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WESTWORKS
Taken from the German word Westwerk, a westwork was a monumental
tower or combination of towers built at the western end of a
Carolingian church. Containing an entrance, vestibule, chapel, and
galleries, it was distinctive for its 12 windows, or porticos,
mirroring the 12 gates of the Heavenly Jerusalem. At the abbey of
Corvey, and St Michael's, Hildesheim, the westworks duplicate the
presbytery area at the opposite end and give the churches a bipolar
aspect. The westwork was to remain an important feature of Germanic
Romanesque architecture; later versions included a transept and a
crossing tower.
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Westwork of the abbey of Coney,
Germany
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The Kiss of Judas,
Sant'Angelo, Formis, Capua, Italy,
second half of 11th century |
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THE FRESCOS OF MUSTAIR AND MALLES VENOSTA
Of the few surviving frescos from the Carolingian age, the fragments
in St Germain d'Auxerre and St Maximian in Trier and the more
complete examples of St John in Miistair and St Benedict in Malles
Venosta (both in northern Italy) tend to be monumental compositions
of great simplicity, highly figurative and deeply expressive, with a
flair for bright, warm colours. The paintings in San Procolo in
Naturno, though, are more closely linked to Lombard or Irish
tradition and reveal the typical barbarian taste for precious
materials and manual skills. These styles survive in various
monuments, notably in the decorative sculpture of the ancient temple
of Santa Maria in Valle in Cividale del Friuli and in San Salvatore,
Brescia.
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Detail of one of the frescos of San Benedetto, Malles
Venosta, Italy, c. ad800 |
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THE MOSAICS OF SANTA PRASSEDE AND SANTA CECILIA
IN ROME
The Saviour and the Saints, Santa Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome,
ad817-24
The move towards a revival of the Roman Empire held special meaning
for Rome. Constantine's concept of historical renewal became evident
in the revival of Palaeo-Christian art. This is attested by the
presence of the model of St Peter's in the foundation of the Santa
Prassede basilica, and the rebirth of the mosaic and its
iconographie emphasis again in Santa Prassede, Santa Cecilia, and St
Mark's, Venice. Reciprocal influences between Rome and other cities
of the empire led to many important artistic achievements. The abbey
of Fulda was modelled on the Vatican basilica, and Roman influence
was evident in The Psalter of Charles the Bald and in St
Peter's throne. The throne was decorated in an antiquarian style,
which, with its symbolic ramifications, shows the earliest signs of
commitment to the Pseudo-Dionysian aesthetic that was to influence
the period.
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Santa Prassede, Rome |
Mosaic details of Saints Praxedes and Paul, Santa
Prassede, Rome, AD930-40 |
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Cover of the Codex Aureus of Echternach,
AD983.
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
Frescos of Santa Maria Foris Portas (detail),
Castelseprio, Italy
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Ottoman Art
The Norman invasions and the anarchic kingdoms that were set up
after the dissolution of the Carolingian empire were to hinder
advances in art for decades. However, two important historical
events then signalled a new leap forward: the first was the
foundation of the abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, France, in ad910,
which activated a major religious revival, and the second was the
ad936 coronation at Aachen of Otto I. who promised a revival of the
imperial initiative that had begun so successfully under
Charlemagne. The dynasty of the Saxon emperors, and the powerful
bishops who supported them in their rule of the German lands during
the 10th and 11th centuries, looked back to the past glories of the
Carolingians and forward to renewed contact with Byzantine culture,
particularly after the marriage of Otto II (ad955-83.) to the
princess Theophano in ad972. Contemporary architecture and
figurative art both developed from the Carolingian models, with
additional emphasis on ceremonial and spiritual values. While the
monumental churches, such as St Michael's, Hildesheim, Germany, were
being constructed, the extraordinary skills of goldsmiths and
engravers were producing masterpieces such as the Lolhair Cross
(Cathedral Treasury, Aachen), the portable altar of Henry II, the
cover of the Codex Aureus of Echternach (Germanisches
Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg), and the Trier diptych (Staatliche Museen,
Berlin). Each of these works passed through workshops, schools, and
masters, the most well-known of which were in Trier, Cologne,
Bamberg, Ratisbon, and Reichenau. Some significant monumental
sculptures have survived, such as the doors at Hildesheim and Mainz,
and the ciborium reliefs of Sant'Ambrogio. Milan. These works point
to a formal, strongly gestural, and deeply spiritual style of
composition through the representations of the sculpted figures. The
same applies to wall-paintings and miniature works, which were
predominantly made by the schools of Reichenau ( Gospel Book of
Henry II), Echternach (CodexAureus), Trier (Lorsch
Sacramentary), and Cologne (Gospel Book of the Abbess Hilda).
The style of drawing in these works is powerfully graphic, and the
colour is full of tonal variety. Also evident are associations with
Byzantine culture and the aesthetic symbolism derived from the works
of Dionysius. the Areopagite. The influence of the Levant is also
obvious in the most important cycle of frescos in northern Italy
during that time, namely the frescos in Santa Maria Foris Portas,
Castelseprio, which were possibly executed by an artist from Greece.
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Miniature from the Gospel Book of the Abbess Hilda,
early 11th century.
Darmstadt, Germany |
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A BRIEF PENITENTIAL JOURNEY
The decoration in the apse of the church of San Vincenzo in
Galliano. Lombardy, depicts Christ between the prophets Jeremiah and
Ezekiel. This cycle was commissioned by Ariberto d'Intimiano, the
future bishop of Milan who had ordered the renovation of the church.
The iconography is Byzantine in style and shows the influence of the
Ottonian miniature. This merging of different trends ean also be
seen in the foothills of the Alps in Lombard}' in the cycles at the
churches of San Calocero al Piano and San Pietro al Monte in Civate.
A penitential, and possibly baptismal, route existed between the two
churches, forming a miniature version of the great European
pilgrimages. At San Calocero al Piano, pilgrims studied the episodes
of the Old and New Testaments in the 11th-century frescos and then
climbed to the other church. San Pietro al Monte, to see the images
of Pope Marcellus and Pope Gregory at the church entrance and the
Heavenly Jerusalem on the vault inside. Other apocalyptic scenes
completed this fresco cycle, which culminated in the Defeat of
the Dragon, a fresco that served as a warning to pilgrims on
leaving the church.
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Defeat of the Dragon, San Pietro al Monte, Civate,
Italy, 11 th-12th century
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