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Art during the middle ages
Art during the middle ages
Essay on early medieval art
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The Importance of the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages was a time of great importance. From this time period, we are given unbelievable cathedrals, beautiful art, and exhilarating music. All of these things were done in order to show people's devotion towards God. The cathedrals were built as a place of worship, the art was painted to enhance the look of cathedrals such as stain glass windows, and the music, to praise the Lord with their voices. The main reason people did these types of things was to be with God, in their own way until they made it to heaven, which was known as the Age of Faith.
The art from the Middle Ages reflected a great deal on the relationship between God and humans. Many of the art that was done, was of Jesus' life as a child to death and of religious beliefs. "The art from the middle Ages not only pointed the way to salvation; they worked to link temporal and transcendental realms." (115) The art that was done could be found everywhere from a person house all the way up to a side of a cathedral. A lot of the art would also have to do with what was in ...
The Renaissance art had well defined landscapes, natural folds in drapery and three dimensional objects or people. The middle ages art was focused on religion and symbolic representations (Doc.A). At the same time the new artistic styles almost kind of mocked the the movements and interest of the new age. That is how the renaissance changed has man’s view of man on art.(doc.A)
The Church was, undoubtedly, the most powerful body in Europe at the beginning of the Middle Ages. In most Western kingdoms the Pope had more power than the king himself, and the Christian religion controlled all aspects of daily life. People were to devote themselves utterly to the Church in prayer and giving, and they would be saved. As seen in Document 6, the lords and nobles committed themselves to the service of God before men, saying, “Nor will I ever with will or action, through word or deed, do anything which is unpleasing to him [God]…” Those who lived during this time trusted the Church’s explanations for the workings of the world. They saw God as all powerful, as the force behind everything. Art and music thus were focused around the Church and giving praise and thanks to God. Most art works of the time featured Jesus or other saints.
...orced Christian faith (OI). The monasteries were also significant because the monks and nuns, who had worked in there, had treated the ill, educated children, and spread Christianity (Doc 8). They had to follow a strict life were they had to give up all possessions and take the vows of purity, chastity, and poverty (Doc 8). This was the time when religion had dominated all aspects of people’s lives. Although the Middle Ages can be classified as the Dark Ages because of the Vikings’ invasions, and the corruption of the church, there were also achievements in education after the Crusades; therefore it was not so “dark.” Also, feudalism had failed to continue because nobles had wanted more power; therefore the Age of Faith is the label that best describes the Middle Ages because it was the most important factor at the time, and the pope had control over all people.
Professor Anthony Grafton is a renowned historian at the Princeton University. He is noted for his studies about the history of culture and science of Renaissance Europe. In his paper, Dating history: the Renaissance & the reformation of chronology, he first talked about the science of geography that was revolutionized by European explorers in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. As Grafton argued that “While the western understanding of geography expanded during the Renaissance, then, the traditional dating of the past and future remained curiously narrow-minded.”, he then started to talk about his profound study of the scholarship and chronology of one of the most significant classical scholar of the late Renaissance, Joseph Justus Scaliger: “……won renown for his reformation of the traditional approach to chronology. Working in decades around 1600, Scaliger relaid the technical foundations of the field.” According to Grafton, in order to “appreciate the explosive impact of this reformation of historical chronology, we need to look backward”. He looked back to examine the chronology in fourth and fifth century C.E., in the fifth century B.C. Greek, and in the Romans of the late Republic and early Empire.
The Middle Ages spawned a revolutionary arc in religious activity. Having welcomed Christianity, and taking roots from Greek and Roman spirituality, the arts had evolved alongside divine beliefs. Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy explored the realms of Christianity, which included Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Heaven (Paradiso), with the fictitious account of Dante himself traveling to each individual place. As such, his masterpiece had become a wonder of the literature world. Alongside it, the artistic visions of Donatello and Brunelleschi had held Greek and Roman beliefs in high regards as a majority of their architecture, sculptures, and other artistic aspects had derived directly from those ancient beliefs. Finally, music had
Art, by definition, is “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”. Throughout history, one way that art has been used is to reflect a multitude of ideas and beliefs. Christian beliefs and ideas have been portrayed in artwork since the beginning of Christianity, although, it was not always acceptable to do so. The idea of the final judgement is a Christian idea that has been displayed in art repeatedly in a variety of ways. Michelangelo’s fresco the Last Judgment (1536-1541) is a piece that visualizes this idea. Since the time it was finished, this significant piece found in the Sistine Chapel has been continuously critiqued and analyzed. Many Christians struggle to interpret the event of a final judgment after reading it through Scripture. In analyzing Michelangelo’s piece, it is similar difficult to determine what he exactly meant to portray and what the various part of his masterpiece represent exactly. Many have examined this piece and made different regarding what exactly the various figures and objects are supposed to represent. The diverse interpretations of this work further shows the idea that when Christian ideas are reflected through artwork, it is hard to ascertain exactly what an artist intended to demonstrate. In addition, the controversies surrounding this piece represent the idea that when Christian ideas are revealed through art, there is potential for disagreement regarding what should and should not be included in Christian art. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is just an example of what results when Christianity is brought into art.
The Gregorian chants of the Middle Ages were composed and performed specifically for Catholic Church services, as the church was the strongest institution of that time. For this reason, the majority of music in the Middle Ages was of a religious origin. Much of the art and architecture coincided with the religious beliefs and ideals of the era. For example, the architecture of the gothic cathedrals was used, as described in the text, to “[reach] toward God and the heavens.”
The argument of the continuity or discontinuity between the Middle Ages and Modern World seems to be an argument that will continue to be debated by historians and philosophers. I agree that there is a continuity between the Middle Ages and the Modern World because history is always building upon its ancestry. We will always be looking to the past and trying to learn from it.
The shift between the Middle Ages and Renaissance was documented in art for future generations. It is because of the changes in art during this time that art historians today understand the historical placement and the socio-economic, political, and religious changes of the time. Art is a visual interpretation of one’s beliefs and way of life; it is through the art from these periods that we today understand exactly what was taking place and why it was happening. These shifts did not happen overnight, but instead changed gradually though years and years of art, and it is through them that we have record of some of the most important changes of historic times.
Christianity played a major role throughout the Middle Ages in society and politics. The Middle Ages, classified from 600 AD to 1350 AD, was significantly effected by Christianity because of the impact it had on the daily lives of people of the time. The beginning of the Early Middle Ages, after the Fall of Rome in 476 AD and the period known as the Dark Ages, the reorganization of the empire brought a desire for faith and religion, primarily Christianity. This trend of Christian importance was apparent until 1350, when the Black Death caused the end of a systematized era. The church is often viewed, during this period of time, as a center of corruption, greed, and evil, with materialistic popes and unholy acts. Even though there were immoral times, the presence of Christianity brought hope and stability to the empire politically and socially. In the Late Age of Antiquity, Christianity had started its rapid spread becoming the state religion in the fourth century, and emerging as a "cultural trend" (212). It became further defined, and was the bases of the Western World's proceedings. Christianity's popularity influenced the church by people's newfound ability to concentrate on faith and a better life. With this foundation, the Middle Ages expanded religious importance by employing it in day to day life. Christianity was consistently present in the social arena of the Middle Ages. There were many controversies over Christian beliefs. The engrossment in Christianity in the eighth century had a non peaceful turn because of the Iconoclastic Controversy. It divided the Western and the Byzantine Empires additionally with the dispute over the use of icons in religious worship. This quarrel resulted in religious vigor through exploration of religious traditions and mysticism. The division between the empire was a constantly present with the arousal of disputes . The view of the Christian Church by the people varied from agreeable to immoral. In the Early Middle Ages, the church was disorganized and non-established. Although the progression of the Middle Ages led to the furtherance of the Church, there were many set backs in the reputation of the papacy. The weakness of the papacy was a result of ineffective and corrupt churches. The tenth century was a period of religious decline with privately owned monasteries and chur...
During the Dark Ages of Europe (otherwise known as the Middle Ages or Medieval Time), people had not created anything new and were stuck trying to move forward; however, many wonderful painting and artistic masterpieces came out of the depressing time. Animals and bestiary were a main point of interest for aspiring artists and renowned painters. The symbolic meaning of animals were the main use of them in art pieces. Many Christian artists used animals to symbolize heavenly and devilish figures. Bestiary animals was also used to express exoctic feelings and to inspire other artists for their own work. There were many exhilarating characters made up in the wondrous minds of the people of the Middle
Architecture strongly affected religion. People were building many gothic and Christian churches/cathedrals because they wanted more people to become Christian and for everyone to follow one religion. As a result of so many Christian churches around, more citizens and people form other countries in Europe converted to Christianity because they were becoming more aware of the religion and feared execution if they didn’t convert.
Art is important to religion in many different ways. Perhaps none has analyzed how art and religion have influenced and affected each other through the ages. Pictures painted of past events that help to bring back the feeling and importance of the past have been forgotten by some. To the one’s that haven’t forgotten are able to see the event’s as the bible says they happened. Not only can you see the events, but it also allows the younger students of the church to understand the events. The use of images of God became widespread after the second century. This religious art has defiantly been around for centuries and plays an important role to the history of religion as well as the future.
The introduction of Christianity as a major religion followed the pattern of other ancient religions. Many of the great works of art were done for religious purposes. Some of the most famous artworks in history are religious. Just a few that come immediately to mind are The Last Supper, the ceiling of the Cysteine Chapel, and the Statue of David. Even during the period known as the Dark Ages art was inspired by religion. True, the art was generally dark and full of death and demons, but the art was based upon religious themes, mostly from the book of Revelations. As with the art that preceded it, the religious art of Christianity is full of symbolism. For example, a painting where the man is standing with two fingers upraised on his right hand is generally a religious leader such as a pope or Jesu...
The Medieval time period was an important era for the growth of culture throughout the entire world. We owe many innovations used in design, architecture and overall style to the works of the many artists that flourished in the middle ages. Each of the four periods of development were unique to one another, yet followed an overlying religious theme that defined the medieval times. The advancements made during that time were able to influence to the 800 years of art that lead up to present day, and still remain visually and architecturally beautiful.