ROMANESQUE ART
Theme: “Pilgrimage”
Romanesque churches were designed to accommodate pilgrimages and to house and display relics. These drew visitors from far and wide. Additionally, pilgrimage churches were designed to warn churchgoers about the dangers of living an unrepentant, sinful life, through church sculpture.
Historical Context (1050-1200 CE)
The European triumph of Christianity was made clear by several facts. These included the conversions of Germanic tribes, the Battle of Tours, the expulsion of Muslims in 732, as well as the Crusades in 1095.
Urban migration increased trade and the arts began to flourish.
The power of Church increased. The Petrine theory established that Christ bestowed keys upon Peter. Therefore, popes were spiritual descendants of Peter.
There was papal power over state power, with the threat is excommunication.
During the 11th-12th centuries there was an explosion of construction. Many of these churches were destroyed by Germanic invasions and wars.
Raoul Glaber, a monk of the period noted, “It was as though the world had shaken herself and cast off her rags, wishing to clothe herself in a beautiful white robe of churches.”
The pilgrimage movement began during this time. Shrines were established along the roads, as well as inns. Pilgrims were practicing the act of contrition or searching for a cure for illness.
Artistic Innovations: Architecture
The word “Romanesque” was coined by 19th-century art historians, who noticed the structures built entirely of stone, were a Roman revival of sorts. The revitalization of large-scale architecture was caused by pilgrimages across Europe. Patrons were the Church and the wealthy, elite.
Churches took hundreds of years to build and were extremely expensive. Master builders watched over the build of the architecture.
There was a fear of the buildings burning down. This resulted in stone roof tops. Theses heavy structures put strain on the foundation. Solid, thick round arches were used. To keep the full support network, windows could not be cut out. This kept churches dark.
Church design were altered to accommodate pilgrims coming in to look at relics. The goal be able to allow church goers to enjoy the services without disruption.
Some of the innovations at this time included rib vault, bay, and ambulatory.
Painting
The painting of manuscripts continued. Figures were heavily outlined in black. Both gestures and emotions were exaggerated.
Europe About 1100
Principal pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela
Relic + Journey = Spiritual Experience
The three greatest pilgrimage destinations in the Christian world during this period were Jerusalem, Rome, and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northeastern Spain, which claimed the relics of the apostle St. James, who was credited for assisting in Spain’s defeat of the Muslim invaders of the 8th century.
Christians began pilgrimages to visit the site of St. James’s relics and pray at his church. Four main pilgrimage routes developed from locations in France, all converging on Santiago de Compostela.
The Crusades (1095–1271 C.E.) defined the era. Pope Urban II was greatly angered that the Christian shrines of the Holy Land were under Muslim control and, therefore, inhibited pilgrimages to these sites.
In a speech given in 1095 C.E., he preached the need to wage a “Holy War” and reclaim control of Jerusalem. With the First Crusade, Christians claimed control of Jerusalem. Before the last Crusades were over, however, Muslim general Saladin marshaled command over Jerusalem again.
Anatomy of a Church
Churches sprang up along these pilgrimage routes, often boasting their own relics. Most churches used new masonry vaulting techniques, including the use of stone and wood, and employed a distinct floor plan in which apse areas housed relics. These relics defined their function as a pilgrimage destination.
The basic form of the pilgrimage church originated from the early Christian Basilica, Romanesque masons elaborated on this model with:
- heavy, masonry ceilings
- rounded arches
- architectural sculpture in the tympanums
The plan for the Basilica of St. Sernin in Toulouse, France, is typical of pilgrimage churches of the Romanesque period. The square of the church’s crossing served as the geometric basis for the rest of its precisely constructed plan. The nave bays were half the size of the crossing square, and the bays in the aisles were one quarter of a square.
St. Sernin Plan
Plan of St. Sernin. ca. 1070–1120, Toulouse, France
The Nave
The nave in the pilgrimage church plan was lengthened to accommodate more pilgrims.
Side Aisle
The side aisles were doubled, with an additional outer aisle adding for easier movement of large groups of people.
Crossing
The crossing marks the intersection between the nave and the transept.
Transept
The transverse section of the church plan perpendicular to the nave. Additional apses were added to the transept to house relics that pilgrims came to see.
Pilgrimage
The area that includes the enlarged apse, ambulatory, and radiating chapels.
Ambulatory
Walkway added so pilgrims could walk around the main apse to view the relics
Radiating Chapel
Semicircular chapels housing relics that “radiated” outward from the pilgrimage choir along the ambulatory.
Apse
A semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir, chancel, or aisle of a church
Destination Pilgrimage
Cluny III
Duke William of Aquitaine donated land to the Benedictines, creating a monastic order subject only to the pope, in 909 C.E. These monks, based at Cluny, France, became a major cultural, spiritual, and economic power.
The Cluniacs built Cluny III, an enormous and elaborately decorated Romanesque central abbey church in Saône-et-Loire, France.
The Cluniacs’ believed a lavishly decorated church was appropriate for communicating Christian doctrine and glorifying God.
Cluny III Abbey, a pilgrimage church, was built three times, each on the same location and an expansion of the previous structure. Alfonso VI, the King of Spain, gave 10,000 talents and enough money to cover half the cost of the Cluny III construction project. Much of the structure was torn down during the French Revolution, the bell and clock towers were the only original elements that remained.
With the reintroduction of heavy masonry ceilings, Romanesque architects increasingly found ways to lighten structures and allow more light into the interior. Cluny III was the first church to build full-scale double transepts in the chevet, incorporate pointed arches, and the Córdoban horseshoe lobes on arches.
This Moorish influence was due to an influx of Spanish artisans from Alfonso VI’s court. The use of the pointed arch in the nave is rare in Romanesque architecture but dominant in Gothic architecture. These innovations allow for less stone and increased windows to allow more light in the interior.
All About the Architectural Sculpture
Architectural sculpture is a hallmark of the Romanesque era.
Modena Cathedral
Few sculptors’ names from either the medieval or the Romanesque period are known with certainty. Wiligelmus, however, inscribed his name on a dedication stone set into the western façade of the Modena Cathedral.
Modena was a principal Italian Romanesque church in the 11th and 12th centuries. The western façade of the Modena Cathedral is decorated with four friezes. The four panels, each with a carved frame, originally formed one continuous frieze to tell the story of Genesis.
Creation and Fall, Relief panel on Modena Cathedral
Western façade of the Modena Cathedral. Stone frieze panels highlighted. Modena, Italy. Built ca. 1099 C.E.
The first panel depicts the Creation and Fall of Man. The panel reads left to right. God the Father is robed. Adam and Eve are shown naked, and then shown embarrassed by their sin and hidden behind fig leaves.
There is great variety in depth of relief in Wiligelmus’ work. Adam’s leg is carved in the round, creating highlight and shadow, while columns in the background are sculpted in bas-relief.
The narrative used in the Modena Cathedral inspired the use of narrative, and this form of storytelling through sculpted portals became an established practice across Europe to teach morals and Bible stories.
Saint-Pierre Cathedral
Stone relief sculpture also inhabited the tympanum, the semicircular panel centered above the double doors. Like the trumeau, the tympanum at Saint-Pierre Cathedral is in the church’s deeply recessed southern porch.
The theme of this tympanum—God’s righteousness as Final Judge—is from the New Testament Book of Revelation. The portal sculpture displays the crowned King of All Kings in hierarchical scale; Christ is larger and more intense than the other figures. Each figure’s size and location connote their relative importance.
For example, twisting in figure eights around Christ are the four beasts of the Apocalypse, waiting under his direction to be unleashed. Two tall angels round out the central composition.
Southern porch tympanum, The Last Judgment, Saint-Pierre Cathedral. Moissac, France. ca. 1130 C.E.
Finally, filling the space away from the central figures are 24 elders. These much smaller figures look like stars surrounding Christ. They carry chalices and play musical instruments in worship. The masses of pilgrims entering this church would contemplate the meaning of the monumental sculpture. The tympanum showed the preeminence of Christ and was meant to motivate Christian believers to live out their faith, including living a moral life and giving to the church.
(3) 58. Church of Sainte-Foy.
Romanesque Europe. Stone. 1050-1130 CE. Conques, France. Romanesque.
Learning Objective: Romanesque church
Themes:
Place of worship
Afterlife
Reliquary
Pilgrimage
Religion
Biblical
Architecture
Good/evil
Human/divine
Entryways
The stone church was built so that pilgrims could easily journey through. They approach the exterior and at portal and view the tympanum. Entering the door under the right-hand of the tympanum , looking toward the nave, they would walk down the side aisles. Next, they would move along the transept, and into the radiating chapels that rotate around the back of the altar in the apsidal end of the church.
© Scala/Art Resource, NY
At the radiating chapels, pilgrims would visit the different relics. Then, moving along the transept, they would walk down the side aisles, exiting under the left-hand side of the tympanum.
Descriptive Terms:
- Square Schematism: dimensions of a church when they are based on the crossing square’s size.
- Bay: dimensions of a church in the nave from one pier to the next.
- Crossing Square: where the nave crosses the transept.
- Transept: the horizontal piece that crosses the nave.
Nave view of Church of Sainte-Foy
© The Bridgeman Art Library
Plan of Basilica and Transept
Basilicas can accommodate lots of people and they have a central focus. Church of Sainte-Foy needed to develop a space that could accommodate both church services and pilgrims visiting without disruption to church goers.
A transept was the solution. It enabled pilgrims to move in an out of the church by moving them around the service and behind the alter.
The bonus of this floor plan is that it resembles a cross.
Romanesque Characteristics
Church of Sainte-Foy has taller arches. To keep these arches and walls upright, the walls had to be made very thick to pinch the arch upwards. To keep the structures of the wall intact, windows were eliminated. The walls could not bear a clerestory.
From the nave view there is a barrel vault with transept arches, and a nave arcade. Notice the bays.
The exterior decoration is minimal. The westwork façade has two bell towers.
The Function of Church of Sainte-Foy
Church of Sainte-Foy functioned to host pilgrims on their journey to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. It worked to bless the visitors and help them be saved on Judgement Day. Christians were inspired to behave in a holy manner and to show their piety.
Who was Sainte-Foy?
Sainte Foy (English: Saint Faith) was born in the French/Roman 2nd century city of Agen. She became a martyr when she was killed by the Romans by refusing to worship pagan gods. She was only 12 years old.
Her skull became the relic that pilgrims wanted to visit. It was believed that it cured blindness.
SUB-IMAGE 1: Reliquary of Sainte Foy
Reliquary of Sainte Foy is a seated sculpture of Sainte Foy that is just over 3 feet tall. The wooden core is gilded with gold, and studded with gems (amethyst, crystal, emeralds, garnets, jade, onyx, opal, pearls, rubies, sapphires, topaz) Many off these gems were offerings made at the church.
The head of the Reliquary was originally from a Roman statue (spoila). Inside rests Sainte Foy’s skull. The head is made up a different gold from the body. The crown and head were added during the 11th century.
History of the Skull
The skull was originally at a monastery in Agen but monks from Conques stole it to attract wealth and visitors.
It is first mentioned in written history in 1010 by Bernard of Angers. He worried it would inspire Idolatry because of it was so expensive and precious.
SUB-IMAGE 2: Tympanum
© Peter Willi/The Bridgeman Art Library
Tympanum is semicircular area for decoration directly over the door of a church. Jamb and jamb figures are side posts of doorways or figures carved on columns. There are 124 figures here.
Tympanum decoration helped viewers understand the theme of the building. It was carved in relief and was once painted to help viewers read it. Scene was to help remind viewers of the joys of heaven and the torments of hell.
West Portal
On the left side or Christ’s right side is the door to Heaven. This is the side that pilgrims EXIT under. Immediately on Christ’s right are Mary, Peter, the founder of the monastery and other saints. The hand of God points to St. Foy who bows to God.
At the bottom left is the House of Paradise (arcade with pediment), which holds the saved. Abraham sits crowned in the middle.
In the center sits Christ enthroned as judge. The entire figure is encircled by a mandorla or frame. He sits with his right hand pointing upwards on the side of the saved. His left-hand gestures down to the damned, who will be sent to hell.
Below this is the Archangel Michael and the Devil, weighing souls. Underneath that is the door to Heaven and Hell with a monster guarding Hell.
To the right side or Christ’s left side is Hell. This is the side that pilgrims enter under. This is a reminder that everyone who enters is a sinner.
On the bottom right is the Devil crowned and enthroned, who is mocking Christ. To the devil’s left is a hanged man. This represents Judas who hanged himself after betraying Christ. The damned encircle him, each represents a specific sin. The dead rise from their tombs.
Hell is chaotic, disorderly, very different from the side of Heaven. The lintel read, “O Sinners, change your morals before you might face a cruel judgment.”
Historical Reference
The town of Conques became an important stop on the route to Santiago de Compostela, in Northern Spain. This was the final destination of all pilgrims because it contains the relic of St. James.
Relics as Religious Objects
Relics are objects of religious significance. Some Christian examples directly associated with Christ’s life include, the manger, the cross and Mary’s clothing. Then, there are physical remains of saints such as teeth, feet, or skulls. Additionally, anything the saint may have touched was also considered a relic, like clothing or a bible.
It was believed that relics induced miracles. They could cure sickness, sop famine or plagues. This created a commerce market for relics. Forgeries abounded. So many people were selling pieces of the True Cross, that John Calvin famously remarked that you could build a ship with them.
Reliquaries developed as ways to protect and display relics. Since relics were valuable , they were enshrined in containers that were decorated with precious metals and precious and semi precious stones.
Churches were built along major pilgrimage roads to welcome pilgrims and show them relics—both real and forged. Relics became a source of income for the church, as people made offerings. It also helped support the town in was the church was in with tourism trade.
Today, every October, there is still a festival in Conques and the region of Southern France that celebrates Sainte Foy.
(3) 59. Bayeux Tapestry
Romanesque Europe (English or Norman). 1066-1080 CE.
© Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
Learning Objective: Romanesque embroidery
Themes:
War
Rulers
Propaganda
Text and image
Violence
Power
Victory
Textiles
Museum: Bayeux Museum. Normandy, France.
Entitling this work Bayeux Tapestry is a misnomer, as it is not a tapestry at all! This is an extraordinarily large embroidery using wool, on linen, and measuring 20 feet high by 230 feet wide.
Executed by women, it has been often attributed to William the Conqueror’s wife, Mathilde of France.
Anglo-Saxon needlework is of very high quality. Here, historians are not sure if the work is English or Norman (France).
The tapestry is organized to lead the viewer’s eye from scene to scene and divided into three compositional zones or registers. It has a neutral background devoid of shadows or negative space. The colour is not naturalistic.
The bodies lack modeling and are highly stylized and elongated. There is a lack of perspective and definition of space.
The Function of the Embroidered Work
Bayeux Tapestry, was Commissioned by Bishop Odo, the half-brother of William the Conqueror. He was crowned a Duke by his brother.
The work was a testimony to Norman (French) glory over the Anglo-Saxons (English) and shows
William’s conquest of Harold Godwinson. The tapestry was displayed at Bayeux Cathedral, and likely hung in one of the dining halls, given the size and subject matter.
The Storyline
This work tells the story in Latin of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and William the Conqueror’s conquest of the Anglo-Saxons in England led by Harold Godwinson.
Within the embroidery there are:
- 58 scenes in total that are told from the French/Norman perspective
- Over 600 people, but only three women!
- Conquest is shown as fully justified
- Harold is portrayed negatively as an opportunist who broke his oath to Edward the Confessor, the former king of England
- Upper register/lower register contains animals, beasts, people, hunting scenes
- Figures are generally calm, stoic, successful
SUB-IMAGE 1 The Cavalry Attack
This section shows the strength of the Norman formation. The soldiers are covered with accurate armour and protected by helmets and shields.
Horsemen used stirrups which enabled them to strike without being thrown by the impact. Cavalry wore conical steel helmets, with protective nose plates, chainmail shirts, and carried spears and axes. Mortally wounded men and horses are strewn along the embroidered fabric.
SUB-IMAGE 2 First Meal
After reaching the shores of England, a celebrational feast is underway.
- On the left: servants prepare food over a fire and bake bread in an outdoor oven
- Middle: dining scene where servants serve the food as Bishop Odo blesses the meal
- On right: William dines with his men.
About William
William the Conqueror was originally named William the Bastard. He was the illegitimate son of Robert the Magnificent and Herleva of Falaise. His name change came with military successes.
The Calvary
William the Conqueror won the war because of the horsemen. Cavalries could advance quickly and then retreat to avoid danger. This would often scatter an opponent’s defenses.
In the case of the Saxon’s, their lines began to fragment. Norman cavalry penetrated easily and killed Harold Godwinson. He was first struck in the eye with an arrow, then run through with swords.