ART APPRECIATION

LEARNING MODULE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Module 2.2 - Lesson 6: Medieval to Early Modern Art
 LESSON 6.

Medieval to Early Modern Art

INTRODUCTION

As long as we humans have been able to use our hands, we have been creating art. From early cave
paintings to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, human artistic expression can tell us a lot about the lives of the
people who create it. To fully appreciate the cultural, social, and historical significance of different artworks, you
need to be aware of the broad art history timeline.

Ideas about art change along with general conceptual evolutions in the history of ideas. This unit spans
tens of thousands of years. It presents an overview of many significant eras of art creation and the historical
contexts out of which they have risen. We will see how many eras take influence from those before them. Art,
like human consciousness, is continuously evolving. It is also important to note that the discussion revolves
around the history of Western and predominantly European art.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, the student should be able to:

1. identify the underlying history, philosophy of the era or movements;

2. classify the various art movements by citing their important characteristics such as historical
background, factors, influential person, socio-political issues, and prevalent artists, art forms, and
media;

3. present the history and movements of the arts through a timeline; and

4. cite important characteristics in artwork based on the era movement.

EXPLORE

The Byzantine Period (330-1450)

Byzantine Art developed when Constantine the Great relocated the capital of the Roman Empire to the
Greek city of Byzantium in AD 330. Byzantium, later known as Constantinople and more recently as Istanbul,
was the gateway between Asia and Europe.

As a consequence of its location, Byzantine art evolved as a cultural mix of styles from the east and west.
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Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire
after the conversion of Constantine and it was the duty of the
Emperor to unite the faith across the empire by bringing the
various heretical groups into line and standardizing Christian
teaching. Therefore the form of Byzantine art was strictly
controlled to eliminate any personalized or unorthodox
interpretation of its imagery. Its fixed conventions were a
reflection of the unalterable nature of Christian teaching.

The three main forms of Byzantine art were the

large-scale mosaics used to decorate the walls and interior
domes of Byzantine churches, the smaller scale religious
icons which were portable panel paintings of Christ and the
Blessed Virgin, and the illuminated manuscripts from the
Gospels and other religious texts. Byzantine figures were
stylized in a frontal and symbolic format, inviting spiritual
worship and offering protection to the devout. Due to the
depersonalized nature of the art, many of the Byzantine
artists remain anonymous but the Russian, Andrei Rublev
(c.1360-1430) and Theophanes the Greek (c.1340-1410)
are two of the most noteworthy.

The Byzantine Empire lasted until the fall of Christus Ravenna Mosaic
Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 and marks the end of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy
the Roman Empire.

The Romanesque Period (1000-1300): Sharing Information through Art

Art historians typically consider the Romanesque art era to be the start of the art history timeline.
Romanesque art developed during the rise of Christianity ca. 1000 AD. During this time, only a small percentage
of the European population was literate. The ministers of the Christian church were typically part of this minority,
and to spread the message of the bible, they needed an alternative method.

Christian objects, stories, deities, saints, and ceremonies were the exclusive subject of most
Romanesque paintings. Intended to teach the masses about the values and beliefs of the Christian Church,
Romanesque paintings had to be simple and easy to read.

As a result, Romanesque works of art are simple, with bold contours and clean areas of color.
Romanesque paintings lack any depth of perspective, and the imagery is rarely of natural scenes. There were
several different forms that Romanesque paintings could take, including wall paintings, mosaics, panel paintings,
and book paintings.

Due to the Christian purpose behind Romanesque paintings, they are almost always symbolic. The
relative importance of the figures within the paintings is shown by the size, with the more important figures
appearing much larger. You can see that human faces are often distorted, and the stories depicted in these

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paintings tend to have a high emotional value.
Romanesque paintings often include
mythological creatures like dragons and angels,
and almost always appear in churches.

At the most fundamental level, paintings

of the Romanesque period serve the purpose of
spreading the word of the bible and Christianity.
The name of this art era stems from round
arches used in Roman architecture, often found
in churches of the time.

Altar frontal from Avià, c. 1200;

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

The Gothic Era (1100-1500): Freedom and Fear Come Together

One of the most famous eras, Gothic art grew out of the Romanesque period in France and is an
expression of two contrasting feelings of the age. On the one hand, people were experiencing and celebrating a
new level of freedom of thought and religious understanding. On the other, there was a fear that the world was
coming to an end. You can clearly see the expression of these two contrasting tensions within the art of the
Gothic period.

Just as in the Romanesque period, Christianity lay

at the heart of the tensions of the Gothic era. As more
freedom of thought emerged, and many pushed against
conformity, the subjects of paintings became more
diverse. The stronghold of the church began to dissipate.

Gothic paintings portrayed scenes of real human

life, such as working in the fields and hunting. The focus
moved away from divine beings and mystical creatures as
more focus was given to the intricacies of what it meant to
be human.

Human figures received a lot more attention during

the Gothic period. Gothic artists fleshed out more realistic
human faces as they became more individual, less two-
dimensional, and less inanimate. The development of a
three-dimensional perspective is thought to have
facilitated this change. Painters also paid more attention to
The Raising of Lazarus (1310-1311)
things of personal value like clothing, which they painted by Duccio di Buoninsegna
realistically with beautiful folds.

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 Many historians believe that part of the reason why the subjects of art became more diverse during the
Gothic era was due to the increased surface area for painting within churches. Gothic churches were more
expansive than those of the Romanesque period, which is thought to represent the increased feelings of freedom
at this time.

Alongside the newfound freedom of artistic expression, there was a deep fear that the end of the world
was coming. It is suggested that this was accompanied by a gradual decline in faith in the church, and this in
turn may have spurred the expansion of art outside of the church. In fact, towards the end of the Gothic era,
works by Hieronymus von Bosch, Breughel, and others were unsuitable for placement within a church.

We do not know many individual artists who painted in the Romanesque period, as art was not about
who painted it but rather the message it carried. Thus, the move away from the church can also be seen in the
enormous increase in known artists from the Gothic period, including Giotto di Bondone. Schools of art began to
emerge throughout France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and other parts of Europe.

The Renaissance Era (1420-1520): The Reawakening of an Art Era that Never Really Existed

The Renaissance era is possibly one of the most well-known,

featuring artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. This era continued
to focus on the individual human as its inspiration and took influence from the
art and philosophy of the ancient Romans and Greeks. The Renaissance can
be seen as a cultural rebirth.

A part of this cultural rebirth was the returned focus on the natural and
realistic world in which humans lived. The three-dimensional perspective
became even more important to the art of the Renaissance, as is aptly
demonstrated by Michelangelo’s statue of David. This statue harkened back
to the works of the ancient Greeks as it was consciously created to be seen
from all angles. Statues of the last two eras had been two-dimensional,
intended to be viewed only from the front.

The same three-dimensional perspective carried over into the

paintings of the Renaissance era. Frescos that were invented around 3000
years prior were given new life by Renaissance painters. Scenes became
more complex, and the representation of humans became much more
nuanced. Renaissance artists painted human bodies and faces in three
dimensions with a strong emphasis on realism. The paint used during the Michelangelo’s David (1501-
1504)
Renaissance period also represented a shift from tempera paints to oil paints.
The Renaissance period is often credited as the very start of great Dutch
landscape paintings.

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Mannerism (1520-1600): A Window into the Future of Kitsch

Of course, this heading is partly in jest. Not all of the art produced in
this era is what we would understand today as “kitsch”. What we understand
kitsch to mean today is often artificial, cheaply made, and without much
‘classic’ taste. Instead, the reason we describe the art of this period as being
kitsch is due to the relative over-exaggeration that characterized it.
Stemming from the newfound freedom of human expression in the
Renaissance period, artists began to explore their own unique and individual
artistic style, or manner.

Michelangelo himself, in fact, is not free from the exaggeration that

distinguishes this era. Some art historians do not consider some of his later
paintings to be works of the Renaissance period. The expression of feelings
and human gestures, even items of clothing, is exaggerated deliberately in
mannerist paintings.

The small S-curve of the human body that characterizes the

Renaissance style is transformed into an unnatural bending of the body.
This is the first European style that attracted artists from across Europe to
its birthplace in Italy.

Madonna with Long Neck

(1534-1540) by Parmigianino

The Baroque Era (1590-1760): The Glorification of Power and the Deception of the Eye

The progression of
art celebrating the lives of
humans over the power of
the divine continued into
the Baroque era. Kings,
princes, and even popes
began to prefer to see their
own power and prestige
celebrated through art than
that of God. The over-
exaggeration that classified
Mannerism also continued
into the Baroque period,
with the scenes of paintings
becoming increasingly
unrealistic and magnificent.

Baroque paintings
Baroque ceiling frescoes of Cathedral in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
often showed scenes Work of Italian master Giulio Quaglio in 1703–1706 and later 1721–1723

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where Kings would be ascending into the heavens, mingling with the angels, and reaching ever closer to the
divinity and power of God. Here, we really can see the progression of human self-importance, and although the
subject matter does not move away entirely from religious symbolism, man is increasingly the central power
within the compositions.

New materials that glorify wealth and status like gold and marble become the prized materials for
sculptures. Opposites of light and dark, warm and cold colors, and symbols of good and evil are emphasized
beyond what is naturally occurring. Art academies increased in their numbers, as art became a way to display
your wealth, power, and status.

The Rococo Art Period (1725-1780): Light and Airy, a French Fancy

The paintings from the Rococo era are

typical of the French aristocracy of the time. The
name stems from the French word rocaille
which means “shellwork”. The solid forms which
characterized the Baroque period softened into
light, air, and desire. Paintings of this era were
no longer strong and powerful, but light and
playful.

The colors were lighter and brighter,

almost transparent in some instances. Many
pieces of art from this period neglected religious
themes, although some artists like Tiepolo did
create frescos in many churches.

Much like the attitude of the French

aristocracy of the time, the art of the Rococo
period is totally removed from the social reality.
The shepherd’s idyll became the theme of this
The Stolen Kiss by Jean-Honore Fragonard
period, representing life as light and carefree,
without the constraints of economic or social
hardship.

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Classicism (1770-1840): Throwing it Back to Classic Times

Classicism, like the Rococo era, began in

France in around 1770. In contrast to the Rococo
era, however, Classism reverted to earlier, more
serious styles of artistic expression. Much like the
Renaissance period, Classicism took inspiration
from classic Roman and Greek art.

The art created in the Classicism era

reverted to strict forms, two-dimensional colors,
and human figures. The tone of these paintings
was undoubtedly strict. Colors lost their
symbolism. The art produced in this era was used
internationally to instill feelings of patriotism in the
people of each nation. Parts of Classicism include
Louis-Sieze, Empire, and Biedermeier.

A Childhood Idyll (1900) by William Bouguereau

Romanticism (1790-1850): A Break from the Severity of it All

You can see from the dates that this art era occurred at
around the same time as Classicism. Romanticism is often seen
as an emotionally charged reaction to the stern nature of
Classicism. In contrast to the strict and realistic nature of the
Classicism era, the paintings of the Romantic era were much
more sentimental.

The exploration of the intangible; emotions and the

subconscious, took center stage. Around this time, people began
to go hiking in an attempt to explore the natural world. It was not,
however, the true reality of the natural world that they intended to
discover, but the way it made them feel.

There is no tangible or precisely determinable style to the

art of the Romanticism period. English and French painters
tended to focus on the effects of shadows and lights, while the art
produced by German painters tended to have more gravity of
thought to them. Romantic painters were often criticized and even
mocked for their interpretation of the world around them.

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog

by Caspar David Friedrich

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Realism (1850-1925): Objectivity Over Subjectivity

As the Romanticism era was a reactionary movement to the Classicism period before it, so is Realism a
reaction to Romanticism. In contrast to the beautiful and deeply emotional content of Romantic paintings, Realist
artists presented both the good and beautiful, the
ugly and evil. The reality of the world is
presented in an unembellished way by Realism
painters.

These artists attempt to show the world,

people, nature, and animals, as they truly are.
There is a focus on the “obligation of art into
truth” as Gustave Courbet puts it.

Just as with Romanticism, Realism was

not popular with everyone. The paintings are not
particularly pleasing to the eye and some critics
have commented that despite the artist’s claims
of realism, erotic scenes somehow miss the real
eroticism. Goethe criticizes Realism, saying that
art should be ideal, not realistic. Schiller too calls
Realism “mean,” indicating the harshness that
many of the paintings portray. Proudhon and His Children (1865)
by Gustave Courbet

CAPSTONE ENTRY

Select two artworks from this chapter that deal with subject matter from the Bible. Consider how they
portray their biblical themes: examine the style, medium and technique, content, and any other aspects that the
artist emphasizes. Make sure to attach photos of these artworks in your entry. Provide the title of the artwork
and the name of the artist.

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