Romanesque-Gothic Post 2

Sculptures that decorate churches are always interesting to look at. Not only is the techniques the artists used to create these images fascinating and worth taking a closer look at, but sometimes the images are downright creepy. For example, The Suicide of Judas, which is located on the Cathedral of Saint-Lazare, and was created in 1120-30 by Gislebertus.  Who would have thought to include a scene like this in the decorations of a church. As we all know Judas betrayed Jesus by turning him over to the Roman government to stand trail for falsely claiming to be the son of God. After Jesus was convicted, overcome by guilt because of turning over a innocent man, Judas hanged himself. The part of this sculpture I find the most interesting is the expressions Judas's face. In many paintings or sculptures of men being hanged the face might by blank or the subject might have a blank stare, but in this sculpture Judas's tongue is hanging out of his mouth, a more detailed way of showing his body's natural reaction to being hanged. 
I'm also assuming the creatures around Judas's feet are demons. Their expressions are especially menacing, like they scowling or hissing in delight of the suicide. They also appear to have wings, which adds to my assumption that they're demons. As we know, demons are said to have been fallen angels who were cast out of heaven with Lucifer. 
I think that this sculpture of fear and terror was used to scare people into joining the church, much like the camp meetings and tales of fire and brimstone did in the 1700s. Reminds me of growing up in church and being told that the devil delights in our wrong doing, and that if I wasn't good he would come and get me. Perhaps this was the churches way of maintaining power during a time when people were becoming more educated and opening their minds to alternative truths. 

Romanesque-Gothic Post 1

N.d. Photograph. New Liturgical Movemnet. Ed. David Clayton. 9 Apr. 2010. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.

Gothic art was much different from art developed prior to the movement. Everything from paintings, to sculptures, to architecture was different. Take for example the above painting of Mary with Jesus. In many of the earlier pieces of art Mary shows very little emotion and does not appear to be very motherly to her child. However, in this piece she is much softer and more affectionate. She  looks to be showing off her new baby for the artist to paint. 


Woods, Kathleen. Madonna and Child. 1999. Photograph. Uffizi Museum, Florence.Leafpile. 1999. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.

In this piece she is interacting with the child in quite the same way a mother would. The baby appears to want to use his mother as a jungle gym, like many infants, and she is interacting with him in a way that suggests that she's trying to keep him from doing so. Her face is very soft and she has a slight smile. 

Medieval Post 2

A Late Antique Ivory Carving. 1998. Photograph. History and Science for Kids. By Dr. Karen Carr. Kidipede, 1998. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.


One thing I find interesting about Medieval art is the use of ivory. Ivory was obtained from many different types of animals, but the ivory of an elephant has been seen as the easiest to work with. The above piece was one I found especially interesting because of the character's Roman features. The eyes of the people in this carving are very large, must like the statue of Constantine we discussed in class. People during this time made art to resemble Roman art so that people would know they were Roman Christians. They continued to make art identifying themselves as Romans as late as 900 AD, long after historians believe Rome fell. 


"Plaque with Emmaus Scenes [French] (1970.324.1)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1970.324.1 (September 2009)

This piece is an ivory plaque made in 850-890 AD, it is believed to be of French origin. In the scene Jesus, who has just been resurrected, appears to two of his disciples who do not recognize him, but invite him to dine with them. On the right you can see the three having dinner inside the walls of Emmaus, and it is here that Christ's identity is revealed. I like that the artist used sunken relief to create the halo around Christ's head so that the person looking at the piece would not mistaken him for one of the disciples. The one thing I keep finding every interesting about the Medieval art is the artist's attention to detail. For example, the walls of the city. The artist created the illusion of the walls by slanting the bricks of the wall in a diagonal direction to create a 3D effect. 

"Plaque with Emmaus Scenes [French] (1970.324.1)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1970.324.1 (September 2009)

Also, adding to this illusion are the towers which are suppose to be farther back in the city are placed behind the ones over the closest wall. This gives the illusion that there is a wall connecting the two towers, and that within the walls are Jesus and his disciples. 

Medieval Post 1

Unknown. unknown. Photograph. Medieval Art, Unknown. Merryfarmer.net. By Merry Farmer. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <http://merryfarmer.net/tag/medieval-art/>.

Medieval manuscript was something I found very interesting this semester. There are so many interesting details in these drawings that I can assume that the artist was very patient and very dedicated to making these scripts as beautiful as possible. The main material these scripts were created on was vellum, which is stretched calf, goat, or sheep skin. Some of the colors were plant-based, while others were mineral-based, or even insect-based.
There was no story with the above picture explaining the story, but I can assume from the images of the naked people and the serpent that this is the story of Adam and Eve. My favorite part of this picture is the image of what I assume to be God sitting on his throne observing Adam and Eve as they eat from the Tree of Life. I find the detail on his throne very interesting. Considering that the artist in this day didn't have the tools to produce images like we do it must have been a tedious process making this image. I can imagine that it would have taken a very skilled person to paint this and not make any major mistakes. I can also assume that the people responsible for these pieces were highly esteemed during the time. I doubt that anyone had seen anything quite like this before their creation.


Unknown. unknown. Photograph. Medieval Art, Unknown. Merryfarmer.net. By Merry Farmer. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <http://merryfarmer.net/tag/medieval-art/>.

Here is another example of a manuscript but with much more detail than the prior one. Again, there was no story with the image explaining what it is and honestly I couldn't even begin to guess what it could be. I love that almost every inch of the pages tell a story although I have no clue what that story is. The image on top of the left page is absolutely beautiful. What I find especially interesting is the checkerboard pattern around the main painting. The artist actually took the time to not only make the pattern but to add a dot in each square. I for one would have never had the patience to undertake such a task so the fact that someone did blows me away. This is a topic I will continue to research after the class is over.

Early Christian Post 2

I was really excited when I saw this piece in class. I remember when I was younger being told the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego but I had never seen a portrait of it. I like how the artist depicted the fire, it's not too obtrusive but gets the point across that these men were standing in a furnace. I would assume that the figure about the men's heads could be either the Lord protecting the men, or some sort of evil creature there to tempt the men into proclaiming that God could not help them in this situation. I think it's a very interesting piece and I'm glad I was able to see it in class.


Raising Of Lazarus. N.d. Photograph. Catacomb Of The Via Latina, Rome. Saints And Relics In Medieval Art. Oberlin.org. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.

The story of Lazarus has always been a favorite of my grandmother and I, so when I saw this piece I was immediately drawn to it. If you're not familiar with the story the gist of it is, Jesus was called upon by Lazarus's family. The man had been dead for 7 days but upon Jesus's request Lazarus walked out of his tomb alive. My grandmother would tell this story to us in Sunday school and seeing this paining makes me miss her so much. I like the spectators behind Jesus. The artist painted whole images of people in the front, and then just the people's heads behind the first images to give the illusion that many people were there to witness the miracle.
Another interesting thing about the painting is the image of Lazarus. There are no human features to the man. If I recall the story correctly, he was wrapped up the cloth which was customary at the time. It shows that Lazarus was truly dead when Jesus called upon him, and before he could get the funerary clothes off he was walking toward Jesus's voice. I think this is a very interesting painting and is a testament to Jesus and the miracles he is said to have performed while on Earth.

Early Christian Post 1

Beardless Jesus In The Catacombs. N.d. Photograph. Rome. Www.pbs.org. By L. Michael White. Frontline. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/catacombs.html>.

I'm very fascinated by early Christian art. I was raised in a southern baptist home, therefore Christian art is nothing new to me. What I like about the above painting was that Jesus is being depicted as a normal looking, human man. There's no sun shining behind him, no long flowing hair, no well groomed beard, just a approachable young man. The early Christians were responsible for putting a face with a name when it came to personifying what Jesus might have looked like, and I have to say I prefer these images to those currently produced. 
Another thing I like like about the painting is the image of angel on the wall to the paintings right. I like that there's no extravagant features to the angel so the image of Jesus is more predominant. 

Roman Post 2

Lubbock, Tom. The Still Life With Peaches. N.d. Photograph. Archaeological Museum, Naples. Slow Painting. Wordpress.com, 23 Nov. 2009. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.

One aspect of Roman art I find interesting is the use of ordinary, everyday objects in paintings. For example, the above painting of peaches and a vase. Found at Herculaneum, this painting is a good example of the Romans' love of still life. This was not a free standing painting, but was part of a much larger wall painting that included landscapes, narratives, and other decoration. In my opinion, they used these paintings to decorate their homes because they saw the beauty in objects that many of us take for granted. 
While the artist is unknown, we can tell from the painting that they had a sophisticated eye. From the illusion of two shelves, to the artist's use of shadows and streaks of white to depict transparent water in a transparent container, their technique is far advanced. With the advancements in society at the time, I feel as though the progression to more advanced techniques of making art was a natural one. And although this piece isn't exactly perfect, it is still a great example of artist's ability to take a still life scene and from that create a 3 dimensional representation of what they saw or wanted to convey to someone looking at the painting.