ARTKids - ARTAges Middle Ages in Europe Page 2

ARTAges- Middle Ages in Europe Page 2

Islamic Art 622 - 900 AD -

Double-Walled Ewer
in the Form of a Rooster
Ceramic
Late 12th-early 13th century
Persian, Seljuk Dynasty
height 27 cm (6 3/4 in.)

The faith of Islam arose in western Arabia with God's revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (ca. 570-632) by the angel Gabriel. These sacred messages were written down by 651 as the holy book, the Qur'an. In 622 Muhammad left Mecca for Medina in a journey called the hijra which marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar (1 A.H.). In 630 he designated Mecca the spiritual and geographical center of Islam.

Islam demonstrates its faith in the building of religious monuments and the illumination of the Qur'an and celebrates all aspects of daily life by adorning the most humble of objects. Arabic calligraphy was the vehicle that spread the message of Islam and thus became the central, most venerated art form. The arabesque, derived from the classical vine scroll, evolved into Islamic art's most distinctive motif.

Although the Qur'an prohibits the worship of idols, it does not forbid representations of humans, animals, and birds in a secular context. Living beings, however, are not permitted as decoration in religious buildings or in the Qur'an.

The Seljuks, Central Asiatic tribesmen, entered the Islamic world at the beginning of the 11th century. A few decades later they occupied the whole of Iran. A branch called the Seljuks of Rum moved west to settle in Asia Minor (now Turkey). From the 11th century until the coming of the Mongols in the early 13th, the Seljuks ushered in a period of relative peace in which all the arts flourished under their patronage.

Plaque
Ivory, carved, inlaid into wood
Mid 15th century
Egyptian, Mamluk Dynasty
9.5 x 5.8 cm (3 3/4 x 2 1/2 in.)

The Seljuk period is one of the most creatively exciting in the history of Islamic art. Although of humble nomadic beginnings, the Seljuks -- once settled -- commissioned buildings of majestic proportions and objects of matchless beauty.

One of the great periods of Islamic metalworking occurred under Seljuk rule. Three bronze objects with openwork decoration exemplify the harmony of shape and design achieved by the Seljuk craftsman. A lampstand which originally supported a tray and lamp rests on three hoofed legs. Its cylindrical shaft and base are covered with a pierced and engraved design of palmette scrolls surrounding medallions which enclose sphinxes and human-headed birds. The meaning of these magical creatures is unclear but it appears that they are beneficent.

Two other pieces also demonstrate the extraordinary delicacy and power of Seljuk metalwork. A lamp or incense burner of unusual shape and a monumental base for a lampstand are both decorated with Kufic inscriptions bestowing blessings on the owner. Openwork designs of linked roundels and intertwined palmette scrolls adorn the surfaces.

Objects meant to diffuse light or disperse scented smoke were often covered with lacy, perforated patterns.

The Mamluks (meaning "those owned") were originally Central Asiatic tribesmen who were slaves and bodyguards to the Ayyubids (a Kurdish dynasty ruling Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean in the 12th and 13th centuries). After the fall of that state in 1250, the Mamluks established a powerful empire which included Egypt, Syria, Palestine, southeast Anatolia, and South Arabia, controlling the region for over two hundred and fifty years. They halted the Mongol advance and expelled the last crusaders from the Near East. Their piety was reflected in the great religious complexes and beautiful works of art they commissioned. This religious zeal made them generous patrons of architecture and art.

Mosque Lamp
Syrian, Mamluk period, late 13th century
Free-blown glass, h. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm)

In the Koran, God's light is likened to "a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, and the glass is as it were a brightly shining star." This example bears an inscription stating that it was made for the mausoleum of a Syrian official.

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917

Images and verbiage with permission from the Detroit Institute of Arts (Ancient Art Division)

Carolingian Art 732 - 900 AD -

Equestrian Statue
of a Carolingian King
(9th Century)
Bronze
Height: 9.5"
The Louvre, Paris

Judging from many art history survey books, the serious study of medieval art only gets under full swing with the Carolingian Empire. This may be because of the relatively large amount of surviving art to study, but it is probably because for centuries this period has been perceived as the beginning of Europe's climb back out of the barbaric "Dark Ages." Under their greatest leader since antiquity, Western Europe briefly regained some semblance of political unity and standardized artistic productivity.

from katherine_odell@yahoo.com

Ottonian Art 900 - 1050 AD -

The Homage to Emperor Otto II
from the Registrum Gregorii
(983-996)
miniature on parchment

The Ottonian period was one of great artistic productivity. The many monasteries and bishoprics which were beholden to the Ottians produced beautiful manuscripts which often contained flattering portraits of the emperors. These paintings reflect the Ottonian obsession with the iconography of power, drawing upon ancient Roman and Carolingian models for inspiration.

from katherine_odell@yahoo.com

Romanesque Style 1000 - 1140 AD -

"Virgin and Child", icon Sibenik

While the Pre-Romanesque was a period of many small churches Romanesque was the age of imposing cathedrals. In Istria, the older early Christian and early Byzantine basilicas in Novigrad, Porec and Pula remained in use, but during the 12th century new cathedrals were built or old churches reconstructed in Senj, Krk, Rab, Zadar, Trogir, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb (where a bishopric was founded in 1094). Unfortunately, the two most important Romanesque cathedrals in the north and south were destroyed: Zagreb's in 1241 by the Tartars, and Dubrovnik's in the earthquake of 1667 (remains of its walls were discovered during archaeological excavations only in 1980-84). But those that still stand, together with the impressive high Romanesque abbey church of St. Grisogonus (Sveti Krsevan) in Zadar, more than hold their own in comparison with the average products of European architecture of this period.

source Copyright © 1997 Croatia Net

Gothic Style 1140 - 1500 AD - Medieval Art - (Gothic) By the end of the 12th. century, in northern Europe, when thanks to trade villages develop into cities, Gothic Art flourishes.

At the same time, new systems of social, economical, political, and religious organizations appear. The bourgeoisie, the group of city inhabitants, influences the development of a different new society and promotes a new style: Gothic

The guilds of craftsmen contend for the construction of cathedrals. Gothic, although symbolic, is a lot more anecdotal and naturalistic than Romanesque.
(also see Gothic Architecture)