on piers- inspired by Early

Medieval metalwork

• Alternating piers with different patterns

• Arches have a SLIGHT point- foreshadow Gothic style

Recognize this room in Durham Cathedral?

Professor Mcgonagall's Classroom!

How about the cloister?

Hogwarts! Bam! Blew your mind!

Let’s talk about Romanesque Sculpture, shall we? • Rebirth of large-scale sculpture is SO Romanesque• Sculptors were inspired by goldsmiths and metal

workers, but expanded to about life-size works• Sculpture usually placed around the portals of

churches – helps visitors understand the theme of the building before they walk in

• Small-scale works didn’t get the boot, though. Works in wood, ivory (don’t buy ivory!), and metal continued to flourish.

Sculptors competed for the honor of carving Portals – prominent location!

• Figures tend to look flattened• Zigzagging drapery hides body, rather than defines• Hierarchy of scale• Legs crossed in graceful, dance-like poses• Figures placed within borders – frames for each scene• Rarely push against frames – are defined by them

Creation and Temptation of Adam and Eve, Artist: Wiligelmo

1110 (12th century), Modena Cathedral, Italy

• Inscription: “Among sculptors, your work shines forth, Wiligelmo” – shows pride donors felt in having such a noteworthy artist work for them-Composition inspired by Early Christian sarcophagi-High relief

-Figures dominate architectural setting -Narrative breaks the frame-A visual reminder to those entering the church of “Original Sin”, which is the fall of Adam and Eve. Christ’s sacrifice redeemed humankind.

Last Judgment, artist: Gislebertus1120-1135 (12th century), marble, on St. Lazare, Atun, France

•Scene of the Last Judgment: Jesus at the Second Coming (saved people on his right and dammed on his left)

Christ in center as serene figure – symmetrical with balanced composition of elongated figures. To enter the church, you walk through the door on the right below the scene of the condemned, and exit the left door under the saved people. Figures are linear, twisted, writhing, emaciated

•Right side of relief: The damned! •Demons in hell with an angel and a devil weighing the souls on a balance•Left side of relief: The saved!•The rise to heaven

•Souls weighed to determine the fate of the deceased•Heavy souls fall to hell, light souls rise to heaven (no pressure!)•Weighing souls is a tradition that goes back to ancient Egypt•Horror of the evils of hell are vividly contrasted with the sanctity of the angels

•Modern view of heaven and hell•Visually educational device for illiterate people•Pilgrims: This is what happens to you if you end up in hell! •Two men near center carry bags w/ cross and seashell – symbols of pilgrims that travelled from Jerusalem to Santiago de Compostela

Porte Miegeville from church of St. Sernin, Toulouse

-Figures have great expression and movement-Depicts Ascension in a literal way – angels hoisting Christ up to heaven by the waist. Apostles look up in wonder-Angels explain that he will return from heaven in the same way

Virgin and Child in Majesty

(The Morgan Madonna)1150-1200

(12th century), wood

•Mary appears AS the Throne of Wisdom with Jesus in her lap•Jesus has adult-sized head on small body = great wisdom

•Jesus would have held a Bible – a symbol of his spiritual authority•Chambers in the back of the two figures – would have held relics – functioned as a RELIQUARY•Sit emotionless and erect, was brightly painted•Christ possesses wisdom and justice, just like his ancestors King David and King Solomon

•RELIQUARY: a vessel for holding a sacred relic – often took the shape of the objects they held•Often made of precious stones and metals, but this one is wood•This was used as a devotional object – carried in church processions

Let’s look at some Romanesque paintings and tapestries

•Most of what we know about Romanesque painting comes from illuminated manuscripts and an occasional surviving ceiling or wall mural•Figures tend to be outlined in black and vibrantly colored•Big gestures, exaggerated emotion – heads and hands are largest•Figures on top of flat surface – not in a 3D space – floating •People are most important – dominate buildings that look like stage sets

Hildegard von Bingen’s Vision

1050-1079 (11th century), manuscript

-now destroyed exists only as a copy

•Bingen’s divine visions come down from heaven and pour down on her like flames•She sits as she records her vision•Her scribe Volmar waits by her side with a book•Heavy black outlines define forms•Figures dominate tiny architecture•Expressive drapery folds show legs but not much else•Hildegard is patroness of this book – she was a convent leader•More info -chapter 15, p. 499

Eadwine the Scribe from the

Eadwine Psalter1160-1170

Illuminated manuscript

•Self-portrait of one of many monks who worked as a scribe on this psalter•A generic portrait – not an exact likeness •Dressed as monk with characteristic hair and swirling cape•Enthroned on architecture-like throne•Right hand holds paintbrush, left holds scraper (eraser)

How does this compare to the portrait of St. Matthew from Early Medieval?

Bayeux Tapestry, 1070-1080 (11th century), embroidery, wool on linen

•“Tapestry” is the wrong name- it’s actually an embroidery•Probably designed by a man, but made by women •Commissioned by Bishop Odo, half-brother of William the Conqueror

•Tells the story (in Latin) of William the Conqueror’s conquest of England at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 •We’re not sure how it was MEANT to be displayed.

See this line? Yeah…. THIS is the Bayeux Tapestry shown in its true scale of length to width. It’s 230 feet long! Talk about a narrative! THIS is why I can’t show you the whole thing at once.

•Fanciful beasts in upper and lower registers•Borders sometimes comment on the main scenes, or show scenes of everyday life

•non-natural colors: different parts of horses are different colors•Neutral background – no sense of deep perspective•Figures are flat, no shadows

•Ooooo, this would be a GREAT comparison to the Column of Trajan in terms of the tradition of the tradition of using NARRATIVE in art •75 scenes, over 600 people

VOCABULARY TIME!•Ambulatory: a passageway around the apse of a church•Apse: the end point of a church where the altar is•Arcade: a series of arches supported by columns. When the arches face a wall and are not self-supporting, they are called a blind arcade•Archivolt: a series of concentric moldings around an arch•Axial Plan (aka: Basilican plan, Longitudinal plan): a church with a long nave whose focus is the apse, so-called because it is designed along an axis•Baptistery: a separate chapel or building in front of a church used for baptisms•Bay: a vertical section of a church that is embraced by a set of columns and is usually composed of arches and aligned windows

•Campanile: a bell tower of an Italian building•Cathedral: the principal church of a diocese, where a bishop sits •Clerestory: the third, or window, story of a church•Embroidery: a woven product in which the design is stitched into a premade fabric•Jamb: the side posts of a medieval portal•Narthex: the vestibule, or lobby, of a church•Portal: a doorway (usually significantly decorated in Romanesque times)•Psalter: a book containing the Psalms, or sacred sung poems, of the Bible•Reliquary: a vessel for holding a sacred relic. Often reliquaries took the shape of the objects they held. Precious metals and stones were the common material.

• Rib Vault: a vault in which diagonal arches form rib-like patterns. These arches partially support a roof, in some cases forming a web-like design.

• Tapestry: a woven product in which the design and the backing are produced at the same time on a device called a loom.

• Transept: an aisle in a church perpendicular to the nave.• Trifornium: a narrow passageway with arches opening onto a

nave, usually directly below a clerestory. • Trumeau: the central pillar of a portal that stabilizes the

structure. It is often elaborately decorated. • Tympanum: a rounded sculpture placed over the portal of a

church• Voussior (“view-swar”): a wedge-shaped stone that forms

the curved part of an arch. The central voussoir is called a keystone.

Student Slides:

1. Christ and His Disciples on the Road to Emmaus (15-1)2. Church of Sant Vincenc, Cardona (15-3)3. The Abbey at Cluny (15-9)4. Reliquary Statue of Sainte Foy (page 484)5. Abbey Church of Notre-Dame (15-12)6. Church of San Clemente (15-14)7. Church of Saint-Savin-Sur-Gartempe, Poitu (15-15)8. Church of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan (15-16)9. Speyer Cathedral (15-17)10. Dover Castle (15-24)11. South Portal and Porch, Priory Church of St. Pierre Moissac (15-26)12. Capital: Suicide of Judas (15-29)13. Christ in Majesty (15-30)14. Tower of Babel (15-31)15. Crucifix (15-32)16. Tomb Cover with Effigy of Rudolf of Swabia (15-34)17. The Mouth of Hell, Winchester Psalter (15-38)