Medieval art of Europe as the embodiment of the religious Christian mentality. Aesthetics of identities: canonicity, anti-novatism, anonymity, repetition of traditional plots and images. Aesthetic dominants of the early, mature and late Middle Ages. Styles of medieval architecture: Romanesque, Gothic.

Medieval painting (book miniature, monumental painting, stained glass art). Medieval Literature: and Its Features. Main Literary Traditions: Latin Literature:, Epos, Courtly Literature:, Urban Literature:. Church mode and medieval musical genres.

Painting. The subjects for the picturesque and sculptural images were the themes of the greatness and power of God. The stylistic feature of these images was that the figure of Christ was much larger than other figures. In general, real proportions were not important to Romanesque artists: in the images, the heads are often enlarged, the bodies are schematic, sometimes elongated. In Germany in the XI century. more and more space in pic. Is-ve begins to occupy the theme of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ. In the future, this motive will become dominant in Catholicism and even supplant the image of Christ as the Almighty. Monumental early medieval painting. In it, along with the early Christian traditions, there are features of impulsiveness and expression. Monuments of the 9th century that have survived to our time. church painting in France make it possible to distinguish between schools of "light" and "blue" backgrounds. The first, widespread in the west and in the center of France, is characterized by a light background, sharp contours and a flat interpretation of forms (the frescoes “The Battle of the Archangel Michael with the Dragon” in the Saint-Savin church in Poitou). For the second (south and east of the country), blue backgrounds, rich coloring and a clear impact of Byzantine art are indicative. The “School of Blue Backgrounds” is especially well represented by the Berzet-la-Ville murals, created at the beginning of the 12th century. Thus, in the art of the 14th century, although it was still controlled by the church, secular and realistic features intensified. Stained glass. In the heyday of the Romanesque style, there were two stained glass painting techniques: grisaille(black and gray paint on colorless glass of a greenish smoky tone) and on type-setting colored glass(glass was brewed in special ovens, then cut in accordance with the prepared pattern and typed on special templates, after which it was painted on a colored background). However, stained-glass windows reached their greatest prosperity during the Gothic period. The main purpose of these "pictures in the windows" was to show people who could not read the Holy Scriptures what they should believe. According to the variety of subject matter, the stained-glass windows are Goth. Cathedral successfully competed with sculpture. In addition to compositions on biblical and gospel stories, individual figures of Christ, Mary, the apostles, episodes from the legends about the life of saints, images of historical events were also placed on them. Never before had color and light played such a symbolic role. It was believed that the natural color of Gothic was purple - the color of prayer and the mystical aspirations of the soul, as a combination of the red color of blood and the blue sky. The blue color was also considered a symbol of fidelity. Therefore, stained glass windows were dominated by red, blue and purple colors. Along with them, orange, white, yellow, green colors were especially loved. The best goth. stained glass windows in the cathedrals of Chartres ("Our Lady and Child"), Paris (Saint-Chapelle).

Literature. All the literature of the Middle Ages can be divided into heroic epic, chivalrous courtly poetry, chivalric courtly romance, and poetry and prose of the urban class. Heroic epic was a legend glorifying the exploits of heroes, the most important real events, legends based on folk legends. Early works of this kind were "songs about exploits." The performers of these songs-poems were jugglers, itinerant singers and musicians. In France, the greatest monument of that era is the "Song of Roland" (an ideal knight, patriot and truth lover, defender of Christians from infidels). Breton (Brittany - a region in France) and Celtic legends tell about King Arthur of the Britons and the Knights of the Round Table, as well as about the search for the Holy Grail, the cup into which, according to legend, the blood of the Savior was collected when his body was placed in the coffin. The most famous poem of this cycle sings of the exploits of the knight Parzival. In Germany - the epic "The Song of the Nibelungs" about the death of the Burgundian kingdom and the death of the Hun king Attila. The hero Siegfried appears in the country of the Nibelungs and falls in love with the sister of King Gunther. The king asks for help from Z. in order to perform heroic deeds and marries the Icelandic queen. Later, the deception is revealed. Knightly courtly (court) poetry. Courtly poetry began with the cult of the "lady of the heart." The knights-poets sang of the beauty and nobility of the Beautiful Lady, who was, as a rule, the wife of the overlord. Courtly love is secret, the poet avoided calling his lady by the name of thin, refined. She must look like tremulous adoration. It was sung by troubadours (South Fr.), trouvers (North Fr.), minnesingers (German) and minstrels (Eng.). In Provence (and it was there that the first love chivalric poems appeared) there were many forms of courtly poetry. canson The (“song” in narrative form presented a love theme. Alba(“morning dawn”) was dedicated to earthly, shared love. The lovers part at dawn, the approach of which is warned by a servant or friend on guard. Ballad- dance song Pastorela- a song about the meeting of a knight and a shepherdess. Cry- a song where the poet yearns or mourns his fate, mourns the death of a loved one. Tenson- poem. dispute, in a cat. either two poets take part, or a poet and P. D., a poet and Lyubov. Sirventes- song, in a cat. rising already social. questions: who is worthy of love - a courteous commoner or an inglorious baron? chivalric courtly romance. The authors are scientists. The first novels appeared in Fr. and were a fusion of Celtic epic. legends with late antique works of Homer, Ovid, Virgil, fascinating stories of crusaders about unknown countries. One of the creators of Chrétien de Trouy "Yvein, or the Knight with the Lion". The actions of the heroes of Chrétien de Troyes are aimed at accomplishing a feat, while it is not love that pushes the knight to adventure, but passion for these feats. More complex methods of revealing people. Har-ra were used by Chrétien de Troyes in The Tale of the Grail, where the feat of "increased difficulty" dooms the hero to asceticism.

A completely different tonality in another Cf. novel - "Tristan and Isolde", based on a cat. Irish tales of the unhappy love of two young hearts. There is no knightly adventure in the plot and an insoluble conflict between the individual motives of the characters and generally accepted norms is brought to the fore. The pernicious passion of the young man Tristan and Queen Isolde pushes them to trample on vassal and matrimonial duty, to a chain of pretense and deceit. Heroes do not die under the blows of strong opponents, they become victims of fate, fate. Poetry and prose of mountains. estates. A popular genre is fablio (in Fr.), schwank (German). Heroes - townspeople and peasants with their sharpness and common sense, cat. struggle with everyday adversity, while maintaining optimism. All situations are comical or adventurous, but do not go beyond the realistic everyday image. The most famous epic cycle is fr. "A novel about the fox", where the life of Srvek is depicted in an allegorical form. Europe. The main theme is the successful fight of the fox Renard, the faces. resourcefulness, dexterity and cunning, with a stupid, bloodthirsty wolf. A special phenomenon is the poetry of wandering scholars - vagants. They made sharp attacks against the princes of the church, which made the Vagantes militant heretics. The favorite themes of their songs are revels, light flirting, ironic lamentations about their hard lot (“In the French side ...”). Folk laughter to-ra was transformed into satire and gave rise to a new genre - farce (gross comedy with its inherent mockery).

Music. Muses. to-ra of the early Middle Ages is represented mainly by court and folk songs and dances, playing music. instruments and religious music. All strata of society were passionate about music, song, dance. Church chant. Already at the end of the VI century. basis for music. Catholic worship became - a monophonic church hymn, performed by a male choir in unison or by soloists in Latin. This is the so-called. Gregorian chant (named after Pope Gregory I, who, according to legend, approved this singing genre). Uniform Christian singing was gradually introduced in all countries of W.E. КIX-X centuries - the first recordings of polyphonic works. Two-part organum pieces were created by the masters of French. Mr. Saint-Marcel, which they borrowed from improvisational singers. Distribution music Since the 13th century, the motet has become a genre. In order to write a motet, comp. took a well-known tune and added one, two or three voices to it. According to the same principle, music for the church was also composed. ritual. On this polyphon. Comp. late Middle Ages. Songs diff. genres and forms: rondo, ballads, madrigals. This period in the history of music is called Ars nova(lat. new art), because refined secular poetry was henceforth set to music of a new type, imbued with a special liveliness and richness of sound colors. Outstanding master it. Ars nova was Francesco Landino. Early blindness did not prevent him from becoming a virtuoso organist, the author of many lyrical songs. Fr. Ars nova headed the computer. and the poet Guillaume de Machaux, cat. contemporaries nicknamed "the earthly god of harmony." The ballad in his work has become a model of refined lyrics. It was performed by one singer with polyphonic instrumental accompaniment. The creativity of both opened a trail. stage - music. renaissance

By the first half of the 12th century, apparently, the appearance of the work of Theophilus "De Diversis Artibus", who described in detail most of the techniques and methods of work of the painter, stained glass artist and gold and silversmith. Theophilus' work is a precious testimony to the state of artistic practice of the 12th century, the artist's awareness of his own.

The personality of Twophilus, who is sometimes identified with Rogier Helmarshausen, is of great interest (Theophilus De Diversis Artubus. Ed. by Dodwell C. B. London, 1961. See: Introduction by Dodwell, pp. XXIII-XLIV.). An educated monk who combined artistic practice with knowledge of the liberal arts is not a rare phenomenon in the Romanesque era. Remarkable is the breadth of Theophilus's practical knowledge in his acquaintance with the latest trends in theological and philosophical thought, which he applies to his art. The skill of the artist, of course, is perceived by Theophilus as a gift from God. If giftedness - ingenium - with the thought of the early Middle Ages was often associated with divine inspiration and was regarded as a direct dependence of the artist's creativity on God, then in the 12th century the divine participation in the artist's work is understood indirectly, by analogy of human creativity with the divine. In the preface to his work, Theophilus writes that a person "created in the image and likeness of God, animated by divine breath, endowed with reason, deserved participation in the wisdom and talent of the divine mind".

But although man, through self-will and disobedience, has lost the privilege of immortality, "He, however, passed on to subsequent generations reverence for the sciences and knowledge, so that those who make diligence in all arts can acquire talent and abilities, as it were, by hereditary right". All seven benefits poured out by the holy spirit on a person - wisdom, understanding, susceptibility to advice, spiritual strength, knowledge, piety, fear of God - he refers to the artist.

• Monk artist painting a statue. Miniature from the manuscript of the Apocalypse. Last quarter of the 13th c.
• An artist painting a statue. Miniature from the manuscript of the "Decretal of Gregory the 9th". Mid 14th century Painter at work. Sheet from the book of samples of the early 13th century.

The question of the correlation of holy gifts with human virtues was the subject of discussion in the first half of the 12th century in the writings of Anselm of Canterbury, Yves of Chartres, Honorius of Autun, Rupert Dvitsky, Abelard, Bernard of Nlervos and other philosophers and theologians of the 12th century. The artist is understood as the heir of divine wisdom. Through constant work, improvement of knowledge and skill, the artist is able to approach the highest wisdom and skill that man possessed before the fall. A genuine passion for one's art obscures from Theophilus all other ways of knowing God. He sees a direct connection between the artist's work and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and he practically understands the problem of holy gifts. "Therefore, trembling son,- the author writes, addressing the future reader-student, - when you have decorated the house of the Lord with such beauty and such a variety of products, do not doubt, but full of faith, know that it is the spirit of the Lord that has made your heart drink".

The Legend of the Artist. Miniature of the manuscript "Songs of Alphonse the 10th". Second half of the 13th century

Theophilus' writings show how much the artist himself highly valued his own skill, considering it a direct manifestation of divine grace. Philosophers, like Hugh of Saint Victor, could classify knowledge and establish its hierarchical order. But for the artist, art was the only possible way to the knowledge of God and was highly valued.

Theophilus assigns an important role to art in the implementation by man of his main purpose - the praise of God and the desire to know him. The artist, according to Theophilus, presented to the worshipers with his work on decorating the temple "The paradise of the Lord, blooming with various colors, green with foliage, and crowning the souls of the saints with crowns of various merits", and gave them the opportunity to "praise the Creator in his creation, sing of the amazingness of what he created".

Theophilus' work shows how highly the artist's work was valued in the 12th century. He repeatedly repeats that he wrote his essay to praise God, and not for the sake of earthly pride and vanity. His work gives us the opportunity to get closer to understanding the spiritual atmosphere that the artist lived in the first half of the 12th century. Deep humility towards the creator of all things, intertwined with a clear idea of ​​the importance and value of creative work, characterizes the attitude of the artist of that time to the world, in the orderly order of which he feels himself to be a necessary link and takes his rightful place.

Theophilus' book reveals to us the system of thoughts and feelings that the artist lived on the eve of the appearance of Gothic. It is noteworthy that the ideas that concern Theophilus about decorating a temple as a deed pleasing to God, praising the creator and allowing believers to ascend to his soul, will be developed on a different philosophical level by Suger, the inspirer of the Gothic style and the builder of the first Gothic temple in the 40s of the 12th century - the basilica Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris.

• Sheet from an Alsatian manuscript. Last quarter of the 12th century
• Leaf from a French manuscript of the early 10th century.
• Sheet from the manuscript of Ademar of Chabannes. OK. 1025

The next surviving work on the technique of fine art is the famous album of the French architect Villard de Honnecourt, dating from the 30s of the 13th century and stored in the Paris National Library. The album is an invaluable source for the study of Gothic craftsmanship. It is an extremely curious collection of specimens for the painter and sculptor, sketches from life, representations of mechanisms, drawings of architectural details, plans, and a schematic depiction of the "secrets" of Gothic art.

Although the book of Theophilus and the album of Villard de Honnecourt are completely different in tradition, character and level of education of the authors, there is an irresistible temptation to compare the writings with each other. Since the manuscripts were created by professional artists, practitioners of the fine arts, this parallel would not be too artificial. They have a lot in common with each other, each is quite typical for its time. Theophilus's book is the work of an educated monk of the 12th century, who was at the same time an artist and a craftsman. The manuscript is written simply, clearly, in good Latin, and Theophilus's detailed discussions about the purpose and purpose of the arts reveal an acquaintance with the main directions of the philosophical thought of the era. The purpose of art, as the purpose of his composition, the monk sees in the service and praise of God. At the beginning of each section of the book, the author addresses the students with a long speech, where he reveals the piety of the artist's work, calls for service, patience and awareness that the knowledge and abilities granted to them come from God's mercy. Villard's album, in contrast to the work of Theophilus, is not an essay, but an album of working sketches, a notebook of a professional Gothic architect who does not belong to a monastic environment, accompanied by brief explanations in Old French.

Theophilus's long and detailed, tastefully written introduction to the first book ends with an address to his disciples: “If you often reread this and keep it firmly in your memory, you will reward me, for how many times you will benefit for yourself from my work, so many times you will pray for me to the merciful almighty God, who knows that I wrote my work not out of love for human praise, not greed for a reward in this world, which is transient, and did not hide anything valuable or rare out of envy, did not save anything for himself personally, but helped the needs of many and helped with advice to increase the honor and glory of God's name ".

Album of Villard de Honnecourt: sheets 14, 27; sheet 15 - plan of the ideal choir of a Gothic church (plan of the cathedral in Meaux); sheet 17 - plan of the choir of the church in Vossel and figure.

Villard's introduction is more like a concise and brief transcript of Theophilus' closing thought in his introduction, presented moreover by the latter in elegant literary form: “Villars de Honnecourt greets you and asks all who will work with the means indicated in this book to pray for his soul and remember him. For in this book you can find excellent advice on the great skill of stone building and carpentry. You will find here the art of drawing, as well as the foundations required and taught by the science of geometry". A brief, businesslike tone, nothing superfluous, we are talking only about the most important thing, the content and purpose of the entire book are outlined in a few succinct phrases, the traditional appeal to students is extremely brief and limited to a greeting with a request to pray for the author of the album in gratitude for his work. What a contrast with Theophilus's positive instructive tone, the constant emphasis on the connection of art with God, detailed petty descriptions of recipes. It may be a stretch to see this difference not only as a consequence of the difference between two separate types of technical manual of the Middle Ages - a treatise and an album of samples - not only a result of the fact that the authors belonged to different strata of medieval society, but, nevertheless, it seems that this contrast owes also to the century that lay between the creation of the two analyzed works.

Just as Theophilus in his work expressed the attitude of the Romanesque artist and his idea of ​​his place in life and the purpose of his art, so Villard de Honnecourt in his album reflected the features typical of the Gothic architect with his ideas about the world. Firstly, professionalism, knowledge of artistic practice, including architecture, sculpture and engineering, which was common and traditional in the Middle Ages. Moreover, Villard's text says nothing about his acquaintance with the tendencies of theological or philosophical thought. Then - democracy, the clarity of schemes, drawings and samples, the accompanying text is not in Latin, but in Old French.

The next feature is an extreme curiosity for everything unprecedented, funny, rare, interesting, forcing him to draw a lion along with other rare animals. Then - observation, preoccupation with visual impressions, perhaps replacing a solid education; acquaintance with different countries, the travels that Villard made, experience, deep knowledge of the practice of his art. An equally characteristic feature is the subjectivity of judgments about art, the choice for sketches of architectural details, scenes and figures in accordance with the personal taste of Villard, which the master did not fail to declare several times. The latter is of particular interest, expressing the growing self-awareness of the Gothic artist.

Villar's album, being an album of samples and a technical guide for other masters, remained a personal notebook, a travel album, where everything that seemed interesting was sketched. "Here is the plan of the choir of the Church of Our Blessed Virgin Mary in Cambrai". "I drew these windows because I liked them more than others". Finally, his traditional, somewhat formal piety is characteristic, expressed in a patter in one phrase and sharply different from Theophilus' detailed, detailed piety.

The notion of the protection of the artist by God, of God's help to a person whom "the divine right hand guides in his activity," indeed acquires a somewhat formal shade over time, although it retains its former meaning in the trans-Alpine countries incomparably longer than in Italy. It continues to make itself felt in the treatises of late Gothic masters, enthusiastically discussing the technical and artistic aspects of their craft, until the 16th century. He marked the treatises of Albert Dürer and Niklas Hilliard.

No less significant is the quick, impetuous and dynamic style of Villard's brief explanations. I would like to see in it the manifestation of the spirit of the businesslike atmosphere that developed around the construction of the Gothic cathedral. It is extremely important for characterizing the medieval artist that Villard's notebook and album of travel sketches later became a model book for an entire workshop. Apparently, already after the death of Villar, the album was supplemented with drawings and recordings of two other masters who remained anonymous. They are commonly referred to as "Master 2" and "Master 3".

Although the process of separating the individual artist from the guild environment slowly but surely developed during the 13th-14th centuries, the Gothic artist perceived himself and his skill only in a corporate connection, as limited by those frameworks and norms that were presented to him by the very comprehensiveness of Gothic art and with which the Gothic world surrounded him.

So from the pages of technical manuals on art, collections of recipes, rules and sample albums, we see the figures of medieval artists - their authors, with their ideas about themselves and the goals of their work, with their own sense of the world and their place in it.

Tag: Theory of art (philosophy)

The period of development of culture and art in Western Europe from the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century) to the beginning of the Renaissance (15th century) was first called the "Middle Age" by Italian humanist writers. They considered this time wild and barbaric in contrast to antiquity and the culture of their time. Later, scientists revised this negative assessment. A detailed study of artistic monuments, documents, works of literature led to the conclusion that medieval art was an important and significant stage in the development of world culture.

In the history of Western European art of the Middle Ages, it is customary to distinguish three periods - the art of the early Middle Ages (V-IX centuries), Romanesque art and Gothic. The last two names are conditional. Romansky (from the Latin word "Roma" - "Rome") archaeologists of the XIX century. called the buildings of the X-XII centuries, in which they found similarities with Roman architecture, later they began to call the art of the era as a whole. Gothic was originally called all medieval art. Italian humanists considered him a product of the Goths, at the beginning of the 5th century. sacked Rome. When the term "Romanesque art" appeared, Gothic began to be understood as works of architecture, sculpture and painting of the mid-12th-15th centuries, which differed from the previous ones in a pronounced originality.

Odo from Metz. Interior of the palace chapel in Aachen. OK. 798-805.

The era of the early Middle Ages is the time of the formation of a new culture, which was created on the territory of Europe by alien tribes. The Romans called them barbarians. Having defeated the once mighty Rome, the barbarian peoples formed their kingdoms on the territory of the conquered empire. The new rulers of Europe did not know how to build stone buildings as skillfully as the Romans, extremely rarely and very conditionally depicted a person in art. Much closer to them was the world of fantastic animals and the complex pattern of ornaments with which they decorated metal, wood, bone, clothing items, weapons, ritual utensils.

Initially, the conquerors attracted builders and artists who lived on the lands they conquered, but the skills of high construction skills were gradually lost, and the ornament threatened to supplant the ancient traditions of depicting a person forever.

As feudal relations developed in Europe, the central power strengthened, the idea of ​​the power and greatness of Ancient Rome attracted the rulers of new states, who dreamed of the glory of the Roman Caesars. The Frankish king Charlemagne, the creator of a huge power, trying to surround his power with grandeur and splendor, was crowned in Rome and tried to revive the traditions of Roman culture at his court. In the residence of Charles in Aachen, a palace was built and next to it - a palace church - a chapel. She is well preserved. The church of San Vitale in Ravenna served as a model for it, from where the marble columns installed in the chapel were brought. But in general, the creation of a Frankish architect is heavier and more massive than a Byzantine temple.

Religious buildings prevailed among the stone architecture of the Carolingian era (the so-called dynasty of the Frankish kings, the most prominent representative of which was Charlemagne). It was connected with that special role.

which the church played in the life of medieval society. The largest feudal owner, she justified the existing system with her teachings and, as the main customer of works of art, imperiously directed the development of art in her own interests. Under her influence, strict rules for the depiction of sacred subjects began to take shape, which are mandatory for every artist.

Church in Paray-le-Monial. OK. 1100. France.

Carolingian churches and palaces were decorated with paintings and mosaics, and sculptures were also found in temples. However, many monuments perished, and we can judge the work of Carolingian artists only by the carved ivory plates that have come down to us, jewelry, precious salaries of handwritten books, and mainly by the illustrations in these books - miniatures. Books in the early Middle Ages were rare. They were created by orders of emperors, large feudal lords, bishops and abbots of monasteries in special workshops - scriptoria. In the Carolingian era, scriptoria existed at the royal court and at large church centers. Unlike their predecessors, the artists of the VIII-IX centuries. carefully studied the works of Roman and Byzantine masters and learned a lot from them. The main design element in the books was plot miniatures depicting characters, landscapes, and architectural backgrounds (see Miniature).

In the Romanesque era, architecture played a leading role in artistic creativity. By the 11th century extensive stone construction unfolded throughout Europe. During the construction of stone buildings, medieval architects encountered a number of technical difficulties, in particular when erecting ceilings: wooden beams and ceilings often burned, while stone structures - arches, domes, vaults - had semicircular outlines and, like a stretched bow, seemed to strive to push the walls of the building apart. to the sides. In an effort to avoid this, Romanesque architects made very thick walls and massive pillars and supports.

In a fragmented, warring Europe of the X-XII centuries. The main types of architectural structures were the knight's castle, the monastic ensemble and the temple. In the era of civil strife and wars, stone buildings served as protection against attacks. Therefore, Romanesque buildings are very similar to a fortress: they have massive walls, narrow windows, high towers.

Figures of the apostles. Fragment of the sculptural decoration of the facade of the Church of St. Trofim in Arles. OK. 1180-1200. France.

Romanesque art was most clearly revealed in the architecture of church buildings, their picturesque and sculptural decoration. The Romanesque temple is characterized by severe, courageous beauty, it is distinguished by impressiveness and solemn power. In Western Europe, churches had an elongated middle part. Inside, this room was divided by rows of supports, pillars or, more often, arcades into narrower longitudinal halls - naves. On the western side, where the entrance was located, it was framed or crowned with towers; in the eastern part was placed the sanctuary of the temple - the altar. It was marked by a special niche - the apse. The altar part of the church was preceded by a transverse nave. The remoteness from the entrance of the brightly lit altar, the path to which lay through the twilight nave, emphasized the distance, which, as it was then believed, seemed to separate man from god.

Inside, Romanesque churches were painted with frescoes, outside they were decorated with brightly painted reliefs on biblical themes. The crowning parts of the columns - capitals - were decorated with narrative sculptural images. Romanesque artists did not lose their taste for ornamental decorations, but to a much greater extent they were attracted to images of a person and his actions. The masters of that time more often began to turn to the heritage of the past, knew the works of Byzantine artists, were observant. They were able to notice and convey an expressive pose, a characteristic gesture, and entertainingly tell about the event. To make this story more expressive, Romanesque masters often violated the proportions of the human body, enlarged individual details, and exaggerated movements.

Often, painters and sculptors gave free rein to their imagination and "inhabited" the walls of temples or the pages of manuscripts with images of fantastic creatures, figures of acrobats, birds and animals, images borrowed from popular beliefs.

Few works of secular art from the Romanesque era have survived. And therefore, of particular interest is the large embroidered carpet that adorned the cathedral in Bayeux in France (XI century). The scenes presented on it tell about the conquest of England by the Normans.

Until the 12th century the main cultural centers were monasteries, where there were the most educated people, construction problems were discussed, books were copied. In the XII century. superiority began to move to new economic and cultural centers - cities. Medieval science was born here, crafts and artistic creativity flourished. Cities fought with feudal lords for their independence. Among the townspeople, free-thinking and a critical attitude towards the feudal system were born. During this period, chivalrous poetry reached a high flowering, and the literature of the urban class took shape. The Crusades changed the geographical representations of Europeans, expanded knowledge about the world around them. He appeared huge and dynamic.

Interior of Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims. 13th century France.

At this time in France, where the royal power was fighting for the unification of the country, the art of Gothic began to take shape, which then spread to England, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and other European countries.

Architecture remained the main form of art in the Gothic era. She most vividly embodied new ideas about the world around her. Other forms of art, primarily sculpture, began to acquire independent significance. The highest Gothic creation is the majestic city cathedral. In the homeland of Gothic art, in France, cathedrals were erected on one of the city squares. The builders who worked on the creation of a grandiose building united in a special organization - a lodge, which included masons, carpenters, sculptors and glass blowers who made colored glass for stained glass windows. The construction was headed by the chief master, an experienced and skillful architect. The architects of Gothic cathedrals were bold experimenters. They managed to develop a complex structure, which made it possible to single out a building frame in the building from the vault supports and additional supporting pillars - buttresses. Special connecting arches - flying buttresses transferred the pressure of the vaults of the central nave, which was higher than the side ones, to the buttresses located along the walls. Now, not the wall, but this structure as a whole held the vaults, so the Gothic masters boldly cut windows in the walls, and light and high arcades were built between the supports. Gothic is characterized by lancet arches directed upwards. They emphasized the lightness and aspiration of Gothic architecture upwards. In France, the masters paid special attention to the design of the western facade, which was richly decorated with sculpture. Sculptural images were also placed on the portals on the sides of the transverse nave. Inside the cathedral, slender pillars, surrounded by thin semi-columns, rapidly rose up to the lancet vaults, arcades created a majestic perspective of the naves.

In the chancel, side naves and in the upper tier of the central nave, numerous windows shone with multi-colored stained-glass windows. Depending on the weather, time of day or year, the light that penetrated through the colored glass colored the interior of the temple in different ways, making them either mysterious or jubilantly festive.

Gothic sculpture compared to Romanesque is more like a round statue. The figures, although attached to a column or wall, have become more voluminous, they boldly protrude into real space. The themes of images have also become more diverse. Along with church subjects, figures of ancient philosophers, kings, truthful images of representatives of different peoples, illustrations of edifying fables appeared. Images of saints began to resemble their contemporaries, and the first attempts to create portraits of secular persons appeared. Previously, such images were found only on the tombstones of noble feudal lords and prominent representatives of the church. Medieval masters did not work from nature and created ideal and representative portrait images. In the Gothic era, artists are already trying to give the model realistic features. The sculptors who created twelve statues of feudal lords around 1250 in the German city of Naumburg, who donated funds for the construction of the temple, could not see the portraits, who had died long before that. Nevertheless, the masters endowed them with individual features, expressive faces, and characteristic gestures.

Along with temples in the Gothic era, much attention was paid to the construction of secular buildings - town halls, shopping arcades, hospitals and warehouses. Ceremonial halls were richly rebuilt in castles. In the cities, two squares gradually emerged - the cathedral and the market. The city was protected by high walls with entrance gates. The town hall, the building of the city magistrate, was a symbol of city self-government. In countries where cities were flourishing, town halls could sometimes compete with their grandeur with cathedrals.

After the collapse of the Great Roman Empire, its eastern part - Byzantium - flourished, while the western part was in decline. Starting from the 5th c. Rome was regularly raided and plundered by the barbarians.

The undefeated empire was crushed and humiliated by the Vandal tribes. To resist the invasion of the Huns, led by the fearless Attila, the Romans had to enter into an alliance with the Visigoths, Franks and Burgundians. In 451, Attila was stopped, but the Roman Empire could no longer recover from devastation and upheavals. Its western part ended its existence in 476.

Thus, the beginning of medieval history is associated with the destruction and almost complete annihilation of the previous culture. This explains the crude primitivism of early European art. But it cannot be said that ancient traditions did not at all influence the work of barbarian masters. Roman ornament, as well as forms of Roman places of worship, became widespread. This is primarily due to the fact that the conquerors adopted the Christian religion from the defeated Romans.

The barbarians significantly enriched the themes of the works of art by the Roman masters, introducing mythological thinking and original national motifs into their art. Their tribes came from distant Mongolia, where, as a result of excavations carried out in the Noin-Ula tract (1924-1925), burials of the Hun nobility were discovered, presumably dating back to the beginning of our era. Studies of household items and products of an applied nature found there revealed excellent examples of pictorial images. The carpets with scenes of the struggle of fantastic animals and figures of horses and people found in the mound amaze with their realism and subtlety of execution.

It was from the steppe peoples that the famous animal or tetralogical style originated, which for several centuries occupied a worthy place in European art.

Early Christian painting

As such, painting in this era, of course, did not exist, but with the adoption of Christianity, we can talk about book miniatures, which originated and developed in the monasteries that became the centers of the spiritual life of Western Europe. In the monastic workshops - scriptoria - manuscripts were created and decorated. The material for them was parchment - dressed skins of lambs and kids.

The process of creating one book was very long and sometimes took several decades, and sometimes it took a whole human life. The monks diligently rewrote the Bible and other religious books. For writing, red paint was used, from the name of which - minium - the word "miniature" came from.

For a Christian, the book was a special value, a symbol of the Divine covenant. Books were carefully kept in monasteries, so most of them have come down to us in their original form. The manuscripts were richly decorated, and abstract animal ornamentation was widely used - a continuous interlacing of lines, accompanied by the image of birds and animals.

Barbarian tribes constantly waged wars of conquest among themselves, as a result of which old kingdoms fell apart and new ones were created. The most resistant to shocks was the large Frankish state, which existed for about five centuries (from the 5th century to the middle of the 10th century).

The art of this period can be conditionally divided into the Merovingian era in the 5th-8th centuries. (as the Frankish kings were called, who considered the legendary leader Merovei their ancestor) and the era of the Carolingians in the VIII-IX centuries. (after Emperor Charlemagne)

Painting of the Merovingian period

In the era of the Merovingians, the Anglo-Irish book miniature, represented by the magnificent monuments of early Christian painting that have come down to us, became widespread. In the monasteries of Ireland, which at that time was one of the most culturally developed regions of Europe, gospels decorated with wonderful ornaments were created. Using a pen, Irish masters wrote amazingly dynamic drawings depicting people and animals.

Much attention was paid to the inscription of letters, they were so richly decorated with all kinds of curls that the line itself took on the form of an ornament. A decorated capital letter - an initial - sometimes occupied a whole page.

The technique of writing miniatures of the 5th-8th centuries. has not yet reached the perfection that is inherent in the works of the Carolingian masters. Lack of perspective and volume, stylization and primitivism of images are characteristic features of Merovingian painting.

Painting of the Carolingian period

At the end of the VIII - the beginning of the IX century. the heyday of the state of the Franks falls, which is associated with the activities of the ruler Charlemagne. His power united the territories of modern France, Southern and Western Germany, Northern and Central Italy, Northern Spain, Holland and Belgium.

Being an outstanding personality, Karl contributed to the spread of education in the lands subject to him. He founded a school in which his sons, along with the children of the nobility, mastered the basics of rhetoric, poetry, astronomy and other sciences. Karl himself, who knew Greek and Latin very well, did not receive an education in his youth, so he tried to become literate already in adulthood, although he did not succeed well.

Strive to make a second Rome out of his country and declaring the lands that belonged to him as the Holy Roman Empire, Charles contributed to the familiarization of the people with the art of late antiquity, therefore his era is often called the "Carolingian Renaissance".

Under Charlemagne, temple painting was of particular importance, it was a kind of bible for the illiterate, because often it was curiosity that attracted ordinary people in the church. In the decrees of the king, one can read that "painting is permissible in churches so that the illiterate can read on the walls what he cannot learn from books."

In the Carolingian period, book miniatures developed. The texts are illustrated according to the Byzantine and Anglo-Irish patterns. Several schools appear, differing from each other in the technique of performance, compositional solution and themes. But there are common features inherent in all schools without exception. This is the desire for clarity and clarity in the construction of the composition, for a realistic image and the use of architectural ornaments as a picturesque background.

The main objects of the image in the miniatures of the school of Ada (other names are the school of the abbess of Ada, the school of the manuscript of Ada, the school of Godescalc, the school of Charlemagne) were evangelists. Distinctive features of the works created by the artists of this school are the presence of ornamentation, gilding and purple coloring of paper. Almost everywhere, buildings from antiquity serve as a background. The symbols of Mark, Matthew, John and Luke - a lion, an angel, a calf and an eagle - are located above the heads of the evangelists. The convincing authenticity of the depicted is achieved with the help of volumetric forms and the skillful use of light and shadow.

The customers of the books created by the masters of this school were often members of the royal family (according to some sources, the abbess of Hell was the sister of Charlemagne).

Scenes from the Life of Jesus Christ. To Psalm XV. Utrecht Psalter. 9th century

The miniatures of the Reims school are made in a graphic manner using brown ink. Unsteady, as if vibrating contours make the figures surprisingly lively and dynamic. The most outstanding monument of fine art in this direction and the Carolingian miniature as a whole is the Utrecht Psalter (named after the place of storage - in the university library in Utrecht). It contains 165 drawings with scenes of feasts, hunting, battles, everyday scenes, as well as landscapes. The author of miniatures attaches importance to even the smallest details. In the window of a small house you can see a drawn back curtain, in the temple - a slightly ajar door.

In the miniatures of the Turkish school one can see stylized images of monarchs. These works are characterized by a disproportionate ratio of figures: the king is always much higher than the rest of the characters.

Illustrating bibles was the direct specialty of the Turan masters, who performed miniatures for the Bible of Alcuin, the Bible of Charles the Bald and the Gospel of Lothair.

The culture of the Carolingian state existed for about two centuries, but in this short period many wonderful works of art were created, and in our time they make one admire the skill of medieval artists.

As a result of the devastating invasions of enemies, the empire of Charlemagne was destroyed, and with it many beautiful monuments of Carolingian culture perished.

The next stage in the development of Western European art will begin with the new millennium, that is, in the 11th century.