Early Medieval Art in the West Introduction - waves of migrating people, such as Achaeans & Dorians of Mycenaean, Gauls,

- 2nd century A.D., Germanic people (Goths), moved slowly to different parts of Europe - Goths migrated southward; split into two groups: Ostrogoths in Samaria and Visigoths in Danube river basin. - Migratory movements of barbarians (as they were called by Romans) had been contained by Romans - 376, Roman emperor Valens allowd Visigoths to settle west of Danube; maltreated by Roman officials, revolted and killed emperor and nearly twothirds of his army - After this Rome offered little resistance to different barbarian nations Early Medieval Society - Invasions of Roman territory by barbarian tribes were, in reality, migrants of ethnic groups seeking not to overthrow the Roman Empire, for which they often had great admiration, but to find a place where they could settle peacefully The Warrior-Lords - Disintegration of Roman Empire meant anarchy (disorder, lawlessness) among the Germanic peoples and the Romanic peoples they displaced or dominated - State of near savagery; power and land were taken; war is dynamic that moves it - Under pressure of perpetual danger to their newly settled holdings, migrant war bands evolved into settled associations of land-holding nobles tied together by mutual loyalty, interest, and obligation - Liege-lord (chieftain of war band of which the strongest becomes a king); Lord and king assure protection, bestow privileges, and grant tenure of land to their vassals, the lesser lords - Feudalism (relationship of liege-lord and vassal) is the bond that holds together the political, social, and economic system; dominated medieval world until 14th century - Status was determined by power and prestige of ones liege-lord - Mood of the time was stoic pessimism; promise of salvation through trust in God, does not touch their somber works; warriors hope is that Fate will send them a courageous death in the service of their lord - Women influential through administrative skills; exemplars of piety as abbesses and prioress of convents; enriched churches with liturgical vessels, draperies, vestments, and books; embroidery considered their

special art; women are known for their artworks like embroidery (needlework masterpieces) in medieval art. The Church And The Clergy - only major institution to survive the Roman Empire; Roman civil institutions, administrative apparatus. Law, and pagan religion gradually faded away - remains of Roman culture merged with new Germanic elements - Pope and bishops feel that they have saved the West for Christianity, both by converting and by fending off the Germanic peoples, thus preserving authority of Christian Rome - Donation of Constantine, document later proved a forgery purported to be a will made by Constantine, leaving the empire to the church - Territorial expansion and consolidation of actual properties of Church, the so-called Patrimony of St. Peter, popes could function as temporal and note merely spiritual lords - The Popes developed influence to claim supremacy later overall Christian monarchs; ecclesiastical administration extended a network of control throughout the primitive Germanic kingdoms - This pope extends their power in Germanic kingdom which was questioned by their kings; conflict of interest and jurisdiction between kings and popes arose but would end only with rejection of papal claim to supremacy over all of Christendom - Worldliness and immorality often prevailed in ecclesiastical life and government; corruption called for reforms from spiritual initiative and fervor of monks, created new monastic orders dedicated to purification of Church and morals Benedict of Nursia founded Benedictine order in 529, gave Rule ( Regula Sancti Benedicti) had become standard by 9th century; believed that corruption of clergy was rooted in the lack of firm organization and regulation - Regular (Latin: regula) are monks living according to the Rule - Secular clergy (priests, living without a specific rule and subordinate to their bishops - Communal association (cure for idleness and venality ) under absolute rule of an abbot to spent in useful work and sacred reading - Since antiquity, manual labor had been disgraceful, the business of the low-born or slaves; Benedict raised it to the level of religion; core idea of work ethic as essential feature of spiritual life; self-sufficiency for entire religious community - Cleared dense forest, built roads, bridges, monastic churches - Regular clergy had monopoly of reading and writing in an age of almost universal illiteracy; monastic libraries, where books were copied, illuminated and bound, became centers of study and learning and teaching

The Common People - divided into three groups the warrior-nobility, the clergy, and the common people; peasant serf, one step above slave had neither social nor legal status except as property was bound to the land and service of his master; both their occupation and rank and status are fixed - merchant stands outside the tripartite society; represents commerce and life of towns The Early Medieval World View Early Middle Ages date from about 500 1000 AD; aA span of time which separates us from the age of Columbus. The tempo of early medieval existence seems inconceivably slow. This age was mostly measured by an ox-cart. - Prevailing mood of rigid conservatism, a resistance to change, novelty, and whatever was strange and foreign; all was as God had made it; loyalty to ones superior is the early medieval virtue; faith is virtue corresponding to loyalty - Wergild (man-money or man-gold); payment by offender in money or in kind to compensate the victim or his kinfolk - Armored tunic and trained hawk, the most valued items of the inventory - Religious interpretation merged Christian religion with Germanic magical lore to manage and comprehend rough world, pervading entire scene of of divine and human existence - Believers in myth and magic would see events and their causes as fundamentally supernatural; supernatural powers could be controlled by occult practices: casting of spells, feeding of omens, soothsaying, wonderworking, incantation, conjuration - Church gradually co-opted elements of the old traditions, transforming pagan supernaturalism by changing its meaning to fit Christian teachings - Dialogues of Solomon and Saturn West Saxon manuscript of about 9th century where the Lords Prayer was written shows a remarkable fusion of Christian prayer with runic incantation magic - The dragon, lord of all phantasms gripped Germanic imagination with particular dread; may have been pictured in sculpture, painting, and textiles The Animal Style: Scythian Antecedents - Generic term for the characteristic ornamentation of artifacts worn and carried by nomadic peoples - Originating in prehistoric times, this decorative form appears in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia; transactions between nomads and settled civilizations of Near East and the Mediterranean disseminated the style and produced numerous variants of its figures and patterns.

Wide and steady propagation made possible by fact it was found on small, metal objects that were portable and easily exchanged - Perhaps the principal agents of the transmission of animal style from east to west were the Scythians Persian speaking nomadic peoples who roamed north of black sea. - Significant for passing on to the Germanic tribes, and to medieval art in general the repertory of animal ornament familiar in the art of the ancient world - Remains of settlements, especially tombs of their kings scattered throughout Russia, Caucasus, and Anatolia; from them, modern archaeology has recovered rich troves and metal treasures, the funeral ornaments and furnishings of elaborate royal burials; gold ornaments attest to Scythian lust for gold Pectoral with scenes from Scythian life (Greek craft done for the Scythians), c. 4th century B.C. - Gold, diameter 12, weight 2 1/2" lbs. - Forty-eight figures, mostly of animals cast singly and soldered to the frame, distributed frieze like on three concentric bands separated by cable moldings Art of Germanic Peoples - original art of the Germanic people was abstract, decorative, geometric and most especially, it ignored the world of organic nature - confined to the decoration of small, portable objects such as bracelets, pendants and belt buckles Frankish round fibula. 6th & 7th centuries - decorative pin usually used to fasten garments - made of bronze, silver, or gold and are decorated profusely , often with inlaid precious or semi-precious stones - covered with decorative patterns, reflecting the horror vacuii common in the art of many cultures - decorative patterns adjusted carefully to the shape of the objects they adorn; describe and amplify its form and structure, becoming an organic part of the object itself - The decoration style usually highly disciplined, abstract and functional type was welded to the animal style during early centuries of medieval era. Scythians passed the animal style to their Gothic overlords in 3 rd century AD. The Goths were the main transmitters of this style which was readily adopted by many Germanic tribes. - The art of Germanic peoples were expressed primarily in metal craft. One of their preferred methods of decoration was called cloisonne, a technique that may be Byzantine and ultimately, of Near Eastern origin, although recent archaeology is pinpointing its source in Pannonia (roughly, modern

and Hungary), which in the late 5th century was the central empire of the Huns. cloison - Small metal strips , usually of gold, are soldered edge-up to background; enamel paste subsequently to be filled with semiprecious stones, such as garnets, or pieces of glass are placed in the compartments - Metal craft and its vocabulary of interlace patterns and other motifs, beautifully integrated with animal form are without a doubt, the art of the early Medieval ages in the West. Representation of human figure in scenes and narratives is rare in this period of the animal style. When it does appear, it places Christian and pagan German subjects side by side. - Prized highly and handed down from generation to generation Purse cover, Sutton Hoo ship burial, Sulfolk, England, c. 655 - Gold and enamel, 7 long - Decorated with four symmetrically arranged group of figures - Animal figures adjusted to each other - In the central design, an interlace pattern, the interlacements turn into writhing animal figures - Germanic peoples fondness for the interlace pattern may have come from quite familiar experience of interlacing leather thongs - Metalcraft and its vocabulary of interlace patterns and other motifs, beautifully integrated with the animal form, is without doubt, the art of the Early Middle Ages in the West The Franks Casket, c. 700, british Museum, London - Whalebone, small box - Division of allegiance between pagan and Christian cultures is bluntly expressed in the figural carvings - Biblical scenes alternate with illustrations from the adventures of Wayland the smith, a character familiar in Germanic legend - Unity of flattened grouped, and repeated shapes and grooves, produces an overall abstract pattern to which figures are entirely _________ Adoration of the Magi from the altar of S. Martino, Italy, c. 745 - Sculptured reliefs that were once the panels of altar - Prototype from which the work is copied is clearly Byzantine in iconography, composition, and detail - Figure style far removed from Byzantine prototype; reveals unfamiliarity of Germanic artists with any illusionistic tradition of image-making; artist is hesitant and inept , often confusing motifs and perspectives - Both casket and relief are emblematic of collision of awkward compromise of Germanic culture with that of Mediterranean world Hiberno-Saxon Art

Christian culture of Celtic Ireland played a leading role in the civilizing of Europe - The Celts of Ireland converted to Christianity in the 5th century; developed a form of monastic organization that preserved and cultivated literature, learning, philosophy, and the decorative and useful arts before the establishment of Benedictine Rule. - Irish experienced golden age from about 400 to 450. - Irish monks founded monastic establishment in the British islands at Iona and then journeyed on different parts of Europe and formed a rivalry on roman church. - Focus on design elements of nomadic and migration craft art. Tara Brooch, Ireland, c. 700 - an article of Irish costume jewelery from the 8th century. - Bronze with overlay of gold filigree, glass and amber settings - The art of migration period is summed up, human instinct for design. - embellished w/ panels of delicate filigree; punctuated w/ studs of amber and amethyst glass. - Panels, chip-carved, engraved and tooled; w/ inlays of copper, silver, gold. - Motifs of decorative vocabulary: Interlaced birds, animals, humanoids, strap work scrolled bands, and ribbons, whorls, knots and bosses . - Patterns balanced, repeat and reflect one another. - Despite the astonishing profusion, intricacy and density of elements, overall geometry of ring and pin strictly controls. Manuscript Illumination - Work of secular art sponsored by the church. - Liturgical books became an important vehicle of miniature art and a principal medium for the exchange of stylistic ideas - Illuminating pages of gospel books produced during 7th and 8th centuries. - Books were scarce; for those who could read. - Libraries and scriptoria of Benedictine monasteries or major churches contained those books. Ornamental page from the Book of Lindisfarne, England, late 7th c. - Illumination, approx.. 13 x 10 - Combine irish and Anglo-Saxon motifs - intricate ornamental patterning - Serpentine interlacements of fantastic animals devouring each other. - Inscribe with Cross - Detailed symmetries, w/ inversions, reversals and repetition - Zoomorphic forms w/ clusters and knots of lines - Steady harmony of Key (color) and maximum motion of figure and line The Scribe Ezra Rewriting the Sacred Records from the Codex Amiatinus, early 18th c.

From Codex of Amiatinus, copied from an Italian manuscript, the Codex Grandior of Cassiodorus by illuminator with Italian training acquired in some Anglo-Saxon monastery St. Matthew, Book of Lindisfarne, England, late 7th c. - Approx. 11 x 9 - Abstract Hiberno-Saxon manner - Color applied in flat planes blended smoothly to model figure and provide gradual transitions from light to dark - Artist trained in hard, evenly stressed line, knew nothing of illusionistic pictorial technique or representation of human figure - No modeling is used - No variations in light and shade Medieval artist - Go to another image, a statue, or a picture in a book - Practice of copying pictures closely related to copying books Sculpture - 8th to 10th centuries, Irish in form and origin - High crosses, exceptional by their mass and scale - Some 17 high or taller, preside over burial grounds adjoining ruins of monasteries - The Celtic cross very symbol of Christian Ireland in both religious and secular iconography - Freestanding; imposing unity, weight and presence of both building and statue, architecture and sculpture combined High Cross of Muiredach, Ireland, 923 - Approx. 16 high - Serve as standard for the form - Circle-intersected cross is characteristic figure that identifies the type as Celtic - Later ones have figured panels with scenes from life of Christ, occasionally life of Celtic saint - Animals and grotesque human figures sometimes portrayed Viking Art - 793 Vikings (Scandinavian traders) destroyed Lindisfarne; terror of Western Europe; Scandinavian Norsemen not converted to Christianity until late 10th century; colonizing territory they occupied by conquest; talent for organization and administration and war; Christianized and settling down, became the Normans - Art of Viking sea-rovers associated with ships woo and carving of it Plow of Oseberg ship, early 9th c - Rich evidence and quality of Early Viking art; original and important artistic development of the Early Middle Ages

Reconstructed Interlaced design; curving lines of prow embroidered with tightly interwoven animals in serpentine and lacertine (lizardlike) interlacement Animal-head post from Oseberg ship burial, c. 825 - Wood, approx.. 5 high - Expresses fierce, untamed spirit and energy of the pagan sea rovers - Miniature, type of spell-casting monster for the figurehead of Viking ship - Union of fundamental motifs of Germanic peoples: animal form and interlace pattern Wood-carved ornament (porch of stave church), Norway, 11 th c. - Culmination of interpatterning of motifs - Church contructed of staves (wedge-shaped timbers placed vertically) - Gracefully attenuated animal forms intertwine with flexible stalks and tendrils in spiraling rhythm; astonishing effect of natural growth - Refined animal-interlace design - Urnes style (culmination of three centuries of Viking art, after which merges with Romanesque art Carolingian Art - Late 8th and early 9th c. - Carolingian renovation; historical phenomenon of energetic, brilliant emulation of art, culture, and political ideals of Christian Rome - Frankish empire of Western Europe; - Charlemagne wished to create a unified Christendom as a visible empire; crowned by pope in 800 as head of Holy Roman Empire - Aachen (court of Charlemagne) - Recovery of true text of Bible - Alcuin of York, renowned scholar undertook correction of actual script used; produced clear, precise system of letters; became manager of palace school, overseer of its educational program, and teacher and friend of Charlemagne; copy exported to monasteries Painting and Illumination - Charlemagne imported libraries from Northumbria, Italy and Byzantium - The famous Coronation Gospels (the Gospel Book of Charlemagne, formerly in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna) an old traditional records found on the knees of the dead emperor when Otto III had the imperial tomb at Aachen opened. St. Matthew, from the Coronation Gospels (the Gospel Book of Charlemagne) c.800-810 - Approx. 9x 6 - picture of St. Matthew composing his gospel descends from ancient depictions in sculpture and painting of an inspired philosopher or poet seated and writing.

Its technique is of the same antiquity deft, illusionistic brushwork that easily and accurately defines the masses of the drapery as they wrap and enfold the body beneath. The curule chair, the lectern, and the saints toga are familiar Roman accessories. The landscape background is classicizing, and the whole composition seems utterly out of place in the North in the ninth century. Carloinigian painting extremely diverse and uneven; classification becomes difficult manner

St. Matthew, from the Ebbo Gospels (the Gospel Book of Archbishop Ebbo of Reims) c.816-835, Approx. 10 x 8, Bibliothque, Nationale, Paris. - Another St. Matthew in a gospel book made for Archbishop Ebbo of Reims, missionary to the Danes, may be an interpretation of a prototype very similar to the one used by the Coronation Gospel master. - It resembles it in pose and in brushwork technique, but there the resembles stops. - The Classical calm and solidity have been replaced by an energy that amounts to frenzy. - The frail saint almost leaps under its impulse. - His hair stands on end; the folds of his drapery writhe and vibrate. - The landscape behind him rears up alive. - He appears in frantic haste, to take down what his inspiration dictates. - Fidelity to bodily proportions is forsaken in the artists effort to concentrate on the act of writing; the head, hands, ink-horn, pen, and book are focus of composition Narrative illustration - Richly developed in Early Christian and Byzantine art, was revived by Carolingians Psalm 150, from Utrecht Psalter, France, c. 830, 4 x 9 - text, in three columns, reproduces the Psalms of David and is profusely illustrated by pen-and-ink drawings in the margins. - Psalm 150 depicts pictures which the psalmist exhorts us to praise the name of God in song and with timbrel, trumpet, and organ. The style shows a vivid animation of much the same kind as the St. Matthew of the Ebbo Gospels and may have been produced in the same school of Reims. The bodies are tense, shoulders hunched, heads thrust forward; spontaneity of actions and rapid, sketchy techniques convey same nervous vitality as figure in Ebbo Gospels

details of figures, dress, and accessories, scholars feel certain that the artist was following one or more manuscripts compiled some four hundred years earlier. The interest in simple human emotions and actions, gesture, however, are essentially medieval characteristics, although they began in Early Christian art; for example, how the two musicians playing the pipe organ shout at their helpers to pump air more strenuously; this candid observation of human behaviour, often in unguarded moments, was to lend both truth and charm to the art of the Late Middle Ages. Art in Metal and Ivory - To our knowledge, little or no monumental sculpture was produced in the Carolingian period. - The traditional taste for sumptuous wrought and portable metal objects, persisted under Charlemagne and his successors; responsible for the production of numerous precious and beautiful works, like the book cover of the Codex of Aureus of St. Emmeram Christ in Majesty, Four Evangelists, and Scenes from the Life of Christ, Cover of the Codex of Aureus of St. Emmeram, c.870. - Gold set with pearls and precious stones, 17x13; Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. - This book cover probably originated at either the St.-Dennis or Reims court of Charles the Bald, a grandson of Charlemagne. - Within the inscribed, squared cross, Christ in Majesty appears in an attitude not far removed from that in apse mosaic of San Vitale an example of the persistence of types and attitudes from early Christian art into subsequent periods - The Four Evangelists are seated around Christ, outside the cross; the four scenes from Christs life are portrayed above and below the saints. - In general, manuscript illumination provides the generative prototypes for ivory and metalwork. - Style of figures echoes that of Ebbo Gospels and Utecht Psalter - Delicate floral filigree clustering about the border jewels and enamels recalls intricate interlace patterns and provides foil for classicizing figure style - The ornamentation of book covers in metal was often complemented by ivory carving, the metalwork serving as frame for the figured plaque. Cover of Psalter of Charles the Bald, c. 865 - Ivory panels with scenes from Psalms 51 and 57 set in silver frame with filigree work and precious stones; panel 5 x 5 , Entire cover 9 x 7 - A sumptuous example of metal-and-ivory craft is the front cover of a Psalter.

Belonging to Charles the Bald, patron of the royal abbey of St.-Dennis near Paris, where the work was produced. - The narrative closely follows the text. - Beginning at the top, the panel shows the psalmist in the Lords lap, flanked by lions. - On the next level are men armed to the teeth. - At the bottom, men are digging the pit and falling into it. - Style of carved figures derived from illustrations of the Utrecht Psalter; quick, nervous movement and exaggerated gestures Master Wolvinus, detail of the Paliotto (golden altar), Sant Ambrogio in Milan, early 9th c. - Gold, silver, enamel, precious and semiprecious stones; entire altar 3' high, 7' long, 4' deep. - Metal-craft was extended to produce works much larger than the book cover. - Still maintaining the same principles in items of materials, methods of production, design, and figure style. - Shaped like kind of large tomb, altar was designed to contain bones of Saint Ambrose; four sides ornamented with the jewelers workmanship and lavish detail; divided into framed compartments of geometric simplicity and formality; gold, silver, and precious stones set into filigree to honor (in the central panels) the enthroned Christ, the Signs of the Evangelists, and the Twelve Apostles, all wrought in the classicizing figure style of the Carolingian renovation. - Inscriptions on the back of the altar, where scenes from the life of St. Ambrose are found. - This work of Master Wolvinius and his fellow craftsmen remains perhaps the supreme masterpiece of the Age of Charlemagne Mounted warrior with captive (detail of gold vessel from the Nagy-szent-miklos treasure hoard found at Romania, probably 9th c. - left by Avars (a buried treasure never reclaimed) - Vessel 8 high - Made of beaten gold, it bears a medallion with the image of a mounted, armoured warrior. - Posed both frontally and in profile, an Archaic convention seen in ancient art; the warrior carries a spear over his right shoulder, and seizes a disarmed man with his left hand. - The thrown-back head of another figure, which appears below the horsemans left wrist, may belong to a man he already has killed. - The bead and fish-scale moulding of the medallion frame and the floral motifs of the shoulder and base of the vessel are derived from Byzantine and Sasanian Art.

Whether inspired by the Christian God, or the god of war, the craft art of the Early Middle Ages achieved a rare distinction. - The priest and the warrior were patrons of the craftsman . Architecture - Charlemagne also encouraged the revival of Roman building techniques. - Charlemagne often visited Ravenna, and historians have long thought that he chose one of its churches as the model for the Palatine Chapel of his own palace at Aachen. - Importation of Mediterranean tradition of stone masonry Restored plan of the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, Germany, 792-805 - Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne, The plan of this structure shows a resemblance to that of San Vitale. - There is very likely a direct relationship between the two. - Nevertheless, a comparison of the two buildings is instructive. - The Aachen plan is simpler. Interior of the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne - A view of the interior of the Palatine chapel shows that the floating quality of San Vitale has been converted into blunt massiveness and stiffened into solid geometric form. - First vaulted structure of the Western Middle Ages. - Expresses robust strength and clear structural articulation Torhalle (gatehouse) of the Lorsch Monastery, Germany, c. 800 - Originally built as freestanding structure in the atrium of the now-lost monastic church - To Charlemagne, both the arch and the atrium entrance could have been symbols of Christian triumph over paganism. - The triple-arched gateway on the lower level closely follows the design of Roman city gates. - Flanking towers column-arch combination, fairly close copies of Late Roman capitals - The decorative treatment of the flat wall surfaces with colored inlays of cream and pink stone in imitation of Roman opus reticulatum (a method of facing concrete walls with lozenge-shaped bricks on stones to achieve a netlike ornamental surface pattern). - The columns support a decorative stringcourse (raised horizontal moulding, or band) instead of full entablature - The second level is articulated with pseudo-Ionic pilasters that carry a zigzag of converted into a decorative pattern of hexagons and triangles that form star shapes.

The steeply pitched, timber roof that shelters a chapel dedicated to St. Michael unmistakably stamp this gatehouse as a northern building. - Adoption of Early Christian basilica was crucial to subsequent development of Western church architecture in general and to the Romanesque style in particular - Several churches of the basilican type were built in northern Europe during the reign of Charlemagne, but none has survived. Schematic plan for a monastery at St. Gall, Switzerland, c819 (redrawn after a 9th century manuscript) As we have observed, the monasteries were of central importance in the revival of learning - Near center, dominating everything, was abbey church, with the cloister at one side - Around cloister were grouped most essential buildings: dormitory, refectory, kichen, and storage rooms - Other buildings: infirmary, school, guesthouse, bakery, brewery, and workshops grouped around central core of church and cloister - Walter Horns discovery; laid out on a module base of two-and-a-half feet - Reflects Medieval way of thinking important for Romanesque art and architecture; as guide for builder of abbey, expresses the authority of the Benedictine Rule and serves as a kind of prototype - Neat squaring characterizes plan and balance of clearly defined, simple units will dominate Romanesque architectural design; eagerness of medieval mind to explain Christian faith in terms of an orderly, rationalistic philosophy built on carefully distinguished propositions and well-planned arguments is visually anticipated in the plan of St. Gall Monastery church of St. Riquier, Centula, France, c. 800 - Engraving made in 1612 after a now-destroyed, 11th century miniature - Gives idea of what the St. Gall church would have looked like - Monastery church; shows a feature not indicated on plan of St. Gall but most likely common to all Carolingian churches multiple integrated towers; grouping of three towers at the west, quite characteristic of Carolingian churches Ottonian Art - Charlemagnes empire survived him by less than 30 years. - Under his three grandsons, the Carolingian Empire was partitioned into western, central, and eastern areas. - Vikings in the west helped bring about the collapse of the Carolingians and the suspension of their great cultural effort. The scourge of the Vikings in -

the west was complemented by the invasions of the Magyars in the east and by the plundering and piracy of the Saracen in Mediterranean. - In the mid-tenth century, the eastern part of the former empire consolidates under the rule of a new Saxon line of German emperors called the Ottonians. The three Ottos made headway against the invaders from the east, remained free from Viking depredations, and were able to found an empire that became the successor to Charlemagnes Holy Roman Empire. - The culture and tradition of the Carolingian period not only were preserved but were advanced and enriched. Architecture - Ottonian architects followed the direction of their Carolingian predecessors. St. Michaels, the abbey church at Hildesheim (restored), Geramny, c. 10011031 - built by Bishop Bernward. - Retains tower groupings; massive blank walls - Addition of second transept and apse results in a better balancing of east and west units Section and plan of St. Michaels - clearly show the east and west centers of gravity, the nave being merely a hall that connects them. - Additional lateral entrances leading into aisles from north and south making almost complete loss of traditional basilican orientation toward east - Alternate support system (piers alternate with pairs of columns as wall supports) will become standard element of many Romanesque churches in Northern Europe; adopted as esthetic device that furnishes visual proof of geometric organization of buildings plan Nave of St. Michaels - shows the rhythm of the alternating light and heavy wall supports; rhythm not reflected in the upper nave walls - taller but retains continuous and unbroken appearance of its Early Christian predecessors Sculpture - St. Michaels is an important and highly refined transitional monument that fills a gap between the Carolingian and Romanesque styles. - Its patron, Bishop Bernward, was not only skilled in affairs of state, but also was an eager scholar, a lover of the arts, and, according to his biographer, an expert craftsman and bronze caster. - In 1001, he visited Rome as a guest of the emperor, this stay must have acquainted him with monuments like the Column of Trajan, which may

influenced the great, column like paschal candlestick he set up in St. Michaels. - The wooden doors of an Early Christian church, Santa Sabina, may have inspired the remarkable bronze doors the bishop had cast for his splendid church. Adam and Eve Reproached by the Lord, from the bronze doors commissioned by Bishop Bernward for St. Michaels, 1015 - Approx. 23 x 43 - The style of the figures on the doors derives from Carolingian manuscript illumination but has an expensive strength of its own once again, a case of the form derived from a prototype becoming something new and firmly itself. - Force is concentrated in the gesture, which becomes psychic focus of the whole composition - Instinct for pantomimic pose and gesture guides representations and narratives of medieval art from the very beginning Echternacht Master, Doubting Thomas, c. 1000 - pantomime, emphasized by telling exaggeration, appears in an ivory carving that surely is among the masterpieces of the art of the middle Ages. - Ivory; small panel, 9 high and 4 wide, carries a composition of two intertwined figures, beautifully adjusted to the space. - theme is the persuasion of Doubting Thomas. - After the resurrection, when Christ appears for the second time to his sorrowing disciples (John 20:24), all believe that he is truly Christ and truly risen except the skeptical Thomas, who demands to feel the bodily wounds of the master he has seen crucified. - Figures represent entirely within the context of emotion; the concentration on the single act of Christs revelation to the doubter, emotional vibrations that accompany the doubt, and ensuing conversation of Thomas determine every line of rendering - made by the artist known as the Echternacht Master, is half of a diptych. Painting and Revelation - We must assume that, by Ottonian times, artists had become familiar enough with the Carolingian figurative modes to work with considerable independence, developing a functional, vernacular style of their own. - A supreme example of this is an illumination in the Lectionary of Henry II, called The Annunciation to the Shepherds, in which an angel announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds.

The Annunciation to the Shepherds, from the Lectionary of Henry II, 10021014. - Approx. 17 x 13. - Emphasize power and majesty of Gods authority - Pantomic impact - Ottonian paintings produced for the court and for great monasteries; appealed to aristocratic audience - Classical yet display sculpturesque clarity strong, relieflike projection and silhouette that suggest a confident capturing of Antique spirit - Power mans of expression imply an intensification of Christian spirituality related to the brad monastic reforms of the 10 th and 11th centuries - New manner of fashioning human figure in art that is not slavishly dependent on prototypes; have lost old realism, move with an abrupt, hinged, jerky movement that is not according to nature but possess sharp and descriptive expressiveness Otto III Enthroned Receiving the Homage of Four Parts of the Empire (with nobility and clergy), from the Gospel Book of Otto III, 997-1000. - Approx. 14 x 10 - Of the three Ottos, it was Otto III (983-1002) for whom the dream of a revived Christian Roman Empire was most precious; indeed it was his lifes obsession. - The emperor is represented enthroned, holding the scepter and crossinscribed orb that represent his universal authority. - He is flanked by the clergy and the barons (the Church and the state), both aligned in his support. - The picture still has a clear political resemblance to the Justinianic mosaic in San Vitale. - Vestigial, imperial ideal give an example of order and law to the people - In the illumination, Otto, sitting between the rivalrous representatives of church and state, typifies the very model of the medieval predicament that will divide Europe for centuries; controversy of Holy Roman Emperors with the popes bring German successors of Ottonians to defeat in the 13 th century