Early Medieval Flashcards
Hiberno-Saxon, CHI RHO IOTA, page from Book of Kells, late 8th or early 9th century
one of the most famous examples of “animal style” abstraction+ Early Christian pictorial imagery; earth (cats & mice), sea (otters), sky (moths)= Christ’s role in creation; moths are symbol of resurrection; mice eating Eucharist host= unworthy, preying cats punish; or cats are devil lying in wait for sinners, mice are saved by host
oxgall inks, pigments on vellum
carpet page= page of pure embellishment
First letters of Christ’s name in Greek “X” and “P” overlap, Latin phrase at bottom related Christ’s birth- not a picture of event, but ornamental celebration
embellishments/geometric ornamentation also see in Islamic texts; stylized animal forms from “barbarians”
Hiberno-Saxon, Saint Matthew, Lindisfarne Gospels, ca. 698-721 (Northumbria, England)
Author portrait- model is Italian illustrated Gospel books
Matthew is seated, dressed as Roman philosopher, long hair, toga, sandals, illusionistic space, curtain pulled back
Classical motifs- curtain (sets scene indoors), set at angle (type of intuitive perspective), labelled in Greek & Italian- prestige of classical languages- Greek=NT, Latin=language of church
upper left- symbol of Matthew- imago hominis= image of man; uninterested in volume- forms conceived in terms of line & color (linear idiom)
Carolingian, Equestrian Portrait of Charlemagne or Charles the Bald (his grandson), Ninth Century
Charlemagne- consolidates Frankish Kingdom, defeats Lombards, christianizes Saxons (Germans)
commissioned to show his dominion over newly founded Roman Empire= successor of Rome’s Christian emperors
9.5 inches high, dressed in imperial robes, crown, holds globe (world domination); on crown early version of fleur de lis- becomes symbol of future French kings
Marcus Aurelius is touchstone for equestrian portraits; Charlemagne has mustache, not beard- mustache=sign of nobility for Franks- lineage w/ fearsome Gauls
Ottonian, Saint Michael’s, 1001-1031 (Hildesheim, Germany)
church named for archangel
Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim (tutor of Otto III) studied monuments in Rome
dual apses, modular design, built around module of crossing, repeated 3D unit of space, repeated to form transept & nave (like Basilica Ulpia- Trajan’s Forum)
alternating red & white motif inside- Visigoths, mosque of Cordoba
results in logical interior space, rationally relates to each other
Ottonian, Doors of Saint Michael’s, 1015
based on Early Christian models like Santa Sabina wooden doors in Rome
cast in single piece, almost 17’ tall; in bronze
16 relief panels, from OT-NT, typological associations in pairs Fall of Man vs. Crucifixion- pairings compare Old Testament & New- building on prophecies
simplicity, flattened setting, stout figures, limited background= emotional impact (like Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus)
