Medieval Art (500-1400) PART 3: Romanesque

Pre-Romanesque (500-1000): After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, there were no longer strong centralized leaders able to bring stability and control. Various peoples and kingdoms emerged through migrations and invasions, including the Franks in the north and northeast of Europe. The Frankish Kingdom became a major force in restoring order and unity in Western Europe. The rise of the Frankish Kingdom, especially under leaders like Clovis I and later Charlemagne, was crucial for the development of early medieval Europe. Charlemagne’s reign (768–814) marked a significant revival of political power, culture, and Christian authority, often called the Carolingian Renaissance. This period saw the blending of Roman, Germanic, and Christian traditions, which greatly influenced Pre-Romanesque art and architecture. Under Frankish rule, monumental church-building programs began, and classical artistic forms were revived and adapted, setting the foundation for the later Romanesque style.

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Pre-Romanesque (500-1000): Carolingian Art (780-900):

Charlemagne was the only emperor who was able to unite the whole european land.

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Pre-Romanesque (500-1000): Carolingian Art (780-900):

This is ....., 790s-814. This photo is a possible reconstruction of Charlemagne's palace, by architect Odo of Metz. The only part that is still stending is the chapel, which is quite different nowadays from its original design, made in 805.

Pre-Romanesque (500-1000): Carolingian Art (780-900):

Palatine Chapel (as part of Palace of Aachen), Aachen, 792 - 814, consecrated 805
The chapel's classical style referenced its Roman imperial lineage, particularly in its imitation of two significant Christian buildings:
• The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,
• San Vitale in Ravenna.=the interiar is almost identical.
It is an excellent example of the classical revival style that characterized the architecture of Charlemagne's reign.

Spolia is also present=the columns.

Central plan is symbolic=eternity (a neverending line=circle)
The exact dates of the chapel's construction are unclear.

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Pre-Romanesque (500-1000): Ottonian Art (900-1000):

• After Charlemagne's legacy had begun to die out, the warlike tribes in what is now Germany (then Saxony) banded together to elect a king from among their nobility. In 919 C.E., they chose Henry the Liudolfing.
• Henry's son Otto I (who became emperor in 962) lends his name to the "Ottonian" period.
• He forged an important alliance with the Pope, which allowed him to be crowned the first official Holy Roman Emperor since 924.
• Each Ottonian king was determined to define himself as a Roman Emperor in the style of Constantine and Charlemagne. This meant perpetuating a highly intellectual court and creating an extensive artistic legacy.

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Pre-Romanesque (500-1000): Ottonian Art (900-1000):

This is ....., c. 1015, St. Michael's Chuch, Hildesheim.

Cleric Bernward of Hildesheim cast his 15-foot doors depicting the fall and redemption of mankind out of single pieces of bronze. This was an enormous undertaking, and the process was so complex that it would not be replicated until the Renaissance.
Left door → Old Testament, Right door → New Testament

Romanesque (1000-1150):

• By 1000, Europe had begun to settle down from the great migration that characterized the Early Medieval period.
• Universal triumph of Christianity created a spiritual Empire.
• More stability and economic development let trade and the arts flourishing and for the first time after centuries cities expanded.
Monastery
• The monastery is a complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and the church and workplaces of monks and nuns, who live in community.
• In a monastery one Rule is followed. During the High Middle Ages and the Romanesque period most of the monasteries adopted the Benedictine rule - the rule of Saint Benedict, a monk who, while living in southern Latium in the monastery of Montecassino, wrote the chapters of his Rule.
Cathedral
• The Cathedral is the principal church of a diocese, where a bishop sits.
(diocese = district under the supervision of a bishop)
• Sources of civic pride, artistic expression and spiritual devotion.

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Romanesque (1000-1150): This is called a .....

Romanesque (1000-1150): What is the Plan of Saint Gall (820-830)?

• A proposed city layout commissioned by Charlemagne that illustrates the ideal urban structure of a Christian capital, complete with roads, public baths, and administrative buildings.

• A medieval architectural drawing of a monastic compound dating from 820-830 AD.

• A preserved floor plan of an actual Carolingian monastery built in present-day Switzerland, serving as the model for most Benedictine monasteries constructed afterward.

• It depicts an entire Benedictine monastic compound, including churches, houses, stables, kitchens, workshops, brewery, infirmary, and a special house for bloodletting.

Romanesque (1000-1150): This is ......, c. 1001-1031.

Fits into Romanesque's characteristics; simple, basic, small windows, no decoration, etc.

For its plan:

• Double-choir basilica with two transepts and a square tower on each crossing. The west choir is emphasized by an ambulatory and a crypt.
• Complex structure typical of many Ottonian churches.
• Similarities with the St. Gall plan.
• Important element for the development of Romanesque architecture: geometrical® conception, in which the square of the transept crossing is the module repeated throughout the building.