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Much like today, personal devotional objects were very popular among all social classes. Everyone had something to use or a space to go and worship if they could not make it to a mass service. The wealthy also had special versions of the bible made accessible to them and they used this to let others know of their social status as well as their wealth. People that had a large influence on the church, such as Kings and Queens, often times had their own rooms of worship as well as special sections within the main halls of the church to attend mass without having to mingle with their subjects.
Stained glass windows in church buildings are a very common sight to see all over Europe. This is because it became so popular during the Gothic period. I believe this is the case because it allowed the church to have large pieces of art depicting stories from the bible. But also allowed for large amounts of natural light to come into the building. This was a brilliant technique because of how beautiful and ornate the large glass works of art were. It drew your eye up to it and demanded your attention with its beauty and told you its story. The Rose Window in Chartres Cathedral is a perfect example of how these beautiful pieces of work demand your attention to tell you their story.
Medieval churches used pictures as a way to tell stories from the bible for those that could not read. They also used these images to show other travelers or visitors that may not be of the same religion, what they viewed as important to them. I believe that churches met the needs of all class types during the medieval period because those that could read were able to read the bible or share a story from the bible with others while those that could not were able to learn from pictures as previously mentioned. The Bayeux tapestry is a great example of this because it not only had words for those who could read, but also for the illiterate or those too young to learn to read.
A pilgrimage was extremely important during the Romanesque period and is even still very important to this day. People went on a pilgrimage for many different reasons. Some went to become closer to god while others believed that good fortune would come upon them once they completed the pilgrimage. The churches would often times have an oversized isle so that visitors could come and go without disturbing a session of mass as well as having isles on the outside under pillars that one could stand under without drawing attention to themselves. Many of the churches also had arches as a way to welcome travelers.
It is interesting to see that classical art isn’t as influencial as byzantine art is during the early medieval period as seen in the Book of Kells as well as the Book of Durrow. The art in the early medieval era really honed in on religion and telling religious stories.
I feel as though the Dark Ages were called the Dark Ages because of all famine and plagues and not so much because of the culture. The Durham Cathedral is a pristine example of how innovative and creative the people of that time were. The Throne of Wisdom is also a great example of how forward thinking the people were as well.
The different social and religious changes throughout the ages always tended to change what kind of art was in the world. The semi-new religions that were growing was Christianity which was slowly advancing which of course would reflect in their art. The shift may have come from the changing of how people viewed heaven and earth. I think they wanted to create images and paintings to convey the glory of heaven and the connection between man and God. In the “Ivory Panel with Archangel’ You can see the influence of Roman dress and as well as conveying the power and majesty of the Angel. I think they wanted to move towards conveying the supreme nature of Heaven compared to mankind.
There were many changes over the period of the Byzantine era, that included changes to art and their way of thinking. I don’t think necessarily they were trying to create graven images or idols but to remember and use physical items to strengthen their faith. Perhaps it was more of reminders that they believed there is something above them and to practice their religion. In the “Virgin and child with saints and angel’s icon’ I could see how people may have come and pondered over it, and may have believed it held power that could help them in their lives. Unfortunately, Icons like that were destroyed based on belief of people worshiping them. Perhaps the visual creations helped people feel a physical connection with their God and they may have gotten attached to such items. Fortunately, the Iconoclasm periods didn’t last too long as later on it was more acceptable to have these creations.
When we are talking about syncretism between the romans and early jewish and christian artists, a great example that comes to mind is the Royal Complex of Herodium. Not only is it in the same shape as the famous Roman Collosium, but it also used and aqueduct to get water into the bath house due to it being in the high desert. There were also columns surrounding the rectangular garden inside the complex.
When it comes to Christian and Jewish art, I think that it is easy to see that they are not trying to create a “false idol” rather they are trying to create a place of worship. Instead of creating false idols they have created scenes in their churches, such as the Rotunda Church of St. George where they used mosaic tiling to create pictures of different scenes, people, or items that have meaning to their religion. The Christian Catacombs is another great piece of Christian art that is also a mosaic tile showing the Good Shepard. They use their buildings as a place to worship God rather than filling it with “false idols.” Their buildings also have great meaning, the Cave of the Patriarchs is a great example of how the idea of “false idols” could be thought of by others. The building is thought to be the resting place of historical biblical people, and unless you are familiar with their stories and the role that they played in these religions, you may think that they are creating a building dedicated to only those people and that they are idling them and not their god.
Much of the art that we have seen this semester was made (or later appropriated) for propagandistic purposes. How do you see this coming in to play with Roman art and architecture?
The Four Tetrarchs is a great example of how Roman architecture has played a role in propaganda. By putting the four sons of Constantine on display in Venice, the Romans were showing how great one may look or how powerful you could be. The statues were adorned with a traditional military cap, this could have been a way for the Romans to encourage young men to join the military. The shoes were even adorned with gems at one point. This could have shown the people of Rome just how important the young emperors were.
Source: https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/tetrarchsThe Roman Empire ended nearly 2000 years ago but traces of it are all around us today. How do you see the influence of Roman art and culture in contemporary global society?
There is traces of the Roman Empire all round us! Most of their influence can be see in our federal buildings as well as our justice buildings. Like the Temple of Portunus’s pillars, our federal and judicial buildings have similar pillars in front of them. I believe this to be a symbol of how the Roman Empire took pride in showing their subjects that these buildings were magnificent and they did so by creating these large simple but complex pillars. It could also be interpreted that the pillars are the laws of the land that hold up society and inside the building is where judging and laws are created to keep the pillars standing.
For the final project I chose the Lion-Human statue. Here is the link to my slideshow https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wLCQ-OgMt3ZHYlQHQx5MQrdIQNqR7MTh/view?usp=sharing and the link to my paper https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xq27PC_Knr59mKfepBzJy88P-u-FJorg/view?usp=sharing
In Etruscan culture woman seem to have a more important role in day to day activities. Even in celebrations and funerals they are depicted as being more involved than other civilizations around them. Their role in society or perhaps their freedom was less restricted then the other cultures. Woman were given greater freedoms and their work or opinions were valued more so than their neighbors. In some aspects they seem to have been more advanced in realizing the role in which woman play with society, life and death and the part they play in building the culture. The Cerveteri Sarcophagus in my opinion depicts the joint relationship between men and woman. They seem to be sitting over the sarcophagus as equals, even the male figure depicting deference to the female.
They seem to include both aspects in that time. In the Dying Gallic trumpeter statue, they celebrate the bravery and glory of a warrior in his last mortal stand. The detail and thought they put into it portrays their mentality of the struggle of man and the greatness they can achieve. Even in death man can be celebrated and almost become immortalized and God-like. In another sense, the sculpture of The Sleeping Eros signifies their root belief system of Gods having an impact on mankind. It tells a story of a being that has the power to drive and manipulate mortals into love, passion, and grace. I believe they were progressing towards humanist values yet still remembering the traditions.
