Art Appreciation: Overview of the Middle Ages
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Transcript of Art Appreciation: Overview of the Middle Ages
Art in the Middle Ages
Art Appreciation 1301.51005T, R, 9:30-10:50AM
Professor Paige Prater
Introduction
• Middle Ages/Medieval/ “Dark Ages”• Approximately 1,000 year period: 5th century
end of the Roman Empire to Renaissance (1500)
• “Barbarians” • Church power/architecture– Romanesque (11th century)– Gothic (1150-1500)
Three Major Religions
Jewish Art: Dura Europos (Roman Empire border-
town in Syria), 244-245 CE
Detail of synagogue at Dura-Europos: Exodus and Crossing of the Red Sea
Rome: Catacombs of Saints Peter and Marcellinus, 3rd-early 4th century
Typology: Christ and Jonah stories
5th Century: Rome
Roman army abandons Britain (Hadrian’s Wall)◦Germanic allies of Rome◦410 Rome sacked by Visigoths
◦ Galla Placidia
◦455 Rome sacked by Vandals ◦476 Ostrogoths deposed the last Roman
Emperor Ravenna – capital until Byzantine defeat in
540 CE
Mapping “Barbarians”
Byzantine: Mausoleum of Galla Placidia 425-426 CE– Good Shepherd Mosaic
Lunette and tesserae395 – Emperor Theodosius I split Roman Empire between his sons
Rome to Constantinople: Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Art/Culture
• Early Byzantine (5th century – 726 CE)– End of Western Roman Empire – 476CE– Iconoclastic Controversy 726-843CE
• Middle Byzantine (843-1204 CE)– Catholic vs. Orthodox 1054 CE– Crusades begin 1095 CE
• Late Byzantine (1261-1453CE)– Fall of Constantinople to Turks 1453 CE
Constantinople: Emperor Justinian I • Hagia Sophia, 532-537 CE
Icons
• Emperor Justinian I (483-565)
• Constantinople• More than
2,000 icons• Meditation
and prayer
6th century icon of Christ, St. Catherine Monastery, Mount Sinai, Egypt
San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy
• 526 CE Bishop Ecclesius commissions this church
• Not finished until Justinian I takes over Ravenna in 540 CE
• Justinian and Theodora may never have visited.
San Vitale, Ravenna – MOSAICS – Christ Enthroned, 547 CE
San Vitale, Ravenna: Emperor Justinian I (north wall of apse)
San Vitale, Ravenna: Empress Theodora (south wall of apse)
San Vitale, Ravenna, View facing apse
Central Plan vs. Basilica
Central Plan vs. Basilica
Illuminated Manuscripts in the Middle Ages
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aDHJu9J10o
• Koran• Lindisfarne gospels • Book of Kells
Page from the Koran, late 12th century
• vellum• Kufic script on
headings• Maghribi script
on the rest of the text• Right to left• Arabesque
quality
Lindisfarne Gospels, Cross-carpet page introducing the Gospel of Matthew
• Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
• lines>tiny animal heads
• contemplation
Detail of carpet page
Book of Kells, Chi Rho Iota page, late 8th or early 9th century
• Cats and mice• Chi rho symbol
Later Islamic Manuscript Page, 1539-1543
• The Ascent of the Prophet Muhammad on his Steed, Buraq, Guided by Jibra’il and Escorted by Angels
• Miniature painting from Nizami’s Khamsa (five poems)
Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages
• Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 688-691 CE
Reliquaries
• Reliquary of Head of St. Alexander, 1145
• Silver repousse, gilt bronze, gems, pearls, and enamel
• 7 ½” high
Symbolism
Romanesque: St. Sernin, 1070-1120, Toulouse, France
Gothic: Chartres Cathedral, 1260