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Chapter 17The Age of Pilgrimages:

Romanesque Art

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages

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Europe About 1100

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Romanesque Era

• Romanesque means “Romanlike”- certain architectural elements of this period, barrel and groin vaults based on the round arch, resembled those of ancient Roman architecture (different from early medieval timber-roofed and Gothic pointed vaults)

• Romanesque = history and culture of western Europe between about 1050 – 1200

• RISE OF TOWNS – increase in trade encouraged growth of cities and towns/ displaced feudalism of late medieval Europe/ new towns granted independence from feudal lords in forms of charters

• MONASTERIES AND CHURCHES – separated from busy secular life of towns/ construction of churches became obsession (result of relief and thanks that the world did not end at the conclusion of the first Christian millennium in the year 1000)

• PILGRIMAGES – increased pilgrimage traffic/ pilgrims were important sources of funding for monasteries that possessed relics of venerated saints/ pilgrims fostered growth of towns/ pilgrimages were primary economic and conceptual catalyst for art and architecture of Romanesque period

• ARCHITECTURE – stone vaults widely used (except in Italy--used timber roofs)/ popularity of pilgrimages led to changes = longer and wider naves and aisles, transepts and ambulatories with additional chapels, second-story galleries

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Figure 17-3 Interior of Saint Philibert, Tournus, France, nave vaults, ca. 1060.

Architecture – France – Saint Philibert (Southern Tradition)

•Replaced timber roof with masonry vaults around 1060

•Cylindrical piers support barrel vaults and are separated by transverse arches (helps to allow for clerestory windows and light)

•Aisles are almost as tall as nave and are covered by groin vaults that help buttress the barrel vaults

5Figure 17-4 Aerial view (from the southeast) of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1070–1120.

Saint-Sernin – Toulouse, France (honored Bishop St. Saturninus)•Toulouse was important stop on pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain/ St. Sernin built on grand scale to accommodate large crowds/ crossing tower is Gothic

•Pilgrimage Church – increased length of nave, doubled side aisles and added transept, ambulatories and radiating chapels (housed relics)/ radiating chapels greater in number and attached to transept/ambulatories

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Figure 17-4 Exterior view, Detail Closer view of the chevet, from E

Figure 17-4 Exterior view, Detail closer view of the chevet, from E

Saint Sernin – Toulouse, France

•Crossing square – served as the module for the entire church (like St. Gall monastery plan from medieval period)

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Figure 17-6 Interior of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1070–1120.Interior: general view of the nave, from W

Interior – Saint-Sernin

•TRIBUNES over inner aisle and open onto nave – housed overflow crowds, buttressed barrel vault

•Groin vaults (marked by X’s on plan) in tribunes also absorbed pressure of groin vaulted nave, helped to transfer main thrust to the thick outer walls

•COMPOUND PIERS: piers with columns or pilasters attached to their rectangular cores (look at nave arcade area)

•Engaged columns rise from bottom of compound piers to the vault’s SPRINGING (lowest stone of an arch) and continue across the nave as transverse arches

•The segmented nave is reflected in the building’s exterior walls where buttresses frame each BAY

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Figure 17-7 Model of the third abbey church (“Cluny III”), Cluny, France, 1088–1130. Musée du Farinier, Cluny, France.

Cluniac (Benedictine) Monks – Power/Prestige of the Order•Cluniac monks (under Berno of Baume’s leadership) became famous for their scholarship, music and art/ very influential and wealthy order

•Cluny III – built between 1088 and 1130/ largely destroyed today/ at its erection, was largest church in Europe and held this distinction for 500 years/ barrel vaulted nave, 4 aisles, radiating chapels, 3-story nave elevation (arcade, tribune, clerestory) and slightly pointed nave vaults/ nave was more than 500 ft. long and more than 100 ft. high (50% larger than St. Sernin)!

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Figure 17-8 Interior of abbey church of Notre-Dame, Fontenay, France, 1139–1147.

Cistercian (Benedictine) Monks – White MonksSplit from Cluniac order – rejected worldly extravagance

•Appalled by costly churches

•Changed habits from black to unbleached white

•Emphasized productive manual labor

•Rejected worldly extravagance and emphasized poverty, labor and prayer – this is reflected in their austere churches

•No ambulatories or chapels, devoid of ornamentation, column capitals are plain, single-story nave elevation/ pointed arches in nave (pre-Gothic idea)- which later permits architects to increase height of nave

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Figure 17-9 Interior of Speyer Cathedral, Speyer, Germany, begun 1030; nave vaults, ca. 1082–1106.

Germany – Speyer Cathedral

•Advantage of barrel vaults – relatively fireproof, impressive setting, excellent acoustics

•Disadvantage of barrel vaults – lack of light (clerestory windows)

•Solution – nave using groin vaults – would allow for clerestory windows/ 11th century masons used ashlar blocks joined by mortar to develop groin vaults of monumental dimensions

•Speyer Cathedral – rebuilt by Henry IV 1082-1106 using groin vaults to replace timber-roof and inserted clerestory windows/ nave is 45 ft. wide and crowns of vaults are 107 ft. high!/ employs an ALTERNATE SUPPORT SYSTEM in nave and it continues all the way up into the vault

Figure 17-10 Aerial view of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan, Italy, late eleventh to early twelfth century. Ever since Charlemagne crushed the Lombards in 773, German kings held sway over Lombardy. No agreement exists as to which source of influence—Italian (Southern) or German (Northern)—was dominant in the Romanesque age.

*Erected in honor of St. Ambrose, Milan’s first bishop*One of the last atriums to be built (from the early Christian tradition)*Has a two-story narthex pierced by arches on both levels*Two bell towers (campaniles) were joined to the building—the shorter one in the 10th century, the taller one in the 12th century*Octagonal tower over the nave’s east end*Proportions are low and broad, like the early Christian basilicasIMPT: The Italian architects never accepted the verticality found in the Northern (French and German) churches.

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Figure 17-11 Interior of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan, Italy, late eleventh to early twelfth century.

IMPT: first example of groin vaults with RIBS (supporting arches) along their groins*Interior has a nave and two aisles, but no transept*Each bay consists of a full square in the nave flanked by two smaller squares in each

aisle, all covered with groin vaults*Main vaults are slightly domical, rising higher than the transverse arches*No clerestory—octagonal dome’s windows provide the major light source*The lightest pier moldings stop at the gallery level*The heavier pier moldings rise to support the main vaults

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Figure 17-12 West facade of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France, begun 1067. Total view of W facade

© 2005 Saskia Cultural Documentation, Ltd.

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Figure 17-13 Interior of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France, vaulted ca. 1115–1120.

© 2005 Saskia Cultural Documentation, Ltd.

Normandy – Saint Etienne, FranceMasterpiece of Norman Romanesque Architecture

•Vikings settled on northern coast of France (Normandy)/ their style became major source for French Gothic architecture

•Saint-Etienne: begun by William of Normandy (William the Conqueror) in 1067

•3-story nave elevation/ compound piers with engaged columns alternating with piers with half-columns attached to pilasters/ groin ribbed vaults (six sectioned = SEXPARTITE VAULTS)

•Because of light in nave – more light and airy quality

16Figure 17-14 Plan of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France.

Figure 17-12 West facade of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France, begun 1067. Total view of W facade

Normandy – Saint-Etienne – Caen, France

•Exterior – has design rooted in tradition of Ottonian period = WESTWORK

•Façade is divided into 3 bays by 4 large buttresses, towers have triple division = tripartite design

•Towers get more complex (piercings) as they go upward/ spires at very top are Gothic additions

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Figure 17-15 Interior of Durham Cathedral, England, begun ca. 1093.

England – Durham Cathedral

•William of Normandy’s conquest of Anglo-Saxon England 1066 – brought in French Romanesque building and design methods

•Durham Cathedral – centerpiece of monastery and fortified-castle complex on Scottish frontier

•Conceived from beginning as vaulted structure – ribbed groin vaults

•Large simple pillars with abstract designs (originally painted) alternate with compound piers carry transverse arches of the vaults

•Earliest example known of ribbed groin vault placed over a 3-story nave

•In nave’s western part – rib vaults combined with slightly pointed arches = two key elements for Gothic architecture

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Figure 17-16 Plan (top) and lateral section (right) of Durham Cathedral, England (after Kenneth John Conant).

England – Durham Cathedral

•Nave’s groin vaults cover 2 bays

•Buttressing of nave vaults – quadrant arches (arches whose curve extends for one quarter of a circle’s circumference) were used in place of groin vaults in tribune/ These are ancestors of flying buttresses of the Gothic period

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Figure 17-10 Aerial view of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan, Italy, late eleventh to early twelfth century.

Lombard Romanesque in Northern Italy

Sant’ Ambrogio - Milan, Italy

•German kings dominate Lombardy, the Rhineland and northern Italy

•Sant’ Ambrogio – honored St. Ambrose (Milan’s first bishop)

•Has atrium (Early Christian tradition)/ 2-story narthex with arches/ 2 bell towers (CAMPANILES) joined to the building/ octagonal tower over nave’s east end

20Figure 17-11 Interior of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan, Italy, late eleventh to early twelfth century.

Interior – Sant’ Ambrogio – Milan, Italy•Nave and 2 aisles, but NO TRANSEPT/ groin vaults with RIBS/ octagonal dome has windows and provides light, rest of church void of clerestory windows/ alternate support system, compound piers

•Italian architecture – low and broad like Early Christian basilicas/ never accepted soaring heights of north

21Figure 17-17 Cathedral complex, Pisa, Italy; cathedral begun 1063; baptistery begun 1153; campanile begun 1174.

Tuscany – Pisa Cathedral Complex, Italy (Southern Tradition)Early Christian Basilica Tradition

•Cathdral, Freestanding Campanile, Baptistery – coherent grouping of 3 Romanesque buildings

•Pisan project funded by spoils of naval victory over Muslims 1062

•Cathedral: large with nave and 4 aisles/ broadly projecting transept/ crossing dome/ façade with multiple arcade galleries/ marble incrustation (wall decoration with brightly color panels) = Romanesque

•Cathedral’s campanile: detached in standard Italian fashion/ Leaning Tower of Pisa – settling foundation

•Tower began to lean even under construction/ now inclines some 21 ft. out of plumb at the top

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Figure 17-18 Baptistery of San Giovanni, Florence, Italy, dedicated 1059.

Florence Baptistery of San Giovanni

•Dedicated to Saint John (city’s patron saint)

•Faces the city’s great Florence Cathedral

•Freestanding Italian baptisteries are unusual and reflect great significance Florentines and Pisans attached to baptisms

•San Giovanni’s design recalls ancient Roman architecture (Pantheon, mausoleums, San Vitale)

•Domed octagon – dome vault is 90 ft. in diameter (remarkable feat for its time)

•Marble incrustation that patterns the walls = Roman wall paintings

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Figure 17-19 Interior of San Miniato al Monte, Florence, Italy, ca. 1062–1090.General View of the restored sanctuary (1998)

Florence – Abbey Church – San Miniato al Monte

Early Christian Basilica Tradition

•Diaphragm arches divide its nave into 3 equal compartments

•Arches rise from compound piers and provide fire breaks beneath wooden roof

•Compound piers alternate with pairs of simple columns with Roman-revival composite capitals

•Decorative wall patterning (similar look to exterior incrustation)

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Figure 17-20 Cloister of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, ca. 1100–1115. Limestone with marble relief panels, piers approx. 6’ high. Cloister: columns of W aisle, view SSW

Architectural Sculpture – The Cloister•Revival of stonecarving is one of the hallmarks of the Romanesque age – was inspired by remains of ancient statues and reliefs throughout Rome’s north-western provinces – desire in Romanesque period to beautify the house of the Lord

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Figure 17-20 Detail, corner columnCloister: SW corner pillar, view NE

Figure 17-20 Detail columns of South aisle Cloister: columns of S aisle, view ESE

Pilgrimage Churches increasingly served the lay public•To reach new, largely illiterate audience and draw a wider population into places of worship needed to display Christian symbols and stories throughout the churches/ stone was more suitable and durable medium for exterior decorative programs

•Cloister (Latin- enclosed space)- seclusion of spiritual life, could pray, meditate in quiet, serene atmosphere

•Decorated capitals with reliefs/ historiated (ornamented with figures) capitals on columns/ large figural reliefs on piers (12 Apostles and first Cluniac abbot of Moissac/ 76 capitals crown single and double columns/ decorated with patterns, biblical scenes, fantastic monsters (bestiaries –reminders of chaos and deformity of world without God’s order)

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Figure 17-21 BERNARDUS GELDUINUS, Christ in Majesty, relief in the ambulatory of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1096. Marble, 4’ 2” high. BERNARDUS GELDUINUS, Christ in Majesty, relief in the ambulatory of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1096. Marble, 4’ 2” high.

Sculpture – Saint Sernin, Toulouse - France

•Artist: Bernardus Gelduinus

•Reliefs affixed to ambulatory walls

•Christ sits in a mandorla, right hand raised in blessing, left hand on book inscribed “peace be unto you”, signs of 4 Evangelists in corners

•Style: composition like Carolingian or Ottonian metal or ivory work or book cover

•Incised line and ornamentation of Christ’s aureole characteristic of pre-Romanesque metalwork

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Figure 17-22 WILIGELMO, creation and temptation of Adam and Eve, frieze on the west facade, Modena Cathedral, Modena, Italy, ca. 1110. Marble, approx. 3’ high.

Modena Cathedral - Italy•Artist: Wiligelmo

•One of first fully developed narrative reliefs in Romanesque art (high relief on west façade)

•Subject: scenes from Genesis set against architectural backdrop (like reliefs on sarcophagi)

•Discuss figural representation

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Figure 17-23 South portal of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, ca. 1115–1135. Marble, approx. 16’ 6” wide at base.

Figure 17-23 Detail Close detail of tympanum on the S portal

South Portal TYMPANUM – Saint-Pierre, Moissac - France

•Subject: Second Coming of Christ as King and Judge of the world in its last days

•Christ enthroned in center (Early Christian compositional rule)/ signs of 4 Evangelists flank him/ 24 Elders accompany Christ as kings of this world and make music in his praise/ waves symbolize clouds of Heaven

•Features of this artist’s style: figures- elongated bodies/ crossed legged dancing pose of St. Matthew/ jerky, hinged movement of Elder’s heads/ zigzag lines of drapery/ bandlike folds of torsos, bending of heads back against bodies/ wide cheekbones

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Figure 17-24 Lions and Old Testament prophet (Jeremiah or Isaiah?), from the trumeau of the south portal of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, ca. 1115–1130. Marble, approx. life-size.

Trumeau – Saint Pierre – Moissac, France

Lions and Old Testament Prophet

•Old Testament prophet holding scroll is positioned below tympanum with New Testament subject of Christ as Judge (pairing the two is Early Christian tradition)

•Prophet is elongated and displays cross-legged step like figures in tympanum above

•Animation of body, long serpentine locks of hair and beard depict image of a dreaming mystic

•Drapery folds inspired by illuminated manuscripts

•Interlacing lions = courage = church’s ideal protectors

•Lions and composite monsters have guarded (entryways) at palaces of Near East, Mycenae, etc.

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Figure 17-25 GISLEBERTUS, Last Judgment, west tympanum of Saint-Lazare, Autun, France, ca. 1120–1135. Marble, approx. 21’ wide at base.

Figure 17-25 Alternate View General view of Portal with Tympanum

Yes- Christ Enthroned in a Mandorla (Is there an echo in the room?)

•Artist: Gislebertus

•Subject: Last Judgment- Christ presides over separation of the Blessed from the Damned

•Bottom: on left- weighing of souls (those condemned to Hell)/ on right- angel boosts one Blessed into Heaven

•The Autun tympanum inspired fear in the believers who passed beneath

•Autun clergy had written warnings engraved in Latin along with the pictorial message –

“May this terror terrify those whom earthly error binds, for the horror of these images here in this manner truly depicts what will be.”

Last Judgment – Saint-Lazare – Autun, France

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Figure 17-26 Ascension of Christ and Mission of the Apostles, tympanum of the center portal of the narthex of La Madeleine, Vézelay, France, 1120–1132.

Tympanum – La Madeleine – Vezelay, France•Subject: Ascension of Christ and Mission of the Apostles – light rays emanate from Christ’s hands = instilling Holy Spirit in the apostles at Pentecost/ Apostles job to preach Gospel to all nations, convert heathens (seen in bottom lintel and in 8 compartments)

•Vezelay – associated with Crusades – 3 launched from this location/ Crusades were kind of “second mission of the apostles” to convert the infidel

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Figure 17-27 Portal on the west facade of Saint-Trophîme, Arles, France, mid twelfth century.

Figure 17-27 Detail Christ in Judgment

Portal/ Tympanum – Saint Trophime – Arles, FranceBack by popular demand! Christ in a mandorla with signs of the 4 Evangelist

•Apostles below Christ in continuous Last Judgment frieze/ below and in frontal bays – figures of saints in classical attire/ figures in tympanum and on frontal bays almost freestanding

•Arles was important Roman colony founded by Julius Caesar/ lots of remains of Roman art and architecture in area/ projecting portal resembles a Roman arch attached to the building’s façade/ classical statuary

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Figure 17-28 BENEDETTO ANTELAMI, King David, statue in a niche on the west facade of Fidenza Cathedral, Fidenza, Italy, ca. 1180–1190. Marble, approx. life-size.

Stone Sculpture in the Round – King David

•Artist: Benedetto Antelami

•Fidenza Cathedral (northern Italy) – Old Testament figure

•Placed in a niche/ elbows close to body/ no weight shift/ figure is free from architectural setting

•How is it similar to Greco-Roman art?

Freestanding Statuary

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Figure 17-29 RAINER OF HUY, Baptism of Christ, baptismal font from Notre-Dame-des-Fonts, Liège, Belgium, 1107–1118. Bronze, 2’ 1” high. Saint-Barthélémy, Liège.

Metalwork – Baptismal Font

•Artist: Rainer of Huy (bronzeworker)

•Cast in single piece

•Old Testament story/ oxen = 12 Apostles/ Christ’s baptism

•Classical style – figures softly rounded with idealized faces and bodies/ heavy, clinging drapery/ ¾ quarter view figure

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Figure 17-30 Virgin and Child (Morgan Madonna), from the Auvergne, France, second half of twelfth century. Painted wood, 2’ 7” high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1916).

Relics – Demand for Small-Scale Images

•Still resistance to creation of statues in the round because of Second Commandment

•Freestanding statues of Christ, the Virgin Mary and saints were still rare

•Exception: small-scale images of holy family and saints to be placed on chapel altars of churches along pilgrimage roads

•Popular type: wooden statue (painted) depicting the Virgin Mary with Christ child in lap/ known as Throne of Wisdom = the Virgin Mary is the Throne of Wisdom because her lap is the Christ Child’s throne

•Western European freestanding version of the Byzantine Theotokos theme popular in icons and mosaics/ like Byzantine style: rigid, upright, frontal position, no emotion

Throne of Wisdom

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Figure 17-31 Head reliquary of Saint Alexander, from Stavelot Abbey, Belgium, 1145. Silver repoussé (partly gilt), gilt bronze, gems, pearls, and enamel, approx. 1’ 5 1/2” high. Musées Royaux, Brussels.

Silver Reliquary - Repousse

•Created for private devotional purpose

•Subject: Saint Alexander

•Made for Abbot Wibald to house Pope Alexander II’s relics

•Idealized head (Roman-like)

•Silver repousse with bronze gilding for hair/ collar of jewels and enamel plaques around neck/ reliquary box rests on dragons/ central plaques are of pope and saints

•9 plaques on other sides represent female allegorical figures

•Models for work on box area = Byzantine

•Work is eclectic – looked at multiple sources because traveled more – saw other styles

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Figure 17-32 Christ in Majesty, apse fresco from Santa María de Mur, near Lérida, Spain, mid-twelfth century. 22’ X 24’. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Painting - Murals

•Painting did not need to be revived in the Romanesque period/ illuminated manuscripts made in quantity in Middle Ages/ Roman tradition of mural painting never died in Italy

•Northeastern Spain – more Romanesque mural paintings survived than anywhere else

•Santa Maria de Mur

Byzantine: formality, symmetry, placement of figures, drapery

Romanesque: iconographic scheme (powerful icon)

•Spanish painter rejected mosaic for fresco and use of harsh, bright colors

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Figure 17-33 Entombment of Christ, fresco above the nave arcade, Sant’Angelo in Formis, near Capua, Italy, ca. 1085.

Frescoes Used Above Nave Arcades•Romanesque artists used fresco rather than mosaic to create framed scenes from Christ’s life along both sides of the nave of Sant’ Angelo in southern Italy

•Subject: Entombment of Christ/ fully modeled figures/ 3-D architectural setting/ blue sky/ emotion

•The monk/artist was trained by artists imported from Constantinople thus the classical (Greek) style is present

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Figure 17-34 Nave of the abbey church, Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, France. Painted barrel vault, ca. 1100.

Figure 17-34 Detail Arcade of the apse

Painted Vaults – Saint Savin – Hall Church

Hall Church – where aisles are approximately same height as nave/ more light/ painting not true fresco

•Subject of panels: opening 5 books of Old Testament

•Style of figures is northern

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Figure 17-35 The vision of Hildegard of Bingen, detail of a facsimile of a lost folio in the Scivias by Hildegard of Bingen, from Trier or Bingen, Germany, ca. 1050–1079. Formerly in Hessische Landesbibliothek, Wiesbaden.

Figure 17-38 EADWINE THE SCRIBE(?), Eadwine the scribe at work, folio 283 verso of the Eadwine Psalter, ca. 1160–1170. Ink and tempera on vellum. Trinity College, Cambridge.

Manuscript Illumination – In Great Demand •Hildegard – German nun and abbess/ Hildegard’s vision came to her as fiery light that poured into her brain from heaven

•English monk/ author portrait/ rare picture of Romanesque artist at work

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Figure 17-40 Battle of Hastings, detail of the Bayeux Tapestry, from Bayeux Cathedral, Bayeux, France, ca. 1070–1080. Embroidered wool on linen, 1’ 8” high (entire length of fabric 229’ 8”). Centre Guillaume le Conquérant, Bayeux.

Embroidery and Tapestry – Bayeux Tapestry, France•Subject: Norman defeat of Anglo-Saxons at Hastings in 1066 (uniting England and France under one rule)/ shows Battle of Hastings in progress/ Greco-Roman influence = horses with twisted necks and contorted bodies/ figures are Romanesque = linear patterning and flat color

•Embroidered fabric made of wool sewn on linen (closely related to Romanesque manuscript illumination with border of real and imaginary animals and Latin text)/ 20” high and 230 ft. long/ continuous, frieze-like pictorial narrative – it depicts an event in full detail at a time shortly after it occurred (like historical narratives of ancient Roman art – Column of Trajan)

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Discussion Questions

Identify key elements of Romanesque architecture.

What factors sparked the increase in building of churches in Western Europe?

Why do you think there was such a strong positive reception of the concept of relics in Romanesque society??