Romanesque art

For other uses see Romanesque (disambiguation).

'The Virgin and Child in Majesty and the Adoration of the Maji', Romanesque fresco by the Master of Pedret from the apse of the Church of Saint Joan at Tredos, Lleida, Spain, c. 1100, The Cloisters

Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style, which rose in the 13th century or later, depending on region. The study of medieval art began in the early nineteenth century when historians, following their peers in 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.

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.

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 used 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.

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