Medieval Art Study Guide

8/14/2019 Medieval Art Study Guide

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Canterbury cathedral, shrine to St. ThomasBecket, Becket reliquaries depict his murderat the altar, building chronology: NW tower,early 19th c. / SW tower, early 15th c. /

Nave, ca. 1378- ca. 1405Crossing tower, c. 1433-1503 / Western transepts, 15thc. /Liturgical choir, remodeled 1174/1175-1177 /Eastern transepts, remodeled 1177-1179 / TrinityChapel 1179-1184 / Corona chapel (ca. 1180), firstGothic cathedral in England, has two transepts, inside

has simple columns, built on Romanesque foundation andthen extended, six part rib vaults, stained glass in clerestoryhas the genealogy of Christ, glass in

Trinity chapel has scenes of Becket

miracles

Notre Dame in Paris, begun in1163, five aisled, transeptdoesnt stick out, interior is108 floor to ceiling, has flyingbuttresses, simple columns, sixpart vaults, has a gallery, three

bays were restored and have afour part elevation, extra elevation is roundwindows called occuli (in thepicture upper left), faade hasgallery of OT kings (possiblyfirst cathedral to do so), righttympanum has virgin andchild enthroned surrounded by

a scribe, a bishop, angels, and a king(below left), underneath

tympanum on the lentel arescenes from the life ofMary, carved very early inthe building process anddidnt fit by the time it wasput in, left doorway tympanum(bottom right)


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depicts different stages of the Assumption, at the top Marybeing crowned next to Christ, middle Mary being laid to rest

or being lifted into heaven, at thevery bottom are OT people (maybe

prophets?) on the left and kings onthe right, both are holding scrollswhich signify OT

Chartres Cathedral (France 12th and13th centuries), claimed to havepart of the veil of Mary, westfaade is a mix of 12th and 13th ,stained glass is 12th century, rebuilt

cathedral after a fire in 1194, rosewindow 13th century, most of the

cathedral is 13th century, flying buttressesare over built, three aisled, doubleambulatory, most of building constructedaround 1200-1225, basic three storyelevation: ground level, triforium,clerestory, allvaulting is four part,

south entry centerdoor has last

judgmenttympanum, northside center door hasstages of theAssumption/death ofMary: bottom left isthe death, bottom

right is the angels at thetomb, tympanum is Mary in heaven with Christ,both doors are about interface between heavenand earth, basic iconography at both entrances,column statues begin to interact, look more real,not necessarily OTNorthern Rose Window is probably 30 ft. across,


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has vertical windowsunderneath, complicatedensemble of glass,themes: royalty,

celebration of Mary. Lotsof OT figures, fleur-de-lis and heraldry imagery(one of the earliest examples of heraldry in art),representations of good kings and bad kings,possibly to warn the rulers of France and givethem examples (see handout for break down ofeach window)

Bourges Cathedral, started around 1195, five aisled plan,

streamlined, double ambulatory with chapels, no realtransept, five aisles are at different heights, outermostshortest, middle aisles are medium, and the central is thetallest, ground level, triforium, clerestory, triforium,clerestory, referred to as a five story elevation, flyingbuttresses are lighter than at Chartres

Ingeborg Psalter

(France c.1200), veryhistorical book,,luxury bookmade especiallyfor a lay person,

Jesse Tree,Pentecost, Last

Judgment pages style: emphasis on light,modeling, realism of figures, linear attention tomodeling of the body, very strong colors, blueemphasizes the luxury, very liberal use of gold,possible influenced by cathedrals (Jesse tree in


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Saint-Denis), classically inspired drapery

Notebook of Villard de Honnecourt (France c.1230s), collection of drawings (very unusual for

Middle Ages), contains figures aswell as architecture , it is believedhe visited the places he drew,figures may be something he sawand sketched (like a statue), hepossibly was an artist of some sort

or a member of the clergy

Psalter of Louis IX (Paris1260s) destruction of Jericho,

figures similar to drawings inVillardsnotebook (hedid NOT makethe Psalter), itspossible every

artist had a sketchbook, border of pagecontains fighting animals (like old British Islesart), tails turn into leaf forms, blending of

animal and plant forms

Saint-Chapelle was consecratedin 1248, built by Louis IX (later St.Louis), he bought various relicsfrom the passion and then builtchapel, relics cost more than thebuilding, upper chapel (left) andlower chapel (upper right),lower has lots of masonry,upper is characterized bystained glass, no buttresses,represents end ofdevelopment in Gothic period


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Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, foundation laid in 1228,consecrated in 1253, Gothic elements: rib vaults, stainedglass, wall articulation. Has two churches, upper (top left)and lower (bottom left), bulk of wall space is fresco painting,

13

th

and 14

th

centuries, famous artists came to paintfrescoes, Cimabue did Virgin and Child (directly left) 1280s,Byzantine influence, Life of St. Francis frescoes (right)painted in 1290s, setting is walled-off sanctuary, bodies lookmore real, artist doing things in a new way

Pisa baptistery renovated in 13th

century, top sections have Gothicquality

NicolaPisano did the pulpit for the Pisa Baptistery (c. 1260),

hexagonal with picture panels, very classical hair, drapery,ad veiling. Panel 1 (top middle): Nativity scene with Maryreclining and Christ in crib, Annunciation in top left corner,shephards top right corner, Christs first bath bottom leftwith Joseph and midwives. Panel 2 (top right): adoration ofthe Magi, faces and hair very classical. Panel 3: (left)presentation in the Temple, Simeon and Anna


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GiovanniPisano didpulpit in

Pistoia, Italyc. 1300,

Annunciation at the Nativity (top left), general compositionparallels to Nicola, basic idea very similar, yet Giovannisscales are different, more consistent, more natural-looking,individualized faces, Massacre of Innocents (top right),Herod ordering massacre, soldiers, mothers, babies fill upthe space, multiple ground lines

SienaPalzzoPubblico,frescoesin councilchamberspainted c.1340, 1.

The Allegory of Good Government

(uppermost left) 2. The Effects of Good Government on Townand Country (top center) 3. The Allegory of Bad Government& its Effects on Town and Country (top right), allegory haspersonification of Siena (man, unusual for Middle Ages)surrounded by virtues identifiable by items (wisdom has abook, justice has scales), second fresco is happy, people


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dancing, possiblewedding, third hastyranny with justice tiedup

The Moralia in Job,Cistercian manuscriptfrom the early 12th century, two menslaying dragon (1 is a knight,

noticeable by dress) slaying dragonholds religious meaning that monkswould recognize

Romanesque and Gothic corbels areimages of people baring rear ends andsmiling at viewer

Luttrell Psalter (England c. 1330), first page has Latinexcerpt, Lord Geoffrey Luttrell had me made, page on

right has boat in margin because passage talks about thesea and the Lord strengthening our arms and hands

Various othermargindecorationssuggest thetheme of theworld upside

down


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Excrement and rear ends are also shown a lot in margins,possible themes: feeding (excrement into mouths), apes(almost like debased humans), world upside down

(excrement treated like something important), and music(horns in rear ends), man defecating into basket andbringing to a woman couldrepresent lust and the flesh,

also production, manis producingsomething the womanwants (world upsidedown). Kissing the rearend was thought to be

done in demonicworship, also couldhave just been funny.Bosch uses rear ends a lot in the hell scene of theGarden of Earthly delights (1510), possibly influencedby medieval margins

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Medieval Art Study Guide