ART IN THE MIDDLE

AGES
 Romanesque
 Gothic
INDEX
1. MEDIEVAL ART. 3. GOTHIC STYLE .
A. Romanesque and Gothic.
B. The influence of Christian Church. A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Gothic buildings.
C. Rural and urban art.
Gothic cathedrals:
D. The medieval artist. I. Distribution of weight.
II. Illumination.
III. Floor plan.
2. ROMANESQUE STYLE .
B. SCULPTURE
A. ARCHITECTURE.
 Characteristics.
 Features of Romanesque buildings.
 Types of sculptures.
 Romanesque churches.
B. SCULPTURE C. PAINTING
 Characteristics.  Characteristics.
 Types of sculptures.  Types of painting.
C. PAINTING
 Characteristics.
 Types of painting.
1. MEDIEVAL ART.
A. Romanesque and Gothic:
 Between the end of the 10th century and the 15th century, two artistic styles
spread throughout Europe.
a) The Romanesque style:
• Appeared in France and Italy.
• Became international in the 11th and 12th centuries.
b) The Gothic style:
• Began in France
• Spread widely from the second half of the 12th century onwards.
 In previus centuries, artistic styles had often been characteristic of a particular
región.
 Romanesque and Gothic were international styles: for the first time since the end
of the Roman Empire, a single artistic style was found throughout Catholic Europe.

B. The influence of Christian Church:

 Both styles were strongly influenced by the Christian Church. The main purpose of
artwork was to bring Christian closer to God.
 Most believers could not read or write. The solution was to represent the sacred
texts in the form of reliefs and mural paintings on church walls.
C. Rural and urban art:
 Romanesque:
• The Benedictine Order of Cluny built Romanesque monasteries which were located
in rural areas.
• It was the style of many of the churches found along pilgrimage routes to Santiago
and Rome.
 Gothic:
• It developed in the 12th century when cities were expanding, so it had a strongly
urban character.
• The wealth and prestige of a city and its leading inhabitants were exhibited
through building work in the impressive Gothic style
• Buildings done in this style included city halls, palaces, markets, universities and
the spectacular Gothic cathedrals.
D. The medieval artist:
 Most medieval works of art are anonymous because:
• The people who made them were consider artisans and not creative artists.
• Works of art are often done by a group of people.
 There were exceptions such as, Maestro Mateo the architect and sculptor who
built the Portico of Glory in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
 2. ROMANESQUE STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Features of Romanesque buildings:

 Main buildings: churches, cathedrals and monasteries (religous buildings)

 Building materials: at first, the roofs were made of Wood. Because of the fires architecs
began tu use stone for roofs too.
 Techniques: They need to adapt them for the heavy stone roofs. They revived Roman
techniques.
o Barrel vault: a Romanesque architectural element, creating a curved, semicircular vault.
o Dome: a hemispherical construction covering the upper part of a building.
o Round arches: a semicircular arch common in Romanesque architecture.
o Columns
o Pillars
o Thick walls
o Buttresses: a structure common in Romanesque buildings that was built against an
external wall to reinforce it.
Barrel Vault
Dome
The roofs rested on rounded
arches, and thick columns
and pillars. However, it was
necessary to make the
buildings even stronger.
Architects used very thick
walls, reinforced the walls
with buttresses, and reduced
the number and size of
windows.
PILLARS AND COLUMNS
BUTTRESS
Romanesque buildings a very solid, compact appearance. In consequence, they
received very little natural light inside

Santa María la
Mayor. Arévalo.
2. ROMANESQUE STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Romanesque churches:

 They were designed with the form of a Latin cross, which

was a long arm crossed by a shorter arm. This
symbolised the cross of Jesus.

 The long arm was made up of one or more naves,

separated by rounded arches.

 The naves ended in an apse, where the altar was situated.

 The short arm, called the transept, could also have

several naves.

 In churches built along pilgrimage routes, a passageway

called an ambulatory was added around the apse so that
pilgrims could pass behind the high altar
ACTIVITIES
B. SCULPTURE

 Characteristics:
 TEACHING TOOL. Churches and and other buildings were decorated with sculptures that
represented religious figures and scenes. In this way, illiterate Christians learned Bible
narratives through sculptures.
 ARCHITECTURE. Sculptures were added to buildings that were being built or already
existed. They were adapted to fit the space available.
 HUMAN REPRESENTATION: Figures were rigid and unrealistic. They were not done in
proportion. The most important person in a scene was larger than the others, in other
words, they used hierarchical organisation.
 COLOUR: Romanesque sculptures were polychrome, and they were painted in many
bright colours. However, they have lost their colour over time.

 Types of sculptures:
 FREE-STANDING: not attached to a building. These sculptures were wooden or ivorian
represented Christ on the cross or the Virgin and Child.
 RELIEFS: sculpted in capitals or portals.
A really important feature…
Most Romanesque sculptures were reliefs. This means that they were sculpted into
different parts of the buildings.

Detail about the hell. It is in the del

infierno del tympanum of Santa de
Conques. France.
 PORTALS

These are church entrances, usually

formed by a series of round arches. Just
above the door was the tympanum, where
Jesus and other important figures were
depicted.

Portal of San Pedro de Moissac. France.

11th - 12th century
 CAPITALS

The tops of columns

were decorated with a
variety of religious and
daily life scenes, animals,
plants, and symbols of
virtues and vices.

Capital of Santa María de Piasca. Cantabria. 10th and 11th century.

 Other sculptures were free-standing:
There were not attached to a building. These
sculptures were wooden and represented Christ on
the Cross or the Virgin and Child.

Virgen de Ger. 12th century.

C. PAINTING

 Paintings were used to teach religious subjects.

 Paintings were adapted to the space available in a building
 Many important paintings were painted inside churches and cathedrals, where they
were protected against bad weather.

 CHARACTERISTICS:
 Religious subjects:
• Most popular: Christ in Majesty (sitting on a throne) and The Virgin and Child
• Saints and scenes from the Holy Bible, imaginary monsters, animals and plant motifs.
 Human representation:
• Figures were rigid and schematic.
• Some figures were painted much larger than the others than to show their importance.
• The figures had black outlines, which highlighted their eyes and hands.
• There were no background landscapes.
 Colour:
 Bright colours were used. It made paintings more expressive and more visible in dark
interior spaces.
Mural paintings in the Royal Pantheon in the Basilica of San Isidoro de León.
C. PAINTING

 TYPES OF PAINTING:
 MURALS:
• Were painted on walls and vaults, especially in the main apse near the altar.
• The fresco technique was used. It was very hard to paint frescoes, and it required
exceptional artistic technique. Steps (pages 62 and 63):
① The wall was covered with a layer of sand and limestone (caliza).
② Silhouettes of the figures were drawn on the wall. This was done by rubbing ochre
pigment on paper that had tiny holes in it.
③ The outlines were created with a piece of charcoal.
④ A mixture of marble dust, limestone and water was applied to the wall.
⑤ Colour was added using pigments diluted in water. This was done while the wall Is
still wet (fresco), so that the colours permeated the wall.

 ALTARPIECES
• Were painted on wooden panels and used to decorate altars.
 MINIATURES
 Were small illustrations in Bibles, prayer in books and other religious texts.
 MURALS

Were painted on walls,

especially in the main
apse near the altar. The
fresco technique was
used.

The Original Sin. Ermitage Santa Cruz de Maderuelo. 12th century.

 ALTARPIECES

Were painted on wooden

panels and used to decorate
altars.

Frontal de la Seo. Urgell. 12th century.

 MINIATURES

Were small illustrations in Manchester Codex. 12th

Bibles, prayer in books and century.
other religious texts.
 3. GOTHIC STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Gothic buildings:
 It had a religious purpose and it was aldo used to demostrate the power and health
of the cities.
 Civil buildings: covered markets, city halls and palaces.
 Cathedral (the most important): key role in urban life, meeting point, rival cities
competed to built the most spectacular ones.
 3. GOTHIC STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Gothic cathedrals:
 New techniques!!!
 3. GOTHIC STYLE .
A. ARCHITECTURE:
 Gothic cathedrals:

I. Distribution of weight:

 The use of pointed arch and the ribbed vault meant that the main weight of the cathedral rested
on the pillars within the building, and not on its outside walls.
 Flying buttresses on the outside of the building further strengthened the pillars.
 As a result, cathedrals could be made much taller than before.
 Pointed arches

Flying buttresses

Ribbed vault
 II. Illumination:

■ Thanks to the new distribution of

weight, Gothic cathedrals did not need
such thick walls, and could have larger
windows.
■ Natural light filteredstained glass
windows, illuminated the interior. It
created beautiful contrast of light and
colour inside. The symbolism was very
important because light was associated
with God.
■ Stained glass windows were an
extraordinary innovation of Gothic art.
They were made with pieces of coloured
glass held together by lead frames.
■ Windows were designed with geometric
patterns and religious scenes.
 Rose window: is used for those circular windows found in churches of the Gothic
architectural style that are divided into segments.

Symbolism: the north rose of the Abbey of St

Denis, Paris, showing God the Creator,
surrounded by the Days of Creation, the Order
of the Heavens represented by the Zodiac and
the Order of Earth as represented by the
Labours of the Months. In the corners are the
Fall of Mankind.
 III. Floor plan:

■ Like Romanesque cathedrals, Gothic cathedrals

were built on Latin cross plan.

■ Differences:
– they had a polygonal rather than a semicircular
apse.
– the central nave was built much wider and
higher than the side aisles.

Burgos’s cathedral floor plan.

 These three changes,
meant that the Gothic
cathedrals were tall and
filled with light. They were
considered to represent
heaven.

Beauvais cathedral. France. XIII

century. Height: 67 m.
 What are the
GOTHIC VS ROMANESQUE differences?

Colegiata Santa Cruz de Castañeda.

Chartres cathedral. France. 13th century.
Cantabria. 12th century.
Interior San Martin de Fromista.
11th century.

Interior Amiens cathedral. 13

th century.
B. SCULPTURE:
 Caracteristics:

 Gothic sculpture had a religious and

educational purpose such as Christ on the
Cross or the Virgin and Child, like
Romanesque sculpture.
Virgen Blanca.
 The human emotion is one of the most Toledo.
important features of the gothic sculpture,
even in its depiction of religious figures.
Christ was shown suffering on the cross and
Virgin played with the infant Jesus.
 Less severe and rigid than Romanesque
sculpture. Curved lines are really important,
giving to the figures a realistic movement.
Clothes, attitudes and gestures were all
represented in more detail.

Cristo Gótico.
B. SCULPTURE:
 Caracteristics:
 Gothic sculpture continue to adapt to the architecture of buildings, for example, through
reliefs on the facades of cathedrals.

Sarmental facade. Burgos

Romanesque and Gothic Portals
The final Judgement. Notre Dame. París.
 TYPES
Carved in stone, marble and
wood.

NON-RELIGIOUS
FUNERAL SCULPTURE ALTARPIECES
SUBJECTS
B. SCULPTURE:
 Types:

1) Funeral sculpture: Tombs were decorated with religious motifs and a figure of a dead
person.

Juan II de Castilla e Isabel de Portugal tomb.

Inés de Castro tomb.
2) Altarpieces: Were large wooden frames
placed behind the altars in churches
and cathedrals. They were decorated
with reliefs, and covered in thin gold.

Altarpiece in the Monastery of Santa María de El Paular.

3) Non-religious subjects:
 Were carved beneath the seats in cathedrals.
3) Non-religious subjects:

 Gargoyles were fantastic creatures sculpted on the outside of

cathedrals.
C. PAINTING:
 CHARACTERISTICS/FEATURES:
C. PAINTING:
 TYPES:

TYPES

MURAL STAINED PANEL

GLASS MINIATURES PORTRAITS
PAINTING PAINTINGS
WINDOWS.
C. PAINTING:
 Types:

1) Mural painting:
Gothic churches and cathedrals
had reduced wall space
because they had such large
windows. Consequently, there
were fewer murals in many
regions, although a tradition of
mural painting was maintained
in Italy and Spain.

Flight into Egypt by Giotto di Bondone. 14th

century.
C. PAINTING:
 Types:

2) Stained glass windows:

Religious subjects were represented in these windows, which were an
outstanding innovation in Gothic cathedrals.

Monastery of Huelgas. Burgos. 13th century.

C. PAINTING:
 Types:

3) Miniatures: Manuscripts were decorated with small paintings.

C. PAINTING:
 Types:

4) Panel paintings: Paintings on free-standing wooden panels became an

increasingly important art form. Painters learned to fit several panels together
to form a single work of art.

Tríptico de Orduña
The Annunciation, by Simone Martini. 14th
century.
5) Portraits: Initially, nearly all Gothic art was religious, but later on nobles and
merchants commissioned portraits to demonstrate their status and wealth.

Tríptico de la Lamentación de Vizcaya.

Arnolfini portrait. Jan van Eyck. 1434.