Late Middle Ages Flashcards
Early Romanesque, Cathedral of St. James, 1078-1122
Santiago de Compostela, Spain- dedicated to St. James, apostle to Iberian peninsula- tomb located there
pilgrimage church- Latin-cross plan; heavy, weighted masonry, repeated barrel arch shapes= “Romanesque” & emphasizes structural clarity
serves pilgrims and locals; pilgrims enter through transept/ambulatory, locals through west portal- longer nave, doubled side aisles, added transept, ambulatory, radiating chapels
pilgrims travel to see reliquaries, pray for favors
Late Romanesque, Gislebertus, Last Judgment, ca. 1120-35 (Cathedral of Saint-Lazare, Autun, Burgundy)
tympanum of W. portal-important Christian iconography and narrative- wages of sin+promise of salvation; Christ forever judging outside of space & time
elongated, stylized figures (Ottonian, Byzantine); Christ inside oval mandorla, cruciform halo, seated on throne- R- saved, L- damned, below souls ushered out of graves by angels to be judged; weighing of souls by archangel Michael; hell=basilica with devil capturing luxuria (lust)- compare to Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer, Ancient Egypt
Late Romanesque, Virgin and Child (Morgan Madonna), second half of 12th century (Auvergne, France)
reliquary, wood, 2’7”, originally polychromed
reliquary= most common, small scale sculpture in this period
sits on lion-throne of Solomon/Throne of Wisdom/sedes sapientiae
Queen of Heaven, but also Church (on which Christ sits)- Christ as tiny adult; rigidly upright, strictly frontal, emotionless
sculpted version of icon, not narrative, beyond time
Early/High Gothic, Chartres Cathedral, begun 1134
emphasis not on geometrical harmony, but grand height, new engineering devices=pulley & weight systems
Royal Portal- W. facade- set of 3 doors decorated with sculpture in tympanum, archivolts (7 liberal arts), capitals (Christ’s life)- OT Kings and Queens in jambs (rigid frontality, elongated- like caryatid in Greece), support NT figures on top (typology)
on right- cult of Virgin peaked in Gothic period, center tympanum Second Coming- Christ surrounded by Gospel writers
Fire in 1194- re-built taller & larger with rib vaulting- external skeletal support (flying buttresses)- symmetry not goal
Rose Window and Lancets, Chartres, 1230-1235
quatrefoils- four lobed designs containing fleurs-de-lis
lancets contain St. Anne (mother of Mary) with baby, flanked by OT figures (Melchizedek, David, Solomon, Aaron)
Virgin and child enthroned surrounded by doves, angels, kings, OT prophets
stained glass=light on earth=God enters church, light enters window without breaking, immaculate conception
High Gothic, Visitation, Reims, 1230 (Reims Cathedral, Reims, France)
illustrates visitation of Virgin Mary to cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist- jamb in central doorway
Increased classicism: drapery (S-shape), portraiture (differentiation b/w “young” and “aged” facial types), contrapposto pose
no longer elongated- twisting in space, gesticulating, feet planted
sculptor likely inspired by Roman statues (Reims was major Roman city)
High Gothic, Sainte-Chapelle, 1239-1248
culmination of the Gothic style- commissioned by Louis IX to house relics of Christ’s Passion, upper and lower liturgical spaces
upper: completely surrounded by stained glass with exploits of OT Kings & Queens, Louis claimed as royal ancestors
external buttressing- hidden from viewer inside, walls completely displaced indication of support
interior walls- slender piers, skeletal support for vast skin of stained glass- flushed with light
hemicycle- semicircular interior space- one continuous open area for king to worship ancestors
Late Medieval, Nicola Pisano, Pulpit, 1260 (Pisa, Italy)
Pulpit, Baptistery- 15’ high
Pisano- leading proponent of new classicizing & naturalistic style in sculpture
six-sided (hexagonal) pulpit- Corinthian capitals support standing figures; Gothic trefoil arches (German reference)
Most famous panel- Annunciation, Nativity, & Adoration of Shepherds- continuous narrative- design directly inspired by Phaedra & Hippolytus sarcophagus (Rome, c. 290)
