Middle Age Art Flashcards
What is at the front of the basilica
A courtyard called the atrium.
What was after the atrium
The narthex. The nave and the aisles on all sides could be entered from here
What was in front of the narthex
The nave
What were on the sides of the nave
The aisles
What was at the back of the church
The apse. Where only the holiest of holy people could go.
What are the ‘rules’ of Byzantine art
Humans had to be stylised
- large eyes
- narrow nose
- small mouth
- SHOW NO EMOTION
- everyone facing the front
- people stand in groups, most important in middle
- only hands feet and face visible
- human form mustn’t be revealed through clothing (pillar)
- skies must be golden ( heaven )
- plants and animals stylised
- holy figures shown with halos behind head
What are the characteristics of a Romanesque cathedral
There are rounded arches
Inside is beautiful, plain on the outside - shows what a person is like, doesn’t matter what outside looks like, inside counts
Thick walls supported by buttresses
Not many windows - dark
What are the characteristics of a gothic cathedral
More pointed arches
thinner walls supported by flying buttresses
Decorative outside and inside
Larger windows - stain glass windows
What was the floor plan of a gothic cathedral
It had a three-storey nave
