Medieval art: painting and architecture of Idade Média explained

Medieval art was all artistic production created between the V century and the XV century. After this phase, paintings, tapestries and illuminations were highlighted for além de construções arquitetônicas e composições musicais.

Medieval art was basically a religious art, cristã. The Catholic Church was of fundamental importance during that time, not only in terms of society but also as the main artistic promoter.

The two most important styles of the medieval period for Romanesque art and Gothic art.

The medieval period began with the disintegration of the Roman Empire of the Ocidente (fifth century) and was closed as the East Roman Empire, as the remains of Constantinople (XV century). It is customary for scholars to divide the medieval period into Upper Middle Idade (between Seculum V and X) and Lower Middle Idade (between Secular XI and XV).

During this period, he grew up with a predominantly religious character. As artistic creations, marked by spirituality and conservatism, were practically all sponsored by Igreja - that practice was known as

papal patronage.

A Catholic Church tinha a very important social role in a medieval context: on one side it was a aggregator entity (which governs community life) and by another controls all or types of production artistic.

During the medieval era, two artistic styles will stand out: Romanesque and Gothic.

Romanesque Art

Romanesque art was produced during the Upper Middle Ages, more precisely between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, having been the successor to Byzantine art. As or not aponta proper, or style has Roman influence.

This style was basically religious and sought illustrate biblical dinners. In this context, Jesus was always represented in a broader way, with higher dimensions, sublining or being the protagonist of him.

A românica art passou a conter deformation and colorful feito from plated cores. Nesse moment of painting yet there was no concern with the shade or with the games of light.

A curious fact is that the criações dessa time I was not assassinated Usually, there is no strong concern in relation to authorship.

Romanesque art also did not exist with a strong desire to imitate nature or to produce works that were genuinely realistic, exactly in a perfect home image.

The main themes of Romanesque painting were more biblical dinners, as passages of the life of Jesus Christ, of Mary and two Saints and Apostles.

Romanesque architecture

As edificações romanicas investiam em linhas horizontais (not very high). They were large constructions, they were divided into sectors, smaller spaces, with interiors practically not decorated and a single main portal.

You give us usavam thick and thick walls with few openings that serviam de janela. Due to the weight of the walls, the constructions, solid, were not very high.

The roofs were often made of wood and the walls needed to be strong or sufficient to support the building weight. As robust tinham igrejas usually plants in cross format.

It was a common type of construction in the presence of vaults and horizontal arches that formed 180 degrees. In a general way, we can affirm that a Romanesque architecture tinha um style mais sombrio e com simpler traços.

It is desired to deepen no matter, take advantage of it to read or artigo Or what is romantic art? 6 works to understand or style.

Gothic art

In the twelfth century I began to develop Gothic art - painting emerged in 1200, practically half of Gothic architecture. Or apex of that style occurred between 1300 and 1500.

The Gothic style was consecrated by Giorgio Vasari, in Italy, in the middle of the sixteenth century and was initially a pejorative tom. Or thermo viria de Gothos, a reference to the poor that destroyed Rome in 410.

Or style, still very marked by Christian influence, can be seen not only in paintings, sculptures, vitrais as well as architecture.

This genre of painting represents an important evolution to begin to illustrate not just biblical dinners, in a cold way, as well as portray bourgeois life e transmit some emotion. Or realism begins to be a concern of two artists of the same age.

People are chosen to figure out who are often dressed for or who are always very dressed. In relation to the colors used, there was a preference for light shades. Some stigmatized ficaram tons: o azul was always dedicated to mãe de Jesus and o marrom to São João Batista.

Achamos que você também will go gostar de ler o artigo Gothic art.

Gothic architecture

A gothic architecture was consecrated by pela sua verticality e pela harmony. With large towers (muitas sinos) and pontas agulhadas, the construções seemed that they tried to reach or ceu.

This aesthetic also has a lot of attention to internal and external decoration. This characteristic can be observed, for example, by pela profuse rosaceae decorative, arches and abóbadas em cruia.

As innovations not process of construction deixaram the lighter (thin) walls and the buildings, higher, possible to place of vitrais, many colorful, that allowed the entrance of light na igreja.

If you are interested in the subject, you also know it or artigo The most impressive Gothic monuments of the world.

Characteristics of medieval art

Or label "medieval art" comprises productions of a period of about a thousand years. Since it is a period, I also enlighten people to gain quite different contours. Anyway, some elements appear more common.

Works with didactic cunho

The ideal of the medieval artist was to transmit his message in a clearer, more didactic and precise way possible one time a large part of the society was illiterate.

To art was, therefore, to serviço da religião, especially to illustrate Christian dinners.

Nas criações medievais havia, via de regra, a didactic concern - Through the arts, the Catholic Church intended to transmit the biblical stories to the illiterate public.

"During Idade Middle Europe, the number of literate people was very small and for this reason the Catholic Church used images as a resource for their education."

Emília Moura, A educação do olhar, O São Paulo State, March 5, 2000

Peças de forte religious look

Financed by Igreja or by members of the (bishops, parents), or even by secular bourgeois well-off, it had not practically nenhuma art from a religious context - generally the artists trabalhavam for igreja.

Convém sublinhar that the medieval period was deeply marked by the inquisition. There were among the people or half of the censorship of the holy office that condemned hereges, bruxes and people who did not compactuavam with Catholic faith.

Criações with little thematic variation

Many dessas works eram loaded with symbols e transpareciam um fascínio as supernatural. It was an aesthetic that frequently depicted monstrous, hybrid creatures (between home or animal).

Or hell, not in the context of the arts, it was linked to eroticism and nakedness, it was associated to sexuality and sin, to something damning.

Uma arte feita by homens e para os homens

As medieval paintings basically portrayed beings of the male sex: it was a fine art for homens.

Na Idade Medium Mulher was represented quase in a coadjuvant way no world gives arts, um reflexo da society. Initially they were painted from the metaphor of the sinner (symbolized by Eve), later they were become linked to the cloister (in the image of Maria, mãe de Jesus) or as guerreiras (in the example of Joana D'Arc).

Main differences between medieval and Renaissance painting

A major difference between medieval and Renaissance art is based on thematic terms. Enquanto na idade das trevas as representações were turned for religious themes, in Renaissance painting - In spite of still having a lot of representation Cristã - começaram to despontar works turned for a life do homem.

Na Renaissance art emerges every time more portraits and family dinners or everyday do gives more stocked litter of society. This substantial change can be easily explained since, during these two phases, there is a transition of theocentrism for or anthropocentrism. Or focus two artists gradually became two homens.

A mecenato practice also gave me different contours in both periods. It was during the medieval era vigorous a papal patronage, where it was basically a church that financed the artists, not rebirth or rocking It happened to be practiced bourgeois hairs, which you entrust for your properties or for religious institutions that you sponsor.