Romanesque art
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Romanesque Art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style, which rose in the 12th century or later, depending on region. The study of medieval art began in the early nineteenth century, following the natural sciences in an effort to classify their field of inquiry, coined the term "Romanesque" to encompass the western European artistic production, especially the architecture, of the 11th and 12th centuries. The term is both useful and misleading. Medieval sculptors and architects of southern France and Spain had firsthand knowledge of the many Roman monuments in the region, lending legitimacy to the term "Romanesque." However, "Romanesque Art" is not a return to classical ideals. Rather, this style is marked by a renewed interest in Roman construction techniques. The twelfth-century capitals from the cloister of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, for example, adopt the acanthus-leaf motif and the decorative use of drill holes, which were commonly found on Roman monuments. Likewise, the contemporary apse of Fuentidueña uses the barrel vault, widely used in Roman architecture. While emphasizing the dependence on "Roman art," the label ignores the two other formative influences on Romanesque art, the Insular style of Northern Europe and Byzantine Art, nor does it do justice to the innovative nature of Romanesque art.
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[edit] Art and architecture
See also: Romanesque Architecture
Most Romanesque sculpture was integrated into the church architecture, not just for aesthetic but also for structural purposes. Small-scale sculpture during the pre-Romanesque period was influenced by Byzantine and Early Christian sculpture. Other elements were adopted from various local styles of Middle Eastern countries. Motifs were derived from the arts of the "barbarian," such as grotesque figures, beasts, and geometric patterns, all important additions, particularly in the regions north of the Alps. Among the important sculptural works of the period are the ivory carvings at the monastery of Saint Gall. Monumental sculpture was rarely practiced separately from architecture in the pre-Romanesque period. In Hildesheim, Germany, an important scultural contribution was made in the bronze church doors. Other doors of sculpted bronze were also found in southern Italy (11th century) and northern Italy (12th century).
For the first time since the fall of the Roman empire, monumental sculpture emerged as a significant art form. Covered church facades, doorways and capitals all increased and expanded in size and importance, as in the Last Judgment Tympanum, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne and the Standing Prophet at Moissac. Monumental doors, baptismal fonts, and candleholders, frequently decorated with scenes from biblical history, were cast in bronze, attesting to the prowess of metalworkers. Frescoes were applied to the vaults and walls of churches (as in the Temptation of Christ, San Baudelio de Berlanga). Rich textiles and precious objects in gold and silver, such as chalices and reliquaries, were produced in increasing numbers to meet the needs of the liturgy and the cult of the saints.
In the 12th century, large-scale stone sculpture spread through Europe. In the French Romanesque churches of Provence, Burgundy, and Aquitaine, sculpures adorned the facades, and statues were incorporated into the capitals.
Stimulated by economic prosperity, relative political stability, and an increase in population, this building boom continued over the next two centuries. Stone churches of hitherto unknown proportions were erected to accommodate ever-larger numbers of priests and monks, and the growing crowds of pilgrims who came to worship the relics of the saints (Sainte-Foy at Conques). Adapting the plan of the Roman basilica with a nave, lateral aisles, and apse, these churches typically have a transept crossing the nave, and churches on the pilgrimage road included an ambulatory (a gallery allowing the faithful to walk around the sanctuary) and a series of radiating chapels for several priests to say Mass concurrently.
[edit] Monasticism
The expansion of monasticism was the main force behind the unprecedented artistic and cultural activity of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. New orders were founded, such as the Cistercian, Cluniac, and Carthusian, and with these orders, more monasteries were established throughout Europe.
The new monasteries became repositories of knowledge: in addition to the Bible, the liturgical texts and the writings of the Latin and Greek Church Fathers, their scriptoria copied the works of classical philosophers and theoreticians, as well as Latin translations of Arabic treatises on mathematics and medicine. Glowing illuminations often decorated the pages of these books, and the most eminent among them were adorned with sumptuous bindings.
[edit] The synthesis of influences
More important than its synthesis of various influences, Romanesque art formulated a visual idiom capable of spelling out the tenets of the Christian faith. Romanesque architects invented the tympanum, on which the Last Judgment or other prophetic scenes could unfold, acting as a stern preparation for the mystical experience to be found within the church, and the symbolic nature of entering the holy building. Inside, as they meandered around the building, the faithful encountered other scenes from biblical history on doors, capitals and walls. "Byzantine influences," by way of Italy, found echoes in Romanesque art from the late eleventh century onward. The tenth-century plaque of the Crucifixion and the Defeat of Hades reveals that Byzantium had preserved certain features of Hellenistic art that had disappeared in the West, such as a coherent modeling of the human body under drapery and a repertoire of gestures expressing emotions. These elements are present in an ivory plaque depicting the Journey to Emmaus and the Noli Me Tangere carved in northern Spain in the early twelfth century. Compared to the Byzantine sculptor, however, the Romanesque artist imbued his composition with a heightened sense of drama through a more emphatic play of gestures and swirling draperies, with pearled borders.
