Medieval art: Encyclopedia II - Medieval art - Overview

Medieval art - Overview

Medieval artists in Europe depended, in varying degrees, upon artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and upon the legacy of the early Christian church. These sources were mixed with the vigorous "Barbarian" artistic culture of Northern Europe to produce a remarkable artistic legacy. Indeed the history of medieval art can be seen as the history of the interplay between the elements of classical, early Christian and "Barbarian" art.

Medieval art - Major art movements

Art in the Middle Ages is a broad subject and art historians traditionally look at it based on about nine large-scale movements, or periods.

• Early Christian art covers the period from about 200 (before which no distinct Christian form survives), until the late 7th or early 8th centuries, when Arab conquests and Byzantine iconoclasm halted the production of art in the East. During this period Christian artists adopted the Roman crafts of painting, mosaic, carving and metalwork.

• Byzantine art overlaps with or merges with what we call Early Christian art until the iconoclasm period of 730-843 when the vast majority of artwork was destroyed; so little remains that today any discovery sheds new understanding. After 843 until 1453 there is a clear Byzantine art tradition. It was often called the best art of the Middle Ages in terms of quality of material and workmanship, the production of which was centered on Constantinople. Byzantine arts crowning achievement were the monumental frescos and mosaics inside domed churches, most of which have not survived due to natural disasters and the re-appropriation of churches to mosques.

• Celtic art in the Middle Ages describes the art of native Celtic speaking peoples of Ireland and Britain from about the 5th century, with the Roman withdrawal, to about the 12th century establishment of Romanesque art. The 5th to 7th centuries were mainly a continutation of the late Iron Age La Tene art with some Roman modifications, while in the 7th and 8th centuries saw a fusion with Germanic traditions through contact with the Anglo-Saxons creating what is called the Hiberno-Saxon style, and then finally late in the period some Viking inspirations were added in Ireland.

• Migration Period art describes the art of Germanic peoples on the move during the Migration Period from about 300-900, also includeing the Hiberno-Saxon period in Britain and Ireland. It examines how these influence interacted with Christian art, as well as the characteristics of the Animal style and the Polychrome style.

• Pre-Romanesque art is the period from the crowning of Charlemagne in 800 to the start of the Romaneque period in the 12th century. It includes Carolingian art, Ottonian art (Germany), Anglo-Saxon art (England), as well as the art of France, Italy and Spain. During this period Roman classical influences are activly absorbed and Carolingian art becomes the seed from which would later emerge Romanesque and Gothic art.

• Romanesque art (to be completed)

• Gothic art is a fragmentary term depending on the craft, place and time. The term originated with Gothic architecture in 1140, but Gothic painting did not appear until around 1200 (this date has many qualifications), when it diverged from Romanesque style. Gothic sculpture was born in France in 1150 and spread throughout Europe, by the 13th century it had become the international style, replaceing Romanesque. International Gothic describes Gothic art from about 1360 to 1430.

• Islamic art during the Middle Ages covers a wide variety of crafts including illustrated manuscripts, textiles, ceramics, metalwork and glass. There was an early formative stage from 600-900 and the development of regional styles from 900-1500.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Overview", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki