The Age of Pilgrimages: Romanesque Art 11th -12 c.€¦ · The Age of Pilgrimages: Romanesque Art 11th-12th c. In the Romanesque period, a sharp increase in trade encouraged the growth

The Age of Pilgrimages:

Romanesque Art

11th -12th c.

In the Romanesque period, a sharp increase in trade encouraged the

growth of towns and cities. Feudal lord granted independence to the

cities in the form of charters. Cities were often "free", in the sense

that they were directly protected by the king or emperor.

Europe About 1100Santiago de Compostela

(Saint James of Compostela)

One of the chief shrines of Christendom.

There in the early 9th c. the supposed tomb

of the apostle St. James the Greater was

reputedly discovered by a miracle.

Head reliquary of Saint Alexander, from Stavelot Abbey,

Belgium, 1145. Silver repoussé

(partly gilt), gilt bronze, gems,

pearls, and enamel, approx. 1’ 5

1/2” high. Musées Royaux, Brussels.

Reliquary is a container for

relics. These may be the

physical remains of saints, or

some object associated with

saints or other religious figures.

Saint

Thodolus

Saint

Eventius

Saint

Alexander

Comparison- Roman. Augustus of Primaporta, Italy, copy of a bronze original of

ca. 20 BCE. Marble

Head reliquary of Saint Alexander, Belgium,

1145. Silver repoussé, gilt bronze, gems, pearls,

and enamel, approx. 1’ 5 1/2” high.

Comparison – Byzantine.

Christ as Pantokrator, dome

mosaic in the Church of the

Dormition, Daphni, Greece,

ca. 1090–1100.

St. Foy. Reliquary Statue. Front and side views. 10th c. Gold, Silver, Wood, Precious & Semi-precious Stones. Height: 85 cm.

Conques Abbey Treasury. France

Bronze parade mask of a Roman officer.

2nd c.

St. Foy. Reliquary Statue. 10th c. Gold, Silver, Wood, Precious & Semi-

precious Stones. Height: 85 cm. Conques Abbey Treasury. France

Pilgrimage Churches

• Ambulatory – major innovation

• Radiating chapels

• Nave, transept, and side aisles

• Cruciform (overall shape of building)

• Crossing square

• Bays (3-D modules of nave and side aisles)

• Gallery/ tribune level

• Clerestory (usually small in Romanesque

churches)

• Barrel vault (the norm for Romanesque

naves)

• Groin vault (less common, used more in

side aisles)

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Important Elements of the Pilgrimage Church

Aerial view of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse,

France, ca. 1070–1120.

Comparison: Early

Christian Basilica-plan

church (old St. Peter’s)

Comparison: Ottonian church. The abbey church of Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim,

Germany, 1001–1031.

Exterior view of Saint-Sernin, The chevet, Toulouse, France, ca. 1070–1120.

Interior of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse,

France, ca. 1070–1120.

Romanesque takes its name from the Roman-like barrel and

groin vaults based on round arches employed in many European

churches. Romanesque vaults are made of stone, not concrete.

Comparison: Remains of the Basilica of

Maxentius and Constantine. Rome. 4th c. C.E.

Interior of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse,

France, ca. 1070–1120.

Barrel vault

Barrel vault

Groin vault

Interior view of aisle groin vaults

Groin vault

Comparison - Early Christian Basilica: Santa

Sabina. Interior. Rome, Italy, 422–432.

Interior of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse,

France, ca. 1070–1120.

Bay: A part of a

building marked off by

vertical elements, such as

columns or pilasters

Interior of Saint

Philibert, Tournus,

France, nave vaults, ca.

1060.

Restored cutaway view of the third abbey

church (Cluny III), Cluny, France, 1088-1130.

It was the largest church in Europe for 500

years. 500 foot long, three story nave, four isles,

radiating chapels and slightly pointed stone

barrel vaults.

Romanesque Sculpture

BERNARDUS GELDUINUS,

Christ in Majesty, relief in the

ambulatory of Saint-Sernin,

Toulouse, France, ca. 1096.

Marble, 4’ 2” high.

The revival of stone

carving is a hallmark of

the Romanesque age.

It was a means of

impressing and

educating the largely

illiterate audience.

The inscription on

the book reads:

Pax vobis = “Peace

unto you”

Comparison – Byzantine. Transfiguration of Jesus, apse mosaic, monastery of Saint

Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt, ca. 548–565.

Mandorla: almond

shaped aureola of

light

BERNARDUS GELDUINUS,

Christ in Majesty, relief in the

ambulatory of Saint-Sernin,

Toulouse, France, ca. 1096.

Marble, 4’ 2” high.

Christ as Pantokrator, dome

mosaic in the Church of the

Dormition, Daphni, Greece,

ca. 1090–1100.

Comparison - Ottonian.

Otto III enthroned, the Gospel Book

of Otto III, from Reichenau, Germany,

997–1000.

BERNARDUS GELDUINUS, Christ in Majesty, relief in the ambulatory of

Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1096.

Marble, 4’ 2” high.

South Portal of Saint-

Pierre, Moissac, France,

ca. 1115-1135

South Portal of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, ca. 1115-1135

Depicts the second coming of Christ as King and Judge of the world with 24

elders/kings who make music to praise him

Christ is the

door to salvation

- “I’m the door;

who enters

through me will

be saved”

- John 10:9

Lions and Old

Testament prophet

(Jeremiah or Isaiah?),

from the trumeau of

the south portal of

Saint-Pierre, Moissac,

France, ca. 1115–

1130. Marble, approx.

life-size.

The Prophet Jeremiah (Isaiah?)

Trumeau of the South portal

Hiberno Saxon - Cross-inscribed carpet page, detail,

Lindisfarne Gospels, ca. 698–721.

Tempera on vellum

Lions and Old Testament prophet from

the trumeau of the south

portal of Saint-Pierre,

Moissac, France, ca.

1115–1130. Marble,

Gislebertus, Last Judgment, west tympanum of Saint-Lazare, Autun, France, ca.

1120–1135. Marble, approx. 21’ wide at base.

Gislebertus, Last Judgment, west tympanum of Saint-Lazare, Autun, France, ca.

1120–1135. Marble, approx. 21’ wide at base. https://youtu.be/PATkTJhAUhM

Giselbertus

Tympanum.

Last Judgment.c. 1130-46

St. Lazare.

Autun.

Burgundy.

France.

Symbol of Zodiac: Pisces

Labor of the Month: February

Gislebertus, Eve. St. Lazare. Side portal. Lintel. Autun, France, ca. 1120–1135

"to live with a woman without danger is more difficult than to raise

the dead."

... The sins of a man are more pious, more acceptable to the Lord,

than the good deeds of a woman.“

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

40

WILIGELMO, creation and temptation of Adam and Eve, detail of the frieze on

the west facade, Modena Cathedral, Modena, Italy, ca. 1110. Marble, 3’ high.

Comparison - Early

Christian. Sarcophagus

of Junius Bassus, from

Rome, Italy, ca. 359.

Marble, 3’ 10 1/2” X 8’.

Museo Storico del Tesoro

della Basilica di San Pietro,

Rome.

WILIGELMO, creation

and temptation of Adam

and Eve, detail of the

frieze on the west facade,

Modena Cathedral,

Modena, Italy, ca. 1110.

Marble, 3’ high.

Lust (one of the seven

deadly sins) from

Saint-Pierre,

Moissac,

France, ca.

1115-1135

Devil with a Musician and Woman. La Madeleine, Veseley, France. 1120-35

Painting and Embroidery

4545

Hildegard receives her visions, detail of

a facsimile of a lost folio in the Ruperts-

berger Sciviasby Hildegard of Bingen,

from Trier or Bingen, Germany, ca.1150–

1179. Abbey of St. Hildegard,

Rüdesheim/Eibingen.

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

German abbess and visionary mystic. She

recorded her prophetic, symbolic, and

apocalyptic visions in books.

She founded a convent and her advice was

sought by the most powerful and eminent

figures of Europe.

Her works include a morality play, a book

of saints' lives, treatises on medicine and

natural history, and extensive

correspondence. Additionally, she is the

first woman composer in the Western

tradition whose music is known.

Initial R with knight fighting

a Dragon, Moralia in Job,

Citeaux, 1115-1125

Ink and Tempera on vellum

This manuscript was

produced before Saint

Bernard was able to ban

such work in 1134, after

which full page illustrations,

figurative initials and

initials with more than one

color were banned.

Lions and Old Testament prophet (Jeremiah

or Isaiah?), France, ca. 1115–1130. Marble,

approx. life-size.

Initial R with knight fighting

a Dragon, Moralia, Moralia in

Job, Citeaux, 1115-1125

Ink and Tempera on vellum

Hiberno Saxon: Man (symbol of Saint Matthew) The Book of

Durrow, ca. 660–680.

Ink and tempera on

parchment

Carolingian: Saint Matthew, Coronation

Gospels, ca. 800–810. Ink

and tempera on vellum,

Hiberno Saxon: Saint Matthew, Lindisfarne

Gospels, ca. 698–721.

Tempera on vellum

Initial R with knight

fighting a Dragon, Moralia

in Job, Citeaux, 1115-1125

Ink and Tempera on vellum

Saint Matthew, folio 25 verso of the

Lindisfarne Gospels, from Northumbria,

England, ca. 698–721. Tempera on

vellum, 1’ 1 1/2” X 9 1/4”.

Saint Matthew, Coronation Gospels

(Gospel Book of Charlemagne), from

Aachen, Germany, ca. 800–810. Ink and

tempera on vellum, 1’ 3/4” X 10”.

Master Hugo, Moses

Expounding the Law,

Bury Bible, c 1135 , ink

and tempera on vellum

Corpus Christi College,

Cambridge

51

Funeral procession to Westminster Abbey details of the Bayeux Tapestry, from

Bayeux Cathedral, Bayeux, France, ca. 1070-1080. Embroidered wool on linen, 1’ 8” high

(entire length of fabric 229’ 8”). It consists of 79 consecutive scenes, with Latin

inscriptions and decorative borders. The needleworkers were either Norman or English

women. Centre Buillaume le Conquerant, Bayeux.

Norman Conquest: The conquest of England by the Normans under William the

Conqueror.

The Latin inscription reads "Here the

body of King Edward is carried to the

Church of St. Peter the Apostle."

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Battle of Hastings, detail of the Bayeux Tapestry, from Bayeux Cathedral,

Bayeux, France, ca. 1070-1080. Embroidered wool on linen, 1’ 8” high (entire length

of fabric 229’ 8”). Centre Buillaume le Conquerant, Bayeux.

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Discussion Questions

❖ Why do you think there was such a strong positive

reception of the concept of relics in Romanesque society?

❖ What were the various roles of figural art, both two-

dimensional and sculptural, during the Romanesque

period?