art appreciation topic iii: late antiquity and the middle ages

Art Appreciation

Topic III:Late Antiquity

and the

Middle Ages

300-1450

In the West, early Christian art appeared before the

religion was officially established in 313. Some of the earliest

examples can be found in the Catacombs—the subterranean vaults

just outside Rome. Persecution by the Roman authorities, which

reached a peak during the reign of Diocletian (284-305), ensured

that art works were either portable or hidden away from public

view.

The situation improved in 313, when Emperor

Constantine granted Christians full religious freedom. In early

Christian art, images of the Crucifixion were considered

abhorrent, since it was a degrading form of execution reserved for

slaves and criminals. Instead, early Christian artists borrowed ideas

from classical depictions of Roman gods. A favorite theme was the

Good Shepherd, which was frequently depicted in paintings,

mosaics and carvings.

The Good

Shepherd

Catacomb of

Priscilla

Oldest

known

image of

the Virgin

Mary

Catacomb

of Priscilla

Statue of the

Good Shepherd

Catacomb of

Domitilla

The Four

Tetrarchs

The

Baptism

of Christ

Ravenna

In 330, Emperor Constantine moved his capital to

Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople. Here, Christian

artists were exposed to very different influences. The city

was Greek, but affected by cultures of the Near East.

Byzantine artists created their first religious

masterpieces in mosaic. In 395, following the death of

Theodosius the Great, the empire was divided and the

artistic traditions of its two halves began to diverge. After

the fall of Rome in 476, the city of Ravenna played a key

role, as the Emperor Justinian made it his capital in the

West.

Constant warfare in the West led to an era of

diminished artistic production, while in Byzantium

religious icons and imperial images were venerated.

Emperor Justinian and Attendants

The

Barberini

Ivory

The Virgin

and Child

Enthroned

The veneration of holy images led to problems in the

8th century, when the practice was deemed idolatrous.

During the Iconoclastic crisis (c.725-83), thousands of

religious works were destroyed.

In later Byzantine art, wall paintings and icons

played a growing role. Religious icons were venerated, and

their appearance was strictly controlled. Their forms were

symbolic and stylized, and any artistic individuality was

frowned upon.

Religious icons transmitted Byzantine influences far

beyond the empire’s borders, with the greatest icons being

produced in Russia.

The

Crucifixion

Studenica

Monastery

Studenica Monastery

Theotokos of

Vladimir

The Anastasis

The Chora Monastery

The Old

Testament

Trinity

Andrei

Rublev

The Romanesque and Gothic styles of architecture and

art dominated western Europe after 1000.

Romanesque architecture revived certain features of

ancient Roman art, especially its sheer ambition, expressing a new

confidence following a period when Western Christendom had

been threatened with destruction. Large-scale sculpture was

revived and painting flourished.

Whereas Romanesque architecture is massive and often

overpoweringly austere, Gothic architecture is, characteristically,

soaring and graceful. Painting and sculpture of the Gothic period

is typically refined, with figures often having elongated proportions

and a sense of flowing elegance. Gothic art was used primarily in

the service of the Christian Church, although it also had secular

expressions, particularly when it developed into the courtly style

known as International Gothic.

Christ in

Glory

San

Clemente

de Tahull

The Last

Judgment

by

Gislebertus

The Verdun

Altar

Adam

and

Eve

Noah

Moses

The

Nativity

The Last

Supper

The

Resurrection

Crucifixion

with a

Carthusian

Monk

by

Jean de

Beaumetz

St.

George

Rescuing

the

Princess

of

Trebizond

by

Pisanello

Italian art of the late 13th and 14th centuries differs

fundamentally from that produced elsewhere in Europe at the time.

Various currents flowed through Italian art in the early 14th century,

including influences from the Gothic style and from Byzantine culture.

In the later 14th century, however, the austere otherworldliness

of Byzantine art began to be softened by a new naturalism and

humanity, looking forward to the Renaissance.

Religion was a major inspiration to artists at this time:

altarpieces and church frescoes were the dominant forms in painting,

and sculptural types included pulpits and statues of saints. Italian

painters of the day established standard techniques for tempera and

fresco that endured for centuries. In sculpture, the materials for the

most prestigious works were marble and bronze, sometimes gilded

with a thin layer of gold.

Crucifix

by

Giunta

Pisano

Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints

by Duccio di Buoninsegna

Annunciation by Simone Martini