ARHS Quiz 3 Objects

Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, Romanesque, Israel

• built over the tmb of christ, connects where the tomb and crucifixion were in 1099, was destroyed, and rebuilt. Is the single most important church in Christiandom

• has two churches, one focused on the crucifixion, one focused on the tomb

• Romanesque: rounded arches + windows, heavy facade

• rotunda built around the tomb of christ

• several apses and chapels for separate christian groups

• tomb: heavy rounded arches, arcades, piers + columns

• the dim lighting encourages meditation + deep contemplation, the church isn’t instantly understandable due to hidden motifs, takes time to notice everything

• general round shape and big columns become a motif based off of this church

Saint Peter and Tabitha, Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth, Romanesque, Israel

• resurrection of disciple tabitha, peter lifts her from her death bed, 3 witness the miracle

• linear drapery

• high quality carving, style developed in europe, migrated to the middle east (Jerusalem)

Cover of the Melsende Psalter, Romanesque, Israel

• personal prayer book of Queen Melsende, collection of psalms

• made of elephant ivory, inlaid with semiprecious stones

• border with twisting vines and birds

• rondels, scenes —> show virtues and vices, vices in margines, avarice being killed by fortitude, conquering vices (avarice’s bag is open, hair streaming, limp posture, fortitude is upright, stronger, wearing armor)

Monastery of Monte Cassino, Romanesque, Italy, est. 581

• rebuilt in earthquake, bombed in ww2, has spolia

• delibrately reviving Roman culture (what we see as early Christian though), to bring about sense of glory days and unity

• produced exultet scrolls, meant for a particular sermon on holy saturday, before easter. upside down text, rightside up images for the crowd

Gathering of Honey, Exultet Roll, Romanesque, Italy

• pascal candle —> burned during services over days in easter week, made of beeswax (expensive)

  • think of christ as a bee, believed that in bees making honey, they died. The suffering of christ brings sweetness of eternal life/light

• giant bees —> hierarchy of scale so audience can see the bees as well

• linear drapery but with 3 dimensionality, realistic, callback to Roman sculptures, better perception of space

San Clemente, Rome, Romanesque, Italy

• apse and mosaic on apse has not been redone

• mosaic is mostly glass here, gold leaf glued on glass then smashed

• christ on the cross, 12 doves represent the apostles, on the right of christ is virgin mary and left is John the Evangelist, hand of God is coming in from clouds, tremendous growth of vines around the cross

• wood of cross, made from tree of good and evil, garden of eden, sin of adam and eve made whole by christ’s crucifixion

  • the base of the cross there is a snake, good is coming from evil, deer (symbolic of human soul) drinking from the rivers of paradise, vines spread throughout the world

San Miniato al Monte, Florence, Romanesque, Italy

• more geometric, more defined facade, colors

• lots of marble in Tuscany, as such marble is used more liberally

• one of the richest monasteries

• crypt was built by a corrupt bishop + consort, which lead to controversy, church reform movement, and the movement led to the construction of the church

• rounded arches

• columns with corinthian capitals, engaged columns, made of green + white marble

• spandrels, tympanum have simple 2d patters, inlaid marble, a mosaic by the roof, front recalls an early christian basilica, like St. Peters, reviving antiquity

• exterior reflets interior, blind arches, still remains of ancient style

• pediment, gable shape, greco roman style

• the only part that is marble on the outside is the facade, the rest of the building is brick

• mosaic: chrst entrhoned, virgin mary on the right, st. minneaus on the left, door under mosaic, inaccessible except through faith

• interior: rounded arches, arcades, rounded apse, wooden vaulting marble sheathing continued all the way through, when column and capital don’t line up = spolia (notion of antiquity). Transverse arches, the sheaths of marble recall heavenly Jerusalem, idealized structure. Inlaid on the floor are the images of the zodiac

Pisa Cathedral, Romanesque, Italy

• bell tower, bapitstry (can recall Dome of the Rock, circle and line composition)

• monastic complex with a cloister

• huge cathedral with tons of marble, Pisa was a great maritime power, the entire church is a votive gift for Mary from winning a war. On a field of miracles —> dirt and grass from the holy land, connection to Jerusalem is strong. Archbishop of Pisa was Jersualem’s patriarch (also trying to recall heavenly Jerusalem in book of revelation)

• a ton of marble, flat facade and colored patterning

• engaged columns, rounded arches, whole arcades (decorative)

• marble patterns by the clerstory, massive edifice, huge amount of money

• some mosaics in tympanea, columns carved with designs from antiquity

• interior: wooden roof, marble arcade all ht way down, gallery with banded marble piers and clerstory. Transverse arches are painted. Early Christian roofs made of wood (truss roofs), copied in style. Put a ceiling below the truss roof with inset squares (coffers), similar to the Pantheon’s roof

• baptistry - bottom is Romanesque, top is gothic, baptism used to be for adults, moved to infants as people believed you were more vulnerable to evil then

• cloister area - composanto, burials in dirt brought from Golgotha

Sant'Ambrogio, Romanesque, Italy

• also meant to recall early christianity

• heavy rounded arches, thick columns, brick gable

• Saint Ambrose - one of the four fathers of christian catholic church, finds bones of a saint nearby

• severe plain brick work, meant to be austere

• low and broad, enormous with huge compound piers, central part holds 3 groin vaults, galleries are fairly dark

• creates a huge sense of strength and power

Wiligelmo, Scenes from Genesis, Modena Cathedral, Romanesque Italy

• images from old testament, God in a mandorla creating Adam and Eve, eats the apple, and covering up

• freize is 3 feet tall

• more realistic proportions, more 3d, cleanly cut, not so much compression

Borgund Stave Church, Romanesque, Norway

• medieval wooden churches, about 1200 of them, only 28 left surviving

• locations are more remote, not in a big city or on top of a hill

• churches are smaller to serve a smaller population

• stone foundation but made of wood

• stone sill at top of foundation, with sections that carve out, this is where they put wood staves that reach up to the roof truss of the main area. Put planks vertically, utlizing the natural strength of the tree

• low roof (hip roof) encircles the full building, upper roof has gable roof, slanted so weighted snow, a lot of it, will slide off the roof, suitable for small architecture. 6 levels of roofing

• the plan of the church is romanesque, interior is reflected in exterior

• roof shingles on the upper wall covered in tar for water resistance, bell tower has small rounded arches, walkway around the church for processions and protection from snow

• interior: diagonal bracing, main doorway is densely packed, reminescent of migration art. Style and iconography of older religions blended with christianity (dragon heads on outside roofs).

Speyer Cathedral, Romanesque, Germany

• Geometric archictecture, showing power, solidity and weight. Holy roman empire is composed of several city states, competing culturally, shows impressive cathedrals

• massive basilica, can be seen from the Rhine (not good for foundation not as strong)

• made of stone, extra bell towers = towers = power

• the walls are 5 feet thick, extremely fortified, shows you have the affluence to use extra resources

• thick walls lead to articulation of the surface. shaping, sunk in windows, gallery is deep visually with an arcade of rounded arches, dwarf galleries set below eaves of roof, columns are thick

• sold cubic capitals recall Carolingan and Otoonian periods, where Germanic lands were the most powerful in Europe

• crypt monumental in size: held by 42 groin vaults, supported by 20 piers and columns, alternating colored voussoir stones, tomb for the german emperors, would be buried room for tombs, alters, processions

• nave, transverse arches, arcades

Abbey church of Maria Lauch, Romanesque Germany

benedictine abby influenced by cluny

• thicl walls, German with multiple towers and lantern motifs

• interesting juxtaposition in depth for decoration

• arches with differing corbelling and pilasters that subdivide the church, bring under visual control

• weird extra apse with front low lying building part

• windows and clerstory set deep, dark stone frames windows, outlines building

• extra apse at front of building

• color in corbles, same with sculpture

Inervard, Volot Santo, Romanesque, Germany

• miraculous life size wooden crucifix on sea shore, found by pilgrims, story goes 3 were carved by Nicodemus, disciple of Christ, 3 carved crosses discovered by the mother of Constantine, found by Jewish people and set out on boats from Jerusalem

• becomes famous iconography, slender christ in long, full robe

• body and face is elongated, linear drapery