Deserts and semi-deserts of Africa fauna. Tropical deserts and semi-deserts of Africa: geographical location on the map, soil and climate, animals and plants

The architecture of Western Europe in the Middle Ages was dominated by two main styles: Romanesque (during the early Middle Ages) and Gothic - from the 12th century.

The basis of the Romanesque synthesis was cult architecture, which united artistic, ideological, functional and constructive principles into a single whole. The dominant type of religious building was the monastery church, in which the spirit of the era was most fully expressed. This reflected the entirety of the spiritual and material life of Western Europe during the Romanesque period, where the church was the main ideological force, and the monastery was the cultural center with a skillfully established economy, which had the forces and means necessary for construction. The elongated, basilica-type temple became dominant in the West. It was based on the idea of ​​a path as an allusion to “ way of the cross“,” the path of suffering and redemption, as an expression of the basic idea of ​​Catholicism.[p.246, 8]

A new word in the art of the Western Middle Ages was spoken in France in the middle of the 12th century. Contemporaries called the innovation “French manner”; descendants began to call it Gothic. The time of the rise and flowering of Gothic - the second half of the 12th and 13th centuries - coincided with the period when feudal society reached the apogee of its development.

Gothic as a style was the product of a set of social changes of the era, its political and ideological aspirations, acting in dynamic interaction, arose as a result of their resultant. Not a single phenomenon of that time, no matter how significant it was, be it “communal revolutions” or the struggle to strengthen central power, papal theory, scholasticism or knightly culture, mass movements, changes in spatial concepts or the growth of construction skills, can individually explain origin and development of Gothic. Gothic style originated in the domains of the French kings. And the rulers of other countries - England, Spain, the Czech Republic - introduced Gothic style as a symbol of the Christian monarchy.

The cathedral was the most important public place city ​​and remained the personification of the “divine universe.” In the relationship of its parts there is a similarity with the construction of scholastic “sums”, and in the images there is a connection with knightly culture. The essence of Gothic is in the juxtaposition of opposites, in the ability to unite in spiritual combustion an abstract idea and the living thrill of life, the cosmic infinity of the universe and the expressive concreteness of detail, in the ability to permeate earthly flesh with the movement of spiritual energy. This balancing on the edge of two contrasting spheres gave Gothic art a special poignancy and breathtaking poignancy. In the unity of opposites, in the polysemy of the Gothic phenomenon, one should look for the reason for the contradictory assessments that Gothic has been awarded over the centuries.

21.Heroic epic of the Middle Ages.

oic epic- a type of folk poetry. genre - a long poem, composed by singers from among the warriors, the clerical environment, performed - by the Huglars. · consist of a series of stanzas of unequal length, connected by assonance (like French), written in folk - “wrong” size - verses with an indefinite number of syllables (8-16 )

Themes: defense from external enemies (Moors = Saracens, Normans, Saxons) · faithful service to the lord, king · feudal feuds · were called “chanson de gesture” (song about deeds).

"Song of Cid" 1140. and Spanish heroic epic.

1. The Spanish epic strongly reflected political events: · the struggle with the Moors for the purpose of reconquista (capture by the Moors - 711) · discord between feudal lords - portrayed as a great evil, as treason · the struggle for the freedom of Castile (from the kingdom of Leon, the only one that did not was captured)

Sid is a historical figure (Rodrigo Díaz de Bivar), the hero of two poems: “PoS” (early, close to history - it was written “in front of witnesses”; Sid died in 1099) and “Rodrigo” + many romances. Lived XI. Nickname sid = "Mr." Alfonso VI - King of Castile, favored Leon and hated Sid, expelled him. In the poem, his vassals leave with him, in reality, the majority of the vassals remain, and everyone who is generally dissatisfied with Alphonse’s policies joins him.

He was a mercenary for a long time, then he recaptured Valencia. Then Sid made peace with Alphonse, and they fought against the Moors. The great figure of the reconquista is a folk hero, “my Cid.” The poem contains 3735 verses and is divided into two parts: · about expulsion · about wedding and about insulting daughters. Peculiarities:· formulaicity, repetition · a drier and more business-like way of presentation than in Roland

• an abundance of everyday features, family themes. Sid is 50 years old, wife, 2 daughters. there is no hyperbolism and an element of the supernatural (neither fairy-tale, nor Christian); there is no exclusivity of knightly feelings - earthiness, Sid is primarily a prudent master; Sid’s “understatement” - it is said that he is an “infanson” (owner of vassals), (was a grandee)

"The Song of Roland" (1100). associated with the image of Charlemagne. In the poem he appears in an idealized form.

• He actively participates in some poems and personally performs feats. In his youth, fleeing from traitors, he flees to Spain, fights valiantly, wins the love of the daughter of the Saracen king, returns to France and is crowned.
• In others, he fades into the background, he unites all the action, but cedes the role to the paladins, in particular the 12 peers (equals), most importantly Roland. Unknown author: saved deep meaning and the expressiveness of the ancient legend connected it with living modernity, found a brilliant artistic form Source - historical facts, but distorted:
• VIII -Did Charles intervene in the civil strife between Muslims? besieged Zaragoza? the rearguard was defeated by the Basques (not Muslim Moors, but Christian Basques)
• there was Hruotland - Roland - died in this battle. Features: hyperbolization (scale of events), (R.'s temples are bursting) idealization of the main characters (R., Karl, Archbishop Turpin, Olivier)
• the idea of ​​religious struggle and the special role of France in this struggle (heavenly signs, religious calls, denigration of “pagans”, protection of “ours” by God, R. - a vassal of Charles and God, the image of Turpin - simultaneously blesses the French for battle and fights himself) death of R. . is symbolic (there are no wounds, and due to internal necessity - repentance), the tragedy of R.’s death is softened - he goes to heaven and hands over the glove to God, as a heavenly lord. Influence: "PoP" was written shortly before the first crusade - the influence of its propaganda, socio-political contradictions - the episode of Ganelon's betrayal is strong. Confrontations: Karl - Ganelon: like the homeland (common cause) - traitor R. - Ganelon - personal
• R. - Olivier - 2 variants of one positive principle, R. - immensely courageous, O. - prudent.

"The Song of the Nibelungs" heroic epic, but in properties it is close to chivalric novels.

· there is definitely someone who compiled the contamination, not just a copyist - from southern Germany (modern Austria)

• is this a courtier? speaks about the intricacies of etiquette with knowledge of the matter, not by hearsay. composition:
• 2 parts (border - a quarrel between two queens): about matchmaking, about revenge 39 parts - avenurs (by event)
• reached in 33 copies, 1 - original, published in XIX 3. The plot goes back to three layers:
• the first layer - the most ancient - mythological - set out in the Eddas; the second - V, the defeat of the Burgundians from the Huns; the third layer - the modernity of the proposed author

4. features of the heroic epic:

• apsychological quarrel between queens - hierarchy, vassalage are important
• what is important is fiction, colorfulness, the unprecedented, not historical event. chronology and geography don’t matter, what matters is the vertical hell?we?heaven, what matters is the result, where you end up
• human life is temporary, truth is in eternity; images of heroes; chronology and geography do not matter

5. features of a chivalric novel

• the hero is a knight, a prince of a noble family beginning (“the maiden... more beautiful and noble than all...), the hero immediately falls in love with her, simply because she exists motives of serving a lady, marital love and revenge, feudal honor and fidelity, holidays, tournaments, hunting, battles, military valor, strength of knights
• detailed narrative, details, descriptions, episodes, experiences of the characters

6. peculiarities

• “Nibelung line”, stanzas of 4 verses with paired rhymes, constant repetitions, fractional, rhythmic repetition of the rhythm - tonic (according to the number of stresses)? 10,000 lines, but easily perceived
• middle-upper German(?many languages ​​were preserved until the 16th century)

7. common places:· hero kills the dragon · brothers' dispute · motive of the giantess sorceress and courtship to her

represented the unity of architecture, sculpture and painting. Already from a distance, going to worship, believers saw the external sculptural design of the facade of the temple. They went inside through the main portal - an entrance richly decorated with stone carvings, located on the western side of the building. Its massive bronze gates were often decorated with reliefs depicting biblical scenes.

Chisel and stone

Inside the temple, the believer walked to the altar past vaults, columns, capitals, walls, also decorated with stone carvings and frescoes. The images were based on scenes from the Holy Scriptures, but the main figure always remained the figure of God Almighty, merciless towards unrepentant sinners and triumphant over enemies. This is exactly how the people of the Middle Ages imagined the Creator. It is no coincidence that churches built in the Romanesque style were called the “Bible in stone.”

In sculpture of that period, as in painting, the role of the human figure in the decorative and ornamental composition was strengthened. However, monumental sculpture, inherited from Antiquity, was completely subordinated to architectural forms. Therefore, a huge role in decorating basilicas was given to stone sculpture, usually created against the background of reliefs. As a rule, they decorated not only the interior, but also the outer walls of basilicas. In friezes - decorative compositions, figures of squat proportions predominated, and on pillars and columns - elongated ones.

Features of sculpting

In addition, sculptural reliefs were located above the main portal. Most often it was an image of the Last Judgment. Probably the most famous is the scene decorating the entrance of the Cathedral of Saint-Lazare in the city of Autun (Burgundy). This is a rare case when the name of the master who created the relief has reached us - Gislebert. In the center of the image is the figure of Christ administering judgment. By right hand From him stand the jubilant righteous, to the left are trembling sinners. The most remarkable thing about this relief is the diversity of human feelings. Fear or hope are reflected in movements, poses and faces. The main thing for the master was not to create believable figures, but to depict the whole gamut of experienced feelings.

In each country, sculpture had its own national characteristics. For example, in Germany, unlike France, the facades and external walls of churches were almost not decorated. German Romanesque sculpture is strict and ascetic, severe and quite abstract. An example of this is the Laach Abbey Church of St. Mary.

Abbey of St. Mary (Germany)

The sculptural decoration of Romanesque churches revealed not only a love for the spiritual, but also for the extraordinary and fantastic. Here you can see stone ornaments of rare beauty and complexity: centaurs, winged dragons, monkeys playing chess, etc. Figurines fairy-tale creatures, borrowed from the traditions of Germanic tribes, often decorated the facades and capitals of columns of Romanesque basilicas.

"French style"

The Romanesque style and the Gothic style, which replaced it in the 13th century, left a huge imprint on the development of European culture in the Middle Ages. If Romanesque was a combination of severity and monumentality (no fantasies, only clear geometry and a prayerful mood), then Gothic was distinguished by lightness and sublimity.

It originated in the 12th century. in northern France, and then spread across almost the entire continent: from Portugal to Lithuania. At that time it was called the “French style”, and later the new direction was called “Gothic”. In many ways, the architecture of the Gothic cathedral preserved the traditions of the Romanesque style. Almost all of its elements remained, but in a changed form: instead of thick pillars, thin bunches of graceful columns appeared, semicircular arches stretched upward, small windows became huge, filling the temple with light.

Features of Gothic sculpture

Gothic sculpture. Bath Abbey, England.
The transition from the Romanesque style to the Gothic style in sculpture occurred somewhat later than in architecture, but then the development took place in an unusually fast pace, and Gothic sculpture reached its greatest flowering within one century.
Gothic sculpture was an organic part of the cathedral's architecture. The principle of the unity of all types of arts and their subordination to architecture found a bright and complete embodiment in Gothic. The development of plastic arts is inextricably linked with Gothic architecture. She holds first place in fine arts this time. Although Gothic knew relief and constantly turned to it, the main type of Gothic sculpture was the statue. The emergence of Gothic sculpture is associated with the construction of the Chartres, Reims and Amiens cathedrals, numbering up to two thousand sculptural works.


Sculpture in the interior of Chartres Cathedral.
Gothic is the heyday of monumental sculpture, in which the importance of statuary sculpture increases, and in relief there appears a craving for high relief - high relief.

Gothic figures are perceived, especially on facades, as elements of a single giant decorative and monumental composition. Individual statues or groups of statues, inextricably linked with the facade wall or with the pillars of the portal, are, as it were, parts of a large multi-figured relief.

Michel Colom Saint George slaying the dragon Gayon Castle, France
Nevertheless, when a city dweller on his way to the temple approached close to the portal, the overall decorative integrity of the composition disappeared from his field of vision, and his attention was attracted by the plastic and psychological expressiveness of the individual statues framing the portal, and the gate reliefs, telling in detail about a biblical or evangelical event. In the interior, sculptural figures, if they were placed on consoles protruding from the pillars, were visible from several sides. Full movements, they differed in rhythm from the slender pillars directed upward and asserted their special plastic expressiveness.

Andrea PisanoBirth of the Savior, Baptistery, Florence
The compositional and ideological concept of the sculptural decoration was subordinated to the program developed by theologians. The focus of the sculptural compositions was the portals, where large statues of apostles, prophets, and saints followed in lines, as if greeting visitors. Tympanums, arches of portals, spaces between them, galleries of the upper tiers, niches of turrets, and vimpergi were decorated with reliefs and statues. Many small figures and scenes were placed in archivolts, transepts, on consoles, plinths, pedestals, buttresses, and roofs.

Hans Mulcher
Holy Trinity, 1430, Ulm Cathedral, Germany
The capitals were entwined with leaves and fruits; half-blooming leaves (crabs) quickly ran along the ledges of the cornices, the ribs of the turrets, and the flying buttresses; the spiers were crowned with a flower (crucifer). The window frames were filled with carved openwork patterns. In the temple, a particle of the universe, they sought to embody the religious concept of human history with its sublime and base sides.
Sculpture of the portal of Chartres Cathedral
The cathedral as a whole was like a religiously transformed image of the world collected in a single focus. But interest in reality and its contradictions imperceptibly invaded religious subjects. True, life conflicts, struggle, suffering and grief of people, love and sympathy, anger and hatred appeared in the transformed images of the gospel legends: the persecution of the great martyr by cruel pagans, the misfortunes of the patriarch Job and the sympathy of his friends, the cry of the Mother of God for her crucified son, etc.

Andrea Pisano Campanile of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore 1337-1343, Florence
In terms of the choice of subjects, as well as in the distribution of images, the giant Gothic sculptural complexes were subject to the rules established by the church. The compositions on the facades of cathedrals in their totality gave a picture of the universe according to religious ideas. It is no coincidence that the heyday of Gothic was the time when Catholic theology developed into a strict dogmatic system, expressed in the generalizing codes of medieval scholasticism - “Summa Theology” by Thomas Aquinas and “The Great Mirror” by Vincent of Beauvais.

Klaus Sluter Prophet Jeremiah Well of the Prophets
The central portal of the western facade, as a rule, was dedicated to Christ, sometimes to the Madonna; the right portal is usually to the Madonna, the left - to a saint, especially revered in a given diocese. On the pillar dividing the doors of the central portal into two halves and supporting the architrave, there was a large statue of Christ, Madonna or saint. On the base of the portal, “months”, seasons, etc. were often depicted. On the sides, on the slopes of the walls of the portal, monumental figures of the apostles, prophets, saints, Old Testament characters, and angels were placed.

Hans Mulcher Madonna and Child, 1440, Landsberg, Germany
Sometimes subjects of a narrative or allegorical nature were presented here: the Annunciation, the Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, the Reasonable and Foolish Virgins, the Church and the Synagogue, etc.

Andrea Pisano Santa Reparata Museo del Duomo, Florence
The field of the gate tympanum was filled with high relief. If the portal was dedicated to Christ, the Last Judgment was depicted in the following iconographic version: Christ sits at the top, pointing to his wounds, on the sides are the Madonna and the Evangelist John (in some places he was replaced by John the Baptist), around are angels with the instruments of Christ’s torment and the apostles; in a separate area, below them, an angel is depicted weighing souls; to the left (from the viewer) are the righteous entering heaven; on the right are demons capturing the souls of sinners and scenes of torment in hell; even lower - the opening of coffins and the resurrection of the dead.

Well of the Prophets K. Sluter 1395-1406 Chanmol MonasteryDijon, France
When depicting the Madonna, the tympanum was filled with scenes: the Assumption, the Taking of the Madonna into heaven by angels and her heavenly coronation. In the portals dedicated to the saints, episodes from their lives unfold on the tympanums. On the archivolts of the portal, covering the tympanum, were placed figures that developed the main theme given in the tympanum, or images that were in one way or another ideologically related to the main theme of the portal.

"Foolish virgins." Sculptures in the Cathedral of Saints Mauritius and Catherine in Magdeburg
The statues remained connected to the wall, to the support. Their sizes were in exact proportion to the architectural forms. The elongated proportions of the figures emphasize the vertical divisions of the architecture. Gothic plastic, harmoniously combined with architecture, no longer blindly obeys it, as was the case in the Romanesque style, but, as it were, lives its own life in the bulk of the cathedral.

Hans MulcherAngel, 1456-1459 Museum Ferdinandium Tirol, Astria
The role of round plastic surgery has increased. The statues, which became round, separated from the wall, were often placed in niches on separate pedestals, and these were no longer frozen pillar figures, not images-symbols, deformed in architectural space. Light bends, turns in the torso, transferring the weight of the body to one leg, characteristic poses and gestures fill the figures with movement, which somewhat disrupts the vertical architectural rhythm of the cathedral.


The hallmark of Gothic sculpture is its subtle reflection of human individuality. The figures are full of endless variety and fullness of life. Humanity and gentleness appear in the characteristics of saints. Their images become highly individual, concrete, the sublime is combined with the everyday.

Michel Colomme Tombstone of Margritte de Foy, 1502 Nantes Cathedral, France
Faces are animated by thoughts or experiences, they are turned to others and to each other, as if talking to each other, full of spiritual unity. Now the reverent, now spiritually open, now closed and arrogant faces of the saints spoke of a new understanding of the human personality. The complex, conflictual existence of man in the feudal world was perceived as the relationship between the universal will of God and the individual aspirations of people.

Reviving the plastic conquests of the Greeks (profile depiction of the face and three-quarter turn of the figure), Gothic masters follow an independent path. Their attitude to the world around them is of a more personal, emotional nature; they follow direct observation, turn to the individual, to unique features, and enrich their plasticity with many life details. In the expressiveness of Gothic sculpture, line and its dynamic rhythm play an important role. He spiritualizes the figures, unites them with architecture.

Gothic sculpture
The Gothic artist masters the expression of subtle spiritual movements. It conveys joy and anxiety, compassion, anger, passionate emotion, and painful thought. The desire for introspection, to reproduce the appearance of one’s contemporary - characteristic Gothic art. Gothic Madonnas are the embodiment of beautiful femininity and moral purity; strong apostles are full of indestructible courage and noble impulses. Groups appear, united by dramatic action, varied in composition. The artist makes women weep over the tomb of the Savior, angels rejoice, the apostles in the Last Supper worry, and sinners suffer. Great expressiveness lies in the draperies of clothes, emphasizing the plasticity and flexibility of the human body.

From the second half of the 13th century, the plasticity of cathedrals became more dynamic, the figures became more mobile, the folds of clothing were conveyed in a complex play of chiaroscuro. The images are sometimes executed with true perfection, with admiration for the beauty of a person. Thus, on the statues of the Reims Cathedral, the increased characteristic of the body is already manifested in a curved line, noticeable in the wide folds running from the thigh to the feet.

This line gives a graceful curve to the hips, chest, and knees. The folds acquire a natural heaviness; sinking deeply, they give rise to a rich play of light and shadow, sometimes becoming like the flutes of columns, sometimes forming tense breaks, sometimes flowing with nervous currents, sometimes falling in stormy free cascades, as if echoing human experiences. Often the body is visible through thin clothing, the beauty of which is beginning to be recognized and felt by poets and sculptors of this time.

In the Gothic era, a rethinking of the image of Christ began. He has lost much of his super-real nature. Contemporaries called the blessing Christ presented in the Amiens Cathedral “the good God of Amiens.” His features are marked with the stamp of moral, earthly beauty. His whole appearance exudes firmness of spirit, pastoral conviction and mentoring exactingness. The statue depicts the image of Christ, a kind and at the same time courageous man who protects people and suffers for them.
In the “Blessing Christ” of the Amiens Cathedral, his features are marked with the stamp of moral, earthly beauty. The calm and at the same time commanding hand gesture definitely stops the viewer, calling for the fulfillment of duty, for a worthy, clean life. Calm, broad lines, summarizing top part figures, emphasize the restrained nobility of his image; The cascade of clothing drapery, rushing upward, accentuates the expressiveness of the gesture.
Scenes from the earthly life of Christ are depicted, in which his closeness to suffering humanity is revealed. This is the image of “Christ the Wanderer” (Rheims Cathedral), self-absorbed, mournful, reconciled with fate.
Among the statues at Reims, the powerful figures of two women draped in long robes stand out. This is Mary and Elizabeth. Each of them has an independent plastic meaning and is placed on a separate pedestal, at the same time they are internally united. Slightly turned towards each other, the women are immersed in deep thought. Young Mary, awaiting the birth of Christ, seems to be listening to the awakening of new life. Spiritual excitement is expressed not in her calm, beautiful features, but in the complex movement of her body, in the quivering vibration of the draperies of her clothes, and in the flexible, sinuous lines of her contours. Mary, with her inner enlightenment and spiritual uplift, is contrasted with the image of the elderly Elizabeth, drooping, with a haggard, wrinkled face, filled with tragic foreboding.
Created by Reims masters, the images attract with moral strength, height of spiritual impulses and at the same time vital simplicity and character. Anna is thoughtful with delicate features, the sparkling Gallic mind and ardor of temperament shine through in the mocking Saint Joseph. Individual details are expressive: a sharp, perky look, a smartly curled mustache, wildly curly hair, a curly beard, a rapid turn of the head towards the interlocutor. Vigorous light and shadow modeling enhances the sharpness of features and liveliness of expression. Wide lines that summarize the forms give them monumentality.
Among the people, we especially love the image of the Madonna with a baby in her arms, embodying girlish purity and maternal tenderness. Portals are often dedicated to her. She is depicted with a flexible figure, with her head gently bowed towards the baby, smiling gracefully, with half-closed eyes. Feminine charm and softness mark the "Gilded Madonna" of the south façade of Amiens Cathedral (c. 1270-1288). Wide curved lines, running from the hip to the foot, already noticeable in the Reims statues, here develops into a movement full of noble rhythm. A smooth line reveals the grace of the curve of the torso, hips and knees.
The world of sublime images of Gothic sculpture often includes everyday motifs: grotesque figures of monks, genre figures of butchers, pharmacists, grape pickers, and merchants. Subtle humor reigns in the scenes of the Last Judgment, which have lost their harsh character. Among the ugly sinners are often kings, monks and rich people. The “Stone Calendars” (Amiens Cathedral) are depicted, telling about the work and activities of the peasants characteristic of each month.
And the motives for turning to everyday life were mixed with abstract symbols and allegories. Thus, the theme of labor is embodied in a series of months of the year, given both in the form of zodiac signs dating back to antiquity, and through the depiction of labors characteristic of each month. Labor is the basis of people's real lives, and these scenes gave the Gothic artist the opportunity to go beyond religious symbolism. Allegorical images of the so-called Liberal Arts (grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music), common since the late Roman period, are also associated with ideas about labor. Numerous images of kings, knights, prelates, artisans, and peasants reflected the hierarchical structure of feudal society.

Gothic sculpture.Tomb of the Dukes of Burgundy. Dijon, France.
Late Gothic sculpture, as well as the architecture of this time, is characterized by fragmentation and fragmentation of forms, but there is an undoubted interest in portrait images, which is generally not characteristic of French medieval art.
An important section in the Gothic sculpture of France since the time of Louis IX was made up of tombstones, but memorial sculpture experienced its true heyday in the 14th century. Concerned about strengthening royal prestige, Louis IX ordered no less than sixteen tombstones of French monarchs to be renewed and re-erected in Saint-Denis. These were complex structures either in the form of a canopy, reminiscent of a Gothic cathedral, or sarcophagi with figures of saints around the perimeter. The motif of a funeral procession was often used here. Figures of the dead in the 13th century. stereotypical in their idealized, elegant youthfulness; in the 14th century they become more individualized, portrait features appear in their appearance. In the tomb of Philip IV the Fair (1327), the king’s face with thin eyebrows and a wide, flattened nose is not without originality.
The more the decorative element develops in architecture, the freer the plasticity becomes. Late Gothic, having relegated the sense of expediency to the background with its decorativeness, brought complete liberation for plastic arts and created free sculpture.
In the second third of the 13th century. monumental sculpture, which had hitherto strived for spatial freedom, again found itself connected with the wall - statues began to be placed in niches with a three-petal frame, which echoed the outline of the upper part of the figure. Votive plastic, on the contrary, by the beginning of the 14th century. took the form of a free-standing statue. By this time, the art of decorating portals had declined, and the main attention was focused on sculpture inside cathedrals. Among the monuments of this circle, the most notable are the Madonna of Jeanne d'Evreux (1339, Louvre, Paris) - a precious figurine made of cast gilded silver, and the Madonna and Child from Saint-Aignan (c. 1330, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris), in which the features of a common stereotype were most clearly expressed. Along with these votive statues, memorial plastic and jewelry church utensils acquired a significant role.

Gothic relief
Late Gothic relief is characterized by the appearance of ornament, which is no longer content with plant motifs, but consists of columns curling around its axis, bent and covered with denticles. In France at that time they talked about the flaming style. Everything that used to stand freely is now used as a frame; everything that used to serve as a support now hangs from top to bottom. Decorative wealth appears, amazing in the beauty of ornamental motifs, which, however, are devoid of any internal connection, serve only as decoration and mercilessly destroy any form with their alternation on portals, windows and doors. Ornamental richness has become self-sufficient beauty.
The ornament decorating the capitals has also undergone great changes. The geometric forms of the ornament of the capitals, dating back to the “barbarian” wickerwork, and the acanthus, which is ancient in origin, almost completely disappear. Gothic masters boldly turn to the motifs of their native nature: the capitals of Gothic pillars are decorated with lushly modeled leaves of ivy, oak, beech and ash. The plant capital is an important innovation of Reims sculpture, which had a great European resonance. Stylized acanthus leaves and ornamental weaving were replaced by motifs of local flora, rendered with extraordinary precision.


Carved stone decorations were also of great importance: cruciferous fleurons; stone thorns growing like flowers and leaves on the branches stone forest buttresses, flying buttresses and tower spiers.

Forming a link between Christianity and the classical heritage, the civilization of late antiquity occupied a place between the late Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. This period began with the long reigns of Diocletian (284-305) and Constantine (307-337) and lasted two to three centuries, its duration varying from region to region. After Diocletian established a tetrarchic government with two "Augustus" and two "Caesars", the system became a diarchy in 313, and then, in 324, Constantine conquered Licinius, unifying the Empire under Christianity. This religious freedom was soon expressed in monumental Christian art through the construction of the earliest Christian basilicas and the introduction of the first monumental decorations. In cities, municipal elites and large property owners, who often owned country residences, decorated their homes superbly. Public architecture sought to surpass the models of the past. The Basilica Nova in Rome was begun by Maxentius in 308 and completed by Constantine. Its three monumental aisles stood on top of a wide platform and were crowned by a huge western apse containing a colossal statue of the emperor.

The symbol of the city, the triumphal arch of Constantine, built by the Senate and the Roman people in 315, stands near the Palatine Hill. The monument consists of three aisles with free-standing columns and a group of sculptures, including reused elements from previously known monuments, to acknowledge the imperial heritage. The historical frieze, in a prominent position midway, illustrates both the imperial ideology and the style of the Constantine era. In addition to depictions of speeches before citizens and scenes of subsidies being distributed, a particularly notable feature is the staging of a hieratic court ritual in which the emperor takes a strictly frontal position. This convention, emphasized by welcoming figures shown in profile, was adopted by consuls in ivory diptychs, villa owners in mosaics, and even in the representation of Christ among the apostles under the domes of church apses.

A style common to sculpture and colored visual art appears in the first half of the fourth century. This is why the extremely linear and graphic depiction of the figures on the frieze of the Arch of Constantine and on modern sarcophagi is close to the designs on the mosaics of Piazza Armerina in Sicily, Santa Costanza in Rome, Aquileia in northern Italy and Centzella near Tarragona in Catalonia. The main elements of a portrait with a wide view with open eyes And short hair, emphasizing the roundness of the head, are already observed in works created under the tetrarchy, the most famous of which is the porphyry group of four sovereigns, reused in the Middle Ages on the side façade of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice.

Early Christian sculpture

When carved from marble or porphyry, the sarcophagi were decorated with sculpted panels comparable in all respects to the friezes of great public monuments. These characteristic objects of late antiquity were sometimes "mass produced" and could be purchased as standardized products by anyone who wished to perpetuate their own memory while alive or the memory of close relatives who had just died. As the inscription in Arles testifies: “On the 17 calendar days of April, Marcia Celsa, the most outstanding woman who lived 38 years, 2 months and 11 days, rests in peace here.” It was also possible to design the sarcophagi according to individual requirements. In the second quarter of the 4th century, Flavius ​​Januarius ordered that his deceased wife was depicted as a praying figure, located in the center of the main panel of the sarcophagus between the two apostles and scenes from the Gospel.

Barbarian sculpture and metalworking

From the beginning of the 5th century, the arrival of various Germanic peoples in the West and their settlement in the territories of the ancient Roman Empire led to the emergence of an original culture with Roman and Germanic components. The first invasion occurred in 401, when the Visigoths, led by Alaric, entered Italy. After arriving at the gates of Rome, this people, led by Ataulf, withdrew to southern Gaul in 412. A little earlier, at the end of 406, the Vandals, Alans and Suevi crossed the Rhine at Mainz or Worms and went to the Iberian Peninsula. The history of the campaigns of these peoples, their conquests and progressive sedentarization covered the entire 5th century. Their eventual settlement in certain areas constituted the first merger in medieval historical geography. The Franks in Gaul, the Visigoths in the Iberian Peninsula and the Ostrogoths in Italy created original works of art belonging almost exclusively to metalworking and blacksmithing. Architecturally, they valued what they found in Romanized countries. This is why, while the necropolises reveal funerary settings of Germanic origin, the villas excavated by archaeologists reveal architecture and mosaic art in the purest Roman tradition. The symbiosis between these different artistic cultures marked the beginning of a new medieval civilization.

The works of jewelers from the period of barbarian invasions were numerous. They consisted of liturgical objects, dishes, weapons, and personal jewelry. The work of Saint Eligius, goldsmith of the Merovingian court and creator of liturgical objects such as the Cross of Saint Denis, is well known. But the jewelry making of this period is mainly studied from funerary finds. The Sutton Hoo Treasure is the most famous of the royal or princely burials of the early Anglo-Saxon period. Its contents, now in the British Museum, were exhumed from the buried ship in 1939. The objects that made up this treasure included imports from the Eastern Mediterranean (silver and bronze dishes), Sweden (shields), Merovingian Gaul (coins) and the Rhineland (armor). The date of burial was established by Byzantine silver objects on which inspection stamps of Emperor Anastasius were found.

The Anglo-Saxon artefacts in the Sutton Hoo treasury consist mainly of weapons, precious stones and everyday items. Gold is abundant and the enamel - mostly cloisonne - is distributed in small multi-colored cells that articulate the surface. But while emphasizing technique, we must not neglect the decorative repertoire that appears on modern products. Geometric shapes and figurative decoration are closely intertwined in a tangle of curves that often describe continuous alternations. These motives then spread throughout Western Europe through the distribution of artifacts and manuscripts.

Among the Merovingians, these jeweler's works were found in the graves of the richest people. Some of them still preferred burial in sarcophagi in the classical tradition. Often trapezoidal sarcophagi, which fell into disuse during the 8th century, were decorated with crosses or geometric motifs. Plaster sarcophagi found in large quantities in the Paris region amounted to special group and their area of ​​distribution extended from Rouen to the Yonne and from the Loire to the Marne. In the south of France, the production of marble sarcophagi continued until the 5th century, if not later, while in Aquitaine in particular, a group of sarcophagi with saddle covers and ubiquitously decorated with foliage certainly continued to be produced until the end of the Merovingian period. These prestigious objects traveled throughout Europe, but their carvings were probably carried out in the urban workshops of Aquitaine. They met the requirements of the great landowners of southwestern Gaul, for whom hunting was still a favorite pastime, as demonstrated by the sacrophagus in the Museum of the Augustinians in Toulouse.

Among the privileged tombs is a funerary chapel opened southeast of the city of Poitiers in 1878, the sculptural decoration of which is especially important. This hypogeum, known as the Dune Hypogeum, consisted of a "memorial room" surrounded by several religious structures and was located in a necropolis. The monument, which can be dated to the end of the 7th or the first third of the 8th century, was a kind of family vault with several graves; a long inscription on the right door frame reads: “Mellebaudi, debtor and servant of Christ, I have created for myself this little cave in which lies my unworthy tomb. I did this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom I love, in whom I have believed..."

A staircase with ten steps leads to the storage room. The monument consists of a room enlarged by two lateral arcosoliums. In addition to the columns and capitals that frame the entrance, architectural sculpture extends across the three steps of the staircase, the door frames and the step in front of the altar platform. This decoration in very fine relief consists of omentum foliage, fish and a four-pronged braid with snake heads on the limbs. The monument also preserves elements of carved furniture, which prove the existence of well-organized workshops. Winged figures decorate the slabs used to cover the sarcophagi standing near the altar. One of them depicts the symbols of the evangelists Matthew and John and the archangels Raphael and Rachel. Next to the altar was a sculpted column base, decorated with two figures nailed to crosses, which could be interpreted as two thieves flanking the crucifixion of Christ, who are now missing. Another sculptured fragment represents the lower part, designated in the inscription as Simeon.

Stylistically, these sculptures are reminiscent of 7th-century Visigothic works and monuments in northern Italy. Sociologically, the Hypogeum of the Dunes at Poitiers illustrates the phenomenon of the "aristocratization" of part of the necropolis: a privileged ecclesiastical tomb that may have originally been a chapel and in any case was in private use. A fragment of the lid has the following inscription: “Memory of Mellebaudis (memoria), abbot, debtor of Christ. The pious come from all sides to Him (Christ) for offerings and they return every year.” The sculptural decoration at the hypogeum of Poitiers shows, as do inscriptions and traces of painting, that the Merovingian elites had a hybrid culture, combining classical culture, as evidenced by eastern elements, and the art of alternation that so clearly defines the plastic innovations of the early Middle Ages in the west.

Carolingian art: ivory and gold

The Carolingian cultural revival did not come suddenly, neither with the rise of Charlemagne nor with his coronation as Pope in 800. It began in the late 7th century in Italy, Gaul and the British Isles. From this period the monastic revival of the West began. Corby, Laon, Tours, Fleury-sur-Loire and Saint-Denis were cultural centers long before the Carolingian revival, famous for their scriptoria and libraries, as were the German abbeys of Echternach, Saint-Galle and Fulda. (See: German Medieval Art c.800-1250.) The reign of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious (768 to 855) led to the construction of hundreds of monasteries, almost thirty new cathedrals and about a hundred royal residences. See Carolingian Art (c.750-900).

The desire to compete with the prestige of Rome and Byzantium was behind Charlemagne's decision to choose permanent place residence in which his court, treasury and library could be established. Charlemagne's palace at Aachen and the tent palatine, built there on the model of Ravennatus at the very end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th century, formed a center for religious art and for the study of letters, in which famous masters such as Alcuin took part. Court workshops produced illustrated manuscripts, which were one of the most effective means preserving ancient culture and disseminating modern artistic tastes. Among the first books illustrated at court before the end of the 8th century was Godescalcus's Gospel Book, which reveals the growing importance of Italian and Byzantine models. Manuscripts of the School of Hell signed by the abbess of the monastery, presumably sister Charlemagne, marked a moment of diversification in the schools of the Palatine, corresponding to the succession of Alcuin by Eginhard.

New artistic trends that appeared under Louis the Pious after his coronation can be traced in the Gospels (Old Imperial Treasury, Vienna), this is the Hellenistic or Alexandrian style. At Reims, under Archbishop Ebbo, manuscripts were illustrated in a style dominated by movement that seems to shake the figures and their clothing. The Utrecht Psalter, written and illustrated at the Abbey of Utvilliers at the end of the first third of the 9th century, especially characterizes this Carolingian Renaissance and the school of Reims with its quick, sharp, bright and nervous pen. After the death of Charlemagne and the fall of Ebbo in Reims, several artists revived the school of Saint-Martin of Tours, distinguished by Abbot Vivian (843-851) by illustrating Bibles with narrative scenes arranged in applied registers.

The production of manuscripts, created in various specialized workshops, required the work of goldsmiths and craftsmen who specialized in ivory carving, mainly for the production of precious jewelry. This explains the close stylistic relationship between illuminated manuscripts and ivory carvings. It was even assumed that the workshops were equipped to produce both genres. Thus, the ivory of the School of Hell is very similar to manuscripts from the same circle. The covers of the Lorsch Gospels, made at the very end of the 8th century, are based on Byzantine models from the period of Justinian, while the covers of the Dagulf Psalter find their source in Western early Christian works. This wealth of sources also demonstrates the role that these workshops played in the transmission of models from late antiquity. At Metz, during the episcopate of Drogo (825-855), the ivory panels ("Communion of Drago") reflected a movement reviving the manuscripts of the same school, in which contrasts with the school of Reims can be seen.

The development of the cult of relics and the increase in the size of the major churches became the source of the luxurious work of goldsmiths during the Carolingian period: urns, statues of all kinds, relics of all kinds, book covers and other objects for liturgical use formed an essential part of the production, destined to play an important role in the development of monumental sculpture. Good example We find this in a reliquary called the Triumphal Arch of Eginhard, known only from a drawing. It undoubtedly served as the foot of the cross, and its rich decoration takes its inspiration from Roman and early Christian triumphal objects, while at the same time proclaiming the monumental iconographic image of the great Romanesque church portals.

Carolingian gold work benefited from the progress made during the Merovingian period and combined the ancient practice of partitions with coining and inlays. Among the most famous works is the binding of the Munich Codex with decoration divided into five fields and the ciborium of King Arnulf. Also outstanding in size, prestige and influence on sculpture is the gold and silver altarpiece of the Front of Milan, commissioned by the goldsmith Volvinius from the episcopate of Anguilbert II. On the front are religious scenes and on the back are scenes from the life of Ambrose, a Milanese saint. The differences in style observed between the two sides correspond exactly to the situation of Carolingian art, torn between dazzling antiquity and new aesthetics. The bronze sculpture and figurine of Charlemagne (Louvre, Paris) clearly indicate this double dimension, confirming the imperial idea. This is a reflection of the workshops of the founders of bronze, who left other famous works in the Aachen chapel, such as the gratings of the galleries and doors. See also: Ottonian art (c. 900-1050).

For another influential but later school of medieval art in Western Europe, heavily influenced by Carolingian culture, read the Art of Mosan, which appeared around Liège, exemplified by metalwork and goldsmithing