M4

• Middle Ages


  The period from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century CE until the beginning of the Renaissance Period
• Medieval Period


  Also known as the Middle Ages, introduced by Italian humanists to differentiate the 1000-year gap from the Classical Period (Ancient Greek and Roman) up to the Renaissance
• Why the Roman Empire fell

  1. Rome suffered losses against Germanic tribes

  2. Marcus Augustulus was the last Roman emperor, defeated by Odoacer in 476 CE

  3. Rome was crumbling from within due to financial crisis, overspending, minimal resources, and depletion of the labor force
• When the Roman Empire was divided into two - the Western Empire with the seat of power in Milan and the Eastern Empire with the seat in Constantinople - it was meant to govern the Empire efficiently. However, the Eastern Empire endured longer.
• Factors that led to the fall of the Roman Empire

  1. Corrupt officials

  2. Frequent civil wars resulting in murder of sitting Emperor and coronation of a new one

  3. Arrival of the Huns in Europe driving other tribes into the Roman Empire border

  4. Spread of Christianity weakening polytheistic beliefs and imperial values

  5. Weakening of the Roman legions
• Early Christian Art


  Painting, sculpture, and architecture from the beginnings of Christianity up to the 6th Century CE in Italy and the Western part of the Mediterranean
• Early Christian Art


  • Hidden and symbolic
  • Sketchy style derived from Roman impressionism through the 4th century
  • Earliest Christian iconography tended to be symbolic
• Ichthys


  Greek word for fish, one of the most important early Christian symbols
• Ichthys was taken as an acrostic for the Greek phrase "Iēsous Christos Theou Hyios Sōtēr," which means "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior"
• Alpha and Omega


  Represent the eternity of Christ as the Son of God, with Alpha being the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega the last
• Dove


  Symbol of the Holy Spirit, occurring frequently in connection with early representations of baptism
• The earliest identifiably Christian art consists of a few 2nd-century wall and ceiling paintings in the Roman catacombs (underground burial chambers), which continued to be decorated in a sketchy style derived from Roman impressionism through the 4th century
• Early Christian Art


  • Jesus Healing the bleeding woman 300-350 CE
  • Noah Praying in the Ark
• Edict of Milan


  Agreement that shifted Christianity from an illicit, persecuted sect to a welcome—and soon dominant—religion of the Roman Empire
• Basilica


  Christian churches needed large interior spaces to house the growing congregations and to mark the clear separation of the faithful from the unfaithful. The buildings needed to convey the new authority of Christianity.
• Basilicas


  • Aula Palatina (Interior of Basilica) in Trier, Germany
  • Basilica of St. John Lateran
  • Old St. Peter's Basilica
• The basilica at Old St. Peter's Basilica was around 403 feet long and 208 feet in width. It held 4 aisles instead of the usual 2. It was accentuated by the transept running through the nave and the apse, the central part of the building and portion containing the altar respectively.
• Early Christian Mosaics


  Wall mosaics had been used in Roman art well before Emperor Constantine's edict of toleration of the Christian faith in 313 CE
• Early Christian Mosaics


  • Mosaic of the Traditio Legis (Christ giving the law) at the Church of Santa Costanza
  • Christ presenting the key of His Kingdom to St. Peter at the Church of Santa Costanza
  • Apse Mosaic at the Church of Santi Cosma e Damiano
  • Mosaic at the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta
• Romanesque Art


  Art style that took shape in the eleventh century, initially developing in France and then spreading to other regions of Europe. Symbolized the growing wealth of European cities and the power of church monasteries.
• Romanesque Art


  • Retained many basic features of Roman architectural style, most notably semi-circular arches, but with distinctive regional characteristics
  • Resulted from the great expansion of monasticism in the 10th and 11th centuries
• Romanesque Painting


  • Fresco on the Apse of the Basilica of Saint Angelo in Formis, Italy
  • Fresco on the Apse of San Sebastiano al Palatino in Italy
  • Christ in Majesty fresco at the Château des Moines, Berzé-la-Ville, France
  • Christ as the Alpha and Omega fresco at the St. Gilles Chapel, France
  • Christ of the Day of the Judgement fresco from the church of Sant Climent de Taüll in Spain
• Romanesque Sculpture


  • The central portal of the Vézelay Abbey in Burgundy France
  • The Majestat Batlló wooden crucifix from Catalonia
  • Madonna as Seat of Wisdom from the Camaldolese abbey in Borgo San Sepolcro near Arezzo, Italy
  • The Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church attributed to Reiner of Huy
  • The Bamberg Cat
• Gothic art developed after the Romanesque, in the 12th century. The style continued to be used well into the 16th century in some parts of Europe while giving way to the Renaissance style earlier in some regions.
• Gothic


  Term coined by classicizing Italian writers of the Renaissance, who attributed the invention (and what to them was the nonclassical ugliness) of medieval architecture to the barbarian Gothic tribes that had destroyed the Roman Empire and its classical culture in the 5th century CE
• The term Gothic retained its derogatory overtones until the 19th century, at which time a positive critical revaluation of Gothic architecture took place. Although modern scholars have long realized that Gothic art has nothing in truth to do with the Goths, the term Gothic remains a standard one in the study of art history.
• Illuminated Manuscripts


  Handwritten books that have been decorated with gold or silver, brilliant colors, or elaborate designs or miniature pictures
• Though various Islamic societies also practiced this art, Europe had one of the longest and most cultivated traditions of illuminating manuscripts.
• Illumination


  The embellishment of the text of handwritten books with gold or, more rarely, silver, giving the impression that the page had been literally illuminated
• Illuminated Manuscripts


  • The Westminster Abbey Bestiary (c. 1275-1290 CE)
  • The Book of Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux (c. 1324-1328 CE)
  • Grimani Breviary (c. 1510 CE)
• Stained Glass


  Used in French churches in the Romanesque period, the Gothic windows were much larger, eventually filling entire walls. Their function was to fill the interior with a mystical colored light, representing the Holy Spirit, and also to illustrate the stories of the Bible for the large majority of the congregation who could not read.
• Gothic Sculpture


  Closely tied to architecture since it was used primarily to decorate the exteriors of cathedrals and other religious buildings. The earliest Gothic sculptures were stone figures of saints and the Holy Family used to decorate the doorways, or portals, of cathedrals. Early Gothic masons also began to observe such natural forms as plants more closely, as is evident in the realistically carven clusters of leaves that adorn the capitals of columns. Monumental sculptures assumed an increasingly prominent role during the High and late Gothic periods and were placed in large numbers on the facades of cathedrals, often in their own niches. In the 14th century, Gothic sculpture became more refined and elegant and acquired a mannered daintiness in its elaborate and finicky drapery.
• Gothic Sculpture


  • Shrine of the Three Kings, Cologne Cathedral
  • The symbolic marriage of Christ and the Virgin Mary, representing the Church from the Reims Cathedral
  • A grotesque perched atop Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
• Gothic Architecture


  An architectural style in Europe that lasted from the mid-12th century to the 16th century, particularly a style of masonry building characterized by cavernous spaces with the expanse of walls broken up by overlaid tracery. Characteristics include: grand, tall designs which swept upwards with height and grace; use of flying buttresses; pointed arch; vaulted ceilings; light, airy interiors; gargoyles as waterspouts; decorative.
• Gothic Architecture


  • Westminster Abbey, London
  • Notre-Dame de Reims, France
  • Amiens Cathedral, France
  • Canterbury Cathedral, U.K.
  • Milan Cathedral, Italy