Chapt 15 Christianity & The Formation of Europe

Sainte-Foy, Conques, Auvergne, France. c. 1050-1120.

This is the earliest Romanesque church still standing.

Interior, Palace Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen. 792-805.

This opened a new chapter in European history: the political ruler had the blessings of the Church of Rome. C. Built a Palace Chapel at Aachen, modeled after San Vitale, but also using Roman arches.

The High Middle Ages:

This was a period preoccupied with religion: many great cathedrals were built, and most of the artistic legacy was religious. (Two Main Periods Romanesque & Gothic)

illuminate

To put light in or on something, to accent it

Necropolis

Vault of an underground burial chamber (city of the dead).

Charlemagne (Charles the Great).

Was crowned "Holy Roman Emperor" by the Pope in 800.

year 1

What year was Jesus Christ Born?

rose window

a circular window with stained glass and stone tracery used on the facades and the ends of the transepts in Gothic cathedrals

Basilica:

a multi-purpose meeting hall, a long, rectangular hall, with entrances on both sides or at the ends.

Suger, a powerful French abbot, wanted to remodel the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, near Paris, along these lines:

a. It should reach up to heaven b. It should have harmonious proportions c. It should be filled with light In response, his architect gave him: a. Pointed arches b. Ribbed vaulting c. Flying buttresses d. Huge stained glass windows

jamb statues

at West Portal, Charles Cathedral, 1145-1170 CE; figures from the Hebrew Bible considered to be precursors of Christ; fully rounded and occupy a space in front of the column itself; mark a distinct advance in the sculptural realization of the human body; most fully human, most natural since Roman times;

rose window

at the center of the rose window is Mary the mother of Jesus depicted as the Queen of Heaven. Radiating out from her are windows portraying doves and angels, biblical kings, symbols of French royalty, and prophets the diameter is 42 feet

Old St. Peter's

early christian

Bayeux Tapestry

it records A tapestry that recounts the battle of hastings, A piece of linen about 1 Ft.8 in. Wide by 213 ft.long covered with embroidery representing the incidents of Willam the conqueror's expedition to England.

Bayeux Tapestry

it was made by embroidery--a technique of needlework in which designs or figures are stitched into a textile ground which colored thread or yarn size--20 inches high and 231 feet long and contains 72 episodes reading from left to right

interlace

lacing together; intermixed

Charlemagne

"Charles the Great" leader of the Franks (France); unified most of the Christian lands of Europe with the help of Pope Leo III who crowned him "Holy Roman Emperor" 800 c.e.

Constantine

(274 CE - 337 CE) Roman Emperor between 306 CE and 337 CE. He issued the Edict of Milan which outlawed the persecution of Christians. He also founded the city of Constantinople, the future capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Plan of a Roman basilica (Reconstruction of Old St. Peter's,Rome. Begun c. 320)

1. Nave: the open center space, which extends up the highest, admitting light. 2. Aisles: the shorter areas surrounding the nave. 3. Apse: a curved section at one or both ends. 4. Entrances (along the sides) 5. Clerestory: the upper extension of the nave, with lots of windows (clerestory windows).

Icon:

A picture of a sacred subject painted on a wooden panel.

narthex

A porch or vestibule of a church, generally colonnaded or arcaded and preceding the nave

apse

A recess, usually semicircular, in the wall of a Roman basilica or at the east end of a church.

Byzantine emphasis was on the "there" not the "here":

Abstract, other-worldly, not realistic, or everyday. Images were progressively more stylized, flattened, golden.

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres, France. Begun in 1134. Completed in 1260. Statues out side. 126 years

Christ as the Sun, detail of a mosaic under St. Peter's necropolis, Rome. Mid-3rd cent.

Christ is portrayed as a sun-god (like Apollo) with grape leaves - Christ was the true vine- but grape leaves were also Roman symbols of fertility & wine.

Saint Faith also AKA Sainte Foy

Church of St. Foy (faith)

Reliquary statue of Sainte Foy. Late 10th - early 11th c Gold and gemstones over a wooden core.

Contains relics of St. Foy herself - pilgrims would have come to pay homage to her.

San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy. C. 527-47

Does not use the standard cross plan, but has a central plan, octagonally shaped, & with a central dome. It is fairly plain on the outside, but...

tapestry

Embroidery in wool-thread and usually tells a story of historical events. Used by most early periods to accessorize their homes.

lamentation

Expression of regret or sorrow a cry of sorrow and grief

Palace Chapel of Charlemagne

Germany 792-805 CE. Charlemagne's private place of worship, church for his imperial court, place for relics and after his death the imperial mausoleum. included an upper story throne room.octoganal in shape

The lamentation

Giotto... Image where jesus is being held by mary with bright angels and lots of emotion and illumination

Giotto,The Lamentation. Fresco.1305-1306.

Giotto: breaking with tradition. 1.)Showed depth of space going back from the picture plane, like looking out a window (not flat); 2.) Figures showed natural, human reactions.

Empress Theodora and Retinue, detail. c. 547. Mosaic. San Vitale, Ravenna.

Glittering mosaic from the interior of San Vitale, portraying the rulers.

Dedicated to Mary, the Rose Window and lancets, Chartres Cathedral, France, 13th century.

Gothic Feature: Light: Huge stained glass windows Chartres had over 150 of these windows. Gem-like colors represent a medieval vision of heavenly splendor.

Aerial View of Sainte-Foy, Conques, Auvergne, France. c. 1050-1120.

Part of a building boom: there were a variety of churches, but they shared common features: thick stone walls, round arches, barrel- vaulted stone ceilings.

Saints Theodore

Sculptures of Saints Theodore, Stephen, Clement, and Lawrence decorate the south entrance doorway of the cathedral. The figures are more naturalistic than earlier jamb statures. They are physically breaking free of the columns and appear to come to life. They are also individualized and humanistic.

Mosaic depicting Christ as Pantokrator. Santa Maria la Nuova, Monreale, Sicily. Before 1183

The Byzantine Christ is shown as more majestic and awe-inspiring than he is portrayed in images in western Europe.

Sutton Hoo

of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries of the 6th century and early 7th century, one of which contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of artifacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance. Located near the Deben River in southeastern England, Sutton Hoo is the site of a ship burial that was unearthed by archaeologists beginning in 1939. The ship, which was 89 feet in length, had rotted away, but it left a well-preserved imprint. The body was not found—recent analysis suggests it too had rotted away—but a vast collection of Anglo-Saxon weapons, jewelry, and household items was recovered, most of it in perfect shape, thus making it the most significant Middle-Ages treasure horde ever found in Europe.

Byzantium

They made Christianity the state religion, combining the riches of the earthly kingdom with the images of a heavenly kingdom, & producing magnificent art.

Chartres Cathedral, France. 1134-1260.

This Gothic style, created by an unknown architect, immediately caught on and was imitated: ornate, linear, vertical elements that direct the eye upward.

clerestory

part of an interior wall rising above the adjacent roof with windows admitting light

Sainte Foy

she was a young girl who was put supposed to put to death for refusing to worship pagan gods in the 3rd century ad.

animal style

style of decoration featuring symmetrical design, interlaced organic and geometric shapes, and animal motifs

San Vitale, Revenna

this is the Hagia Sophia, a Byzantium masterpiece; two mathematicians, Atheneums of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus designed the Hagia Sophia; it is decorated on the inside to represent the heavens in the gold does and the earth at the floor; it is thus a vertical transition from earth to heaven.

nave

to admit light, the open center space

Christians Persecuted

were seen as accomplices of JC, refused to obey emperor and spoke out against him

Romanesque Period:

1050 to 1200, based on southern styles from the old Roman Empire.

Gothic Period:

1200 to 1400, based on northern style of the Goths, the invaders. Later called "barbarian" & "vulgar" by Renaissance people.

Gothic Period:

1200 to 1400, based on northern style of the Goths, the invaders. Was later called "barbarian" & "vulgar" by Renaissance people.

Chartres Cathedral

A Cathedral located in Chartres, 50 miles southwest of Paris, and is considered one of the finest examples in all of France of the Gothic style of architecture, Began in 1134 and Rebuilt in 1194. Chartres, France. Contains the Mantel of the Virgin Mary- worn by Mary when she gave birth. One tower is from the original church and the other was rebuilt after a devastating fire.

reliquary

A container where religious relics are stored or displayed (especially relics of saints)

mosaic

Art consisting of a design made of small pieces of colored stone or glass

Pantokrator

Greek, "ruler of all." Christ as ruler and judge of heaven and earth.

Emperor Constantine

In 313, issued an edict of tolerance for all religions, & he himself became Christian. Many magnificent churches were built under his sponsorship.

Constantine the Great, 325-326 C.E. Marble. Head Ht: 8'6"

In 324, Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople, Byzantium (today known as Istanbul, Turkey). He left behind a 30'H statue of himself as a reminder! Only the huge stylized head remains.

Icon with the Crucifixion. Byzantine, c

Mary & John the Baptist are present. All figures are stylized, portray ideas, not events. It is framed by saints, angels, and important men & women of the early Church.

Saints Theodore, Stephen, Clement, & Lawrence, Chartres Cathedral, France, 13th century.

More in the Gothic Style: more fully rounded, not so much blended into the columns.

Temples were built to house the gods, & for priests to perform rites:

Most common people were not allowed to enter.

Flamboyant (flame-like), or French style.

Only parts of the church, the façade and the shorter, chunkier spire, remained after a fire in 1194. Chartres Cathedral, France. 1134-1260.

Door jamb statues, west façade, Chartres Cathedral, France, c. 1145-70

The Welcoming Committee The exterior of the Chartres Cathedral has over 2,000 sculptures. They serve as a bridge between the everyday life and the spiritual life within. They were created at different times, in different styles. These were still in stylized, stiff, Romanesque style.

Duccio, Christ Entering Jerusalem, Detail of Maesta Altar. 1308-11. Tempera on panel

The artist Duccio's landmark painting: 1.) Tried to create a believable outdoor space. 2.) Used architecture to define space, rather than just as a backdrop.

transept

The part of a church with an axis that crosses the nave at a right angle.

Middle Ages

The period between the fall of the last Roman emperor in 476 & the beginnings of the Renaissance in the 15th century The Germanic peoples were known as "barbarians" (meaning foreigners). Nomads, they were considered crude and uncultured.

aisles

The portion of a basilica flanking the nave and separated from it by a row of columns or piers