AP ART HISTORY MEDIEVAL CHRISTENDOM STUDY GUIDE ART HISTORY MOST IMPORTANT ART, SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE

1. MEDIEVAL
CHRISTENDOM
AP ART HISTORY
Sofi Sandoval

2. Middle ages art
• The degraded, humiliated, suffering god in human
form is peculiarly Christian conception.
• Christ as a healer, teacher, law giver and judge. The
cross was a symbol of triumph over death and the
Crucifixion was seldom represented even in cycles
of new testament.
• (England, Norway, Denmark) Northern artistic
traditions of intricate flat were to contribute much to
the creation of medieval art in Western Christendom.

3. Cross of lothar,
• Gold precious stones
and cloisonne
(soldering flat metal
strips to the surface of
the object) enamel. A
very different in spirit
and significance,
magnificent gold cross.

4. Cross of gero, Oak wood,
germany
• The cross as a whole symbolized
the union of the church and state
under an emperor anointed and
crowned by the pope, a union
passionately sought in the middle
ages.
• Simple, naturalistic figure,
Muscles stretch on arm. Meant to
engender the reflection and
sorrow. Development of
emotionally moving art in the
Romanesque style.

5. ROMANESQUE
ARCHITECTURE ITALY
• Baptisery, cathedral and
campanile, Pisa, 1063-1272
• Churches built on traditional
plans, but highly decorated
externally.
• White marble with thin
horizontal lines of black,
which give a gently
shimmering effect.
• Bruscheto responsible for a
remarkable decorative
scheme.

7. Baptisery, cathedral and
campanile in pisa

8. Cathedral complex at pisa
• The complex is an example of the Italian
Romanesque style, characterized by the use of
colored marbles on the exterior.
• The complex contains three separate buildings,
cathedral, baptistery, bell tower.
• French Romanesque churches incorporated the
cathedral, the bell tower into one building.

9. Morgan madonna, wood
• This is a western version of the
Byzantine Theotokos, with
Mary representing the Church
and Jesus holding a bible (now
lost) which was a symbol for
WISDOM.
• Sculptures like this one
became popular devotional
objects and were common
during this time period, Very
few of these still exist.

10. Sn marco, venice

11. Sn marco, venice

12. S MARCO
• S Marco in Venice, is essentially
Byzantine, designed by a Greek architect
about 1063 closely modelled on the
Church of the Holy Apostles in
Constantinople.
• It was a chapel attached to the palace of
the Doges (the elected leaders of Venetian
republic).
• Spiritual atmosphere with its dime light,
mysterious spaces and lean faces of
saints.
• Gleaming gold mosaics on wall and roof.
• Gold altarpiece on the high altar – was
enlarged by the addition of cloisonne
enamel plaques imported from
Constantinople (pala d oro)

13. S MARCO, VENICE
• The finest Byzantine works of art of
their time, superbly elegance of line
and color. = Pala d Oro
• The interior of S Marco was gradually
transformed with mosaics in non
byzantine styles. = Windows were
filled to provide additional wall space,
dimming (closing) the light to which
Byzantine architects gave much
importance.
• S Marco symbolizes the rise of
Venetian republic to international
importance and by implication its
independence even from the Papacy.

14. Gothic art
• Pointed arches were devised to allow higher ceilings in the
nave area of the church.
• Ribbed vaults carried the weight of the roof and allowed the
walls to be opened up to accommodate larger windows.
• Stained glass became the NORM for filling there large
windows. Since they were not structural, they had to be
reinforced with crossbars.
• Stained glass window served: to depict biblical stories, brought
colored light to the interior of churches, and created a mystical
atmosphere inside the churches.
• Romanesque architecture is heavy, while the gothic
architecture is light and soaring.

15. High gothic
Nave of Amiens Cathedral, France
French architects – to create a
system in which structure of
construction and visually expressive
form = embracing religious faith
High Gothic reached its peak at
Amiens, France.
An example of the high gothic style,
this cathedral is the tallest of the
Gothic French churches.
It became an important pilgrimage
church when the head of Saint John
the Baptist was deposited there by
the crusaders, who had taken it from
Constantinople

16. Amiens Cathedral france

17. Chartres cathedral, france

18. Notre dame, paris
Gothic architects –
Slender skeletal supports and integrate
the interior and exterior of High gothic
into a whole. – Romanesque facade
Cathedral of Notre dame in Paris, states
clearly a very GEOMETRICAL
SYSTEM. Much grater emphasis placed
on Verticals.

19. Notre dame
• This church as an important Marian
pilgrimage center, due to the relics of
Mary that were housed here.
• The plan of this cathedral is a cross
with 3 aisles, and a short transept and
ambulatory.
• The west portral known as the Royal
portral was completed in 1150. the
Jamp sculptures depict kings, queens
and figures of old testament.
• The sculptures are full of expression,
gazing down on the visitor with
elegant condescension.
• The figures show a visible transition
from Romanesque to Gothic.

20. Virgin and dead christ,
rottgen pieta
The image of Mary, seated alone and
mourning over the body of her son,
became popular devotional subject in
the gothic period.
The image developed from mystical
writings that focused on the
contemplation of the suffering of
jesus and his mother.
This image is a variation of the
lamentation theme that was common
in the Byzantine art

21. Sculpture
• All things came to be seen as a
manifestation of the divine, a great
impetus was given to naturalism in
the figurative arts, specially
sculpture.
• Columns are still decorated with
geometrical patterns, but also
heroic scale saints and angels are
like detached from the building
conceived as grandiose scale,
sunk in meditation. (figures
occupying the same space and
apparently breathing the same air
as the spectator.)

22. West portal, chartres
cathedral

23. English gothic
“Decorated style”
double curving
arches and bars of
window tracery
sacrifices logic to
decorative effect.
Nave vault, Lincoln Cathedral , England 1240

24. Gothic architecture
• Flamboyant style – elaborate curvilinear ornament
with elaborate vestments.
The Percy Tomb, Beverley
Minister, England 1339

25. Bonaventura berlinghieri, st francis
1235, tempera
Coarse, gray-brown habit and rope
girdle with three knots symbolizing
poverty, chastity and obedience, hands
and feet marked with the stigmata, lean,
ascetic, lightly bearded face and
tonsured head.
Informative rather than expressive,
reminding the expectator how st Francis
received stigmata. Suffering because of
their believes offered to religion.