early medieval europe
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EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE. GARDINER CHAPTER 16-3 PP. 422-428. OTTONIANS. Charlemagne’s empire falls apart w/in 30 years of his death in 814 -> Frankish lands are partitioned -> Viking incursions -> Magyars attack the Byzantine East -> Saracens in the Mediterranean = confusion and chaos - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPEGARDINER CHAPTER 16-3PP. 422-428
OTTONIANS Charlemagne’s empire falls apart w/in 30 years of
his death in 814 -> Frankish lands are partitioned -> Viking incursions -> Magyars attack the Byzantine East -> Saracens in the Mediterranean = confusion and chaos
In mid 10th century the eastern part of the former empire consolidate under the rule of a new line of Saxon emperors called the OTTONIAN -> the three Ottos
Preserved and enriched the culture and tradition of the Carolingian period
Ottonians encourage and sanctioned great monastic reform
By early 11th century -> pagan marauders became Christianized and settled
GERNRODE Nave of the church of Saint Cyriakus,
Gernrode, Germany, 961-873
Ottonian architectects followed Carolingian style w/basilican churches with towering spires and imposing westworks -> but also introduced new features
The Ottonian church at Gernrode shows how the Early Christian basilica plan was modified -> added a gallery above the nave arcade and adopted an ALTERNATE-SUPPORT SYSTEM of piers and columns -> eye leads upward
HILDESHEIM Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim,
Germany, 1001-1031
Built by Bishop Bernwald, a great art patron -> Saint Michael’s is a masterpiece of Ottonian basilica design
Two apses, two transepts, and multiple towers -> distinctive profile
Longitudinal section (top) and plan (bottom) of the abbey church of Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany, 1001–1031
Saint Michael’s entrances are on the side
alternating piers and columns divide the space in the nave into vertical units -> these features transformed the tunnel-like horizontality of Early Christian basilica
Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany, 1001–1031. One of the great patrons of Ottonian art and architecture was Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim, Germany.
HILDESHEIM DOORS Doors with relief panels (Genesis, left door;
life of Christ, right door), commissioned by Bishop Bernward for Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany, 1015. Bronze, 16’ 6” high
Massive piece of art for its time -> a technological marvel
Imperial overtones -> Pantheon had bronze doors, Aachen had bronze doors but with no decoration
Subject -> on left the Fall of Man (Old Testament – Adam/Eve, Cain/Abel) and on right the Redemption of Man (New Testament – Annunciation, Resurrection)
Doors with relief panels (Genesis, left door; life of Christ, right door), commissioned by Bishop Bernward for Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany, 1015. Bronze, 16’ 6” high. Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim.
Bernward’s doors vividly tell the story of Original Sin and ultimate redemption, and draw parallels between the Old and New Testaments, as in the expulsion from Paradise and the infancy and suffering of Christ.
“Adam and Eve Reproached by the Lord,” bronze panel from the doors of Bishop Bernward at the cathedral, Hildesheim, West Germany, 1015
Rectangular panels with few figures, bare landscapes, emphasis on lively gestures
Bony figures, vitality and liveliness
Emphasis on extremities -> hands, feet, heads
HILDESHEIM COLUMN
Column with reliefs illustrating the life of Christ, commissioned by Bishop Bernward for Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany, ca. 1015–1022. Bronze, 12’ 6” tall
Column with reliefs illustrating the life of Christ, commissioned by Bishop Bernward for Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim, Germany, ca. 1015–1022. Bronze, 12’ 6” tall. Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim.
Ottonian sculpture includes examples of large-scale bronze reliefs and monumental figural sculpture in wood.
Modeled on the Column of Trajan in Rome, the seven spiral bands of the Hildesheim column relate the life of Jesus in 24 scenes from his baptism to his entry into Jerusalem.
GERO CRUICIFIX Crucifix commissioned by Archbishop Gero
for Cologne Cathedral, Germany, ca. 970. Painted wood, height of figure 6’ 2”
Return of large monumental sculpture
Life-size wooden work
Emotional suffering
Rounded forms
Jesus Christ hanging from a cross for the first time, seen as a human suffering crucifixion
Commissioned by Archbishop Gero for the cathedral in Cologne, Germany
UTA CODEX Abbess Uta dedicating her codex to the
Virgin, folio 2 recto of the Uta Codex, from Regensberg, Germany, ca. 1025, tempera on parchment
Ottonian artists carried on the Carolingian tradition of producing sumptuous books for clergy and royalty
Illustrates the important role that women could play both in religious life and as patrons of the arts
Dedicatory page shows Uta presenting her codex to the Virgin Mary
LECTIONARY OF HENRY II
Annunciation to the Shepherds, folio in the Lectionary of Henry II, from Reichenau, Germany, 1002–1014. Tempera on vellum, approx. 1’ 5” X 1’ 1”
Highly successful fusion of Carolingian-Ottonian anecdotal narrative tradition, elements from Late Antique paintiong (rocky landscape w/grazing animals), and the golden background of Byzantine art
GOSPEL BOOK OF OTTO III
Otto III enthroned, folio 24 recto of the Gospel Book of Otto III, from Reichenau, Germany, 997–1000. Tempera on vellum, 1’ 1” x 9 3/8”
Otto III -> descended from German and Byzantine imperial lines -> enthroned and holding scepter and cross inscribed orb of universal authority
Clergy & barons on either side -> church and state