The Middle Ages is a unique historical period. For each country, it began and ended at different times. For example, in Western Europe, the period from the 5th to the 15th centuries is considered the Middle Ages, in Russia - from the 10th to the 17th centuries, and in the East - from the 4th to the 18th centuries. Consider further what kind of spiritual heritage the creators of that era left us.
General characteristics
What was medieval art like? In short, it combined the spiritual quests of the masters who lived at that time. The main themes of their creations were determined by the church. It was she who then acted as the main customer. Meanwhile, the history of medieval art is connected not only with Christian dogmas. In the people's memory of that time, there were still signs of a pagan worldview. This can be seen in customs, folklore and rituals.
Music
Without it, medieval art cannot be considered. Music was considered an integral element of the life of the people of that time. She always accompanied holidays, celebrations, birthdays. Among the most popular instruments were horns, flutes,bells, tambourines, whistles, drums. From the eastern countries, the lute came to the music of the Middle Ages. There were ritual features in the motives of that time. For example, at the beginning of spring, special music was composed, to which people drove away the spirits of winter and announced the onset of heat. At Christmas, the bells always sounded. He carried the good news of the coming of the Savior.
Books
Medieval literature and art left a rich legacy to posterity. The early books of that era were painstakingly transcribed and then illustrated by the monks. At that time, paper was considered a rarity, and therefore it was replaced with parchment. It was made from calf or lamb skin. They learned to write on so-called wooden tablets coated with black or green wax. Medieval works of art were embodied mainly on wooden boards. For the most valuable volumes, simple leather embossing was used. Medieval culture and art were enriched by itinerant scholars and poets. They went on campaigns to study the writing forms of other countries. With the advent of courtly love, medieval art was filled with romanticism. It manifested itself primarily in prose and music. At the courts, songs were sung dedicated to the epic battles of Charlemagne, Arthur and Roland. Writing continued to develop actively. In the Middle Ages, lowercase and uppercase letters appeared, and the rules for writing were determined. Books at that time were considered a real treasure. They were not available to the general public. As a rule, they were kept under lock and key. If anyone is having problems withmoney, you could pawn the book and get a good reward.
Medieval art: painting
At that distant time, only those who really had talent and had the necessary ability to draw were engaged in the creation of frescoes and paintings. This creative work was not some kind of hobby or entertainment. Medieval art made certain demands on the masters. Each painting or fresco had its own customer. As a rule, church walls, an altar or a room for prayer were painted. The artists of the Middle Ages can rather be called artisans, as were, for example, blacksmiths or carpenters. That is why the names of many of them have not survived to this day. For example, shoemakers do not put their signature on every pair of shoes. In addition, the creation of frescoes was often collective. Artists did not aim to accurately copy the world around them. Medieval art assumed a moralizing and emotional impact on people. From this, certain unspoken rules were formed:
- Show one character on one canvas at different time intervals (similar to modern comics).
- Ignoring the actual size of a person to make the event as visible as possible.
The art of medieval stained glass was based mainly on religious themes. As a rule, they painted such subjects as "The Nativity of Christ", "Crucifixion", "The Passion of Christ", "Madonna and Child", etc.
Romancestyle
They filled the medieval art of Western Europe in the X-XII centuries. In some areas, this style survived until the 13th century. It became one of the most important stages in the art of the Middle Ages. The Romanesque style combined Merovingian and Late Antique subjects, components of the "Carolingian Renaissance", the period of the Great Migration. Byzantine and oriental elements entered the medieval art of Western Europe. The Romanesque style was born in the conditions of the development of feudalism and the spread of the ideology of the Catholic Church. The main construction, the creation of sculptures, the design of manuscripts was carried out by monks. The church has long been a source of dissemination of medieval art. The architecture was also iconic. The main distributors of the style at that time were the monastic orders. It was only towards the end of the 11th century that wandering artels of lay stonemasons began to emerge.
Architecture
Individual buildings and complexes (castles, churches, monasteries) in the Romanesque style were built, as a rule, in the countryside. They dominated the environment, embodying the likeness of the "city of the Lord" or acting as a visual expression of the power of the feudal lord. Western medieval art was based on harmony. Clear silhouettes and compact forms of buildings seemed to repeat and complete the landscape. The main building material was natural stone. It perfectly harmonized with greenery and soil. The main feature of the buildings in the Romanesque style were massive walls. Their heavinessemphasized by narrow window openings and recessed stepped portals (passages). One of the key elements of the composition was considered a high tower. Romanesque buildings were systems of stereometric simple volumes: prisms, cubes, parallelepipeds, cylinders. Their surface was dissected by galleries, vanes, arched friezes. These elements rhythmized the massiveness of the walls, but did not violate their monolithic integrity.
Temples
The types of centric and basilican churches inherited from early Christian architecture developed in them. In the latter, a tower or a lantern were integral elements. Each main part of the temple was created as a separate spatial structure. Both externally and internally, she was clearly separated from the rest. The overall impression was reinforced by vaults. They were predominantly cross, cylindrical or cross-rib. Domes were installed on some temples.
Distinctive features of decorative items
In the early stages of the Romanesque style, wall painting played a major role. By the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century, when the configuration of walls and vaults became more complex, monumental reliefs entered the temple decor. They decorated portals, and often completely facade walls. Inside the buildings, they were applied to the capitals of the columns. In the late Romanesque style, the flat relief is replaced by a higher and more saturated effect of light and shadow, but retaining an organic connection with the surface of the wall. The central place in painting and sculpture was occupied by themes that expressed the formidable andlimitless power of God. The figure of Christ predominated in strictly symmetrical compositions. As for the narrative cycles on gospel and biblical themes, they took on a more dynamic and free character. Romanesque plastic differs in deviations from natural proportions. Due to this, the image of a person became the bearer of an overly expressive gesture or an element of ornament, without losing spiritual expressiveness.
Gothic
This concept was introduced during the Renaissance. The Gothic art of medieval Europe was considered "barbaric". The heyday of the Romanesque style is considered X-XII centuries. When this period was defined, the chronological framework was limited for the Gothic. Thus, the early, mature (high) and late (flaming) stages were identified. The development of Gothic was intensive in those countries in which Catholicism dominated. She acted mainly as a cult art on religious themes and its purpose. Gothic was associated with eternity, high irrational forces.
Formation features
The art of medieval stained glass, sculpture, architecture in the Gothic period inherited many elements from the Romanesque style. A separate place was occupied by the cathedral. The development of Gothic was influenced by cardinal changes in the social structure. At that time, centralized states began to form, cities grew and strengthened, secular forces began to advance - trade, crafts, urban, court and knightly circles. As social consciousness develops,Improvements in technology began to expand opportunities for aesthetic understanding of the world around us. New architectural trends began to take shape. Urban planning has become widespread. Secular and religious buildings, bridges, fortifications, and wells were present in urban architectural ensembles. In many cases, houses were erected on the main square of the city with arcades, storage and commercial premises on the basement floors. The main streets departed from it. Narrow facades of predominantly two-story houses (rarely three-story) with high gables lined up along them. Cities began to be surrounded by powerful walls, which were decorated with travel towers. Royal and feudal castles began to gradually turn into entire complexes, including places of worship, palaces and fortifications.
Sculpture
She acted as the main form of fine art. Cathedrals outside and inside were decorated with a large number of reliefs and statues. Gothic sculpture, in comparison with Romanesque, was distinguished by dynamism, the appeal of the figures to each other and to the audience. Interest began to appear in natural natural forms, in human beauty and feelings. The themes of motherhood, sacrificial fortitude, and moral suffering began to be interpreted in a new way. Has undergone changes and the image of Christ. In Gothic, the theme of martyrdom began to come to the fore. In art, the cult of the Mother of God began to take shape. This happened almost at the same time with the worship of beautiful ladies. Often these two cults were intertwined. In many worksThe Mother of God appeared in the form of a beautiful lady. At the same time, people retained faith in miracles, fabulous monsters, and fantastic animals. Their images can be found in the Gothic as often as in the Romanesque style.
India
This country is known throughout the world for its innumerable natural resources, magnificent handicrafts. From an early age, the children of the poor were accustomed to work. The education of the sons and daughters of the nobility began in the fifth year of their life. They were educated in schools attached to temples or at home. Children from the Brahmin caste were taught at home by a mentor. The child had to honor the teacher, obey him in everything. The sons of warriors and princes were trained in military affairs and the art of government. Some monasteries acted as educational centers. Teaching in them was carried out at the highest level. Such a center, for example, was the monastery in Noland. It functioned on income from a hundred villages, as well as on the gifts of the rulers. Observatories operated in some cities of medieval India. Mathematicians could calculate the volumes of bodies and the areas of figures, freely handle fractional numbers. Medicine was well developed in India. The books described the structure of the human body, internal organs. Indian doctors, using about 200 instruments and various painkillers, performed complex operations. To establish a diagnosis, doctors measured the patient's body temperature, pulse, visually examined the patient, paying attention to the color of the tongue and skin. Art and science in medieval India reached unprecedented heights.
Stone sculpture
It served as an ornament of architecture. As a rule, sculpture was represented by decorative high reliefs. In them, all the figures were closely connected. Movements, gestures, postures of people look amazingly graceful and expressive. This is due to the influence on the development of sculpture of the art of dance, which has been widespread in India since antiquity. Even under Ashoka, they began to create cave cells and temples for hermits in the rocks. They were small in size and reproduced residential wooden buildings. In the northern regions of India, temples of an elongated oval (parabolic) shape were built. At their top they built an umbrella-lotus. In the south of the country, the temples had the shape of a rectangular pyramid. Inside, the rooms were dark and low. They were called shrines. Not everyone could enter them. The courtyards of the temples were decorated with sculptures depicting epic scenes or interpreting in a symbolic form the veneration of the god to whose glory the temple was erected. Subsequently, in India, especially in the south of the country, there were so many sculptural elements that religious buildings acted as pedestals for them. Such, for example, are the temples in Orissa, Konarak, Khajuraho.
Classics
During the Middle Ages, in most parts of India, net languages were used to create them. At the same time, many poets wrote in Sanskrit. This literature was at first a reworking of classical models. However, over time, it becomes more refined and designed for the courtiers. Such a workfor example, there was the poem "Ramacharita". Each of her verses has a double meaning, which can equate the deeds of King Rampal with the exploits of the epic Rama. In the Middle Ages, poetry mainly developed, but by the 12-13th century. began to appear and posture. The works were written in Sanskrit in the genre of framed stories - stories connected by one through plot. Such, for example, is the story of Kadambari. This work tells about two lovers who lived on earth twice in different guises. The satirical novel "The Adventure of 10 Princes" makes fun of rulers, ascetics, dignitaries and even gods.
Flourishing
It falls on the IV-VI centuries. During that period, the northern part of India united into a powerful state. It was ruled by the kings of the Gupta dynasty. The medieval art developed in these areas spread to the southern territories. Buddhist monasteries and temples in Ajanta have preserved unique examples of that time. Since the 2nd century, 29 caves have appeared in this area over the next nine centuries. Their ceilings, walls, columns are painted with scenes of Buddhist legends and legends, decorated with carvings and sculptures. Ajanta acted as a center not only of religion, but also of art and science. At present, it symbolizes the greatness of the spirit of antiquity. Ajanta attracts many tourists from all over the world.
