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Medieval Art
5th century-15century
The Middle Ages
followed the fall of the
Roman Empire in the
century and merged
into the Renaissance.
Let’s get it straight, shall we?
The Middle Ages refers to the time period between the
5th and 15th centuries

Medieval is an adjective that is used to refer to the

people, places, things, and events of that same period.
It is correct to say medieval furniture, medieval art,
medieval philosophy, medieval history, or medieval
scholar

It is not correct to say Middle Ages furniture, Middle

Ages art, Middle Ages philosophy, Middle Ages
history, or Middle Ages scholar.
@ Beginning of Middle Ages
 Medieval Churches & Monestaries
Students should be able to identify the two styles below.
Romanesque structures featured round arches and heavy thick
walls, small windows like the Roman style (necessary so the windows do not
weaken the structure). A lot of sculptural decorations.

Gothic structures featured pointed arches and have slender feel as if they
soar upward (to Heaven), large stained glass windows filtered in light and color.

Byzantine structures featured large Domes that cover soaring spaces,

arches and lavish decoration.

Difference between Romanesque and Gothic Artchitecture Video

 Byzantine
Hagia Sofia, (eye-ya
SO-fia)Turkey &
St. Catherines
Monestary, Egypt

Gothic – St. Patricks, NYC Romanesque –St. Vitale,

Revenna, Italy
St. Patrick's Cathedral Tour
 Characteristics of Medieval Art
• Rich colors
• Heavily outlined
• Flat and stiff figures showing no depth
• Religious Icons
• Architecture is influenced by Greek and Roman –
Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic styles emerged
from this period.
• Mosaics replaced carved decoration
• Large Domes central to the church
 Early Middle Ages
5th century– 10c
• Also called the “Dark Ages”
– Characterized by decline in population, culture, trade,
architectural and technological advances.
– Christianization “age of Faith” influenced art and
architecture
– Monasteries and churches grew in number, size and
political importance
– Focus on Europe
- Romanesque Architecture – 6c -10c
 Art of the Early
Middle Ages

Justinian as world conqueror

(Barberini Ivory)
mid-6th century
ivory
1 ft. 1 1/2 in. x 10 1/2 in.
Christ enthroned with Saints
(Harbaville Triptych)
ca. 950 , ivory, 9 1/2 in. x 5 1/2 in. high
 Romanesque Architecture
-Thick walls
-Semi circular Arches
-Heavy in visual weight

San Vitale
Ravenna, Italy
526-547
San Vitale
Ravenna, Italy
526-547
Theodora and attendants , south wall apse mosaic, San
Vitale, Ravenna, Italy
ca. 547, mosaic
 The Art of Illumination
Illuminated letter PPT by Amy Bruce

Importance of Illuminated Manuscripts

1 - Structure of a Medieval manuscript

2- Making manuscripts
 Ninth Century
Ireland's Book of Kells,
the most beautiful
illuminated manuscript
that survives from the
early Middle Ages. It
consists of four Gospels
written in Latin. Only two
of its 680 pages are
without color.
 High Middle Ages
10th -13th century
(c.1001-1300)
• Rapidly increasing population = boost in
economy and political organization
• The Rise of Knighthood, Templar Knights
…
• The Crusades –control of the Holy Land
• Produced many forms of artistic works
– Most notable - Gothic Architecture
Glass Window from Troyes Cathedral,
Troyes, France - 1200
 Gerona Bible Master, Bologna, Italy, 1285

Historiated initial R from the

frontispiece of a 12th-century
manuscript of St. Gregory's Moralia
in Job, Dijon, Bible
 Late Middle Ages
14-15c (c. 1301–1500).
• Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death,
reduced population by half!
• Social unrest, peasant uprisings, Hundred Years
War
• Conflict within Catholic Church
• Despite conflict and unrest it was a time of great
progress! A resurgence of interest in Greek/Roman
ideals…turning into the “Age of Discovery” and
then Renaissance
One of the finest examples of gothic architecture and most well known
churches in the world – Notre Dame de Paris
• First to use Flying Buttresses (Arched exterior support
system to accommodate higher and thinner walls)
• Famous for the use of water spouts, or gargoyles
• Completed in 1345
• The “rose window” contains symbolism – center
is blessed virgin mary and child who are
surrounded by prophets and saints.
Christ as Savior of Souls,
early 14th century
tempera, linen and silver on wood
3 ft. 1/4 in. x 2 ft. 2 1/2 in.
Madonna from the Annunciation,
1340-1344 Simone Martini, c.1284-
1344
Tempera on panel
Late 1400’s mural - dawning on realistic representations and attempt at
perspective
 Byzantine Empire
aka Early Christian Art

•
3c - 1453
Byzantine Empire – capital city of Constantinople (modern day Turkey)
• Series of Monasteries were built on various sites sacred to religious events
• Most prosperous and powerful empire in the world during the empire (which fell to the Ottoman…
and the Byz art and culture disappeared)
• Architecture has some Near Eastern influence

Byzantine Art
• Mostly Religious Icons
• Used Ivory and Gold to show the
strength and power of the
empire
How the Religious Icons were made in 2 MINUTES!
Hagia Sophia

***Known as one of the grandest

examples of Byzantine Architecture.
 Rick Steven's Hagia Sophia

A view of the DOME

Hagia Sophia
Constantinpole, (Istanbul), Turkey
532-537
Monastery of St. Catherine
Mount Sinai, Egypt, 6c.

Getty Images of St. Catherines start at 2min

 Transfiguration of Jesus
apse mosaic, Church of the
Virgin, Monastery of Saint
Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt, ca.
565, mosaic

• Oldest known monastery

• Mt. Sinai in the Sinai peninsula, the peak where Moses received the Ten Commandments
• Due to Isolation, the Monks devoted much time to develop art which they believed showed their
devotion to God.
• The monastery has one of the largest collections of ancient illuminated manuscripts in the world, as
well as one of the most important collections of Religious icons, or paintings of important religious
events.
6th or 7th century Icon of Jesus and an
abbot shares in the anti-realist style of
Byzantine iconic art, Monastery of Saint
Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt
The Enthroned Virgin and Child with Saints
and Angels, 6th century, perhaps the earliest
iconic image of the subject to survive at
Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount Sinai,
Egypt
Christ the Savior (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon
Other Byzantine Art
Icon with the Virgin and Child, carved
mid–10th–11th century
Byzantine; Probably made in
Constantinople
Ivory; 9 3/16 x 2 3/4 x 1/2 in

St. Catherine Wall

Painting,
Chapel of St. Nicholas,
Pendali, Greece, 12c
 This ICON is believed to have originated in Tuscany c. 1300, and influenced a wide number of paintings from the following century as well
as Florentine sculptures from the 1440–1450s. This version was in turn widely copied across Italy and northern Europe during the 14th and
15th centuries – THIS WORK SERVED AS A BRIDGE FROM BYZANTINE TO EARLY RENAISSANCE
 Review
Characteristics of Medieval and Byzantine Art
• Rich colors
• Heavily outlined
• Flat and stiff figures showing no depth
• Religious Icons
• Architecture is influenced by Greek and Roman -
Romanesque and Gothic
• Mosaics replaced carved decoration
• Large Domes central to the church
References

http://victoriarestrepo.com/2013/06/04/art-
history-for-kids-byzantine-art/