Romanesque Notes and Links (Janson)

Objectives Romanesque Art
During the eleventh century, a growing spirit of religious enthusiasm resulted in increased pilgrimage traffic, and the crusades to liberate the Holy Land. Large churches were constructed to house relics and accommodate visitors who sought the spiritual benefits of pilgrimage. The Mediterranean trade routes were reopened and new towns sprang up. Slowly, as architects experimented with stone vaulting and new floor plans, regional variations of the pilgrimage church appeared. Large-scale sculpture revived and Romanesque painting continued the pictorial tradition found in manuscript illumination and mosaics.
After researching the Romanesque period of art, you should be able to:
· Identify the characteristics of the pilgrimage church.
· Define the importance of the ribbed groin vault and pointed arch.
· Trace the reappearance of large scale sculpture along the pilgrimage routes.
· Describe the development of painting and manuscript illumination.
· Romanesque architecture developed, with regional variations, throughout western Europe almost simultaneously; it was tied to the religious zeal which followed the turn of the millennium.
· Romanesque Europe, c.1050-1200, witnessed a growth of trade and urbanization.




Architecture
· In France, "pilgrimage type" churches included a nave, side aisles, transept and apse with radiating chapels. An ambulatory within the apse connected the inner aisles. Vaults are used with interior bay articulations. The interior spatial design of these churches is "readable" from the exterior.
· Pointed arches, derived from Islamic architecture, gave new aesthetic and structural possibilities to Romanesque churches.
· "Hall churches," without reinforcing arches, offered a continuous surface for interior murals.
· Innovations in Norman churches include a re-defined westwork and a novel interior vault articulation.
· The cathedral complex at Pisa, Italy, including the Leaning Tower, reflects the "classical heritage" of the Tuscan Romanesque style.

Sculpture
· The revival of monumental stone sculpture during the Romanesque period centered around the entrances to churches. The purpose of this sculpture was to appeal to the lay worshiper.Romanesque sculpture witnessed the use of distinct artistic personalities, such as Giselbertus, Wilgelmo and Antelami.
· Figurative Romanesque sculpture included a range of styles from a more "Roman" flavor to an intense, nervous linearity which reflects the manuscript and metalwork traditions.



Painting and Metalwork
· The traditions of painting and metalwork during the Romanesque period continued the stylistic energies of Carolingian and Ottonian painting.
· The Carmina Burana expresses a secular interest in nature; this is different from the more usual religious orientation of manuscripts.

Key Terms/Names
ambulatory
jamb figure
apse
lintel
apsidal chapel
nave
archivolt
pier
bay
pilgrimage choir
buttress
pilgrimage type church
clerestory
rib vault
compound pier
side aisle
gallery
transverse arch
groin vault
triforium
hall church
tympanum
jamb
column

Discussion Points
· What was the purpose of Romanesque tympanum sculpture?
· How do the sculptures of Benedetto Antelami respond to the Classical tradition?
· What regional variations are prevalent in the Romanesque Church architecture of Lombardy, Germany and the Low Countries, and Tuscany?
· Discuss the role of women as patrons of art and as artists during the late Middle Ages.


http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/arch/romanesque_arch.html

http://www.efn.org/~russelln/art.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medny/cloister1.html

http://titan.iwu.edu/~callahan/autun-nef-e.html

http://www.trabel.com/tournai/tournai-cathedral.htm

http://panograph.free.fr/BayeuxTapestry.html

http://toisondor.byu.edu/dscriptorium/dscriptorium.html