Journal Entry #12 - Animals in Medieval Art

Animals, sometimes real and mythical, hold a high standard of importance in medieval art. Animals carried a vast variety of associations that were drawn from the past. Ex - The lamb as a symbol of christ, the griffin as an attendant of Apollo and keeper of light, and the dove as a description of the Holy Spirit.

Plague with Agnus Dei and Four Evangelists

9th Century

Ivory Carving

Incipit Page to the Gospel of John

1300-1310

Vellum, pigments, and gold.

-four symbols of evangelists

*ox for luke

*eagle for john

*angel for matthew

*lion for mark

Journal Entry #11 - Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram

Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram

9th Century

Munich

The Codex of St. Emmeram is an illuminated Gospel Book that's cover page is highly illimunated with the use of gold and gems.  It was produced for the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles II. The middle of the cover page shows an illustration of the Emperor. This decision was made in 1930 to make this official. With careful study of the text,  a connection between the written work and the picture on the cover became apparent. 

The book was written out by the monks Liuthard and Beringer. 

This video goes in depth with the history of manuscript making.

The adoration of the Lamb from the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram

Romanesque Art - Journal Entry #10

The Morgan Leaf

Detached from the Winchester Bible

1160-75

As we discussed in class and viewed in the video that demonstrated manuscript making, many people during this time were illiterate and did not have the opportunity to learn how to read. It is with pictorial depictions that this detriment can be excused. The artistans who crafted these books acknowledged the fact that to spread and influence others of Christianity, they must illustrate the stories that took place in the bible to help it's viewers understand them. The Morgan Leaf demonstrates this with careful detail oriented work to help instruct scenes from the life of David.

Romanesque Art - Journal Entry #9

Early 12th Century

V&A Museum

This Romanesque piece of artwork was created with the "lost wax" technique. It was created in three sections. The metal used was bronze but also features lead, nickel, iron, arsenic, and a large amount of silver. It has been suggested that the candlestick was made from gold coins. 

The candlestick is composed of human figures, apes, and mythical beasts that are intertwined throughout the piece.  

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/gloucester-candlestick/

Early Christian Art - Entry #8

The Good Shepard

This mid-3rd century catacomb painting shows one of the most recurrent themes in Early Christian art: the Shepherd carrying a sheep, (John 10:1-21;Luke 15:1-7 and 11-32). The Shepherd represents Jesus who will search lovingly for even one wandering Child of God and rejoice when it is found. In the Priscilla "Good Shepherd" the Shepherd holds the lost sheep upon his shoulders as two other sheep look on with rapt attention. What is left of the chipping plaster shows paints of an earthy green and brown. The figures are relatively small and are a part of a larger wall painting that includes praying figures and the Old Testament story of Jonah and the Whale, (Lowden p.26).


Lowden, John. Early Christian and Byzantine Art. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1997.

Early Christian Art - Entry #7

Catacombs of Rome

Early Christian art is somewhat deceivingly hidden in history between the second century after the birth of Christ until the year 313, when Constantine came to power and stopped the persecutions of Christians in the Roman Empire. Catacombs are the name given to "subterranean galleries cut into the tufa beds outside of Rome," (Gough, p.24). They were rediscovered by the modern world during the nineteenth century and the few that have been excavated provide information about the world in 250 AD.  The catacombs contain most of what we know about Early Christian art in wall paintings called frescoes, (wall paintings made by mixing paints with wet plaster and creating a virtually indestructible work of art)  Contrary to some modern beliefs, these catacombs were not  a secret to anybody in Rome; indeed, the catacombs were used as Christian cemeteries not because they needed secrecy. In reality, the Roman law strictly protected tombs from violation. 


Gough, Michael. The Origins of Christian Art London: Thames and Hudson,1973.