Art and Architecture in the Middle Ages
Film lecture by John Canaday
(This is the basic text of the film, with links in case you want to do further exploration)
In art man leaves the most profound images of his beliefs, his way of life.
The images of medieval art are Christian images, familiar to those of us who
inherit the Christian tradition. The familiarity does not guarantee that we
understand the images, however: ours is an age of science, whereas the Middle Ages were a time of mystical piety.
In
The sculpture at the entrance to the cathedral at Conques
offers an example of early medieval art. It depicts a very
literal three-level world of heaven, earth , and hell.
Christ is the central figure--a Christ sitting in judgment. The blessed
in heaven are in a most unexciting state of repose, as if idleness were a goal
devoutly to be desired. Satan is a lively fellow, and the damned are represented
in varying stages and forms of torment. The demons, with which the medieval
world was fully populated, appear in horrible shapes..
Death, suffering, and damnation were strong in the medieval consciousness.
In the cathedral at Autun the
sculpture is quite different, though it dates from about the same period as
that at Conques. It is elongated, bizarre, nervous, artificial, one might even
say hallucinatory--yet in its own way, it is equally expressive as its contemporary. Artists had little tradition from which to
draw at this period, and most found their inspiration in the world around them
(as at Conques) or in the illustrations of manuscript books (as at Autun).
The
At Amiens
cathedral one can see the climax of Gothic sculptural idealism. Here a calm
faith and spiritual serenity replace the struggle and torment of Conques. It is
a later development and represents the often unrecognized variety (as
well as unity) of the Middle Ages.
At Reims one can notice a fusion of many styles, including
a newly rediscovered classical influence. The most individualized feature of
the cathedral at
Medieval art is characterized as either Romanesque (that is,
"like the Romans"), a term descriptive of the art from about 1000 to
1200, or Gothic (that is, "barbaric," like that of the ancient
Goths), descriptive of art from 1200 to 1500. Neither term is accurate,
especially the latter, though both continue to be employed.
Much "inside" information about medieval art comes from the sketch
books of one Villard de Honnecourt,
a sculptor who worked on several medieval cathedrals.
Some of the medieval preoccupation with symbolism can be caught in observing
a painting of the late Middle Ages, Robert Campin's The Annunciation. In this picture the
lilies, the vessel of water, the seven rays of light, and even the mousetrap of
Joseph's craftsmanship, among other things, have symbolic meanings.
The finest example of medieval art and architecture, the greatest of the
Gothic cathedrals, is the magnificent edifice at Chartres.
Here faith, intellect, and engineering are combined in a synthesis of
medieval thought and life.
The cathedral was dedicated more than seven hundred years ago, but it is
very much alive today. Every detail of life in the Middle
Ages is caught up in the cathedral. It is medieval thought in visible form. It
at once embraces its society and town and is embraced by them.
Chartres
cathedral has not the pure style of
The Gothic cathedral is a symbol from any point of view, total or partial.
Since faith and fact were one to the medieval mind, all knowledge was organized
and brought into the service of God. This is represented in the statuary and
stained glass artistry of
Even the logic of engineering creates the sense of mystery. The pointed
Gothic arch replaces the Roman arch, giving a sense of elevation. The tension
created by arches and vaults pushing against the "flying buttresses"
also gives a sense of mystery, symbolizing the total mystery of God. Faith,
intellect, and engineering--the medieval synthesis--
