Life in the middle Ages

• 313 Ad - christianty official

• roads built to spread empire, spread christianity, contributed fall of Roman empire

  • churches supported pilgrims

• Capitol (Byzantium) renamed Constantinople

  • divided east and west

• forced to converted in western Europe

• Constantine gave religious freedom

Iconoclasm

• 726 → 843

• art stagnate as images of divine figures banned

Romanesque art

• Position in system implemented at birth

• education only available through church

• new people → artisans and merchants

Gothic period

• increase in growth from middle class proffesionals and cities

Early Christian Period

• caricture earliest depiction of christs death on cross

  • adopted cross but avoided showing as humiliating

• funerary in catacombs was the earliest

• families would have cubicula dug to bury

• romans would have sarcophagi → christians wanted the same with christian imagery

early christ and the apostles

• catacmobs of domitilla

  • christ flanked by disciples → christ as teacher not a story

• christ in classical garb holding scroll in left han, right oustretched into ad locutio gesture.

• intially scared to portray christ and would use signs to get message across

• first symbols → semantic, some purely verbal

  • chirho monogram → combination of xp in greek

• fish adopted as rebus for christs name → initials in greek

• lamb used, lamb of god which takes away sin of world

Throne of God as Trinitarian image, marble

• earliest rep of trinity

• son is indicated as Diadem and chlamys and spirit of dove

• deer stands for the faithful

the sarcophagus of Junis Bassus, the image of christ

• when ceased to be undeground, needed architecture → also needed new less confusing visual language

• relief carving

• number of incidents represented

• well proportioned → classic

• 2 stories

  • christ riding into jerusalem on palm sunday → moment of triumph on earth

  • above, enthroned by st peter and st paul

• on sarcophagus

  • christ not dressed in roman toga but greek palium

  • fresh young face

  • apollo as model

  • in a mosaic at revenna the beardless christ, wearing pallium of purple cloth

  • outstretch arms to bless the loaves and fishes, carried symbolically shorter disciples, covered hands

Byzantine Period

• early church walls covered in paintings, mosaics better more expensive

  • tesserae, small peices of coloured glass, stone, metal or semi-precious stones

mosaics in San Vitale in Ravenna

• tonal value was achieved, form of realism

• technique allowed for mosaics to be integrated into architecture in tiled walls

mosaic in half dome apse of san vitale

• in centre of hald dome, young bearedless christ flanked by angels

• far right → bishop Ecclesius, founded of san vitale

• flowery meadow of paradise

  • four rivers

  • golden sky

• chirst seated on the orb of the world suspending in space

• posed frontally

Justinian and his retinue, apse of vitale

• byzantine emperor justanian and his empress theodora, bearing offerings

• vessel with bread, wife with golden cup of wine → represent ceremony and communion

• halo

• accompanied by church officials and bishiops maximus.

  • attendants symbolise twelve apostles

  • bodyguads with chirho monogram

Empress theodora and attendants

• empress on seperate panel → busy leaving

• echeod by halo behind head

• stylised

• flat colour behind implying they are in the church
  

Architecture: Hagia Sophia

• holy wisdom in constantinople

• highest of sciences and maths at the time

• originally, dome was brightly lit by windows inlaid with plain gold mosaic

• command of justinian → trying to be better essentially

• simple rectangle enclosing a square space, at corners there are pillars to support weight

• dome, rests on foursphreical traingles which rise from piers

• east and west of central dome are half domes with same diameter, below even smaller half domes

• piers are ashlar, walls and vaults are thin brick set in mortar

• brick for roofing was a daring innovation, dome collapsed in 558 and replaced by slightly higher one

• other alterations made to strengthen

• exterior is the product of long succession of expedients to butress the domer rather than looks

Romanesque Art

• architecture is based on roman elements

• bigger churches needed because of travellers

• rounded arch used in base in this style

• flat timber ceiling resulted in fires → made use of single tunnel vault with round diaphragm arches as support out of stone

Saint Sernin

• 11th/12th century

• basilica plan (scross shape)

• large barrel vault using series of arches to connect opposite piers

  • inadequate lighting

  • only enter through doors/windows in side aisle

• emphasis on east end → enclosing choir and high altar

• displayed relics

• long nave, wide transepse for pilgrims

Durham Cathedral

• combination of cross vault and buttress system made possible to include windows

• pointed arches in Durham show beginning of Gothic architecture

Bayeux Tapestry

• 1066 and established for the first time at bayeux cathedral in 1077.

• not tapestry, textile mebroided with wool linen, not woven

  • 50cm hieght and 70.4 metres in length

  • narrative that tells story of Norman invasion of England

  • Duke william of nromady conquest of Hardol Godwinson (englands new king)

  • portrayed as justified, harold as an oppurtunist who brokehis oaths to edward the confessor, former king of england and to william

  • pictures with captions

    • latin

  • figures of animals used to deliver comments → refers to Aeop’s fables within decorative borders

  • figures sometimes fell into the border

  • linear, no 3d

  • some parts right to left for needed attention (seperated from main ones)

    • scene depicting death of edward the confessor

  • simplified with sole purpose to tell story

  • starts slow and buils elaborately to action climax

  • historically accurate

Gothic art and architecture

• originally developed to bring sunshine

• grew out of romanesque

• more space and less materials to build

• pointed arch and flying butress

• pointed arch

  • most likely borrowed from islamic

  • seen in spain at the time

  • focussed on importance of light

  • relieved some of the thrust and became possible to reduce size of the columns or piers and reduce pressure on size of the columns or piers that supported the arch, aswell as covering large area and to rise to any height using pointed arch to cover nave

  • pointed arch could be seen in three dimensions where ribbed vaulting met in centre of celing of each bay. ribbed vaulting is another distinguishing feature of gothic architecture.

• slender columns and lightr systems of thrust allowed for larger windows and more light → flying buttress

  • resisted outward thrust of vaulting → originally in romanesque but was concealed beneath roof and added to heaviness and lack of light

  • gothic was on outside

Keiskamma Project and relating to african art

• tapestry is embroidery done in traditional manner

• over 100 woman, tells story of eastern cape frontier

• name from river in region

• hamburg

• carol hofmeyer taught the woman

• studio space and commerical outlet

• crosses boundary between art and craft → captures history

• keiskamma tapestry used the same layout as Bayeux, similiar laid stitching and outlines

• more colours than 8 used

• hand dyed wool and mohair embroided terracotta brown hessian base

• simplified and naive but expressive quality in people and animals

  • includes hills, trees foliage, roads and houses

John Muafangejo

• born 5th october 1943 in ethunda lo Nghadi, ovamboland, angola

• 1956, moved ot namibia where he recieved art schooling-attending the onamunama holy cross missionary school and sainy mary’s anglican missionary school

• studied art at rorkes drift centre in 1967, 1970 began teaching art at mission schools. 1974 invited back to complaete an artist-in-residence

• know for lino prints, cut away inked and printed. back to front.

• cheap meduim, doesnt need fancy machinery, made it popular

• unambiguous language

• his work was often a dramatic, his characters occupied a shallow space, similiar to mosaics. Often accompanied with text

• spelling errors occured highlting artist educational background and educational inequalities found in the bantu education

• style was highly decorative and used repetitive lines and shapes, style was pattern-like

• stories from bible, current events or reconsctructions of historical events and commentaries on own experiences

artworks

• Interview of Cape Town university 1971, lino-cut

  

interview at UCT to study art

• sole black person, seated on one side and flanked by white academics

• all have pens draw like weapons

• he was rejected

death of chief 1971, lino-cut

• portrays kiling of chief Mundume of Ovambo in 1916 by british officers

• under his rule they were last of Ovambo to resist and remained independant of colonial forces.

• Unbalanced with outstretched arms, sliding diagionally towards the viewer down the print.