Medieval art

Medieval Art is the art, including architecture, produced in Europe during the Middle Ages, i.e. from the fall of the western Roman Empire in approximately 500 CE to the start of the early modern period in approximately 1500 CE.

Although most extant medieval art and architecture is religious, one must be aware in assuming that the Church was sole patron of art in the medieval period. In fact much of the religious art of the period was commissioned by secular powers, and some secular art survives from throughout the period.

Medieval artists depended, in varying degrees, upon artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and upon the legacy of the early Christian church. These sources were mixed with the vigorous "Barbarian" artistic culture of Northern Europe to produce a remarkable artistic legacy. Indeed the history of medieval art can be seen as the history of the interplay between the elements of classical, early Christian and "Barbarian" art.

Classical Legacy and Early Christian Art

Christianity developed in the Roman Empire and, accordingly, early Christian art was strongly influenced by classical art in form, style and content. Almost nothing is known about the art of the first two centuries after the death of Jesus. The earliest Christian art is funerary art, found particularly in the wall paintings of the Roman catacombs and on several carved sarcophagi. Until the conversion of Constantine and the Edict of Milan, Christians had very few public buildings. Services were held in 'house churches" such as that found at Dura-Europos.

After the Edict of Milan, Christians were free to build larger, more public buildings, and indeed received Imperial patronage for a lavish building program. The Christians adopted the Roman basilica to their needs. Several large basilicas were built in the 4th and 5th centuries, including Old St. Peters and others.

Early Christians used the same artistic media as the surrounding pagan culture. These media included fresco, mosaics, sculpture, and manuscript illumination. They also adapted secular Roman architectural forms, especially the basilica, to ecclesiastical purposes.

Early Christian art not only used Roman forms, it also used Roman styles. Late classical style included a proportional portrayal of the human body and impressionistic presentation of space. Late classical style is seen in early Christian frescos, such as those in the catacombs of Rome.

Early Christians adapted Roman motifs and gave new meanings to what had been pagan symbols. Among the motifs adopted were the peacock, grapevines, and the good shepherd. Early Christians also developed their own iconography, for example such symbols as the fish (ikhthus), were not borrowed from pagan iconography.

Religion and art

The art from the Medieval times which has survived is mostly an expression of Christianity, although magnificent examples of Mediaeval Jewish manuscripts survive as do some secular works, such as the hunting scenes painted in the pope's bedchamber in Avignon. This prevalence of religious art may partly be explained by the fact that religious institutions tend to be conservative, therefore preserving many artefacts, especially when linked to the preservation of relics. However, in all likelihood this predominance of religious 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 a vast oversimplification to assume that much of this art was designed to educate the illiterate peasantry and illustrate sermons. Inasmuch as the institutions of the Church, (the Papacy, of course, but also the individual dioceses with their chapters and bishops, and the large number of abbeys and private religious and charitable foundations) were amongst the few possible patrons wealthy enough to commission works of art, much of this production was designed for their own use. Mediaeval art must be understood in this context. The first implication of a religious art it that it has a very strong and very 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 art produced for and/or 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, etc. Last but not least, many of these works 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 Mediaeval 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 Mediaeval art appears unconcerned with the accurate and illusionistic representation of reality. In a sense, it would almost be more exact to think of much Mediaeval 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. (After all,what would the 'realistic' rendering of an angel be? So few artists have ever actually met one...) This art serves more to reveal the underlying religious Truth, as understood by the artist and/or his/her 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; enamelwork; 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 most 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.

Anglo-Saxon Art

Our knowledge of Anglo Saxon art has been strongly influenced by the discoveries at Sutton Hoo.

Byzantine art

Merovingian Art

Carolingian Renaissance

Ottonian Art

Mozarabic Art

Romanesque Art

• Romanesque architecture

Gothic Art

• Gothic architecture
• International Gothic
• English Apocalypse Manuscripts

Late Medieval Art

See also

• European art history
• Medieval literature
• Medieval poetry
• Medieval music
• List of Late Antique, Early Christian and Medieval art monuments