The Art of the Middle Ages
A CROSS-CULTURAL POTLUCK
The period of time known as Medieval, Middle Ages, or formerly the Dark Ages, were anything but “middle” or “dark.” Despite the tumultuous socio-geopolitical climate that occurred in the aftermath of the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, this was a cross-culturally creative time of lofty cathedrals and beautiful stained glass windows.
WHEN & WHERE
c. 100-1453 CE
The Ancient Holy Roman Empire
As power shifted to the newly Christianized north, Arabic tribes brought Islam’s ornamental art to Spain and North Africa. Islamic, Celtic, Germanic and Roman art amalgamated, creating the style that dominated Western art for approximately 1,000 years. Artisans working in guilds or monasteries labored over intricate illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, tapestries, paintings, and sculptures. All of these mediums underwent drastic stylistic changes due to the influx of multicultural styles.
Stained glass rose window at Notre Dame de Paris, France, 1250.
Under the umbrella of the Middle Ages, art periods are divided into two main subgroups: Romanesque and Gothic. Two-dimensional art was ornamental with a compressed sense of space and proportionally inaccurate, distorted figures. Giant humans jostled around crooked miniaturized cities. Tempera paint and gold leaf allowed brilliant color. In architecture, it was all about cathedrals. Tall buildings with spires that reached toward the heavens were encumbered by masses of carved figures with stylized features. The Gothic arch, an icon of the time, was a later device.
Chronologically sandwiched between the brilliance of Roman art and the Renaissance, the Middle Ages was once overlooked. Now, historians agree that this time was integral in the development of Western art and has a beauty all its own. —ARR
Selected artists: Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto, Lorenzetti