1 Chapter 18: Age of Faith Art Appreciation 2 Colossal Buddha, Cave 20, late 5th Century By the 4th century, during the reign of the Gupta rulers in India, Buddha was commonly represented in human form. 3 Santa Costanza, Rome, 354 CE Santa Costanza is small mausoleum built around 354 CE for the tomb of Constantine s daughter, Constantia. It is circular in shape, topped with a dome, interior barrel vault, and Greek cross plan with 4 equal arms. 4 San Vitale, 526-547 CE At Ravenna, Italy, at one time the imperial capital, Justinian built San Vitale, a new church modeled on the churches of Constantinople. The exterior is an octagon, however, the interior is circular like Santa Costanza before it. 5 Theodora and Her Attendants, 547 CE Theodora is shown holding a golden cup of wine, and Justinian on the opposite wall, holds a bowl of bread. Together they are bringing the Church an offering of bread and wine for the celebration of the Eucharist. 6 Justinian and His Attendants, 547 CE Justinian is haloed and to be identified with Christ, as he is surrounded with 12 advisors as if they represent the 12 Apostles. 7 Hagia Sophia The Church of Hagia Sophia, meaning Holy Wisdom, was Justinian s imperial place of worship in Constantinople. 8 Interior, Hagia Sophia During the 8th & 9th centuries, iconoclasts, meaning image breakers, who believed literally in the Bible s commandment against the worship of graven images, destroyed much Byzantine art. 9 Christ, 13th Century Forced to migrate westward, Byzantine artists discovered Hellenistic naturalism and incorporated it into later Byzantine design. This Christ mosaic is from Hagia Sophia and represents this later style 10 Courtyard of the Great Mosque of Damascus It was at Medina that this Mosque, or place of worship, was built for Muhammad and his followers. On the north and south ends of the courtyard, covered porches were erected, supported by palm tree trunks and roofed by thatched palm fronds, which protected the community from the hot Arabian sun. This many columned covered area is known as a hypostyle space. 11 Tile mosaic mihrab, 1354 Another required feature was the qibla, a wall that indicated the direction of Mecca. On this wall were both the minbar, or stepped pulpit for the preacher, and the mihrab, a niche commemorating the spot at Medina where Muhammad planted his lance to indicate the direction in which people should pray. 1
12 Since the Prophet Muhammad fled Mecca for Medina in 622 CE, the Muslim empire had expanded rapidly. By 640 CE, Muhammad s successors, the Caliphs, had conquered Syria, Palestine, and Iraq. 13 Beginning in 750 CE, not long after Muslim armies had conquered most of North Africa, Muslim traders, following the trade routes created by the Saharan Berber peoples, began trading for salt, copper, dates, and especially gold. Gradually they came to dominate the trans-saharan trade routes, and Islam became the dominant faith of West Africa. 14 Interior of the sanctuary of the Mosque at Cordoba, Spain In Spain, the center of Muslim culture was originally Cordoba. For its mosque, Islamic rulers converted an existing Visigoth Church. The Visigoths who were a Christianized Germanic tribe who had invaded Spain three centuries earlier, had built their church with relatively short, stubby columns. 15 Christian Art in Northern Europe Until the year 1000 CE, the center of Western civilization was located in the Middle East, at Constantinople. In Europe, tribal groups with localized power held sway: the Lombards in what is now Italy, the Franks and the Burgundians in regions of France, and the Angles and Saxons in England. 16 The Sutton Hoo Burial Ship Such a burial site was discovered near the North Sea coast in Suffolk at a site called Sutton Hoo. The grave s occupant had been buried in a ship whose traces in the earth were recovered by the careful excavators. 17 Hinged Clasp, From the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship One of the most exquisite finds was a clasp of pure gold that once secured over the shoulder the leather body armor of its distinguished owner. The two sides were connected by a long gold pin, attached to one by a delicate gold chain. 18 The Carolingian Empire During the second half of the 8th century, while Christians and Muslims were creating a rich multicultural art in Spain, a new force emerged in Continental Europe. Charlemagne established a dynasty and an empire known today as Carolingian. 19 The Scriptorium & Illustrated Books Books played a central role in the efforts of Carolingian rulers to promote learning, propagate Christianity, and standardize Church law and practice. 20 Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Coronation Gospels 21 Europe in the Romanesque Period 2
At the beginning of the 11th century, Europe was still divided into many small political and economic units ruled by powerful families. The king of France ruled only a small area around Paris; the southern part of France had ties to northern Spain; in the north the Duke of Normandy (heir of the Vikings) and in the east, the Duke of Burgundy. 22 European Conflicts of Power In the 11th century CE, the Holy Roman Empire came into conflict with the papacy. In 1075 CE, the Pope Gregory VII declared that only the pope could appoint bishops and abbots. 23 European Conflicts of Power Meanwhile, in the Iberian Peninsula, we see rule remain divided between Muslim rulers in the south and Christian rulers in the north. 24 Political and Economic Life Feudalism, a system of mutual obligation and exchange of land for services that developed in the early Middle Ages, governed social and political relations, especially in France and England. 25 Romanesque Art The word Romanesque means in the Roman manner, & the term applies specifically to 11th & 12th century European architecture & art. 26 South Portal and Porch, Priory Church of Saint- Pierre The image of Christ in Majesty dominates the huge tympanum. The scene combines the description of the Second Coming of Christ is Chapters 4 & 5 of the Book of Revelation with Old Testament prophecies. 27 The Emergence of the Gothic Style In the middle of the 12th century CE, a distinctive new architecture known today as Gothic emerged in the Ile-de-France, the French king s domain around Paris. 28 The Emergence of the Gothic Style In its own day the Gothic style was simply called the modern style or the French style. Gothic architecture sought to express the aspiration for divinity through a quest for height and luminosity. 29 The Rise of Urban Life The Gothic period was an era both of both communal achievement & social change. Although Europe remained rural, towns gained increasing prominence. 30 The Rise of Urban Life 3
As towns grew, they became increasingly important centers of artistic patronage. The production and sale of goods in many towns was controlled by guilds. 31 The Age of Cathedrals Urban cathedrals, the seats of the ruling bishops, superseded the rural monasteries as centers of religious patronage. 32 The Age of Cathedrals Their grandeur inspired admiration; their great expense and intrusive power of their bishops inspired resentment. In the early 13th century CE members of two new religious orders, the Franciscans and the Dominicans, went out into the world to preach and to minister to those in need, rather than secluding themselves in monasteries. 33 An Early Gothic Cathedral:Notre Dame of Paris 34 From Early to High Gothic: Chartres Cathedral The structural techniques and new conception of space applied at Saint-Denis and Notre Dame in Paris were taken one step further at Chartres Cathedral. 35 400 Years at Chartres Chartres was the site of a pre-christian virgin-goddess cult, and later, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it became one of the oldest and most important Christian shrines in France. 36 West Façade, Chartres Cathedral From a distance, the most striking features of the west façade, constructed after a fire in 1134, are its prominent rose window (a huge circle of stained glass) and two towers with their spires. 37 Cathedral Complex, Pisa Throughout Italy artists looked to the still-standing remains of imperial Rome. The influence remained especially strong in Pisa, on the west coast of Tuscany. 38 Shiva Nataraja, 11th Century As early as 1500 BCE, Aryan tribesmen from northern Europe invaded India, bringing a religion that would have as great an impart on the art of India as Islam had on the art of the Middle East. The Hindu religion is headed by the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. 39 Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, 10th-11th Century This Hindu Temple is dedicated to Shiva and symbolically captures the rhythms of Brahma, the cosmos. Completed only a few years before the great Romanesque cathedrals of Europe, the main tower is like a mountain peak, showing the paths one must follow to attain salvation. 40 Great Wild Goose Pagoda 4
Another important monument of Tang architecture is the Great Wild Goose Pagoda at the Ci en Temple in Chang an, the Tang capital. 41 Early Spring, 1072 CE Since the time of the Song dynasty, the Daoists in China had emphasized the importance of self-expression, especially through the arts. Poets, calligraphers, and painters were appointed to the most important positions of state. 42 Byodo-in One of the most beautiful Pure Land temples is Byodo-in in the Uji mountains not far from Kyoto. It is often called the Phoenix Hall, not only for the pair of phoenix sculptures on its roof but also for the lightness and airiness of its columns and roofs, which seem to ascend to the Pure Land. 43 The Cultures of Africa Just as in Europe and Asia, powerful kingdoms arose across Africa in early centuries of the second millennium. Along the western coast of central Africa, the Yoruba state of Ife developed along the Niger River. 44 House of Saint George, Ethiopia, 13th Century On the eastern side of Africa, the Zagwe dynasty maintained a long Christian heritage introduced in the first millennium from the Middle East. They carved massive rock churches into the soft rock of the region. 45 Great Zimbabwe1200-1400 CE Further south, near the south eastern tip of Africa, the Shona civilization produced urban centers represented today by the ruins of Great Zimbabwe 5