Art 40B Midterm Prep
gloss
A commentary, or extra, textual translation addition to the text itself. ex: In this case, the extra, additional annotation is a word for word English translation of the Latin text added by Aldred to the Lindisfarne Gospel long after it had been completed. And, in fact, Aldred's annotation is the oldest know,n surviving English version of the gospels in any form.
ribbed groin vault
A groin vault which has ribs added for structural support and decoration. This was a gothic style type of architecture. The cross ribbed, groin vaults allowed for lighter masonry by diminishing and dispersing thrust. Building designers also created a system of stone ribs that distributed the weight of the vault across columns and piers holding up the galleries and aisles. This can be shown in the Abbey Church of St. Denis where the
pilgrimage
A journey that is taken to see and interact with holy sites and relics in order to accrue credits in the afterlife. Many sought penance and salvation. Many of these pilgrimages were taken to visit icons. The 3 main pilgrimage end points where Rome, Jerusalem, and Santiago de Compostela. Reasons for pilgrimage: 1. Resurrection of Christ foretells the resurrection of all men 2. All mankind will be resurrected body and soul (Christians believed in this split but there were also many theological disputes about how this split worked) 3. That resurrection will happen at the end of the world, in the Last Judgment when Christ will act as a judge of souls, determining who will be saved and who will be damned 4. Because the body was interred after death, the place of the soul was unclear 5. By the 12th c. official church doctrine decreed that most souls (barring those of saints which ascend directly to heaven) go to purgatory, a place of temporal punishment for those who have not fully paid for their earthly transgressions. 6. An indulgence was granted by the church to individuals who took it upon themselves to engage in extreme acts of penance. An indulgence was not forgiveness of sin. It was a partial remittance from the punishment of purgatory, a time segment reduction of the time spent waiting in punishment for the LJ. One of the most common ways to gain an indulgence was to undertake a pilgrimage.
scriptorium
A room library in the room of a monastery for writing or copying manuscripts. Monks working in these scriptoria acted as scribes and copied texts. They also began to develop techniques for decorating mostly Christian texts with paintings we refer to as illuminations. ex: Plan of St. Gall, Switzerland, c. 820 (an ideal plan for a Benedictine monastery).
flying buttress
A unique feature of gothic architecture that are external architectural support that braces against the outward thrust of side aisle walls, piers and vaults. Church Chartres was the first church to employ this feature. They create an airy filigree on the outside of the great cathedrals, lightening the whole appearance of the architecture.
lux nova
Abbot Suger called this colored light the lux nova, or the new light of Christ. Along similar lines, the 13th c. theologian William Durandus called glass windows Holy Scriptures that transmit the light of God. Abbot Suger was fascinated with light, particularly the jewel-like colored light conveyed by stained glass. For him, stained glass symbolized the New Jerusalem, which is vividly described as appearing to be built of glittering gems and gold that shone clear as glass. This is displayed in the Abbey Church of St Denis of the so called Rose Window.
choir
Abbot Suger's main innovation was the famous choir at the east end of Saint Denis. The choir has a double ambulatory with nine radiating chapels, and is pierced with multiple, large scale windows, making it appear light, airy and almost weightless.
Choir and ambulatory with radiating chapels, Cathedral of St. Denis, Gothic, 12th c., France
Abbot Suger's main innovation was the famous choir at the east end of Saint Denis. The choir has a double ambulatory with nine radiating chapels, and is pierced with multiple, large scale windows, making it appear light, airy and almost weightless. The weight of the structure is born by the innovative, ribbed groin vaults, both in the ambulatories down below, and in the roof above the structure. The cross ribbed, groin vaults allowed for lighter masonry by diminishing and dispersing thrust.
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, sculptural relief (sarcophagi), 4th c.
After the 2nd c. wealthy Romans began to be buried in sarcophagi that were large, rectangular stone containers with lids often carved in with relief sculptures. Junius Bassus's sarcophagi combines Jewish stories with portrayal of christian themes. This provides a visual record the developing Christian religion that drew from the Hebrew Torah and what would eventually become the Old Testament. The record of Christ's life written by his apostles became known as the New Testament. The focus of christianity shifts as it turns from the good shepherd to Christ's resurrection and crucifixion. The images on here included the Sacrifice of Isaac from the Hebrew scripture as well Christ's entry to Jerusalem from the New Testament.
Hildegard of Bingen, "Vision of the Last Days," 12th c., manuscript, Germany
Although few women contributed to the production of art and architecture in the Middle Ages, manuscripts were one area in which women could both create and also consume. Most manuscripts were created in monastic scriptoria, both by monks and nuns. Women had little power in the feudal system and their value for the nobility lay in their marriages. Hildegard entered a Benedictine double monastery at age of 8 and took her vows at age 15. She began experiencing visions and confided them to her male confessor, a man named Volmar. She ended up recording her visionary works in a famous manuscript called the Liber Scivias. Her vision of the final days and the Anti-Christ, both in description and in visual representation. opens to Hildegard seeing five colorful beasts in the North tied by ropes to a mountain in the West. North was the direction associated with the emergence of evil in Christian symbolism (where beasts, giants and devils come from) and here it is signified directionally by the upper left corner. In her vision, Hildegard looks to the East, where she sees a Youth seated at the eastern corner of a building that is associated ecclesiastically with the church altar and symbolically with Jerusalem, the source of truth. At the bottom of the image she sees Ecclesia, as a symbol of the church, was shown being attacked by an outside force, the Dragon, which symbolizes the devil, some-times Antichrist. Ecclesia herself is half corrupt, the Woman is presented as basically good but suffering from a horrible evil, represented by a monstrous head. The locus of evil for the woman is located in her genitalia.
Simone Martini, The Annunciation, 14th c., altarpiece, Siena, Italy
An altarpiece where the Virgin looks frightened, twisting away from the angel Gabriel who appears to tell her that she will bear the son of God. The scene is reduced to an immediate moment in which the angel announces his mission to the Virgin--you can see the words Ave gratia plena dominus tecum ("Hail thou that are full of grace, the Lord is with thee") emanating from his mouth. International Gothic style art focuses on the luster of the surface, the burnished gold and gilt gothic frame, and on the static timelessness conveyed in the poses. Martini's graceful style emphasizes flowing curves, rich and ornate detail and pigments, elongated forms, faces and hands. But there is also an emphasis on the psychological dimensions of the Annunciation.
complex interlace
Anglo-Saxon decorative traditions that harken back to older, pre-Christian forms. It is characterized by the use of zoomorphic and biomorphic shapes that are half abstracted, half figural and follow a system of decoration: symmetry, repeated patterns, complex interlace. ex: This purse clasp from a burial ship found at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England, ca. 625 that shows the decorative style of pre christian forms. Or the Chi Rho page that the details throughout it capture the eye far above and beyond the initials themselves—the intricate circle within circle within circle patterns, the volutes and braided elements that connect those circles, the geometric designs in the walls of the letters themselves.
Reliquary of the Staff of St. Peter, Carolingian, 10th c., Trier, Germany
As a relic, it was doubly sacred because it once touched the hand of Saint Peter, the founder of the Western Church, but also because it was associated with miraculous power. It was reputed to have been used by a Bishop of Trier to resurrect a dead man. The point of the reliquary was to connect the relic and its power to the power of Trier s bishops: enamels around the top depict symbols of the four Evangelists who wrote the New Testament. Slightly down from that, enamels depict Peter and three early Bishops of Trier.
primary relic
Body parts of the body of the saint such as the limbs, hair and teeth.
Entry Gateway, Abbey at Lorsch, Carolingian, 9th c., Germany
Carolingians exerted their political authority through a close affiliation with ecclesiastics (church officials). Under Charlamagne a large number of monasteries were deeded to the king, in order to protect them from attempts by feudal lords to siphon off their land. Charlamagne then built these monasteries into larger abbeys as temporary residences for himself and his entourage when he traveled throughout his kingdom. One of the the most important of these abbeys was the abbey of Lorsch, in southwestern Germany. This closely resembles to the architecture of the Arch of Constantine thus making the connection that this gateway was derived like the religious and powerful rulers before Charlemagne.
martyrium/mausoleum/central plan
Central plan based on mausoleums and Christian martyria (both are forms of tombs) ex. the san Vitale in Ravenna Italy. This building was a taken back from the ostrogoths who dedicated the building to the Christian martyr Vitalis. Justinian then took the building back and made it into a Byzantine outpost on the Italian peninsula, part of Justinian's larger plan to reunite Western and Eastern former Roman Empire.
Palatine Chapel at Aachen, Carolingian, 9th c., Germany
Charlamagne's efforts to compare himself to Justinian Inside, the atrium or inner court rises two stories, with an imperial gallery running around the chapel that was modeled on the imperial gallery in Hagia Sophia. In this gallery the emperor himself sat, on a throne, from which he could look down directly on the altar in the apse. Inside the chapel are porphry columns that Charlemagne brought back from Ravenna. He also incorporated imported colored marble and hired Byzantine craftsmen to decorate the interior, setting up a visual connection to Justinian. The chapel presents an architectural setting for sacred kingship. It housed a number of Christian relics collected by Charlamagne, such as the Virgin's cloak And the loin cloth worn by Christ on the cross. These relics bolstered his image as a Christian King whose reign was annointed by Christ.
Christ as Good Shepherd, Catacomb of Callisto, ceiling painting, 3rd c.,
Christ is portrayed as the good shepherd because in the gospel of St John christ refer to himself as the good shepherd who gives life to his sheep. The lamb is a symbol of Christ where the lamb was sacrificed in ancient tradition to god or the gods. Christ becomes the lamb as he sacrifices himself to save mankind. Also the good shepherd is a motif where the classical Greek and even earlier antecedents in the pagan calf-bearer who bring the animal for sacrifice.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of Good and Bad Government, 14th c., Chamber of the Council of Nine in the Town Hall, Siena, Italy
City-states were driven by commerce, supported by a rising merchant and banking class, and were self-governing. But self- governance, the idea of the commune, was actually at odds with what was considered the natural order of medieval society: i.e. some were born to rule (monarchs and the nobility) and some were born to be ruled (artisanal classes and peasants) the early communes struggled to claim legitimacy while resisting the ties that bound lord and vassal in the feudal system. This meant that a citizen in a city state was not born to be a citizen, but was created through education, practice and participation. In the allegorical painting it shows two sides of a bad and good government. On the a bad side you see a tyrant with horns and fangs with cardinal sins sitting beside each side as well as three vices around his head and Justice behind restrained at the Tyrants feet. The sins accompanying the Tyrant represent the deeper ambivalence of the republican citizen himself--they are meant to define what the proper republic isn't, but they also tread a fine line between the moral and immoral. The tyrant is thus defined as the citizen who cannot exercise proper self- control. It also shows the effect of bad government with fires in the country side with a little figure illustrating terror with its devilish face and destruction and violence in the streets of Siena. These images persuade the Sienese from refraining to be a potential little tyrant by creating this imaginative tyranny. On the good government side we see Concordia weaving together two strands from Justice who is enthroned above. Concordia hands off the cords to 24 good citizens who bring them to the male figure dressed in the Sienese colors of black and white—an allegorical figure of the Commune. Justice is a focus in all the frescoes because it is the hallmark of a legitimate government. Justice guarantees peace, which is vital to the smooth working order of the city-state, and to productivity and commerce. Effects of Good Government on the city--scenes of prosperity and harmony, industry and the arts—there is a tavern full of customers, a shoemaker's shop, builders working on a roof, and a circle of dancing women representing harmony and peace. Effects of Good Government on the country side shows verdant fields, industrious farming, orderly layout. Figure of Securitas (Security) floats above the prosperous countryside and holds a tiny gallows, another symbol of Justice.
Hagia Sophia, 6th c., Byzantine Era, Constantinople
Due to Justinian establishing a theocratic state, the emperor was now viewed as spiritual leader of he church and state and this was the purpose of the Hagia Sophia. It was first burned down in rebellion against Justinian but he then rebuilt the building to reestablish his authority and provided a framework for redefining sacred kingship as an institution where civil and religious authority are invested into one person. The estimated cost was $150 million as the excessive expenditure was part of the political enterprise emphasizing that the more money that was put into the building such as precious stones and gold to make an altar, the more power the building has. The building had a huge dome or "cupola" that was held up by 4 enormous piers. Also inside the south vestibule of the Hagia Sophia is a mosaic of the virgin as the mother of God holding christ with Constantine and Justinian on each side displaying their models of a christian temple. This shows a shift in focus in christianity to Christ's miracle birth.
icon
Icon comes from the greek word "image" and most were hung on the chancel screen or iconostasis which closed the altar at the end of the nave. Icons refer to the paintings on wood panels made for public use in the rituals and decoration of the byzantine and Orthodox Church and for private devotions and prayers at home. Icons became important parts of communal worship. One icon that was given by Justinian to the St Catherine Monastery was the "christ pantocrator" icon which shows as christ being a judge to all mankind.
Duccio, Maestà, 14th c., altarpiece for main cathedral, Siena, Italy
In 1260 the Sienese dedicated their city to the Virgin Mary. In 1308, after repelling Florence, as a pious act of thanks to the Virgin, whom the Sienese credited with helping them win, the city commissioned its most famous native artist, Duccio, to produce a very large altarpiece for the cathedral's main altar depicting the Virgin enthroned on one side, while on the other a series of scenes depicting Christ's life. Maesta represents a transformation in style and approach that is evident in Siena at the end of the 13th c. There is not just a greater emphasis on the relation between the Virgin and child but also an increased attention to placing her in a space that seems like an extension of our own. Her body seems to have a weight and mass, emphasized by the way in which the folds of her cloak hang from her knees. It is still very much a heavenly realm (and the Virgin is marked as more important because she is bigger than all the other figures), but there is more of a sense that this realm is not so far from ours. These are all elements of what we might call naturalism: i.e. painting in this style works to visually persuade you that represented images are as close as possible to what you might see and experience in life. This was an innovation that allowed laymen, who were often illiterate, to relate to the stories of the testament through contact with painted narratives. This type of visual art provokes a closer and more intimate relation between the viewer and the image than sculpture and stain glass. The new naturalism in painting then made that connection stronger, relating biblical narratives to daily life.
Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, Sacrifice of Isaac, early 15th c., bronze panels, Florence, Italy
In 1401 the Arte della Calimala (wool merchants guild) was charged with the task of overseeing the new doors for the East side of the Baptistry. They decided to hold a competition for the commission, which would publicize the project far and wide. The Baptistry was believed at the time to be the oldest building in Florence and to have been the site of a previous Roman temple dedicated to the god Mars. In the Middle Ages it was rededicated to the city s patron saint, St. John the Baptist, and became the communal font where all babies that had been born in the city were baptized. The competition fell between Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi who created there own panels displaying the sacrifice of Isaac. A wealthy new class of increasingly educated lay people (merchants and bankers) read Latin and became familiar with ancient, classical works of science, literature and philosophy. Emulating the ancients they admired, Florentines saw themselves as the inheritors of classical knowledge. One thing that they became aware of was that in ancient Greece and Rome, the visual arts were highly prized. Florentines became increasingly aware of ancient art, and sought to emulate its traditions and aesthetics. Ghiberti's figure was universally recognized and admired in Florence as a nude in the "classical manner."
Babuini, Missal of Petrus (de Raimbeaucourt), 14th c., manuscript, France
Margin illustrations do many things: they raise questions about the text and the veracity of the word; they point out the hubris of men assuming that they can copy the word of God; they reflect the increased interest in texts from antiquity, like those by Aristotle, or rather, in knowledge that was not directly received from God. We see evidence of disputes between scribes and artists Thus the monkeys make fun of the scribe in the Missal, one of them showing his rear to the scribe as if to say, "write this buddy." Camille points out that marginal illustrations represent the edge or line between the known and safe world, encompassed by the Christian community and local context, and the unknown world that lies beyond. Babuini or fatrasies demonstrate the fears and context of the unknown. This is why fantastic animals populate the edges of medieval maps. They document the idea of the world turned upside down, where everything is strange and unknown, only to be righted by the truth that is evident in the text itself. This is also the spirit behind carnival which precedes Lent. The vices, perversions and excesses of humans must be marked, acknowledged and lived, before they can be cleansed and purified.
relic
Meaning "left behind," relics have the power to attracts pilgrims and raise revenue. Relics were held in chapels like the one in Aachen that Charlemagne had which made kings gain political and religious capital when they acquired important relics and they benefitted economically from the cult of relics. Reliquaries made the preciousness of relics more visible to the ordinary eye. The relics power, holiness and distinctiveness was made more visible. Like the reliquary of Ste Foy.
Royal portal central tympanum with Christ in Glory and Old Testament King and Queen jamb figures, Cathedral of Chartres, Gothic, 12th c., France
One characteristic of these jamb figures is their elongated, columnar forms—they take the form of the architectural elements to which they are attached, underscoring the sense that they hold up the church and Christ himself. The drapery is beautifully detailed, and emphasizes the long, graceful forms. These are also elegant, courtly figures of kings and queens, reminiscent of the refined, medieval, Capetian court and its increasing celebration of courtly manners. Old Testament Kings and Queens were understood as royal ancestors of Christ, and on the jambs they provide literal support for the New Testament scenes that appear in the tympana above. In the central tympana, we see Christ s Second Coming, and he is enclosed in a familiar mandorla.
Plan and interior of St. Sernin, Romanesque, 12th c., Toulouse, France
Romanesque pilgrimage churches share certain features in their ground plans. To accommodate to pilgrims ground plans incorporated enlarged naves with wide side aisles that permitted circumambulation and radiating chapels off of an apse to house additional altars and relics. A characteristic of the Romanesque pilgrimage church is geometric regularity (the use of regular and uniform measures for each bay and vault). It has a large, smoothly rounded barrel vault that runs the length of the nave, with a series of bays marked by four large piers or columns and a series of rounded, Roman style arches. The upper gallery called a tribune (above the side aisles) allowed for additional crowds and circulation, and on the outside, windows to let in light. But for the most part, the interior is dark and appears as a rising wall of unbroken stone.
International Gothic Style
Term used by art historians to identify courtly style of painting associated with High Gothic art and originating in France. Characterized by: 1. slender, elegant, elongated and sinuous, s-curved forms and lines 2. Flattened pictorial space that nevertheless has 3-D architectural features and perspective 3. Heavy use of gold leaf and incised and relief gesso decoration, overall decorative patterns 4. Softened facial features, humanization of figures, but also lack of emotion Ex: Maesta by Duccio at the cathedral of Siena where it shows the more human like features in the figures and the human like connection between the Virgin and Christ. Also it shows a more realistic realm that people can relate to and it shows the Virgin and Christ having actual body mass compared to previous Byzantine icons.
Last Judgment, West Portal, Cathedral of St. Lazare, sculptural relief, Romanesque, 12th c., France
The West portal of a Romanesque church was very important because it served as the main entrance and was where pilgrims entered the cathedral. West portals were intended to send certain messages to the faithful who visited. For instance, scenes of the Last Judgment were particularly prevalent on West portals. Scenes of the Last Judgment served to warn the populace of the need to repent and do penance to escape the wrath of God: the consequences of sin were often spelled out in frightening detail in the scenes of Hell The Saved are on Christ s right (dexter): "Everyone whom no impious life has betrayed will rise thus, and light of day will shine for him without end." The damned on Christ s left (sinister): "May this terror terrify whomever earthly error binds, for the horror of the figures here shows that it will come true" Pilgrims with bags and cockle shells (cockle shells symbolized pilgrimage to Santiago da Compostela and were worn by pilgrims) Theres an inscription: Gislebertus made this.
Chi Rho page, Book of Kells, 9th c., manuscript, Ireland
The most striking example of Insular manuscript illumination was produced in Ireland at the monastery at Iona established by Saint Columba. it was referred to as the chief relic of the Western world. The delicacy and lavishness of its illuminations gives us a sense of why it was so famous, and also how illumination in the Hiberno-Saxon context was conceived of as a means to add preciousness and value to the texts. While there is gold on the pages, the real value is in the infinite variety and intricacy of the images. This page marks the beginning (Incipit) of verse 18 in the book of Matthew. The first 17 verses of Matthew's Gospel recount Christ's human lineage going back to Abraham, and then verse 18 begins with Christ's birth. This links the old and new testaments.. What we see here is a historiated initial that is a monogram for Christ: the Greek letters, chi (X), and rho (P) are the first letters of Christ s name. The historiated initial, of the type we see here on the Chi-Rho page, is intended to make visible the power of the words in the Gospels. The moths that flutter at the edge of the Chi may represent the caterpillar s transition from a chrysalis, symbolic of the metamorphosis the soul undergoes when it recognizes the word of God. The cat tending kittens echoes the idea of the good shepherd. The heads of angels indicate the otherworldly character of the initials. But these detailsalso cause the eye to stray and to look for delight at the marginal areas of the illumination.
cult of the Virgin
The rise of the cult of the Virgin in the 12th century humanized her in new ways, making her seem more approachable. Her human qualities were celebrated in Medieval poetry. Likewise, painting followed suit, emphasizing her maternal qualities rather than her regal character as Queen of heaven. This shift called for a style that made her seem more approachable in images. Ex: Maesta, Duccio altar piece in the cathedral of Siena. Here the Virgin is displayed with more naturalistic features that the artist derived from France known as international gothic style. This brings a strong emphasis of the connection from the Virgin to Christ. Christ's feature are more of baby rather than a miniature man. The idea of naturalism brings more of an emphatic view on the image and the Virgin still appears heavenly as she is the biggest figure compared to the rest.
Saint Chapelle (upper chapel), Gothic, commissioned by Louis IX, 13th c., Paris, France
The upper chapel is an example of a late Gothic style called Rayonnant, a word that means radiant, but in the context of architecture, also refers to a preference for overall decorative detail and for even more windows and less sense of visible support. Earlier windows relied on stone tracery supports. Rose windows, for instance, were like large stone reliefs, with areas removed for the insertion of stain glass. This is called plate tracery. New technologies emerged in which windows were worked out in bar tracery, using metal separators that allowed lighter, and more extensive glass. This is what is used in St. Chapelle's upper level and it accounts for why the chapel appears to have walls of glass. The buttressing outside is invisible, and the walls rise to the groin vault in uninterrupted elevations—there are no aisles, no triforium—just one long, continuous clerestory that almost goes from floor to ceiling.
reliquary
They make the preciousness of relics visible to the ordinary (not divine) eye. Reliquaries were intended to represent or make visible the relic s power, holiness, distinctiveness and preciousness. ex: Reliquary of St foi, she is embodied with gold and is covered in precious stones. People stop at the monastery on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela to pray to the relic and the pilgrims believed that she was answering their prayers.
Ornamental carpet page, Lindisfarne Gospel, 8th c, manuscript, England
They resemble nothing so much as a rich, Persian carpet. They are not initial pages, or miniatures tied to the text, but seem to me mostly additions. They may, in fact, derive from Coptic (Christian Egyptian) and Arabic prayer mats. The idea of the prayer mat gives the proper attitude for prayer and in the Lindisfarne gospel the carpet page plays a similar role, preparing the reader for the Gospel message that follows. The strong cross form is outlined against a rich pattern of interlace made up of zoomorphic shapes: animals appear to double back on themselves and each other, twisted into repeated circles and figure eights. We see bits of wings and jaws and eyes, amidst repeated patterns of interwoven s-curves. The colors are deep and saturated, and are carefully balanced to achieve distinct color fields across the animal interlace. The patterns are mesmerizing, and keep the eye in constant motion, but it also emphasizes regularity and symmetry, reinforced by the shape of the cross.
Icon of Christ Pantocrator, St. Catherine's monastery, 6th c., Byzantine Era, Sinai
This icon depicts christ as a judge of mankind, staring out at the viewer with his right hand raised signifying teaching/benediction. In this image he appears as a bishop or priest trying the image to liturgical functions occurring in the church. His eyes appear to be widened with the addition of a strange muscular under lid that seems to create a hypnotic visual bond with the submissive viewer. This image was seen as acheiropoietic image that was not created by human hands. The main issue with this image was the relationship between Christ's humanity and his divinity due to his face showing two natures. Cormack points out that the image derived from roman imperial and religious imagery drawn from the greek god Zeus and on the presentation of a Roman emperor.
Justinian and Theodora and Christ Enthroned, mosaic, 6th c., Ravenna
This mosaic represents the ritual procession of Emperor Justinian carrying bread and Empress Theodora carrying wine toward the altar for the celebration of the eucharist. Justinian is accompanied by clergy, soldiers, and official that represent his 3 branches of power under his rule. Justinian and the 3 branches would proceed to the altar but the Empress stayed behind the iconostasis due to the altar being only accessible to priests and kings. This shows the hierarchical structure that christianity was forming into. Also the soldier in the mosaic holds a shield that says "Chi-Rho-Iota," a monogram of Christ which represents Justinian's army as the of Christ. Justinian never visited Ravenna, so the mosaics stand in for him and Theodora.
Louis IX and Blanche of Castille venerating the Crown of Thorns, Saint Chapelle, stained glass, Gothic, commissioned by Louis IX, 13th c., Paris, France
Throughout St. Chapelle, the stain glass windows emphasize this idea of French kingship as religious and political. This is accomplished through a visual alliance drawn between the French crown, the crown of thorns (represented by both the relic and the windows that show Christ Crowned with the crown of thorns), and multiple scenes of Old Testament Kings being crowned. Royal or Relic Window, shows Louis IX and his wife, Blanche of Castille, venerating the Crown of Thorns relic.
furta sacra
a common act known as holy theft. the reliquary of Ste Foy had her bones stolen by the monks at Conques (France) from a nearby abbey. The thieves justified the act that it was something that the main requested in visions or dreams.
republican city state
a government based on the idea of a commune that was distinct from older feudal system of liege lords in which local nobility controlled towns and countryside. They also emphasized the importance of civic art patronage. ex: Siena was a commune—that is, its government was organized by its citizens who agreed to defend it and to abide by the laws they themselves set. It was ran by the council of Nine who had the Palazzo Pubblico as their townhall. Outside the town hall are 9 pie shaped slices that represent the council of nine and the layout of the plaza brings a sense of community.
tyranny
a government where a ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way. This can be shown in Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good and Bad Government where the side that shows the effects of bad government (tyranny) on the left side wall in the room where the council of Nine would hold their meetings. In the picture around tyrant there are cardinal sins and vices that fall under the tyranny. And on the side the effects of this government is shown in the streets where there violence and destruction.
Chi Rho
a historiated initial that is a monogram for Christ: the Greek letters, chi (X), and rho (P) are the first letters of Christ s name. ex: The chi rho page in the Book of Kells
altarpiece
a panel, painted or sculpted, situated above and behind an altar. ex: The Maesta by Duccio for the cathedral of Siena. It gave rise to the cult of the virgin because of Duccio's art style being the International Gothic style that was derived from France. This type of style was called naturalism and it gave more of an empathetic connection between the Virgin and the baby like christ as well as the viewer. Also the art piece still had a heavenly connection as the Virgin appears to be a bigger figure than the rest as well as having a good representation of body mass due to the artistic style.
Byzantine Empire
a partially reunited empire by the first Roman Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. There he established Christianity as the only legal religion and emphasized that the emperor was the chief spiritual leader of the christian church. He combined the powers of secular and religious rule and making the empire into a theocratic state. The emperor ruled three branches the army, the civil services and the church. Justinian exerted his power by taking full control of the church and suppressed all heresies. Trying to reunite the East and the West empire, Justinian reconquered Ravenna and established the code of Civil law that became a foundation for modern European nations.
Rayonnant architecture
a type of architecture that means radiant and refers to the overall decorative detail and for even more windows and less sense of visible support. Earlier windows relied on stone tracery supports. Rose windows, for instance, were like large stone reliefs, with areas removed for the insertion of stain glass. This can be seen in Saint Chapelle as it gave more light into the church reflecting the light of christ.
barrel vault
a vault forming a half cylinder that was a form of a romanesque style. Romanesque builders borrowed brick construction from ancient Roman Buildings . The monastery of Ste Foy was a large stone structure with a vaulted interior that Is two stories high and rounded, roman style arches are built in Romanesque style.
lost wax bronze
a wax model is made and then covered in clay or plaster-- the wax is then melted out when bronze is poured in, leaving a cast of the mold in bronze. ex:East Doors of Baptistry, 1401-2, Sacrifice of Isaac Panels, Lorenzo Ghiberti s Panel. Emulating the ancients they admired, Florentines saw themselves as the inheritors of classical knowledge. One thing that they became aware of was that in ancient Greece and Rome, the visual arts were highly prized. Florentines became increasingly aware of ancient art, and sought to emulate its traditions and aesthetics. Ghiberti's figure was universally recognized and admired in Florence as a nude in the "classical manner."
historiated initial
an enlarged letter at the beginning of a paragraph or other section of text, that contains a picture. The historiated initials vary in size, relative to the text, depending on which psalm they illustrate. The different sized illuminations mark the differences in the text and show the reader which parts are more important. ex: Illustrated in The Bedford Book of Hours and Psalter, a 15th c. manuscript produced in France by Herman which reflected the strict hierarchical organization of medieval society, the sense that everyone and everything belonged in a specific place along a laddered continuum that began at the lowest and least important point (animals, peasants) and then rose to the highest (rulers, God). This kind of strict ordering was an integral part of the Medieval world view and permeated all aspects of life.
acheiropoietic
an image that is not made by human hands and "miraculously appears like the Shroud of Turin that has the facial imprint of Christ because it was used to cover his dead body. An acheiropoietic icon would be the Ch
iconoclasm
defined as the destruction or ban of images and in the 8th century of the Byzantine empire Emperor Leo II banned icons in churches in 730. Soon iconoclasm became an official policy of the church until 843 when the council of Nicaea reinstated icon in 787 and the church was able to declare that attack on icon was a form of heresy. The triumph of orthodoxy is an example because it depicts the defeat of iconoclasm in 843 even if the image was made in 1400. It shows that icons were central to the eastern churches dogma and it shows that by having the image of the Virgin Hodegetria that was painted by St Luke in the top center of the image, The image itself is supposed to be intended to be read as older work in response to the defeat of iconoclasm.
mendicant orders
from the Latin "mendicare", meaning to beg, they are religious orders which depend directly on charity for their livelihood. It's founded on the understanding that their members would beg for alms, rather than rely on investments from land and businesses, as had the older, medieval monastic orders. The theory was that this freed them from the corruption incited by worldly concerns and possessions and made them emulate Christ more directly. ex:???
apse
hemispherical domed or vaulted space at the end of a long hall, adapted to church architecture for altars. this began in the 4th century in Rome as Roman temples weren't what Christians turned to and they weren't readily adaptable to ritual needs.
marginalia
illuminations within the margins of a manuscript. ex: Babuini Manuscript where the monkey show evidence of the dispute between the scribe and artists. Human errors became more evident from the 8th century to the 14th century. As the number of manuscripts multiplies, the miscopying, corruption, and appropriation of texts also becomes more evident. Thus the monkeys make fun of the scribe in the Missal, one of them showing his rear to the scribe as if to say, "write this buddy."
nave
main body or hall of church that serves as an approach to the altar where it was usually placed at the eastern end of church. This space was designed for larger crowds and it was an attractive feature of the Christian temple that required space to celebrate the Eucharist. This can be shown in old St Peter on the Plan of the Old Basilica in the 4th century.
contact relic
objects that have touch the live/dead scared body such as sandals or shrouds.
tympanum
semi-circular space above doorway. The West portal of a Romanesque church was very important because it served as the main entrance and was where pilgrims entered the cathedral. West portals were intended to send certain messages to the faithful who visited. For instance, the tympanum scenes of the Last Judgment were particularly prevalent on West portals. Last Judgment served to warn the populace of the need to repent and do penance to escape the wrath of God: the consequences of sin were often spelled out in frightening detail in the scenes of Hell.
illumination
term used by art historians to denote the specific properties of paintings in books. The word comes from the Latin "illuminare" meaning to adorn or brighten. ex: The Vatican Virgil, c. 400-420, is a late Roman, illustrated manuscript (codex form) made for a member of the Roman patriciate. This illustration is an "author portrait" depicting the Roman poet, Virgil. The author portrait would be adopted as a common feature of early Christian texts.
basilica/latin-cross/longitudinal plan
the basilica was a Roman architectural space with a long hall, barrel vaults and apses at both ends—and was a civic building with no religious associations, adapted for Christian worship because it had no taint of Roman/pagan worship—the space was designed for large crowds, an attractive feature for the new model of Christian temple that required space to celebrate the Eucharist
Triumph of Orthodoxy (Hodgetria Icon), 15th c., Byzantine Era, painting on wood, Constantinople
the earliest known image that was intended to persuade the viewer that the decision in 843 was correct and to argue that celebrations of icons were central to the Eastern church's dogma. In this image, Empress Theodora (regent to her infant son Michael in 843) is to the left, and the patriarch of the church, Methodios, is to the right. Two small icons appear in the painting. One is a miraculous image of the Virgin Hodegetria (Greek for "she who shows the way") up top, painted reputedly by St. Luke. The other, held by St. Theodosia, is an icon of Christ that she tried to save during an iconoclasm. Although made in 1400, the style intentionally recalls much earlier icons and it is intended to be read as a much older work.
sacred kingship
the medieval political theory according to which a king or an emperor was believed to hold his power from God and to be God's representative on earth, making him an important counterforce to the Church. This was made into an institution in which civil and religious authority are invested into the same person. The Hagia Sophia is a good example as under Justinian rule it got burned down in rebellion but was then rebuilt to reassert his authority as well as providing a framework for redefining sacred kingship.
Reliquary of St. Foi, Cathedral at Conques, 10th c., France
the reliquary of St. Foi which contains the relics of a young girl who was an early Christian martyr. Her bones were actually stolen by the monks at Conques (in France) from a nearby abbey. This was not an uncommon act--it was called a furta sacra (Holy theft) and was justified by the thieves as something that the saint requested in visions or dreams. The skull forms the base relic, and is encased in a former Roman Parade helmet, enrobed in gold, set with precious stones and crystals. The saint is shown wearing a martyr s crown and on the back of the throne is an image of the Crucifixion engraved on crystal. Writing in 1010, Bernard of Angers said about the pilgrimage to see St. Foi:"The crowd of people prostrating themselves on the ground was so dense it was impossible to kneel down... When they saw it for the first time, all in gold and sparkling with precious stones and looking like a human face, the majority of the peasants thought that the statue was really looking at them and answering their prayers with her eyes. "
Catacomb
a form of early christian art that originated from the late 2nd century that were subterranean galleries used as cemeteries outside the city walls of Rome. An example of this would be Catacomb of Callisto where theres an image of loaves and fish that refers to the sacrament of the last supper. The last supper was an event near the end of Christ's life and he told his apostles to eat the bread and wine as if it was his own body and blood.
tertiary relic
Things that came in come in contact with the relic such as dirt and oil.
