Art is Us 3: Roman, Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic art and architecture

What does this garden tell us?

…and this?

Is there evidence

here of human

intervention?

What do we

SEE?Inhibition?

Stylized?

Natural?

Spiritual?

Humanism?

Corporeal?

Later?

Similarities with

what earlier

periods?

What do we see?

TRUE OR FALSE?

1. Man dominated society.

2. The significance of reality.

3. Corporeality.

4. Nature dominated society.

5. Appearance of reality.

6. Symbolism.

7. Idealized.

8. Human expression.

9. Inhibition.

10. Man as the measure of all.

11. Law of frontality.

12. Classic contrapposto pose.

13. Literal interpretation.

14. Abstraction.

What do we see?TRUE OR FALSE?

1. Man dominated society.

2. The significance of reality.

3. Corporeality.

4. Nature dominated society.

5. Appearance of reality.

6. Symbolism.

7. Idealized.

8. Human expression.

9. Inhibition.

10. Man as the measure of all.

11. Law of frontality.

12. Classic contrapposto pose.

13. Literal interpretation.

14. Abstraction.

Which is more interior oriented?

Parthenon: Greek Classic

Pantheon: RomanWhat are the clues?

An engineering marvel?

Roman Sculpture

What periods of

Greek art influenced

these Roman portraits?

ROMAN MURAL

Visual illusions of

a 3D world on a

2D surface.

Mythology

brought to life

through life-like

figures in a 3D

setting.

Depicting the world as it is or as we would like it to be?

Classic or Hellenistic origin?

Compare these portraits

Literal and true to life?

Worldly concerns?

Idealized?

Transcendental stare?

Spiritual?

First Christian emperor?

Earlier?

Emperor Justinian

Transcendental stare

Stylized symbolism

Perceived spirituality through the

luminous mosaic’s reflective color.

St. Apollinare: Early Christian St. Vitale: Byzantine

Eastern &Western Roman Empire: Ravenna, ItalyContrasting expressions of the Christian Faith

EARLY CHRISTIAN: A Longitudinal Plan

An adaptation of the Roman BasilicaNave (Ship of God) & side aisles.

St. Apollinare: Interior

St. Vitale: Byzantine Interior

Central Plan

Dome & Pendentive

Byzantine ArchitectureDome & Pendentive

Central Plan

Justinian Mural:

How does the artist

depict the Emperor?Hint: Concern with his

physical appearance?

What visual elements

support this statement?

With what earlier period

do we find similar world

views? What is the world

view of Byzantine art?

More specifically:

Why a solid gold back-

ground?

Why do they all look alike?

GOD replaces

MAN as the

measure of

all things.

Hagia Sophia: Istanbul/Constantinople

Byzantine Architecture

Interior motivated

Central orientation

Monumental scale

Dome & Pendentive

Art reflects BELIEFS

GIVENS&

MAN, the measure of all things

GOD, the creator of all things

Man dominates his natural surroundings.

Externally motivated architecture.

God dominates both Man & nature.

Internally motivated architecture.

ROMANESQUE

A feudal society

Ruled by…

A LORD.

Judged by …

A LORD.

What do these structures tell us about Medieval Man?

Conques Cathedral, France

Heavy

Massive

Protective

Instructive

Inhibited

Wheel of fortune

Medieval devotion in fear of THE FINAL JUDGMENT

THE LAST

JUDGMENT

HELLDepicting

Imaginative

Fearful

Everlasting

consequences

Romanesque limitations

Height

Window size

Refinement

Otherworldly

Interior motivated space

made possible with the

barrel vault composed of a

series of Roman arches.

Limited window area.

Heavy, massive & protective

Gothic ArchitectureAn encyclopedia of Christian belief

Dematerializing

The light of God in an Age of Faith

GothicFrom JUDGE to…

TEACHER

A changing relationship between Man and his spiritual and secular beliefs.

A belief that all is the work of God

A spiritual environment

in which the light of God

and architectural magic

bring new meaning to our

sense of space.

Interior motivated

Spiritual & Secular

Soaring heaven bound…

A balancing act of

opposing forces. The

flying buttress presses

in against walls which

push outward.

A lace-like exterior

designed to make

the interior experience

possible.

Which came first, the architecture

innovations or the Age Of Faith which

sought a tangible expression?

Distributing great weight through

innovative engineering

Pointed arch.

Cross-ribbed vaulting

Flying buttress

Gothic

Innovations

From feudal

society

to sovereign

nation

ART INVOKES

A RELATIONSHIP

Anticipating the

Renaissance