Art and the World 4

• Interior of the synagogue, Dura-Europos, Syria, with wall paintings of Old Testament themes.
• ca. 245–256
• The Dura-Europos synagogue was a converted private house with a central courtyard. The niche housing the sacred Torah is at the center of one long wall adorned with paintings depicting Old and New Testament scenes.
• Dura had a very diverse population
• Samuel anoints David, detail of the mural paintings in the synagogue, Dura-Europos, Syria
• The figures in the biblical mural paintings in the Dura-Europos synagogue lack volume and shadow, stand in frontal rows, and have stylized gestures—features also of contemporaneous pagan art.
• Roman traditions- Samuel larger, David wears purple robe (royal colors), toga
• In crossing of Red Sea painting, Moses has a wand- prophets often rep as magicians

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• Restored cutaway view of the Christian community house, Dura-Europos, Syria 1) former courtyard of private house, 2) meeting hall, 3) baptistery.
• ca. 240–256 
• The Christian community at Dura-Europos met in a private home that only accommodated about 70 people. The house had a central courtyard, a meeting hall, and a baptistery.
• Showed scenes of Jesus, like that of the good shephard, healing of the paralytic
• Good shepherd important idea- seen in pagan calf bearer in Athenea Acropolis (now idea has changed from slaughtering sheep to taking care of sheep)
• Earliest image of Christ- seen with magic wand

• Sarcophagus with philosopher, orant, and Old and New Testament scenes, Santa Maria Antiqua, Rome, Italy
• ca. 270
• This Early Christian sarcophagus depicts the salvation of Jonah, Christ as Good Shepherd, and the baptism of Christ. The two figures with unfinished heads were intended as portraits of the deceased.
• Pose of Jonah similar to that on Enymian sarc from early 3rd century
• Producers may have been Christian or pagan- used pattern books
• Shows baptism of Christ as a child, though He actually got baptized at age 30

• Catacomb of Saint Peters and Marcellinus, Rome, Italy, 4th century
• Chrisitan catacombs were underground networks, burial grounds purchased by a number of Christian families outside of Rome
• Painting is on the ceiling
• Shows the stroy of Jonah- disoberyed God, Swallowed by whale (acutally ketos) b/c God sent a storm. Spent three days in the whale, but God saved him- prefiguration of Christ
• Orants- family in ancient praying poses
• Christ as Good Shephard in center-Good shepherd important idea- seen in pagan calf bearer in Athenea Acropolis (now idea has changed from slaughtering sheep to taking care of sheep)

• Interior of Santa Costanza, Rome, Italy
• ca. 337–351.
• Possibly built as the mausoleum of Constantine's daughter, Santa Costanza later became a church. Its central plan, featuring a domed interior, would become the preferred form for Byzantine churches.
• Temple was in the round- Roman influence (basilicas in round)

• Detail of vault mosaic in the ambulatory of Santa Costanza, Rome, Italy
• The vault mosaics of Santa Costanza depict putti harvesting grapes and producing wine motifs associated with Bacchus, but for a Christian such scenes brought to mind the Eucharist and Christ's blood.

• early sixth century
• Tempera, gold, and silver on purple vellum
• Very expensive to make- calf skin- had to kill many calfs, lots of work to make it able to write upon
• This sumptuously painted book is the oldest well-preserved manuscript containing biblical scenes. Two episodes of the Rebecca story appear in a single setting filled with classical motifs.
• Parents sent Eliezer to find Issac a wife, Rebecca was first one to help him at well
• Reclining, semi-nude woman on spilled jar is personification of a river- pagan language

• Aerial view of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
• 687-692
• Abd al-Malik erected the Dome of the Rock to mark the triumph of Islam in Jerusalem on a site sacred to Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
• Jews- where Jews built temple of Soloman
• Christians- reputed to be where Adam was buried, where Issac was to be sacrificed
• The shrine takes the form of an octagon with a towering dome.
• Tiles from the 16th century adorn the exterior of the Dome of the Rock, but the interior's original mosaic ornament is preserved. The mosaics conjure the imagery of Paradise awaiting Muslims- vegetal, flowery scrolls like paradise on earth
• Calligraphy adorns outside as well- calligraphy was the highest form of art

• Prayer hall of the Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain
• 8th to 10th centuries
• Córdoba was the capital of the Umayyad dynasty in Spain. In the Great Mosque's hypostyle prayer hall, 36 piers and 514 columns support a unique series of double-tiered horseshoe-shaped arches.
• May have been this way to imitate Muh house, which supposedly was a thatched roof was supported by many palm trees
• Big becuase praying in Muslim world, though it could be done anywhere, was often a communal act, done five times a day

• Maqsura of the Great Mosque, Córdoba
• 961-965
• The maqsura of the Córdoba mosque was reserved for the caliph and connected to his palace. Its design is a prime example of Islamic experimentation with highly decorative multilobed arches.
• Qibla wall- this wall faced the holy Kaba in Mecca, which all Muslims had to face when praying
• There is a mihrab niche

• Mihrab from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan, Iran
• ca. 1354
• Glazed mosaic tilework
• The Madrasa Imami mihrab is a masterpiece of mosaic tilework. Every piece had to be cut to fit its specific place in the design. It exemplifies the perfect aesthetic union between Islamic calligraphy and ornament.
• Calligraphy became of the highest art because of the limited use of animals and other human images
• Mihrab was a niche is the qibla wall (wall facing the kaba); may have been honored place where Muh stood in the first prayers that gatherered in his house, to protect caliphs as they prayed (no distinction between state and religious power)

• Suffolk, England, ca. 625
• Ships used for burials, with mound built around the ship
• Originally could not find a body, thought this ship was a Senatoff- empty graves built to honor heros who died away from home
• Most of the luxuries of the nomads were small and portable, to attest to their wealth while still being mobile
• Person probably was a solider, had acess to imported goods- high standing
• Purse lid, shoulder clasp, belt buckle
• carvings had stylized animlas and geometric shapes- classic insular style
• Shield, sword, ceremonial helmet
• Helmet defines personal features- eyes, mouth, mustache
• Lyre
• Objects put together to show his prestige and intelligence
• This purse cover is one of many treasures found in a ship beneath a royal burial mound. The combination of abstract interlace ornament with animal figures is the hallmark of early medieval art in western Europe.

• Animal-head post, from the Viking ship burial, Oseberg, Norway
• ca. 825
• The Vikings were master wood carvers. This post from a Viking ship combines in one composition the head of a roaring beast with surface ornamentation in the form of tightly interwoven writhing animals- insular style
• Mystical power- had to remove before entering ports as to not frighten the spirits of the land
• Preserved b/c buried in ship

• Chi-rho-iota page, folio 34 recto of the Book of Kells, probably from Iona, Scotland
• late eighth or early ninth century
• In this opening page to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the painter transformed the biblical text into abstract pattern, literally making God's words beautiful. The intricate design recalls early medieval metalwork (chromatism)
• Made in a monastary (which aggresibely Christianed Europe)
• Not made for everyday use, but to be kept open on an altar, to show prestige (help spread message of Christ)
• Made on vellum- calf most expensive (2 pages= 1 calf)
• Took lots of time, money
• Text secondary to symbolic value of book itself

• Equestrian portrait of Charlemagne or Charles the Bald, from Metz, France
• 9th century
• The Carolingian emperors sought to revive the glory and imagery of the ancient Roman Empire. This equestrian portrait depicts a crowned emperor holding a globe, the symbol of world dominion.
• Carolignian empire lasted from mid 8th century to the death of Charlemagne in 814.
• Wanted to recall glory of Rome, mimic Constantine
• Pope Enthroned him on Christmas Day 800- connection between state and church
• Like Marcus Aurelis' statue (thought to be Constantine's)
• Portable, easy to show around, dupplicate

• Saint Matthew, folio 15 recto of the Coronation Gospels (Gospel Book of Charlemagne), from Aachen, Germany
• ca. 800–810
• The painted manuscripts produced for Charlemagnes's court reveal the legacy of classical art. The Carolingian painter used light and shade and perspective to create the illusion of three-dimensional form.
• More Roman than insular 
• Political message- time when church and state is connected, 
• Carl. wants to recall Roman empire
• No more fantastic animals

• Saint Matthew, folio 18 verso of the Ebbo Gospels (Gospel Book of Archbishop Ebbo of Reims), from Hautvillers (near Reims), France.
• ca. 816-835
• Saint Matthew writes frantically, and the folds of his drapery writhe and vibrate. Even the landscape behind him rears up alive. The painter merged classical illusionism with the northern linear tradition.
• Local take in the emperor's style, precursor to medievil style
• New take on Classical prototypes- lots of movement

• Schematic plan for a monastery at Saint Gall, Switzerland
• Ca 819
• The purpose of this plan for an ideal, self-sufficient Benedictine monastery was to separate the monks from the laity. Near the center stands the church with its cloister, an earthly paradise reserved fro the monks.
• Bishops' idea of a perfect monastary
• Power od education- most schools held monastaries or cathedrals
• Self-sufficient, everything the exact size
• Large amount of vellum- recycled later in a book

• Doors with relief panels (Genesis, left door; life of Christ, right door), commissioned by Bishop Bernward for Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany
• 1015
• Bernward's doors vividly tell the story of Original Sin and ultimate redemption, drawing parallels between the Old and New Testaments.
• Genesis on left, Life of Christ on Right
• Prototype comes from santa savanna in Rome- Otto III traveled there five times
• Limited used of background, b/c the figures are prominent
• God represented as man in story of A&E, gestures important, serpent becomes mythical, an incarnation of evil
• Visuals gave those in church an idea of the stories

• Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany
• 1001-1031
• Built by Bishop Bernward, a great art patron, Saint Michael's is a masterpiece of Ottonian basilica design. The church's two apses, two transepts, and multiple towers give it a distinctive profile.
• Ottoman dynasty developed around 950, looks to Rome for legitimizing power
• Period when monastic movement and secular movement become detached

• Last Judgment, west tympanum of Saint-Lazare, Autun, France
• ca 1120-1135
• Christ in a mandorla presides over the separation of the Blessed from the Damned in this dramatic vision of the Last Judgment, designed to terrify those guilty of sin and beckon them into the church.
• People cannot read, rarely exposed to images, so these images would have a huge impact- simple image of good v. bad
• Artist's name- rare for this period (put by feet of Christ, too small to really read)
• At left is damned, right is saved
• Angels shown rebuilding Jer as (Heaven)
• Hell never shown architectually

• Pentecost and Mission of the Apostles, tympanum of the center portal of the narthex of La Madeleine, Vézelay, France
• 1120-1132
• The light rays emanating from Christ's hands represent the instilling of the Holy Spirit in the apostles. On the lintel and in eight compartments around the tympanum, the heathen wait to be converted.
• Refers to Pentacolism- renewal movement of Christianity, direct experience w/ God of baptism; closely connected with the Crusades (church where first crusade was suppossed to start
• Infidels have big ears, deformed- related to Greeek idea, where good people were beautiful

• St. Denies, Paris, 1135-1144
• First Gothic church
• Desgins approved by the Abbot Suger
• In gothic times, churches needed to be larger to accomodate more people
• Main features: pointed arch (could build web over very large ceiling), ribbed vaults, flying buttresses (allowed walls to have large windows b/c there was support from the outside
• Romanseque churches much heavier, Gothic almost lacey- moved from church militant to church triumphent
• Stained glass windows added another visual narrative, light playing through the windows also contributed to the magic

• Chartres cathedral, Notre-Dame de Chartres, ca. 1145–1155, rebuilt after fire of 1195
• The Early Gothic west facade was all that remained of Chartres Cathedral after the fire of 1194. The design still has much in common with Romanesque facades. The rose window is an example of plate tracery.

The sculptures of the Royal Portal proclaim the majesty and power of Christ. The tympana depict, from left to right, Christ's Ascension, the Second Coming, and Jesus in the lap of the Virgin Mary.

The biblical kings and queens of the Royal Portal are the royal ancestors of Christ. These Early Gothic statue-columns display the first signs of new naturalism in European sculpture, less cookie-cutter than Romanesque

• Head reliquary of Saint Alexander, from Stavelot Abbey, Belgium
• 1145
• The combination of an idealized classical head with Byzantine-style enamels in Saint Alexander's costly reliquary underscores the stylistic diversity of Romanesque art.
• Relics could be body part of a saint, piece of the true cross
• Relics were a great business in this time, becuase pilgrims would stop in nearby towns to eat, sleep, buy things, so the amount of relics soared (and their authenticity was always questioned).  Reliquarries took this spiritual value and encrusted it with actual value