During the Middle Ages between the 10th-15th centuries, the dominant artistic styles in Europe were Romanesque and Gothic. Romanesque art spread throughout Europe in the 11th-12th centuries featuring thick walls, rounded arches and barrel vaults in architecture along with rigid religious sculptures and paintings. Gothic art emerged in 12th century France using pointed arches, rib vaults and flying buttresses allowing taller buildings filled with stained glass windows illuminating religious subjects. Gothic sculptures showed more emotion and movement while paintings included stained glass, manuscripts, altarpieces and later portraits.

1. ART IN THE
MIDDLE AGES
 Romanesque
 Gothic

2. INDEX
1. MEDIEVAL ART.
A. Romanesque and Gothic.
B. The influence of Christian Church.
C. Rural and urban art.
D. The medieval artist.
2. ROMANESQUE STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE.
 Features of Romanesque
buildings.
 Romanesque churches.
B. SCULPTURE
 Characteristics.
 Types of sculptures.
C. PAINTING
 Characteristics.
 Types of painting.
3. GOTHIC STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Gothic buildings.
Gothic cathedrals:
I. Distribution of weight.
II. Illumination.
III. Floor plan.
B. SCULPTURE
 Characteristics.
 Types of sculptures.
C. PAINTING
 Characteristics.
 Types of painting.

3. 1. MEDIEVAL ART.
A. Romanesque and Gothic:
 Between the end of the 10th century and the 15th century, two artistic styles
spread throughout Europe.
a) The Romanesque style:
• Appeared in France and Italy.
• Became international in the 11th and 12th centuries.
b) The Gothic style:
• Began in France
• Spread widely from the second half of the 12th century onwards.
 In previus centuries, artistic styles had often been characteristic of a particular
región.
 Romanesque and Gothic were international styles: for the first time since the
end of the Roman Empire, a single artistic style was found throughout
Catholic Europe.
B. The influence of Christian Church:
 Both styles were strongly influenced by the Christian Church. The main
purpose of artwork was to bring Christian closer to God.
 Most believers could not read or write. The solution was to represent the
sacred texts in the form of reliefs and mural paintings on church walls.

4. C. Rural and urban art:
 Romanesque:
• The Benedictine Order of Cluny built Romanesque monasteries which were located

6. 2. ROMANESQUE STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Features of Romanesque buildings:
 Main buildings: churches, cathedrals and monasteries (religous buildings)
 Building materials: at first, the roofs were made of Wood. Because of the fires
architecs began tu use stone for roofs too.
 Techniques: They need to adapt them for the heavy stone roofs. They revived Roman
techniques.
o Barrel vault: a Romanesque architectural element, creating a curved, semicircular
vault.
o Dome: a hemispherical construction covering the upper part of a building.
o Round arches: a semicircular arch common in Romanesque architecture.
o Columns
o Pillars
o Thick walls
o Buttresses: a structure common in Romanesque buildings that was built against an
external wall to reinforce it.

7. Barrel Vault

8. Dome

9. The roofs rested on rounded
arches, and thick columns
and pillars. However, it was
necessary to make the
buildings even stronger.
Architects used very thick
walls, reinforced the walls
with buttresses, and reduced
the number and size of
windows.

10. PILLARS AND COLUMNS

11. BUTTRESS

12. Romanesque buildings a very solid, compact appearance. In consequence, they
received very little natural light inside
Santa María la
Mayor. Arévalo.

13. 2. ROMANESQUE STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Romanesque churches:
 They were designed with the form of a Latin cross, which
was a long arm crossed by a shorter arm. This
symbolised the cross of Jesus.
 The long arm was made up of one or more naves,
separated by rounded arches.
 The naves ended in an apse, where the altar was situated.
 The short arm, called the transept, could also have
several naves.
 In churches built along pilgrimage routes, a passageway
called an ambulatory was added around the apse so that
pilgrims could pass behind the high altar

17. ACTIVITIES

18. B. SCULPTURE
 Characteristics:
 TEACHINGTOOL.Churches and and other buildings were decorated with sculptures that
sculptures that represented religious figures and scenes. In this way, illiterate Christians
Christians learned Bible narratives through sculptures.
 ARCHITECTURE. Sculptures were added to buildings that were being built or already
already existed.They were adapted to fit the space available.
 HUMAN REPRESENTATION: Figures were rigid and unrealistic.They were not done in
in proportion.The most important person in a scene was larger than the others, in other
other words, they used hierarchical organisation.
 COLOUR: Romanesque sculptures were polychrome, and they were painted in many bright
bright colours. However, they have lost their colour over time.
 Types of sculptures:
 FREE-STANDING: not attached to a building.These sculptures were wooden or ivorian

19. A really important feature…
Most Romanesque sculptures were reliefs. This means that they were sculpted into
different parts of the buildings.
Detail about the hell. It is in the del
infierno del tympanum of Santa de
Conques. France.

20. These are church entrances, usually
formed by a series of round arches. Just
above the door was the tympanum, where
Jesus and other important figures were
depicted.
PORTALS
Portal of San Pedro de Moissac. France.
11th - 12th century

21. CAPITALS
The tops of columns
were decorated with a
variety of religious and
daily life scenes, animals,
plants, and symbols of
virtues and vices.
Capital of Santa María de Piasca. Cantabria. 10th and 11th century.

22. Other sculptures were free-standing:
There were not attached to a building. These
sculptures were wooden and represented Christ on
the Cross or the Virgin and Child.
Virgen de Ger. 12th century.

24. C. PAINTING
 Paintings were used to teach religious subjects.
 Paintings were adapted to the space available in a building
 Many important paintings were painted inside churches and cathedrals, where they
were protected against bad weather.
 CHARACTERISTICS:
 Religious subjects:
• Most popular: Christ in Majesty (sitting on a throne) and The Virgin and Child
• Saints and scenes from the Holy Bible, imaginary monsters, animals and plant motifs.
 Human representation:
• Figures were rigid and schematic.
• Some figures were painted much larger than the others than to show their importance.
• The figures had black outlines, which highlighted their eyes and hands.
• There were no background landscapes.
 Colour:
 Bright colours were used. It made paintings more expressive and more visible in dark
interior spaces.

25. Mural paintings in the Royal Pantheon in the Basilica of San Isidoro de León.

26. C. PAINTING
 TYPES OF PAINTING:
 MURALS:
• Were painted on walls and vaults, especially in the main apse near the altar.
• The fresco technique was used. It was very hard to paint frescoes, and it required
exceptional artistic technique. Steps (pages 62 and 63):
① The wall was covered with a layer of sand and limestone (caliza).
② Silhouettes of the figures were drawn on the wall. This was done by rubbing ochre
pigment on paper that had tiny holes in it.
③ The outlines were created with a piece of charcoal.
④ A mixture of marble dust, limestone and water was applied to the wall.
⑤ Colour was added using pigments diluted in water. This was done while the wall Is
still wet (fresco), so that the colours permeated the wall.
 ALTARPIECES
• Were painted on wooden panels and used to decorate altars.
 MINIATURES
 Were small illustrations in Bibles, prayer in books and other religious texts.

27. MURALS
Were painted on walls,
especially in the main
apse near the altar. The
fresco technique was
used.
The Original Sin. Ermitage Santa Cruz de Maderuelo. 12th century.

28. ALTARPIECES
Were painted on wooden
panels and used to decorate
altars.
Frontal de la Seo. Urgell. 12th century.

29. MINIATURES
Were small illustrations in
Bibles, prayer in books and
other religious texts.
Manchester Codex. 12th
century.

30. 3. GOTHIC STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Gothic buildings:
 It had a religious purpose and it was also used to demostrate the power and
health of the cities.
 Civil buildings: covered markets, city halls and palaces.
 Cathedral (the most important): key role in urban life, meeting point, rival cities
competed to built the most spectacular ones.

31. 3. GOTHIC STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Gothic cathedrals:
 New techniques!!!

32. 3. GOTHIC STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Gothic cathedrals:
I. Distribution of weight:
 The use of pointed arch and the ribbed vault meant that the main weight of the cathedral
rested on the pillars within the building, and not on its outside walls.
 Flying buttresses on the outside of the building further strengthened the pillars.
 As a result, cathedrals could be made much taller than before.

33. Ribbed vault
Pointed arches
Flying buttresses

35. II. Illumination:
■ Thanks to the new distribution of
weight, Gothic cathedrals did not
need such thick walls, and could have
larger windows.
■ Natural light filteredstained glass
windows, illuminated the interior. It
created beautiful contrast of light and
colour inside. The symbolism was
very important because light was
associated with God.
■ Stained glass windows were an
extraordinary innovation of Gothic art.
They were made with pieces of
coloured glass held together by lead
frames.
■ Windows were designed with
geometric patterns and religious

36.  Rose window: is used for those circular windows found in churches of the
Gothic architectural style that are divided into segments.
Symbolism: the north rose of the Abbey of
St Denis, Paris, showing God the Creator,
surrounded by the Days of Creation, the
Order of the Heavens represented by the
Zodiac and the Order of Earth as
represented by the Labours of the Months.
In the corners are the Fall of Mankind.

37. III. Floor plan:
■ Like Romanesque cathedrals, Gothic cathedrals
were built on Latin cross plan.
■ Differences:
– they had a polygonal rather than a
semicircular apse.
– the central nave was built much wider and
higher than the side aisles.
Burgos’s cathedral floor plan.

38. These three changes,
meant that the Gothic
cathedrals were tall and
filled with light. They were
considered to represent
heaven.
Beauvais cathedral. France. XIII
century. Height: 67 m.

41. Colegiata Santa Cruz de Castañeda.
Cantabria. 12th century.
Chartres cathedral. France. 13th century.
GOTHIC VS ROMANESQUE
What are the
differences?

42. Interior Amiens cathedral. 13
th century.
Interior San Martin de Fromista.
11th century.

43. B. SCULPTURE:
 Caracteristics:
 Gothic sculpture had a religious and
educational purpose such as Christ on the
Cross or the Virgin and Child, like
Romanesque sculpture.
 The human emotion is one of the most
important features of the gothic sculpture,
even in its depiction of religious figures.
Christ was shown suffering on the cross
and Virgin played with the infant Jesus.
 Less severe and rigid than Romanesque
sculpture. Curved lines are really
important, giving to the figures a realistic
movement. Clothes, attitudes and
gestures were all represented in more
detail.
Virgen Blanca.
Toledo.
Cristo Gótico.

44. B. SCULPTURE:
 Caracteristics:
 Gothic sculpture continue to adapt to the architecture of buildings, for example, through
reliefs on the facades of cathedrals.
Sarmental facade. Burgos

45. Romanesque and Gothic Portals

46. The final Judgement. Notre Dame. París.

47. TYPES
Carved in stone, marble and
wood.
FUNERAL SCULPTURE ALTARPIECES
NON-RELIGIOUS
SUBJECTS

48. B. SCULPTURE:
 Types:
1) Funeral sculpture: Tombs were decorated with religious motifs and a figure of a
dead person.
Inés de Castro tomb.
Juan II de Castilla e Isabel de Portugal tomb.

49. 2) Altarpieces: Were large wooden
frames placed behind the altars in
churches and cathedrals. They were
decorated with reliefs, and covered in
thin gold.
Altarpiece in the Monastery of Santa María de El
Paular.

50. 3) Non-religious subjects:
 Were carved beneath the seats in cathedrals.

51. 3) Non-religious subjects:
 Gargoyles were fantastic creatures sculpted on the outside of
cathedrals.

53. C. PAINTING:
 CHARACTERISTICS/FEATURES:

54. C. PAINTING:
 TYPES:
TYPES
STAINED
GLASS
WINDOWS.
MINIATURES
PANEL
PAINTINGS
PORTRAITS
MURAL
PAINTING

55. C. PAINTING:
 Types:
1) Mural painting:
Gothic churches and
cathedrals had reduced wall
space because they had such
large windows. Consequently,
there were fewer murals in
many regions, although a
tradition of mural painting was
maintained in Italy and Spain.
Flight into Egypt by Giotto di Bondone. 14th
century.

56. C. PAINTING:
 Types:
2) Stained glass windows:
Religious subjects were represented in these windows, which were an
outstanding innovation in Gothic cathedrals.
Monastery of Huelgas. Burgos. 13th century.

57. C. PAINTING:
 Types:
3) Miniatures: Manuscripts were decorated with small paintings.

58. C. PAINTING:
 Types:
4) Panel paintings: Paintings on free-standing wooden panels became an
increasingly important art form. Painters learned to fit several panels together
to form a single work of art.
The Annunciation, by Simone Martini. 14th
century.
Tríptico de Orduña

59. 5) Portraits: Initially, nearly all Gothic art was religious, but later on
nobles and merchants commissioned portraits to demonstrate their
status and wealth.
Tríptico de la Lamentación de Vizcaya.
Arnolfini portrait. Jan van Eyck. 1434.