The Middle Ages, contrary to its name, was a dynamic period of innovations. Throughout this period, visual arts were employed to communicate important messages to the public as well as private wealthy patrons. A variety of mediums were used to disseminate ideas. Though, the sense of decorum shifted, the purpose of these moralizing images of religious figures remained the same. Art was, as it still is an extremely useful and powerful tool for both religious and political advancements. The two pieces to be considered in this paper were created using scenes from the life of Christ. Themes from the old and new testaments were frequently used in art of the Middle Ages to convey important messages to a largely illiterate populous, display the wealth of few individuals, and create feelings of patriotism and support for the Monarch by relating them to divinity. Both pieces are from different mediums and likely different forms of patronage. To be analyzed in this paper is an illuminated manuscript page (fig 1) and an ivory diptych (fig 2). There are several similarities, as well as differences throughout the works. I will describe each piece then continue to compare and contrast them, this will work to facilitate a greater understanding of the Middle Ages through works of art.
The illuminated manuscript page (fig 1) was a popular art form throughout the Middle Ages. Illuminated manuscripts, ornamented manuscript pages executed on an animal skin called vellum , were popular throughout the Middle Ages. A majority of these colorful pages that survive were produced during the Romanesque era, on request of the clergymen and emperors. Done on vellum, an animal skin with ink. Charlemagne, arguably the most important emperor of the Carolingian dy...
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...eated in different eras, style as well as well as mediums they still possess many similarities. This is a testimony to the complex communications that occurred in the Middle Ages between all forms of creation.
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1. J.A Herbert, Illuminated Manuscripts (New York: B. Franklin, 1969),
2. Heinrich Fichtenau, The Carolingian Empire (Oxford: Blackwell, 1957), 82
3. “Carolingian Art”, accessed March 5, 2011, http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/carolingian-art.htm.
4. Consular Diptychs and Christian Ivories,”The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 13 (1918): 8, accessed Februaru 3, 2011
5. Georg Swarzenski, “The Gothic ivory diptych,” Bulletin of the Fogg Art Museum 10 (1947)
6. Peter Barnet and Nancy Wu, The Cloisters, Medieval Art and Architecture (New York: The Metropolitain Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005
The Medieval West was an era of country folk and rural communities. During this era, agriculture was a means of survival and people lived in rural communities known as villages (Duby 167). In his article, Rural Economy and Country Folk in the Medieval West, Georges Duby recounts the daily lives of those who lived in the Medieval West during this time period. Those who lived in this time did not live an easy life. There existed many struggles within the communities. Many complications arose that were not present in say, the Roman Empire. According to Paul Veyne’s, Pleasures and Excesses in the Roman Empire, the Medieval West palled in comparison. In my own humble opinion, I would choose to live in Veyne’s description of the Roman empire as opposed
By most accounts, the year 1500 was in the midst of the height of the Italian Renaissance. In that year, Flemmish artist Jean Hey, known as the “Master of Moulins,” painted “The Annunciation” to adorn a section of an alter piece for his royal French patrons. The painting tells the story of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary to deliver the news that she will give birth to the son of God. As the story goes, Mary, an unwed woman, was initially terrified about the prospects of pregnancy, but eventually accepts her fate as God’s servant. “The Annunciation” is an oil painting on a modest canvas, three feet tall and half as wide. The setting of the painting is a study, Mary sitting at a desk in the bottom right hand corner reading, and the angel Gabriel behind her holding a golden scepter, perhaps floating and slightly off the canvas’s center to the left. Both figures are making distinct hand gestures, and a single white dove, in a glowing sphere of gold, floats directly above Mary’s head. The rest of the study is artistic but uncluttered: a tiled floor, a bed with red sheets, and Italian-style architecture. “The Annunciation” was painted at a momentous time, at what is now considered the end of the Early Renaissance (the majority of the 15th Century) and the beginning of the High Renaissance (roughly, 1495 – 1520). Because of its appropriate placement in the Renaissance’s timeline and its distinctly High Renaissance characteristics, Jean Hey’s “Annunciation” represents the culmination of the transition from the trial-and-error process of the Early Renaissance, to the technical perfection that embodied the High Renaissance. Specifically, “Annunciation” demonstrates technical advancements in the portrayal of the huma...
The other articles found in the same situation consists of personal ornaments, the chief of which are two circular enamels upon copper 1 3/4 diameter, in narrow silver frames, and a third, which was so far decomposed as to be irrecoverable; they are enamelled with a yellow interlaced dracontine pattern, intermingled with that peculiar scroll design, visible on the same class of ornaments that figured in Vestiges p.25, and used in several manuscripts of the VIIth Century, for the purpose of decorating the initial letters. The principle of this design consists of three spiral lines springing from a common centre, and each involution forming an additional centre for an extension of the pattern, which may be adapted to fill spaces of almost any form.
Art was viewed in a different sense in the fourteenth century. It had a more active role and was not just decoration, but a vital component of worship and pr...
5. Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. From the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. N.p.: Longman, 1992. Print.
As I walked into the first gallery, I saw a wood sculpture that stood in the center of the room. This carving depicted “the crucified Christ, flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist with Angels holding instruments of the Passion”. It was painted oak and very appealing to the eye. It stood approximately 15 feet in the air. The origin of this sculpture is unknown, but it was found in a Belgium church. This kind of sculpture usually stood at the entrance or at the center of the alter in the church facing the congregation. This image of the suffering Christ relates to the Christian ideas of suffering and Christ’s salvation of all mankind.
All art is propaganda. Art is meant to sway a person, make them feel something. Art can also be used to elaborate on policy or push an agenda. The painting King Edward and the Pope accomplishes all of these and more. There are so many layers to the painting that I can hardly do justice to it all, but I shall try. I plan to do this by examining several key aspects of the painting and their significance. I will begin by looking at the roles of the titular figures and what the painting says about them. From there, I will examine the peoples surrounding these figures. Then, I will discuss what this painting has to say about common people during this era. Then, I will move into discussing some of the more prominent symbolism present
As time passes, society changes from period to period. New cultures and beliefs began to rise as throughout human history, and from time to time, people have changed their beliefs and the way we look at problems that arise in everyday life. In the comparison of the Middle Ages and today's world, there are issues such as economics, gender issues, and also medical issues have differed in their own ways. In this essay we will discuss the way these ideas have changed from the Middle Ages to today’s world.
As the seventeenth century began the Catholic Church was having a hard time bringing back the people who were swept away by the protestant reformation. The conflict between the protestant had a big influence on art. (Baroque Art) The church decided to appeal to the human emotion and feeling. They did so by introducing a style called Baroque. Baroque was first developed in Rome and it was dedicated to furthering the aims of Counter Reformation. Baroque was first used in Italy than later spread to the north. In this paper I will argue that the Italian Baroque pieces were more detailed and captured the personality of the figure, in contrast and comparison to Northern Baroque pieces that aimed to produce a sense of excitement and to move viewers in an emotional sense leaving them in awe. I will prove this by talking about the different artwork and pieces of Italian Baroque art versus Northern Baroque Art.
Kleiner, Fred, Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History, Fourteenth Edition The Middle Ages, Book B (Boston: Wadsworth, 2013), 348.
Although the Middle Ages were defined as the Dark Ages, the “dark” side of that era did not apply to fabrics. Clothing of the Middle Ages consisted of mostly bright colors that varied depending on class ranking. A variety of different colors and shades could be made through natural processes. V...
By its very nature, religious art aims to forge some kind of connection between the human viewer and the holy. Specific imagery in artwork can provide a concrete, readable representation of outside concepts that are otherwise too broad and complex to express literally. This enables religious stories, dogma, and ritual to be conveyed in a way that, once identified in the image, imparts the desired connection to the religion in the viewer. Religious art standardizes these images so that they apply to the entire canon of work, and so work using similar icons can have be understood as having comparable
The shift between the Middle Ages and Renaissance was documented in art for future generations. It is because of the changes in art during this time that art historians today understand the historical placement and the socio-economic, political, and religious changes of the time. Art is a visual interpretation of one’s beliefs and way of life; it is through the art from these periods that we today understand exactly what was taking place and why it was happening. These shifts did not happen overnight, but instead changed gradually though years and years of art, and it is through them that we have record of some of the most important changes of historic times.
The paintings of the Celto-Germanic period, similar the metal work, involve many intricate spiral designs, interlaced with different shapes and animal figures. “They were colored with gum, glue or gelatin binders that were used on parchment” (Cleaver151). Used to illuminate scriptures, the paintings often depicted religious themes. Celto-Germanic architecture made extensive use of wood. Between 750 and 987 A.D. the Celto-Germanic style went through some changes and new styles evolved in different geographic locations. It was during this time the second period of medieval art began.
Art is important to religion in many different ways. Perhaps none has analyzed how art and religion have influenced and affected each other through the ages. Pictures painted of past events that help to bring back the feeling and importance of the past have been forgotten by some. To the one’s that haven’t forgotten are able to see the event’s as the bible says they happened. Not only can you see the events, but it also allows the younger students of the church to understand the events. The use of images of God became widespread after the second century. This religious art has defiantly been around for centuries and plays an important role to the history of religion as well as the future.