jueves, 13 de septiembre de 2012

Gothic architecture




Look up the following video:
The term "gothic" was used by erudits to named the art made by the "godos", a kind of art considered as inferior and very critized by the society. Thus, Gothic architecture, was very critized and pointed by people, thinking that it was a kind of architecture, worthless only because it had not no influence of Greco-roman one.
It appeared between years XII and XVI in Europe. But it wasn´t until the XIX Century when it was appreciated. The movement from Romanesque to Gothic was as a result of the different way of thinking of medieval people about knowledge and truth from the one that existed previously. Several idealisms were destroyed, includig Plato, and new concepts about life were included. People started working more with their senses than their faith. They started to believe in a new knowledge that could be felt. Even the Divine world was researched and look for the truth that could be proved.
These was the entrance into the Renaissence.

Answer the following:
1) Why were the Gothic Churches able to have large stain glass windows?
2) What is a buttress?  How is it different from a flying buttress?

Romanesque art




The Romanesque period was from approximately 800 A.D. to 1100 A.D.  The term Romanesque was first given to this type of architecture in the 19th Century due to it's similarities between the barrel vault and the Roman arch.  Church buildings, art, and sculpture, were all used for the purpose to spread the Christian Gospel.
    During this time in Europe there was a very large interest in religion.  Large numbers of people traveled on pilgrimages to visit sites of saints and martyrs.  People believed that holy relics had the power to do miracles.  The routes to the more famous holy places, such as Santiago, became very well traveled and required larger buildings to hold the large crowds.   The basilica style church could not hold the large crowds which were coming.  They began to build churches in the shape of the Latin cross.   The pilgrim would enter the church through the nave.  They would then come to the area known as the crossing, which was under a groin vault, where the vaults of the nave and the transepts  would intersect.  The relics of the church would be held and displayed in the area of the high alter.  The pilgrims would be allowed to view the relics from the ambulatory which allowed for a good traffic pattern for these large crowds.  The more famous the relics a church held, the larger the crowds it would attract.

    
The architects also wanted to get away from using wood for the ceilings.  They began to use stone ceilings on the new type of churches.   Barrel or groin vaults were used in the ceiling.  The stone was supported in the middle by the arch construction but was very heavy.  The weight of the ceilings would tend to buckle the walls outward.  This pressure outward is known as outward thrust.  To support the walls, large piles of stone would be stacked along the wall in intervals to buttress (or support) the walls from pushing outward.

Due to the weight of the stone ceiling, the wall of the church had to be very thick.  Windows had to be small to keep the strength of the wall strong.  Because of this, the churches interior was dim.  This was not solved till the gothic church design was used. 






Look for a picture of a castle, monastery, baptistery, church or any other building that belongs to this period. Upload the picture with a three lines comment of which elements of the building let you know that this building belomgs to the Romanesque period. You cannot repeat buildings sent by your peers, so hurry up to be the first one!!

Byzantine art





The currents of Late Byzantine culture, shaped by foreign conquest of Byzantine lands, diplomatic marriage, travel, and international trade, are reflected in the wealth of surviving portraits from the Late Byzantine sphere. Throughout the empire’s long history, donors, authors, and the ruling elite chose to commemorate themselves in portraits in all media, including monumental mosaic and fresco, miniature painting, sculpture and coinage. This tradition continued into the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, both in Byzantium and in its neighboring states, with the majority of portraits surviving in miniature and monumental painting.Traditions for representing the authority and the prestige of the Byzantine emperor were adopted not only by the Byzantine emperors of the Palaiologan dynasty, ruling from the ancient capital of Constantinople. They were also taken up by rulers in the provincial Byzantine states of Epiros (their capital in Arta, Greece), and Trebizond on the Black Sea (modern Trabzon, Turkey). These provincial Byzantine rulers in Arta and Trebizond vied for power and prestige with the emperor in Constantinople. The Byzantine imperial portraits illustrating this essay—in miniature painting and in sculpted gold—represent the ruler wearing the imperial crown, or stemma, with hanging jewels and pearls; the gemmed loros, or stole, over a long red or purple tunic; and imperial footwear, which were dyed in red or purple as well. Red and purple were colors special to the Byzantine ruling family since the empire’s earliest foundation. Each of these Byzantine rulers carries the imperial scepter surmounted by a cross, a sign of his Christian faith, as well as a scroll or the imperial akakia, a pouch filled with earth, a symbol of his humility. In the late fourteenth-century portrait of the Byzantine ruler of Trebizond, he is joined by his wife, the empress Theodora. Theodora wears richly decorated, red garments embroidered in gold with a repeat pattern representing the double-headed eagle, one of the symbols adopted by the Late Byzantine imperium. The empress, like her husband, wears the imperial crown with hanging jewels and pearls, and in her left hand she carries an orb, symbolizing the couple’s earthly rule. The two imperial figures flank a bust portrait of Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of the monastery to which they are making a significant donation, recorded in the scroll they hold and the very document upon which their portrait is painted. Numerous highly specialized ritual objects are required for the performance of the Orthodox Liturgy, and typically these were fashioned from the richest materials available, such as gold, silver, and copper. Although there are significant numbers of luxurious liturgical objects dating from the Early and Middle Byzantine periods, examples are fairly rare for the last centuries of the empire. This situation can be attributed to a general shortage of raw materials, consequentially leading to the melting down of both sacred and secular gold and silver objects to acquire bullion to strike currency. This occurred during periods of extreme economic crisis facing the state.

Most Late Byzantine liturgical objects that have survived are found in monastic treasuries, where they have been preserved through the centuries. Although a great deal of material has not survived, it is fortunate that numerous contemporary depictions of the celestial liturgy can provide us with further insight into these objects’ appearance and usage.

The corpus of extant liturgical objects either exhibits the continued development of Middle Byzantine forms, or displays increasing Western influence. This is not surprising, as Venice overtakes Byzantium as an exporter of luxury goods, and itself becomes the center of artistic innovation.
Many of the liturgical implements required for the performance of the Orthodox liturgy parallel those used for the Catholic Mass—the paten for the bread of the liturgy; the chalice for wine; and censers for burning incense. Another object used in both the East and West would be rhipidia, a metal fan representing the tetramorph, or four-faced cherubim that hover around God’s throne. These fans frequently contain highly complex iconographic programs; they were placed at the end of long poles and held over the book of the Gospels as a gesture of respect, and also waved to keep insects away from the Eucharistic elements. Lighting devices fall under the rubric of liturgical implements. One of the most remarkable surviving examples in this category is a complete choros, or chandelier, comprised of twelve horizontal openwork strips, decorated with sphinxes. Each of these sections contains either four or six candleholders; numerous polykandela were suspended below the linked ring of strips, supported by openwork chains.

Activity:

Answer,
What are the key attributes of Byzantine art and architecture?
What was the inspiration of most of Byzantine art?


Reference
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2000) Byzantium: faith and power. New York.

Paleochristian art




Paleochristian art is located in High Middle Ages. It is a period that started in times of the Roman Empire and lasted until the entire empire fell down. That is, we can divide Palochristianity in two periods: one before the Roman Empire was still powerful and the second after the falling of the Occidental Roman Empire.
Christianity emerged in Roman Judea in the 1st Century A.D. In the beginning Christians were not seen as a threaten. It was until Nero became emperor when he heard the rumors that came from Judea and started spreading inside Rome itself. In fact, After the Great Fire on Rome, Nero blamed the Christians to be guilty of makin such a big disaster. This took place in 64 A.D. so as you know, according to the Bible, Jesus Christ was crucified aroun 33 A.D. These mean that by this time some of the apostles, followers of Jesus Christ, moved directly to Rome, the center of the Roman Empire and began transmitting Jesus Christ´s message.  After this point, christians lived inside  a kindom of terror. They wer prosecuted all over the Empire. This is the origin of the Paleochristian art, a way to transmit God´s message in a secret way, so they had to creat an iconography a sign that stands for an object that represents it either concretely or usig analogies that are familiar for a culture).
Activity
Check up for the meaning of the paleochristian icons:
  • Dove
  • Fish
  • Lamb
  • Turkey
  • Christ anagram
  • Good shepherd
  • Alpha and Omega
Finally, tell me who influenced them to create those kind of icons? Search for references about this and add the source.