Introduction
The medieval history of art was experienced between the periods of the Roman Empire’s fall in 300 AD to the Renaissance emergence in the 1400 AD. Historians have adopted the term middle ages and medieval to refer to a given period throughout the European history. Throughout the 1 middle ages, it has been established that the art increasingly evolved as the man tried to address various aspects such as biblical subjects and the classical mythology. Throughout the middle ages, art went through an intensive change until the emergence of Renaissance period. The majority of the early art subjects were heavily restricted to Pietistic painting meaning strictly Christian art. This was done in the form of mosaics, extensively illuminated manuscripts and in other instances the fresco art in churches. The middle ages did not see any form of portrait painting as art and most of the colors that were used were muted. During the early middle Ages, the Islamic, Roman and German arts were integrated creating the medieval art. Art largely was comprised of church constructions, architectural designs and the monasteries and most of the medieval artists were masons, sculptors, and painters 2 . The medieval art history is a very broad area and to understand it clearly, art historians have divided it into distinct phases including Byzantine art, Early Christian, Romanesque art and Gothic Period art.
Divisions of the Middle Arts
During the middle Ages period, the arts were grouped into distinct types, and each was differently expressed based on region and time. These major divisions include:
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Byzantine Art (330 -1453)
These arts were experienced in Constantinople and then spread into various parts of the Eastern Roman Empire. The art was strongly conservative and based on the religious and cultural reasons. Byzantine art influenced a greater part of the Western European art as seen in most of their courts and monasteries 3 . The majority of the Byzantine arts had specific features of both the Roman and the Oriental arts combined with the dome ceilings. It has further been established that the famous iconoclastic movement that was experienced, strictly forbade the artists from using any form of animal or human aspects in the artworks. The major reason behind this was that using human or animal form would amount to idolatry as indicated in the Ten Commandments. All the church architectures reflected the designer’s wealth and high intellectual level 4 .
Early Christian and Late Antique Art (330 - 880)
It was developed specifically in the central France. The majority of the churches and the monuments were all developed using stones. Early Christian art emerged immediately after the adoption of Christianity by the people of Roman Empire. The structures that were constructed were all characterized with distinct features such as the paneled flat wood ceiling, flat ceilings and straight walls that were very high. The interior of these structures was also very rich and highly elaborate with diverse mosaics on the walls and the marble incrustations. In this period, some individual artists used to create art in the Roman style with the aim of convincing people that they are actually the Roman Christians while other people focused on the German art to ensure that people understand them as Germans. It has been established that in both Constantinople and Spain, this period of art lasted for some time until when Spain was defeated by the Arabs in the early 700 AD and during the controversy of an iconoclast that took place in the 700 AD. Additionally, the late Antique in German and England lasted until 1000 AD and in Italy, the citizens were highly proud of their own Roman cultural heritage hence the period lasted until 900 AD 5 .
Romanesque art (800 - 1150)
Romanesque art simply refers to the form of arts that emerged during the medieval period as influenced by Southern France and Italy. It has been shown that this period came in immediately after the late antique and was developed specifically in France. The structures developed were very simple and both the windows and doors were specially designed in a circular arched at their tops 6 . During this period, Islamic, German and the Roman features of art were all mixed bringing about what was a believed to be a new energy in sculpture and architecture. It has been argued that the most substantial impressive feelings were specifically brought about by the Romanesque architecture. The majority of the sculptures created during this time were abstract, stiff and had elements of the fantastic carvings of numerous animals both imaginary and real. Research has further shown that a large number of Romanesque arts had elements of Christian themes. These structures were huge and strong with a simple surface that was aimed at representing the Monk artist’s simplicity. The Spain’s Romanesque art was greatly influenced by the Islamic art. Production of Romanesque art in France occurred in 800 AD. In 1066 AD during the Norman Conquest, Romanesque art gradually found its way into England from France. Romanesque architecture was also used to symbolize the European city’s wealth and power of the church monasteries. Some of the Romanesque buildings particularly the churches and monasteries were built with a thick stone wall and had semi-circular arches. One of the most famous Romanesque art pilgrimage churches is the St. Sernin.
Gothic art (1150 -1500)
Around the 1100 AD, Romanesque art was transformed into Gothic art, and this took place in Italy before spreading gradually in various parts of Europe between 1100 and 1300 AD. Gothic art originated from the Gothic architectures that emerged in Italy in early 1137 AD during the reconstruction of Abbey Church of St Denis 7 . In early 13th century, studies have pointed out that Gothic sculptures became an international style of art gradually replacing the existing Romanesque arts, however, the transition that took place in both the paintings and sculpture were not very sharp compared to that experienced in sculptures. In this form of art, the sculpture was deeply integrated as the primary aspect of style and on the facades of the church were several types of figures and portals. Later on, large carved reredos and diverse forms of altarpieces were painted on the walls of the churches. 8
Most of the Gothic architecture developed during this period was recognized by their pointed arches a feature that was believed to represent a new ambition of being lighter and higher using glass walls. Studies have shown that Gothic sculpture was mainly focused on aspects of realism compared to those of the Romanesque art. For instance, there had been a massive development of Mary and Jesus’ sculptures and paintings and were shown to be highly merciful, loving and greatly compassionate. During the Gothic period, the paintings that were made were also after the notion of realism and emotion. Gothic cathedrals were experienced in France in the late 1200 AD 9 . It has also been shown that great works of Gothic arts were witnessed in both Spain and Germany in 1300. It has been shown that most of the churches and cathedrals that were constructed during this period had integrated the Romanesque art but later on, they were gradually replaced by Gothic arts particularly in the regions believed to have benefited greatly from economic growth. Elements of Romanesque architectures were seen in those regions that were highly depressed particularly in the Southern France and Italy. The Gothic architecture adopted larger windows, and high quality stained glass, and this can be seen in the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The Gothic period witnessed a greater emphasis on Virgin Mary where it became the Catholic art’s hallmark. There were numerous sculptures of saints found in Catholic churches in France and Italy 10 .
Conclusion
The research has focused critically on the medieval art history examining the division of the arts and structures developed. It is clear that art has extensively evolved over time to what it is today and each period saw a new transformation that improved the art and created more interesting artworks. The medieval art was especially a representation of the spiritual expression of both Catholic and Christian faith over time. The interior décor of the churches’ designs expressed a deeper and stronger religious faith as expressed by the Middle Age people. Research has shown that throughout the Middle Ages, the political order did not exist and a greater number of the individuals had no hope in their lives but focused their entire attention on life after death in heaven that was believed to be full of joy and happiness as promised in the Holly Bible. Further, the church was believed to have taken center stage in life hence influenced the way people lived. For instance, the church met the daily needs of people by providing public libraries, housing for all individuals in need and even picture galleries for entertainment purposes.
Bibliography
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Hartt, Frederick. Art: A history of painting, sculpture, architecture . Abrams, 1993.
Kessler, Herbert L. "On the state of medieval art history." The Art Bulletin , 166-187. 1988.
Stokstad, Marilyn, and David A. Brinkley. Art history . Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Medieval art . Westview Press, 2004.
Davis-Weyer, Caecilia. Early Medieval Art, 300-1150: Sources and Documents . University of Toronto Press, 1986.
