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Medieval ArtMedieval Art
This prevalence of religious medieval art can be partly explained by the fact that religious institutions tend to be conservative, therefore preserving many artifacts, especially when linked to the preservation of relics. However, this predominance of religious medieval art reflects the fact that the overwhelming majority of durable works from this period probably were religious in nature. Contrary to a fairly widespread belief, it would be an oversimplification to assume that much of this medieval art was designed to educate the illiterate peasantry and to illustrate sermons. Inasmuch as the institutions of the Church were among the few possible patrons wealthy enough to commission works of art, much of this production was designed for their own use. Medieval art must be understood in this context. The first implication of religious art is that it has a very strong and structured theological and doctrinal content, often carried very far, indeed.
One must bear in mind that the patrons commissioning the art were steeped in Holy Scripture, not only the Bible but also the exegeses of the Fathers of the Church, and this shows in the medieval art produced for and by these communities. One must remember that the monks of the Cluniac order, for example, sang the entire Psalter each and every day; other monks spent much time copying manuscripts, leaving ample time to ponder the meaning of the texts and the relationships between them. The second implication is that these works often had a liturgical or ceremonial function, which often determined their size, shape and structure. Processional crosses had to be portable; rood screens were erected in specific places and had to be large enough and strong enough for the clergy to stand on them at certain moments of the liturgy. Last, but not least, many of these works of medieval art also had a civic or social function, for example commemorating or glorifying either the donor or the recipient of the artwork, or both. Many people are familiar with the portraits of donors which appear in many late Medieval art paintings, but the tradition is already in evidence in Ottonian ivories and goldsmith's work inspired by Byzantine mosaics. The importance of all these different elements helps explain why much of Medieval art appears unconcerned with the accurate representation of reality. In a sense, it would almost be more exact to think of much Medieval art as a type of writing, a symbolic language used to express the divine and cosmic order, rather than an art form which attaches itself to the rendering of reality for its own sake. This art serves more to reveal the underlying religious Truth, as understood by the artist and patron, rather than to reflect reality as we know it on a daily basis.
Hence the lack of concern for and interest in perspective or "credible" proportions in the relative size of many of the figures. Over the roughly thousand years spanned by the so-called Middle Ages, art underwent many changes both in style and in the materials used. It is important to consider all these media: architecture and painting, of course, but also metalwork in general and goldsmith's work in particular; enamel work; stained glass; sculpture, both large scale, monumental works as well as small scale ones (such as ivory or boxwood carvings); manuscript painting; tapestries, etc. During a great part of the Middle Ages, most artists remained anonymous. This situation changed towards the end of the the period: many late-Mediaeval painters are identifed, for example: Roger Van der Weyden or the Van Eyck brothers in the Low-Countries. But even earlier, there are examples of well-known artists leaving documented works: for example, Nicholas of Verdun creating masterpieces of enamelwork in the 12th century. Gothic The historical style itself originated at the abbey church of Saint-Denis in Saint-Denis, near Paris, where it exemplified the vision of Abbot Suger. Suger wanted to create a physical representation of the Heavenly Jerusalem, a building of a high degree of linearity that was suffused with light and color. The first truly Gothic construction was the choir of the church, consecrated in 1144. With thin columns, stained-glass windows, and an overall sense of verticality and etheriality, the choir of Saint-Denis established the elements that would later be amplified upon during the Gothic period. This style was adopted first in northern France and by the English, and spread throughout France, the Low Countries and parts of Germany and also to Spain and northern Italy. Characteristics The style emphasizes verticality and features almost skeletal stone structures with great expanses of glass, sharply pointed spires, cluster columns, flying buttresses, ribbed vaults, pointed arches using the ogee shape, and inventive sculptural detail. These features are all the consequence of a focus on large stained glass windows that allowed more light to enter than was possible with older styles. In order to achieve this, flying buttresses were used to enable higher ceilings and slender columns.
Gothic cathedrals could be highly decorated with statues on the outside and painting on the inside. Both usually told Biblical stories, emphasizing Old Testament prophecy and the New Testament.
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