Art in the Middle Ages

Hello there! Today we are going to go on a journey through the Middle Ages, or also known as the Medieval era. Which as I have found is quite the long journey, as this time period in history spans 1000 years! Which also explains why there were multiple art phases and so much art was created!

Today we are going glimpse at some of the art created during this time, which can give is some context to what was happening, and the mindsets of the time period. As both a history lover and an artist, I loved seeing how much art was created and how it explained what the world found important and beautiful during the Middle Ages!

Santa Trinita Maestà by Cimabue

This period really set the foundation for the next 1000 years and beyond. The Medieval era starts after the fall of the Roman Empire, which really established the Catholic church and Christianity. During the Middle Ages, Christianity spread throughout Europe, and one way this happened was through art. We start to see artists of the likes of Cimabue(1240-1302), Giotto di Bondone(1267-1337), and Lorenzo Venziano(1336-1379) who were prime painters in this time, and their work was commissioned to paint both depictions of bible stories and figures from the bible.

Diptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion by Unknown

Because of the spread of Christianity, many churches and monasteries were built, and with them many of works of art were commissioned to decorate those places of religion. Along with decorating these holy places, many wealthier people if this time commissioned artwork as well, not only as their decor in the likes of large panel paintings and frescoes, but also as small pocket sized panel paintings that could be carried around. These small paintings could depict the likes of the Virgin Mary and often baby Jesus with her.

Book of Hours of Margaret de Foix

Most paintings of this time were visual depictions of bible stories, or were portraits of important figures from the bible. Not only were bible stories painted to hang on the walls of the church but also to be held within it. There were many illuminated manuscripts created during this time, which were painted bible stories, much like those pretty fairytale books at the beginning of movies such as Disney’s Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. Though most often artists of this time were men, there were a good amount of women who painted as well. They are harder to track down and study as they were most often nuns who painted illuminated manuscripts for the church.

With all this blossoming art, the medieval era fostered a few different art phases, which all with a foundation in religious depictions, had some differences, and we get to see much growth through art and European society during this time.

The first of the main 3 movements we are going to look at today was the Early Medieval Art era, we have actually already covered much of what this period was about as it spans most of the Middle Ages starting in the 4th century after the Roman Empire fell. Like we have discussed, this time was mostly focused on the spread of Christianity and its’ development.

The period that came after is known as the Romanesque Art era, and started in the 11th century. As its’ name may suggest, it continues to expand upon the ideas of the Roman Empire, where art continues to have many religious themes. This movement began in France but continued outward to spread across Europe. This spread not only continued the spread of Christianity, but also showed the growing wealth of European cities and the churches and monasteries.

The later movement of Gothic Art came in the 12th century, at the tail end of the Medieval era. This time started with the rebuilding the Abby Church in Saint-Denis, France. Throughout the Middle Ages artists started to focus on more three-dimensional look as well as trying to make figures more realistic. But it was really during this time, this really starts to not only be more of a focus but also improves. Artists were still not great at getting their proportions right of the human figure, especially of babies, but they really did make strides during this era in realism.

Ognissanti Madonna by Giotto

Often when babies, most often the baby Jesus, had more adult proportions but just smaller, which can be strange for us to see after there have been centuries of art with far more realistic proportions, but it can be interesting to look at, even if strange.

During the Gothic Art movement, many more people, and classes of people, could afford the commission artwork. Because of this, we start to see artworks move away from religious themes and allowed artists to explore other topics in their work.

Christ Rescuing Peter from Drowning by Lorenzo Veneziano

Though something that still divided these classes a part would have been the materials that was included in their commissions. We can tell that a painting was more expensive based on some of the colors used. Colors such as a vermillion and blue were hard to acquire and therefore not used in all works. Interestingly, when blue could be used, it was usually used to depict virtue, such as on the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

The Middle Ages was a time full of art and growth. Not only did artists grow in skills, but the European world grew in many ways, such as in architecture and wealth. I am finding this period of time so interesting to dive into, especially seeing how art intertwined with the ideas and events of the period. It’s a great time of exploration and I could never really, truly sum it up here.

But I hope you enjoyed taking a look into the past and seeing some art from the Medieval era with me! If you have any topics you’d like to read about you send me a message through the contact page or by sending an email to annmarie.barreiro.art@gmail.com! Next week we will be back in 2023 as we take a look as to what I got up to in August in this month’s monthly adventures post! See you then!