The 5 most outstanding Romanesque ARCHITECTS

The Romanesque is a term that began to be used from the 8th century, being used for the first time to describe the architecture of the western Europe of century IX to XII. An architectural style that arose in Christian Europe and that combines elements of Eastern, Byzantine architecture, with elements of Celtic, German and Norman architecture.

One of the great difficulties when studying the subject of Romanesque architects is the almost total lack of information that has arrived on the matters of the construction of the buildings of the epoch. Thus, only partial descriptions of monuments have been preserved and less about the promoters and a brief list of the names of the masters. In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we offer you a semblance of the leading Romanesque architects.

Index

1. Elements of Romanesque architecture
2. The importance of Romanesque churches
3. Monk architect Gunzo
4. Gislebertus
5. Cabestany Master
6. Master Mateo
7. Benedetto Antelami

The truth is that, both the circumstances of his work and his social relevance to the architects of this time, are not well known due to the little existing documentation. Thus, and as the researcher Roberto Benedicto Salas points out in his work The construction of Romanesque architecture, it seems as if the prestigious figure of the "Architectus" of the Old Age would have declined significantly, to be considered a master builder, without ever being considered a socially relevant trade until well into the XII century.

Until then, the architect seems to belong to the guild of the Mechanicae Arts, with little prominence, without making a distinction between the architect and the master builder, always monopolizing the merit of the cult promoter of the work, the architect falling into anonymity. As early as the thirteenth century, documentary news appeared that allow us to get to know this type of professionals better. Thus, in the crews of Lombard masters northern ItalyThe functions of master designer and master of work execution were carried out by the same person, known as the Lombard master.

These kinds of masters of the Romanesque art were in charge of the project and had the necessary knowledge to draw the plan, make elevations and global sections of the project, making use of knowledge of proportional and geometric systems used in the layout and composition of buildings since ancient times.

On the other hand, since the monasteries are basically religious architecture and the centers of knowledge and science, the monks themselves used to be the architects. Some masters who preferred walls and vaults to make solid constructions, without opening large openings, creating dark interiors that invite meditation and prayer.

Image: Arkiplus

Between 950 and 1140, the Christian church experienced a boom and consolidation thanks to an increasingly extensive network of bishops, clergymen and monasteries spread over almost all of Western Europe. A reflection of that growing power and wealth was the monumental architecturel and a new design language, the Romanesque art.

A language that helped spread God's message through the sculpture, painting and architecture. To do this, Romanesque designers and architects built hundreds of new churches and monasteries, such as the Cathedral of Pisa, the Florence Baptistery, Laon Cathedral, Augsburg and Worms Cathedrals, Cluny Abbeys, Aux Dames (Caen) and Les Hommes (Mont Saint-Michel).

The Order of Cluny was key in the splendor of Romanesque art and being the radiating focus of the same, also launching a monastic reform that spread throughout the European continent.

At present little remains of the original construction, Cluny I It was consecrated in 927, by an unknown architect, and demolished in 981 to erect Cluny II. This work was built by Abbot Majolus, insufficient work and which was expanded from 1088, the year in which Abbot Hugo de Semur commissioned the monk architect Gunzo and Hézelon, his collaborator, the Ecclesia Maior de Cluny III, one of the most lavish monasteries of the Middle Ages.

Gislebertus he was another of the most important Romanesque architects. A sculptor from the early 12th century, his most famous work being the tympanums and capitals of the cathedral of Autun, considering that he could also be an assistant in the decoration of the great abbey of Cluny.

The use of an elongated canon of the figures is one of the most characteristic features of him. His best known work is the tympanum of the Final judgment composed of 14 historiated capitals.

This teacher was a anonymous Romanesque sculptor active during the second half of the twelfth century. His most notable work is the reliefs on the tympanum of the Cabestany church, Perpignan, Roussillon.

The Master Mateo (c. 1150 - c. 1200 ~ 1217) is another of the most prominent Romanesque architects. He was, in addition to a sculptor, an architect and carried out his work in the medieval Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, being one of the most iconic works of him the facades of the Cathedral of Santiago, specifically the Cover of Silversmiths and that of ParadiseHis project to complete the works of the then basilica was his since 1168. TO

yes, the master and his workshop carried out the works in the "crypt", the Pórtico de la Gloria and the western façade, now gone. A work in which new artistic forms are introduced in which Italian, French, and even Islamic influences are combined.

The most celebrated part is the Portico of GloryA masterpiece of European art, in which the master himself recorded his work, noting how he had directed the works of the cathedral from its foundations.

We finish this review of Romanesque architects to talk about Benedetto Antelami who was a Italian architect and sculptor in charge of the construction of the Parma Cathedral. He is characterized by his elongated figures and compact composition.

His works are a Crucifixion, the Descent from the Cross, a marble bas-relief, in addition to the construction of the Baptistery, works in the Fidenza Cathedral, as well as in the main west portal of the St Mark's Basilica, Venice. Antelami was a forerunner of the Gothic.

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• Benedicto Salas, R. (2015) The construction of Romanesque architecture, INSTITUCIÓN "FERNANDO EL CATÓLICO", Zaragoza
• Conant, K.J (2007) Carolingian and Romanesque architecture, 800-1200, Cátedra, Madrid