Objectives• Understand the major regions of Europe in the Romanesque period

and be sensitive to the stylistic differences among the regions, especially in the sphere of architecture.

• Become familiar with the major pilgrimage routes and destinations of the period.

• Familiarize yourself with key structural units of the vault, the rib, the buttress, and the organization of bays.

• Learn the parts of the portal of the typical Romanesque church and appreciate the role of sculpture in articulating the parts of the entrance.

• Recognize the enormous importance of relics and the legends of saints in the designation of holy places throughout Europe.

• Watch the re-emergence of monumental sculpture in Europe (absent since the collapse of Rome).

• Learn the variety of artistic traditions drawn upon by Romanesque artists, including contemporary ones such as Islamic and Byzantine, and the continuing presence of ancient Roman art.

11 important aspects of Romanesque architecture

1.“Romanesque” is the first international style since the Roman Empire. Also known as the “Norman” style in England

2.Competition among cities for the largest churches, which continues in the Gothic period via a “quest for height.”

3.Masonry (stone) the preferred medium. Craft of concrete essentially lost in this period. Rejection of wooden structures or structural elements.

4. East end of church the focus for liturgical services. West end for the entrance to church.

Good Stuff You Should Know

5.Church portals as “billboards” for scripture or elements of faith.

6.Cruciform plans. Nave and transept at right angles to one another. Church as a metaphor for heaven.

7. Elevation of churches based on basilican forms, but with the nave higher than the side aisles.

ROMANESQUE ART

8. Interiors articulated by repetitive series of moldings. Heavy masonry forms seem lighter with applied decoration.

9. Bays divide the nave into compartments

10.Round-headed arches the norm.

11.Small windows in comparison to buildings to withstand weight

ROMANESQUE ART

Historical Context

• Romanesque = in the Roman manner• Feudalism dominated economic life• Worcester Chronicle

– King/Nobles– Churchmen– Peasant Farmers

• Pilgrimages– Holy places of Christianity

• Crusades– A series of military expeditions against Islamic powers

Romanesque: Social overview

• Feudal system reaches peak

• Land is main source of wealth and power

• Church increases influence on daily lives

• Church is center of town

• Churches- – testimony to power of Church– faith of people– skill of builders

Compare Byzantine & RomanesqueByzantine Romanesque

ART Mosaics, Icons Frescoes, stylized sculpture

ARCHITECTURE Central-dome church

Barrel-vault church

EXAMPLE Hagia Sophia St. Sernin

DATE 532-537 CE Begun 1080 CE

PLACE Constantinople, Turkey

Toulouse, France

Romanesque Overview

EMPHASIS

ELEVATION

MAIN TRAIT

SUPPORT SYSTEM

ENGINEERING

AMBIANCE

EXTERIOR

Horizontal

Modest Height

Rounded Arch

Piers, walls

Barrel vaults (and some

Groin)

Dark, solemn

Simple

Cathedral of Saint James (Santiago Campostela)

• Held the body of Saint James

• Designed to accommodate crowds of pilgrims

• Served as administrative center

• Used 3 different kinds of vaults– Ribbed– Barrel– Groin

St. James Cathedral

Santiago de Compostela

1078-1122

Spain

Cathedral Complex at Pisa

• Competed with Muslims over control of the western Mediterranean

• Built a cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary

• Complex contains the cathedral, freestanding bell tower (campanile), and a baptistery.

Cathedral Complex

11th Century

Pisa, Italy

Speyer Cathedral

• Soaring towers

• Wide transepts

• Triple aisled

• Red Sandstone

• Largest Romanesque Church

Speyer Cathedral

1080-1106

Germany

Durham Cathedral

• Served as a military outpost

• Stone and brick…NOT wood– Reminded the Brits of ancient Rome

• Count-Bishop = Durham authority

• Architects divided each bay with two pairs of diagonal crisscrossing ribs

Durham Cathedral

1087-1133

England

Church of Saint-Etienne

• Founded by William the Conqueror in 1067

• Front divided in 3 vertical sections by 4 buttresses

• 6-Part vault

• Originally had a timber roof

• Towers were added during the Gothic period

St. Etienne

Normany, France

1060-77

VAULTING OF THE NAVE

• Sexpartite Vaults

Vaulted Ceilings

Ribs

Tribune / Gallery

Clustered Piers

Ambulatory

Dover Castle

12th Century

England

St. Sernin

• Constructed to honor Saint Sernin

• Popularity increased when Charlemagne donated relics to the church

• An important stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela

• “Pilgrim Plan”

St. Sernin

1080-1120

Toulouse, France

Decoration of Buildings

• Revival of Monumental Stone Sculpture

• Reflects increasing importance of the Virgin Mary

• Prophets, Bishops, ordinary people, monsters, animals, plants, geometric shapes.

• Heaven and Hell

Creation and Fall

• Wiligelmus inspired by ancient sarcophagi

• Modena Cathedral

• Subjects from Genesis– Creation and Fall

• Three Dimensionality

• Arcades give stage-like setting

• Was once painted

The Creation and Fall

West Façade of Modena Cathedral

Italy

1099

Jeremiah

South Portal Trumeau

Saint-Pierre

1115

Christ in Majesty, Tympanum of the South Portal at Saint-Pierre

1115-30

Last Judgment

• Cathedral of St. Lazare

• Christ returned to judge the souls at his feet

• Expressive Forms

• “May this terror frighten those who are bound by worldly error. It will be true just as the horror of these images indicates.”

Last Judgment,

Tympanum by Gislebertus 1130-35 CE St.-Lazare

Autun, France.

Last Judgment Gislebertus 1130-35 CE

Dancing Jesus

Detail of Last Judgment

Weighing of the Souls

1130-35 CE

Detail of Last Judgment, The Damned

CapitalAutun Cathedral

• Capitals continue dramatic story of sin, damnation, and salvation

Fallen Soul

Suicide of Judas

Capital of Saint-Lazare

Autun, France

1125

Eve by Gislebertus. Autun Cathedral.

Christ in Majesty

• Church of San Climent

• Catalunya, Spain

• Ruler and Judge of the World

• Alpha and Omega symbols

• Byzantine Flare

• Surrounded by 4 Evangelists

Crucifix

• Christ wearing royal robes

• Face = Deep sadness

• Robe designs meant to resemble Arabic script– Islamic Spain

Bayeux Tapestry

• Depicts the Norman conquest of England

• 70 meters long

• One of the first recordings of a historical event shortly after it happened

The Bayeux Tapestry

.

ROMANESQUE ART

Bayeux Tapestry 1066-1082 NORMAN or ROMANESQUE

ROMANESQUE ART

ISTI MIRANT STELLA = “These ones look at the star.”

ROMANESQUE ART