Romanesque sculpture corresponds to the practice of sculpture in the era of Romanesque art that expanded throughout Europe between the 20th century and - and in some parts until the first half of the [1] -, and which, as happened to painting, at that time was closely related to religious architecture, a connection that was maintained throughout the Middle Ages. The Catholic Church - which at that time was guided, on the one hand, by the guidelines of the Order of Cluny and, on the other, by the increase in pilgrimage routes, mainly those of the Camino de Santiago and the abbey of Santa Fe de Conques[Su. 1]— entrusted sculpture with an educational role, that of spreading the faith by illustrating an illiterate population with understandable stone reliefs, showing passages from the Old Testament and teaching monks and faithful the lives of the apostles and saints. At the beginning of the Romanesque period, for theologians like Rabano Mauro, good craftsmen had to instruct with simplicity and excite with the vigorous expression of their art.[2] The concept of artist was not defined as such but was called artifex theoricus who read, understood and projected the manifestations to build and make the works and the artifex practicus, the pictor or the magister operis who was the one who worked with "art" and ultimately materialized the work.[3] The most represented iconographic themes were the Maiestas Domini and the Last Judgment.[Su. 2] It was inspired by bas-reliefs and Roman capitals, but above all by images that were consulted in illuminated manuscripts and goldsmith's objects; Although Roman motifs were occasionally reproduced, in general it was a new beginning and not a continuation of Antiquity.
First the capitals of crypts were decorated, reusing some from Antiquity, and then capitals of pillars and columns "Column (architecture)") that separated the naves "Nave (architecture)") of the churches and later in the cloisters were carved. Sculpture on capitals became widespread after the year 1000, although its beginnings were timid: in the Italian churches of the first half of the century the Corinthian model, more or less stylized (capital with palmettes), was adopted. In other places (Burgundy, Catalonia) they experimented with intertwined capitals and acanthus leaves. But animals and anthropomorphic figures soon appeared, although they remained rare before 1050 (Fleury Abbey). The Basilica of San Sernín in Toulouse (second half of the century) preserves 260 Romanesque capitals.[4].
The end of the century and the century was a period of experimentation carried out by numerous artistic centers in Western Europe, such as northern Spain, Toulouse, Italy, the Loire... each developing its own character, which will radiate more or less, mixing with other influences before forming a more structured current in the following century, around three main categories of motifs: plants and intertwining, animals and human figures. The constitution of the chronology of the works has raised numerous controversies among art historians during the century.[5].
Evaluation of historic capitals
Introduction
Romanesque sculpture corresponds to the practice of sculpture in the era of Romanesque art that expanded throughout Europe between the 20th century and - and in some parts until the first half of the [1] -, and which, as happened to painting, at that time was closely related to religious architecture, a connection that was maintained throughout the Middle Ages. The Catholic Church - which at that time was guided, on the one hand, by the guidelines of the Order of Cluny and, on the other, by the increase in pilgrimage routes, mainly those of the Camino de Santiago and the abbey of Santa Fe de Conques[Su. 1]— entrusted sculpture with an educational role, that of spreading the faith by illustrating an illiterate population with understandable stone reliefs, showing passages from the Old Testament and teaching monks and faithful the lives of the apostles and saints. At the beginning of the Romanesque period, for theologians like Rabano Mauro, good craftsmen had to instruct with simplicity and excite with the vigorous expression of their art.[2] The concept of artist was not defined as such but was called artifex theoricus who read, understood and projected the manifestations to build and make the works and the artifex practicus, the pictor or the magister operis who was the one who worked with "art" and ultimately materialized the work.[3] The most represented iconographic themes were the Maiestas Domini and the Last Judgment.[Su. 2] It was inspired by bas-reliefs and Roman capitals, but above all by images that were consulted in illuminated manuscripts and goldsmith's objects; Although Roman motifs were occasionally reproduced, in general it was a new beginning and not a continuation of Antiquity.
First the capitals of crypts were decorated, reusing some from Antiquity, and then capitals of pillars and columns "Column (architecture)") that separated the naves "Nave (architecture)") of the churches and later in the cloisters were carved. Sculpture on capitals became widespread after the year 1000, although its beginnings were timid: in the Italian churches of the first half of the century the Corinthian model, more or less stylized (capital with palmettes), was adopted. In other places (Burgundy, Catalonia) they experimented with intertwined capitals and acanthus leaves. But animals and anthropomorphic figures soon appeared, although they remained rare before 1050 (Fleury Abbey). The Basilica of San Sernín in Toulouse (second half of the century) preserves 260 Romanesque capitals.[4].
A great impetus for the production of the new sculpture was the pilgrimage route to Compostela to visit the tomb of the apostle Santiago - discovered around the year 820 among the remains of a Roman settlement - which in the century was already fully established to the point of undertaking the construction of the new cathedral of Santiago in 1075. New churches were built along the route under the organization of the Order of Cluny. These temples were built in places of passage in this period of religious fervor, for a spiritual welcome of pilgrims and the exhibition of relics. France and northern Spain are also places where you can see examples of the first production of Romanesque sculpture applied to architecture. Along the different routes to Santiago, technical, stylistic and iconographic suggestions were disseminated through itinerant construction workshops.
At the end of the century, in the south of France (Cluny, Autun, Vézelay, Moissac, Toulouse), as well as in northern Italy and northern Spain, the tympanums, capitals and walls of the portals began to be richly decorated with ornaments and figures treated with great realism. Sculpture was already an important component in the facades of churches, in the style of the old triumphal arches.[6] Sculpture then becomes monumental, the first monumental sculptures that were presented since the 19th century, a period in which round pieces (three-dimensional pieces) stopped being carved, although an increase in the production of small sculptures and metal works was observed during the pre-Romanesque period.
Relief was used as the best technique for the narration of impressive scenes, where the volume helped to create a greater sense of realism than simple painted surfaces, portraying scenes such as the Vision of the Apocalypse and sculpting on each surface the spirit of the concept of a vengeful God present in the Old Testament; They were also filled not only with biblical figures such as evangelists, apostles and angels, but with series of monstrous creatures, which were not forgotten before their vision: demons and creatures composed of disproportionate and horrible bodies that gave fear of the torture of hell confronted with the kingdom of God.[7] Their objective was not to imitate nature and reality.[8] Iconographically, the strong God, ruler and judge is the focus of the monumental sculpture; Subordinate pictorial locations were often occupied with moralizing themes in which demons and mythical creatures also play their part.[9].
Not many names of the Romanesque sculptors are known, highlighting the Master of Cabestany, Bernard Gilduin"), Gislebertus, Unbertus, Gofridus and Gilabertus from Toulouse, in France; Wiligelmo, Niccòlo and Antelami, in Italy; Arnau Cadell, Leodegarius, Micaelis and Ramón de Bianya, in Spain. Outstanding Romanesque sculptures and groups in France are: façade of Notre-Dame la Grande de Poitiers, considered a masterpiece of Romanesque art, the lintel of Sant Genís, the oldest dated Romanesque sculpture, the church of Saint Trophimus "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)") in Arles (portal, 1180-1190), the abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (tower-porch), abbey of Moissac (south portal, ca. 1120 and cloister in 1100), Autun Cathedral (west portal, c.1130-1135), Cathedral of Saint Mary of Olorón (west portal, ca. 1130), Charlieu Abbey") (north portal, ca. 1170, Angoulême Cathedral (facade, 1115-1130); Abbey of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne") (tympanum).
• - Romanesque sculptures in France.
• - Detail of the façade of Notre-Dame la Grande de Poitiers (second quarter of the century).
• - Tympanum of the abbey church of Vézelay (c. 1120-1130).
• - Portal of Saint Trophimus of Arles "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)").
• - Capital of the Resurrection of Mozac Abbey").
In addition to stone, wood was an important material for the construction of churches, especially in the northern part of Europe, and for carving free devotional or altar images that were rarely worked in stone. Polychrome wood and ivory were the most used material, sometimes covered with bronze or silver metals (crucifixes and small images).[Su. 3] The reliquaries were also plated with metals.
Bronze work was of special importance in liturgical pieces, church doors, baptismal fonts and tombstones. For the upper part of the tombs, a new typology spread from northern France in the middle of the century: the application of the figure of the deceased on the coffin in a recumbent position. One of the first tombs with the effigy of the deceased with a Romanesque character was that of Abbot Isarn of the Abbey of Saint Victor in Marseille.
Characteristics of Romanesque sculpture
The main characteristics of Romanesque sculpture are the following:
• - Didactic purpose and not artistic. The works are made to order and always with the function of narrating or educating about religious topics.
• - Stylization and disproportion of the figures in search of an anti-naturalism that divinizes the figures that appear.
• - Incorrect perspective, the relationship between the logical size of the figure and the background is different from reality. In the reliefs, the differences in size show the importance of the figure represented.
Symmetrical composition.
In the tympanum, the composition always has the figure of Christ as the axis of the representation.
The expression of the figures is sometimes very exaggerated and other times very flat.
The same motifs and themes are always repeated.
The final result of the work is very rough and rigid.
In ensemble sculptures, all figures are shown at the same height to represent equality before God.
In the painted sculptures, vivid and bright colors are used.[10].
Romanesque sculpture emerged in France, without developing with the perfection of architecture, it followed the same steps and evolutions as Greek sculpture, contributing to its formation and development the same causes as for architecture. For this reason, the Roman elements had to be its components along with the northern, Byzantine, Persian elements of the Sassanian dynasty and Arab elements as they are in the architecture. He was frequently inspired by drawings and figures from regional codices and tapestries from the East.
It embraces the development (which does not have) of this sculpture over the centuries and (with its Carolingian antecedents of the century) introducing itself in a good part of the and gradually gives rise to the Gothic, without being separated from it by a perfectly dividing line. As a bridge between one and the other, in the last years of the century and the first half of the style that can be called transitional, which tries to somewhat imitate the reality of Nature and gives his works greater life and movement without the artist completely detaching himself from previous conventions and mannerisms. And such is the variety resulting from this transition, increased by the skill or inexperience of the sculptors, by the influences of different schools, that it is not unusual to combine in the same locality and from the same date reliefs or statues very worthy of appreciation and praise with others of reprehensible taste and without any artistic value.
Specifying further the character of Romanesque sculpture that is constituted by the imitation of Byzantine or Roman models in a decadent style but made with a Latin hand and frequently under the influence of Persian or Arab taste. It is also characterized by a certain rigidity of forms, lack of adequate expression (sometimes exaggerated) in the figures, forgetfulness of the sculptural canon in the human form, forced symmetry.
Dynamics of imitation of models, a series of laws or general rules that are frequently found in Romanesque works. Among them, the Law of adaptation to the framework enunciated by Henri Focillon stands out and which subordinates the sculptural development to the architectural space given for this purpose. The result will be scenes in which the characters adapt to that space, sometimes contracting or stretching, without taking into account other more naturalistic considerations. Another general rule is the isocephaly that we find in some groups of figures all placed with their heads at the same height.
In Romanesque sculpture and even in Gothic sculpture, whether works made of stone, ivory or wood, polychromy was very common, always sober in the vividness of colors, even though the paint has disappeared with the action of time in almost all the specimens or has been replaced by more modern decorations.
The main works of Romanesque sculpture are admired today in the reliefs of very varied capitals and in the magnificent doorways and elegant cornices of many buildings of the time, on whose fronts biblical scenes and allegorical figures are represented (among them, the so-called bestiaries and the personifications of the signs of the zodiac, etc.) together with images of Saints in great relief. Furthermore, Romanesque sculpture was practiced in the carving of curious ivory diptychs, grave crucifixes (of ivory and bronze) and statues of the Virgin Mary (in stone and wood, alone already plated in bronze) that are preserved in their sanctuaries or in Museums and, finally, said sculpture was ingenious in the decoration of caskets or caskets to store relics and jewels, of rich covers for liturgical books, of fontals or antipendium for altars "Altar (religion)"), fonts and stone tombs with reliefs, etc. Since the invasion of the barbarians, the cultivation of glyptics in fine stones was almost completely forgotten in the West, but the gems previously carved by the Greeks and Romans were used, applying them without study to precious and decorative objects, especially rings. There were, however, some carvings with inscriptions or some crude figure, such as the emerald from the Treasure of Guarrazar, and great use of fine cabochon-shaped stones for metalwork objects.
Application and theme
Contenido
La aplicación escultórica en la arquitectura se ejecutó en la parte delantera de las fachadas, especialmente en las portaladas de los templos, donde el creyente recibía el mayor impacto visual. Se utilizó el relieve como la mejor técnica para la narración de escenas impresionantes, donde el volumen ayudaba a crear una mayor sensación de realismo que las simples superficies pintadas. Con este fin, el tímpano "Tímpano (arquitectura)"), el semicírculo sobre la entrada, tuvo un papel muy importante, y fue donde se representaron escenas como la Visión del Apocalipsis o del Juicio Final. También se esculpieron escenas en las arquivoltas de los arcos "Arco (arquitectura)") que enmarcaban la puerta y la profundizaban, y en los canecillos o puntas de las vigas bajo el alero "Alero (arquitectura)"). Estas escenas, dentro del espíritu del concepto de Dios vengativo") presente en el Antiguo Testamento, también se llenaron no sólo de figuras bíblicas como los evangelistas, apóstoles y ángeles, sino con series de criaturas monstruosas, que ante su visión no se olvidaban: demonios y criaturas compuestas de cuerpos desproporcionados y horribles que daban temor a la tortura del Infierno").[11].
Según Henri Focillon, a finales del siglo en Europa hubo un regreso a una profunda religiosidad, causada parcialmente por el miedo a la profecía anunciada por san Juan en su libro del Apocalipsis, con un supuesto fin del mundo. Así, Focillon destacó la repercusión que tuvo esta circunstancia en la creación de una iconografía apocalíptica, donde las escenas escultóricas se adaptaban al espacio de la arquitectura, proponiendo su «ley de Adaptación al marco» de un esquema geométrico sencillo y dentro de unos espacios preconcebidos para ello.
Las «madres de Dios con el niño» fueron muy representadas por toda Cataluña y por el sur de Francia aunque, en cuanto al valor iconográfico, la imagen más importante del románico fue el Cristo Majestad "Majestad (crucifijo)"). Entre los numerosos ejemplos destacan el Cristo que hay en Santa Faz de Lucca, el de la catedral de Milán, el Cristo de Mig Aran y la Majestad de Batlló.[12] La imagen más frecuente era la de Cristo completamente frontal que se mostraba sentado en un trono (Maiestas Domini) para juzgar a los hombres, dentro de una aureola almendrada (mandorla) que significa la Gloria "Gloria (religión)"); los pies solían reposar sobre una semiesfera que representa la Tierra, su mano derecha levantada para bendecir, manifiesta su poder (Dextera Domini) mientras su mano izquierda sostiene el Libro de la Vida que da testimonio de su naturaleza. Normalmente se disponía rodeado por el Tetramorfo, es decir los símbolos de los Cuatro Evangelistas y en algunos casos de los veinticuatro ancianos del Apocalipsis. Se representaba también la psicostasis o pesaje de las almas para escoger a los elegidos que gozarán de Dios eternamente o los condenados al infierno.[Su. 2].
En lo que se refiere al modo de representación, el objetivo no era mostrar la realidad visible, pero sí lo invisible e intocable, aprovechando gran parte de la mímica de las figuras como un medio de comunicación. El principal objetivo no era el tratamiento volumétrico, sino el valor simbólico de las figuras y el contenido de su mensaje. La proporción entre las figuras fue otro factor secundario, se hacían las dimensiones dependiendo más de su importancia jerárquica o del espacio disponible para la realización del relieve, más que guardando la relación que las figuras poseían entre sí. Los cuerpos eran delgados, los gestos expresivos, y los diferentes elementos del relieve se adaptaban al espacio arquitectónico, e incluso casi se agolpaban para encajar en pequeños espacios.[13].
También en el interior de la iglesia se exponían algunos relieves de escultura en los arcos ciegos (arcos en relieve, adosados a la pared), sobre todo en los capiteles de las columnas, donde la libertad imaginativa y la profusión de figuras fantásticas llevará al máximo el tema burlesco. Los capiteles empezaron por representar una decoración de inspiración clásica con temas de vegetación o dibujos geométricos con multitud de animales fantásticos, para pasar después al figurativo, con escenas de la Antigüedad, de la Biblia y sobre temas profanos, que podían estar parados al largo de un ciclo en el deambulatorio y en el claustro. Uno de los puntos culminantes de la escultura románica interior de los templos, era la imagen de Cristo crucificado en majestad realizado en madera con una intensa policromía y colocado sobre el altar.[14].
La escultura pequeña existía también, pero en número reducido, realizada en marfil o madera, y podía estar recubierta de oro o de plata (crucifijos y pequeñas imágenes). La obra en bronce fue de especial importancia en las piezas litúrgicas, las puertas de las iglesias, pilas bautismales y lápidas de tumbas. Para la parte superior de las tumbas, una nueva tipología se fue extendiendo desde el norte de Francia a mediados del siglo : la aplicación de la figura del difunto sobre el ataúd en posición yacente. Una de las primeras tumbas con la efigie del difunto con carácter románico fue la del abad Isarn") (1048) de la abadía de San Víctor de Marsella.[HUA 1].
Technique
Technical learning of the arts in the Romanesque era was through practice and mainly through oral communication between masters and apprentices. However, there are some manuscripts of treaties, such as one preserved in the Capitular library of Lucca, by an anonymous author and known with the title of Compositiones ad tingenda musiva et alia, surely based on this text the so-called Mappae Clavicula was written with more expansions. Awarded to a certain Heraclius, it is the treatise for achieving colors for a painting on canvas. For the making of miniatures"), the manuscript was 'De coloribus et artibus Romanorum.[Su. 4] The monk Theophilus (c.1100) wrote a treatise on the arts called Scheduladiversarum artium in which he indicates and gives advice for the manufacture of all types of objects in metallurgy.[15].
Facades
Lintels
As the starting point of this monumental sculpture, one of the first decorations on French facades is generally taken, a lintel from the abbey of Saint-Genís-des-Fontaines, dated 1020 according to the medieval Latin inscription visible on one side.[16][n. 1] The carving is made with a bevel, basically in two planes, the technique of revised folds begins: each fold of the dresses is slightly raised on the next. It is framed all around by a border of palmettes. In the central part, in the middle, there is a Maiestas Domini blessing inside a mandorla that is carried by kneeling angels. On both sides there are series of three apostles framed by horseshoe arches.[17].
It is similar to the lintel of the monastery of Sant Andreu de Sureda, which presents in the center the resurrected Christ (with a nimbus containing a cross), surrounded by a mandorla with the letters Alpha and Omega. On both sides of Christ are seraphim holding the mandorla and angels with three pairs of wings. There are also two characters (four in total) whose identity is unknown (perhaps they are the evangelists or apostles). The lintel is made of white marble and the characters are surrounded by a border with oriental motifs.[18].
Before making the large tympanum of the west portal of the cathedral of Autun (c.1130), Gislebertus sculpted the lintel for the side portal representing Eve lying down and with her trunk turned towards the viewer, which constitutes one of the most suggestive Romanesque sculptures, since the attitude is completely unusual for the time, causing the transformation of the scene of original sin into a sensual game.[19].
• - Images of Romanesque lintels.
• - Lintel of the portal on the left side of Pieve di San Giovanni (Campiglia Marittima)&action=edit&redlink=1 "Pieve di San Giovanni (Campiglia Marittima) (not yet redacted)"), attributed to Master Mateo (responsible for the construction of the entire building), depicting a wild boar hunting scene (perhaps Meleagro "Meleagro (mythology)") hunting the Calydonian boar "Calidon (mythology)") which symbolizes the victory of Christ and his faithful over the devil (before 1075).
• - Lintel of the abbey of Saint-Genís-des-Fontaines (1120).
• - Lintel of the Monastery of Sant Andreu de Sureda.
• - Lintel of Eve by Gislebertus, in the cathedral of Autun (ca. 1130).
Eardrums
The beginnings of the development of the large portals were slow and modest, having to overcome the good understanding between the two participating guilds, the carving artists and the master builders. The main center in the last two decades of the century was located mainly in Toulouse.[HUA 1] The most important workshop in Toulouse around 1090, was directed by Bernard Gilduin and among his works are some marble reliefs in the ambulatory of the basilica of Saint Sernin, among them a Maiestas Domini.[n. 2] Its evolution within the carving can be seen in the door known as Porte de Miégeville (1100-1118), for the same church, where the Ascension of Christ is represented on the tympanum with representations on the two sides of the side of the portal in life size of Saint Peter and James the Greater. During this stage, the workers from Toulouse must have moved to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, because there are indications of similar work in the porticos of the transepts of this temple. There are also sculptures with a style similar to the porticos of the basilica of San Isidoro in León and the cathedral of Jaca, and this series of works can be called "pilgrimage sculpture."[BDG 1].
Another Languedoc pilgrimage church with a colossal tympanum was Santa Fe de Conques, with the representation of the Last Judgment (c. 1135). The figures have the same stylized shape as those of the tympanum of the Apocalypse of the abbey of Moissac, built between 1100 and 1125. This abbey was one of the large number that continued the artistic guidelines of the monastery of Saint Pierre de Cluny in Burgundy, its tympanum is characterized by a very expressive sculpture, with Christ dominating the entire representation in a frontal position, which although the general arrangement respects symmetry, the characters They have asymmetrical positions. The details in the dresses and decorations are treated with great mastery that produces naturalistic effects. Although there are no remains of the western tympanum of Cluny, the porticos of Autun made by Gislebertus and of the abbey of Vézelay by an anonymous master, are evident examples of the great Romanesque works carried out in France.[20].
• - Romanesque tympanums in France.
• - West tympanum of Charlieu Abbey").
• - Tympanum of the Miègeville door) of the Basilica of Saint Sernin in Toulouse.
• - Tympanum of the Saint-Pierre de Moissac abbey.
• - The tympanum of Sainte-Foy de Conques.
• - Tympanum of Saint-Pierre de Carennac").
• - The tympanum of the Autun cathedral.
• - Tympanum of the Abbaye de Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne").
The Romanesque of Castilla y León was rich in artistic covers, historiated or with geometric and plant ornamentation, starting with those considered the oldest: the Portada del Cordero and the Portada del Perdón, both in the collegiate church of San Isidoro de León. The tympanum of the Lamb is the first known from the kingdom of León, containing several sculptural scenes,[21] it is dated to around the year 1100. The Sacrifice of Isaac is represented with the mystical lamb held by two angels and on both sides of two other angels carrying the symbols of the Passion of Jesus. On the right you see Sarah at the door and two servants that Abraham took, one riding a horse and the other taking off his shoes because he will step into a sacred place. Abraham, also barefoot, hears the voice that comes from heaven, symbolized in the Dextera Domini. On the left side are two other figures from Genesis: Ishmael with a bow and his mother Hagar: «And God was with the boy; and he grew up, and lived in the desert, and was a bow shooter" (Genesis 21:20).[22] These representations of the characters of Ishmael with Hagar only occur in the Iberian Peninsula of the 1st century.[23].
The other tympanum of the Forgiveness of this basilica shows three reliefs with the scenes of the Ascension where Christ is helped by two apostles on his ascent to heaven, in the center of which the Descent is treated with great realism and to the right is the Resurrection with the empty tomb of Christ, guarded by an angel and with the three Marys. These themes made by Maestro Esteban were widely spread by the sculptors of the Camino de Santiago who, upon their return, took them to France.[24].
In Santo Domingo de Soria there is one of the most original tympanums, four archivolts of carved voussoirs crown the pediment "Frontón (architecture)") in which the pantocrator can be seen in its central part, with its oval mandorla and the four evangelists (tetramorphs), in addition to Joseph and Mary completing the scene. The uniqueness of this pantocrator is that it is one of the only five examples in the world (all in the Iberian Peninsula) of the Romanesque iconography called trinitat paternitas, that is, God the Father is represented with Christ sitting on him.[n. 3].
The arches unload on artistic capitals supported by attached columns that, in turn, rest on a continuous bench. The capitals depict scenes from the Old Testament, from the genesis of the Earth and the stars that populate the universe, to the creation of Adam from a clay figure and that of Eve from a rib of clay. In the interior archivolt the twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse are represented (two per voussoir), all of them carrying various musical instruments in attitudes of beatific serenity. The second archivolt depicts the massacre of the innocent saints, whose perpetrator, Herod, is advised in his ear by a winged demon. The third archivolt displays a succession of evangelical events, such as the Assumption, the Visitation, the Annunciation, the Birth of Jesus and the Adoration of the Magi, etc. Finally, the last archivolt contains episodes of the Passion and the Resurrection. The façade of Our Lady of Poitiers possibly served as a model for that of Saint Dominic and it is possible that masters from Poitiers were involved in its construction. The truth is that this frontispiece, whose façade is magnificently preserved due to the fact that a roof was even recently installed, represents one of the greatest achievements of the Spanish Romanesque.[Su. 5].
Late Romanesque sculpture is seen in the porch and tympanum of the Glory of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela where the treatment of the human figure is much less rigid and with a transitional style from Romanesque to Gothic. The entire portico is full of images due to horror vacui (there are two hundred sculptures). The work was carried out by Maestro Mateo and is presided over by the Maiestas Domini accompanied by the tetramorph and surrounded by the elders of the Apocalypse. On the mullion there is an image of the apostle Santiago and serving as the shaft of the columns are the rest of the prophets and apostles. The author signed the work: "In the year 1188 of the Incarnation of the Lord, Master Mateo has directed the work from the beginning."[25].
• - Romanesque tympanums in Spain.
• - Puerta del Cordero in San Isidoro de León.
• - Door of Forgiveness in San Isidoro de León.
• - Tympanum of Santa María la Real, Sangüesa.
• - Tympanum of Santo Domingo de Soria.
In Italy, several schools developed in which the influence of ancient Rome was very marked. A work from the end of the century was the marble chair[n. 4] from the church of San Nicolás de Bari (Bari&action=edit&redlink=1 "Bari (Apulia) (not yet written)")), inspired by models of Roman works. This chair is part of a series that can be found throughout Campania, where several artists dedicated themselves to the decoration of the porticos or interior elements of the churches. These chairs or seats were generally supported on figures of Atlanteans "Atlante (column)"), humans, elephants or lions and it is normal to find these same supports under the columns of the porticos, these porticos evolved until they acquired larger dimensions until they became large atriums "Atrium (architecture)") as in the Cathedral of Modena.[HUA 2].
Two great Italian Romanesque sculptors, Wiligelmo of Modena and Niccolò, the first in the so-called school of Emilia, stood out), he was a very expressive sculptor with great influence from Antiquity. He worked in the Cathedral of Modena. found in Ferrara and Verona.[HUA 2].
Of all the Italian schools, the most influential was that of Lombardy, which was characterized by the exuberant decoration of the porches, covering entire façades such as that of San Miguel de Pavia), mixing plant ornaments, animals, monsters and religious themes. In Tuscany, the master Gulielmo worked in Pisa with a style related to the school of Provence. On its façades, the porticos are flanked by statues located in Roman-style niches and Lintels are transformed into continuous friezes throughout the façade. This school made very ornate archivolts carved in a radial shape.[HUA 3].
• - Bishop's Chair (ca.1098) in Sant Nicolau de Bari.
• - Chair of San Sabino.
• - Stylophore lions "Stylophore (architecture)") by Wiligelmo of Modena at the entrance to the Modena Cathedral.
• - Detail of the tympanum in Ferrara by Nicló.
This method was quickly adopted in England, where radial voussoirs became a favorite way of decorating arches, a system that continued throughout the century. The sources of English Romanesque sculpture were from Lombardy and western France, but with local traditions with Viking zoomorphic styles; In general, his sculpture was not monumental, but rather made with small details.[HUA 4].
Triumph facades
The so-called sculpted portals are those that appear like a triumphal arch with linear compositions covering the entire entrance. Shortly after 1100, stimulated by the rediscovery of Antiquity, Romanesque sculpture from northern Italy, Toulouse and northwest Spain, the sculptors managed to conquer the façade to turn it into a large exhibition of monumental sculpture in different forms. A particularly striking example, despite the numerous restorations "Restoration (art)") that it has had since the Middle Ages, is the façade of the cathedral of Angoulême, which reproduces an eschatological vision distributed across the entire front.[BDG 2].
The front of the Abbey of Saint-Gilles can be considered a true "stone book", addressed to the faithful, often illiterate at the time of its construction. Made by monks of the abbey between 1120 and 1160, the façade remains a recognized masterpiece of Romanesque art in Provence. The decoration of the façade is made up of three portals, the central one larger than the lateral ones. The left portal presents an Adoration of the Magi on the tympanum and the Entry into Jerusalem on the lintel; The central portal has a Christ in Majesty represented on the tympanum and in the lower frieze, which extends along the side walls, between the doors, there are several scenes related to the Passion; The right portal has a Crucifixion on the tympanum, and below, several scenes relating to episodes after the Resurrection of Christ (Noli me tangere, Holy women in the tomb, Appearance to the apostles...). Between the three doors are a series of columns recovered from Roman times, and among them, several large figures: Saint Michael, The Twelve Apostles and the Fight of Angels and Demons. At the bottom, next to the floor, there are characters from the Old Testament, as well as non-religious scenes. The architectural decoration elements are inspired by ancient art: Corinthian capitals, fluted base, ovals and centaurs.[26].
The observation of Antiquity joins the visionary Romanesque iconography on the western portal of the church of Saint Trophimus "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)") in Arles, which, facing the façade of the church, combines the theme of the apocalyptic vision with that of the Last Judgment, and its architectural structure gives great relief to the architraves and the frieze, as well as to the colonnade that serves as a frame for the great statues. The portal of San Tróphimo in Arles reaches its Romanesque development around 1190 and above it you can see the course followed by the sculptors in search of a monumental representation of the triumphal façade. With the magnificent façade of the Saint-Gilles Abbey, it is one of the best collections of carved Romanesque art in Provence. The porch includes a variety of decorative elements: fluted pilasters, capitals with acanthus leaves, Greek friezes, strips of palm leaves, bas-reliefs decorated with scrolls. The order of the portal is inspired by ancient art, and evokes a true Roman triumphal arch that opens onto the abbey. The influence of ancient art, especially that of early Christian sarcophagi, is found in the style of figures and floral motifs of the decoration. The decorative motifs determine themes related to the Old Testament, as well as the wild beasts and evil creatures that are associated with the two patron saints of the cathedral: Saint Stephen and Saint Trophimus. The general structure is similar to that of Saint-Gilles, but here it has been reduced to a single door.[27].
Capitals
Los capiteles son una de las muestras más importantes de la escultura románica y conducen a un mundo rico en simbología.[30] La piedra esculpida era, en muchas ocasiones, un eficaz vehículo de comunicación entre la iglesia y los fieles y con su impacto visual ayudaba a convertir los templos en «el reino de Dios en la tierra»[30] Así, los artesanos escultores tenían la misión de instruir con sencillez y emocionar con su arte.[30] Los capiteles, con profusión de temas y donde el artista tenía más libertad creativa, cumplían plenamente estas funciones.[30]
La escultura románica estaba integrada en la arquitectura formando un todo, siendo las portadas "Portada (arquitectura)") y los capiteles dos claros ejemplos.[30] El escultor, por tanto, debía albergar su obra en espacios reducidos aprovechando la piedra al máximo.[30] Esta «exigencia» provocaba que la escultura no se preocupara por representar imágenes fidedignas de la realidad y a menudo aparecen figuras desproporcionadas, aplastadas, contorsionadas u ocupando varias caras de los capiteles.[30].
La falta de espacio era una de las razones de ese «antinaturalismo» que caracteriza a la escultura —y también a la pintura— del románico.[30] Pero no la única: el objetivo principal del artista no era el tratamiento proporcionado y fidedigno de las figuras, sino su valor simbólico y el contenido del mensaje que querían transmitir al espectador.[30] Esta forma de entender el arte propio del románico deriva de un concepto clásico, el neoplatonismo,[30] una creencia que defendía que el mundo natural tan sólo era una apariencia que escondía la realidad verdadera y trascendente de Dios. Difundido por San Agustín, el neoplatonismo tuvo una influencia decisiva en la configuración del arte medieval.[30].
La creación del hombre, el pecado original, la natividad o el juicio final son algunos de los temas representados en lo que se conoce como capiteles historiados.[30] Pero sin duda, lo que más llama la atención es el rico, y a veces fantasmagórico, repertorio del bestiario medieval.[30] Procedente del mundo clásico, romano de Oriente y persa, el cristianismo lo hizo suyo atribuyendo virtudes o pecados a los diferentes animales reales o fantásticos que formaban parte.[30].
Así, entre los animales que representaban al bien se encontraban las aves, a menudo comparadas con el alma que se eleva hacia el cielo, el león o el grifo.[30] Al otro lado de la balanza, el mono —caricatura grotesca del hombre—, la serpiente —símbolo universal del pecado—, la liebre y el conejo —por su fertilidad— el jabalí y el chivo. Dragones, arpías, basiliscos, sirenas y centauros completaban el repertorio de bestias enemigas del hombre y de Dios.[30].
10th century
In the second half of the century, the architectural decoration of religious buildings was generally very simple. Some decorated relief plaque "Relief (sculpture)"), imposts with moldings and some capitals reused from previous periods. In large buildings, large rectangular "Pillar (architecture)") pillars were placed as separating elements between the nave and the side aisles, so it was very difficult to find large capitals, since they were only placed on smaller "Column (architecture)" columns for smaller churches or crypts. The first experiences in carving capitals represented one of the essential aspects in the transition to monumental Romanesque sculpture during the first half of the century.
In northern Italy, the first capitals with little ornamentation are found in crypts and ambulatories such as in the Abbey of Sant'Antimo in Montalcino (Siena) and the Basilica of Santo Stefano in Verona. During the second half of the century (about 1038 in the cathedral of Caorle) a group of capitals is characterized by the faithful and direct imitation of the ancient Corinthian models observed in the basilicas of the Adriatic, between Venice (Sant Nicolò on the Lido) and Trieste (cathedral of San Giusto). This trend continues in the ambulatory of Tournus and Issoudun, before the end of the century, as well as in the Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral in Auvergne.[BDG 4].
11th century
Acanthus leaves were carved and depicted along with backward-curving volutes at the corners and on the faces of the capitals. Almost at the same time, in the south of France and Catalonia, there was a search for technical means to solve the problem of adapting the motifs used in the reliefs (interlacing, palmettes and rosettes) to the surfaces of the capital. From the end of the first third of the century in the abbey of San Filiberto de Tournus and San Pedro de Roda, a series of capitals appeared on Corinthian images that showed the pre-Romanesque surface relief giving way to the bevelling and with a deep groove. A second group of capitals with proportions closer to cubic shapes show drawings like baskets with foliage: San Pedro de Roda, Santa Fe de Conques and Aurillac. Links with previous work on Romanesque reliefs appear more clearly in the sculpted capitals in the church of Sant Martí del Canigó in Conflent, dating from the beginning of the century.[BDG 5].
• - Capital with vegetation in the abbey of San Filiberto de Tournus.
• - Acanthus leaves in Santa Fe de Conques.
• - Adam and Eve in the basilica of Our Lady of Port Clermont-Ferrand.
• - Capital of Sant Martí del Canigó.
The transition from vegetal to figurative decoration was investigated by Henri Focillon, who highlighted the role of the figure that contributed to forming the style of Romanesque art, and compared them with the capitals of Ottonian art in the church of Vignory adorned with geometric, vegetal and animal motifs, which show the technique and a similar concern of the work, to those observed in the south of France. Since the beginning of the century, Burgundy has had monuments of great importance: Abbey of Cluny, Romainmôtier, Abbey of San Filiberto de Tournus, San Benigno de Dijon, this church had a very important role during the first two decades of the century, due to the works commissioned by the abbot of Italian origin Guglielmo da Volpiano), today it still preserves the crypt with some capitals with a decoration of monsters, masks and figures: its innovative nature makes them one of the most striking in this style. In Paris, the capitals of Saint Germain des Prés (in the Musée de Cluny), contrast with these previous series due to the monumentality of Christ in majesty represented in them.[BDG 6] The Loire River basin was a geographical area with great artistic activity. with acanthus and palmette leaves and with an inscription by the sculptor: "Umbertus me fecit." In other series, human figures appear with representation of stories from the Bible, the Annunciation, the Visitation of Mary and the Flight into Egypt.[BDG 7] The relationship between the capitals of the atrium of Saint Benoît and those of the Abbey of Méobecq compared to those of Saint Hilary the Great in Poitiers"), Saint Martin of Tours and Maillezais raise interesting methodological problems of the chronology of Romanesque sculpture in France.[BDG 7].
12th century
As time progresses, the sculptural themes represent real and fantastic themes, thus Christian themes are mixed with a whole series of bestiaries, monsters of lions with the heads of eagles or birds with the body of a woman, winged mermaids and centaurs in monstrous representations with the purpose of their interpretation as good and evil, without forgetting the obscene themes. The capitals of many cloisters are models of these historic series, as can be seen in the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos in Burgos, the monastery of Sant Cugat in Catalonia and the cloister of Elna in Roussillon. All this overflowing imagination came to an end with the text written by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the century against the historiated capitals.[Su. 7].
• - The doubt of Saint Thomas in the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos.
• - Capital with the Three Magi in the Cathedral of Elna.
• - Washing the feet of Christ to the apostles in the monastery of Sant Cugat.
• - Musicians and minstrels in the monastery of Sant Cugat.
cult imagery
En el período románico la madera fue uno de los materiales más empleados para la elaboración de las imágenes para el interior de los templos. Las esculturas representando a Cristo Majestad y la Virgen María con el Niño llamada Sedes sapientiae, eran las representaciones más numerosas que se hacían para venerar en cada iglesia. Casi todas se han datado a partir del siglo o principios del .[Su. 3]
Los artesanos especializados en trabajo de madera en el período románico y, a juzgar por el tratado del monje Teófilo: «no debían confundirse con los que trabajaban otros materiales». Étienne Boileau, en el siglo en su Livre des métiers, ilustra la creciente especialización que separaba a los carpinteros de los tallistas asociados a los santcristos. Los cristos de madera se realizaban a partir de dos o tres piezas, dos troncos se ensambaban para formar la cruz, una única pieza era utilizada para el cuerpo y otras dos para los brazos. De acuerdo con el Livre des métiers, el encaje era una de las principales cualidades de los artesanos de la madera. En cuanto la obra estaba tallada, se preparaba para recibir la policromía, lo que demuestra claramente las relaciones que existían entre los creadores de imágenes y los pintores, salvo que ambos trabajos fueran realizados por las mismas personas. Se sabe que en muchas de las abadías románicas había talleres de talla de madera junto a los de pintura. La mayoría de estas imágenes estaban destinadas a ser policromadas, pero también a muchas de ellas se las cubrió con una capa metálica, si los recursos económicos lo permitían. Muchas de estas imágenes estaban realizadas para su uso como un relicario. Así, el busto relicario de san Baudime en Saint-Nectaire (Puy-de-Dôme) está realizado sobre una base de madera cubierta con hojas doradas de cobre repujado, con la cabeza y las manos de fundición de cobre (finales del siglo ). El busto de san Cesario de Arlés conservado en la iglesia de Maurs (Cantal), recibió una capa de plata y cobre dorado en el cuerpo solamente, mientras que la cabeza y las manos fueron pintadas directamente sobre la madera.[BDG 9].
Christ in Majesty
The image of the crucified Christ, in the Middle Ages, was represented in various types of iconography: with a naked torso and with the perizonium or short skirt tied to the waist and died on the cross with his eyes closed and his face with drama and a certain tension and the Christ in Majesty who appears on the cross with the long tunic down to his feet, tight at the waist and triumphant, with the particularity of having his eyes open and without any sign of pain. This representation was the most abundant in the West throughout the century, following the prototype of the Eastern Roman Christ.
It represents immortality, without human suffering but triumphs like God, nor does it appear with the crown of thorns. If any of them is crowned, it is with the royal crown. The anatomy follows the verticality of the wood that forms the cross, the hands are open with the fingers stretched and the limbs nailed each individually (four nails).
Among the wooden images of Christs in Majesty, the one from the Volto Santo of Lucca stands out), the one from the Cathedral of Braunschweig from 1173 (signed by its author Imervard, on the tunic belt), the one from the cathedral of Milan, the one preserved in the Museum of Sacred Art of San Gimignano. In the Meuse and Rhineland region, the Christ of Notre Dame de Tongres and that of Saint George of Cologne show a tradition Ottoniana.[BDG 10].
They occurred in large numbers in the valleys of the Pyrenees, where the Christ of Mig Aran stands out, preserved in the church of Viella in the Aran Valley, and the Majesty Batlló, a polychrome wooden image from the 19th century, which represents Christ crucified, in the attitude of Christ Majesty or triumphant, without traces of suffering. It is one of the most interesting samples of medieval imagery of this iconographic type in Catalonia. It seems that its introduction into Catalonia was due to the Pisans, when they arrived around the year 1114 to help Count Ramón Berenguer III of Barcelona in his fight to conquer the Balearic Islands.[31].
Mother of God with Child
During the Romanesque, the most characteristic image of the Mother of God "Mary (mother of Jesus)") is represented sitting on a throne, dressed in a tunic, mantle and generally with a crown&action=edit&redlink=1 "Crown (ornament) (not yet written)"), the Child is on her knees, looking at both images from the front, in later versions she is seen with the Child already seated on the left knee and with a less hieratic attitude. It seems that there is no communication between both characters, it is even difficult to find any sculpture in which they only touch each other, the mother's hands are in an open position as if to protect the Son but without actually rubbing him. This representation of Mary as the Throne of Wisdom coincides with the dogma of the Incarnation. Since 1200, rigidity began to disappear in favor of the expression of tender feelings between mother and child. These statues were objects of great veneration and worship, and the piety of the faithful attributed miracles to them. They were almost always also used as reliquaries and were used to be placed on an altar, but also for processions.[BDG 11].
The sculptors of Roussillon produced a large series of seated images during the second half of the century, among which are the Mother of God of Cornellà de Conflent. In the church of Saint-Nectaire there is a Vierge à l'Enfant, in polychrome wood. This virgin "Sedes Sapientiae" is known by the name Notre-Dame du Mont Cornadore, she embodies the throne of eternal Wisdom. The large number of Catalan mothers of God around the Seo de Urgel and Gerona workshops appear as extensions of these images. Of note are works such as the image of the Virgin of Montserrat from the Montserrat monastery of the 19th century, made of poplar and beech wood, measuring 95 centimeters high and polychrome gilt, and the image made of stone, the image of the Mare de Déu from the Cloister of the Solsona Cathedral, by the master Gilabert de Tolosa"), with great virtuosity and precision of details. The image measures 105 cm high. Other types of Images can be found in northern Spain, Burgundy, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, especially the Ottonian Virgins of Cologne, Hildesheim, Paderborn and Frankfurt, and others in the Scandinavian countries. Many of these works are related to monumental stone sculpture.[BDG 12].
Descendations
The groups of "descendants" were made to occupy the apse of the churches, in a horizontal distribution. Depending on the region, Christ appeared at different moments of the descent from the cross, in some he was still nailed, in others he only had his right hand or head and his body separated from the cross. In Italy, two groups are preserved in their entirety, that of the cathedral of San Lorenzo in Volterra and that of the cathedral of Tivoli").[BDG 13].
These sculptures belong to a moment of great flowering of imagery that occurred in Catalonia during the century and are one of the most unique and excellent Romanesque sculpture groups. More than half of these works were carried out in the Pyrenean areas distributed among the comtats counties of Pallars, Ribagorça and Urgell and many of them are due to the patronage and supervision of the barony of Erill in the times of Saint Ramón, bishop of Roda (1104-1126).[32].
The church of Santa Eulalia "Church of Santa Eulalia (Erill la Vall)") of Erill la Vall in the Boí valley, originally had a group of polychrome Romanesque carvings that represented the theme of the Descent. They were discovered and made known in 1907. The seven figures represent Christ, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the two thieves Dimas and Gestas and Mary with John the Baptist. They are made with poplar wood; Their clothing corresponds to what is traditional for these characters. Inside the temple there is a reproduction of the sculptural group while the original images are in the Episcopal Museum of Vic and in the National Museum of Art of Catalonia. Four images are preserved from the descendant of Saint Mary of Taüll, Christ, Mary, Nicodemus and one of the thieves. In Durro they also preserve the Nicodemus of another descendant.[33].
Although the name of the sculptors is not known, through some document it has been possible to know the process of some works, such as the Descent of the monastery of San Juan de las Abadesses, for which a person named Dulcet acquired the walnut and fir wood and commissioned Canon Ripoll Tarascó "the image of the Savior crucified with the thieves in addition to four other figures", surely although it was not its author, the canon was the one who created the iconography of the group sculptural.[Su. 8].
Las artes suntuarias en piezas de talla de marfil, bronce o de oro (pilas bautismales, recipientes para el ritual de lavado de manos, arcas e imágenes para las reliquias, objetos litúrgicos), estuvieron con frecuencia decoradas con motivos figurativos u ornamentales escultóricos y fueron encargos de reyes y obispos que representaban no sólo el gusto artístico de la época, sino por encima de todo el poder de los comitentes.[Su. 9].
En los países germánicos no se observa el mismo tipo de evolución de España o Francia en relación con la escultura. En esa región tuvo un mayor impacto la producción de piezas metálicas, especialmente con el taller de bronce de Hildesheim del siglo , de tradición otónica. El obispo Bernward, que controlaba su producción acuñó el nombre de un estilo de piezas relacionadas con las ceremonias litúrgicas. Para la iglesia de San Miguel de Hildesheim se realizaron, entre otros objetos, las puertas de bronce y la pila bautismal. Los talleres más famosos en las regiones del Mosa y del Rin fueron los de Renier de Huy, Godofred de Huy y Nicolás de Verdún.[Su. 10].
Otra de las pilas bautismales en bronce más célebres es la que se encuentra en San Bartolomé de Lieja encargada por el abad Hellinus (1107-1118) y realizada por Renier de Huy, trabajada en alto relieve con gestos y movimientos naturalistas y pliegues suaves en sus vestimentas, con un estilo muy cercano al clásico. Este proceso encaminado al naturalismo propio de la región del Mosa fue extendiéndose por las zonas del norte de Francia e Inglaterra. Otro artista de la misma región Nicolás de Verdún, realizó en Klosterneuburg, a orillas de Viena, un púlpito en 1181 con veintiuna escenas del Antiguo y Nuevo Testamento en esmalte (en el siglo se convirtió en un retablo de altar) y un arca relicario que se conserva en la catedral de Tournai.[HUA 5].
• - Pila bautismal de bronce circa 1230, iglesia de San Miguel de Hildesheim.
• - Pila bautismal para Renier de Huy en San Bartolomé de Lieja.
• - Arca relicario de Nicolas de Verdun, que se conserva en la catedral de Tournai.
• - Candelabro en bronce para la catedral de Gloucester (ca. 1104/1113) (Victoria and Albert Museum).
bronze doors
The bronze doors were part of one of the main works of art of the Romanesque Middle Ages. They were works coveted by all the great religious centers; they are found from Venice to Sicily, and in the countries of northern Europe. The Eastern Roman doors of Venice, Salerno and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome are made with silver inlays. The work of Barisano of Trani signed in the cathedrals of Trani") (central portal, c.1185), and Monreale (north portal, c. 1190) and in the one attributed to Ravello (1179), which is characterized by the presence of reliefs obtained by cold finishing and applied on the wooden base, show the Arab and Roman influences of the East. In northern Italy, the doors of San Zeno de Verona consist of wooden ceilings and were made by different masters in a clear Romanesque style; they present an iconography focused mainly on the Old and New Testament, but also include apocalyptic themes and the story of Saint Zeno.[BDG 14]
Among the patronage of Bishop Bernward, were the bronze doors for the church of Saint Michael in Hildesheim decorated with sixteen scenes from the Old and New Testament with a height of 4.5 meters, it was one of the best cast works of the time, made in 1015 and placed by Bishop Godehard, after the death of Bernward in 1022.[HUA 6].
The door of Trani Cathedral is characterized by the lightness of the design, confirmed by the small size of the figures and the importance of the frames of the thirty-two panels; twenty are made with figures of individual saints as if they were Eastern Roman "Icon (religion)" icons; Dragons and lions appear combined with religious iconography of the Virgin and the Apostles.
• - Romanesque carved bronze doors.
• - Troia Cathedral, Apulia (1119), door with little sculptural work.
• - North door of the Cathedral of Monreale (c.1190), by Barisano de Trani, consists of twenty-eight panels representing forty-two figures, showing greater sculptural intention than in its previous doors.
• - Door of the cathedral of San Pantaleón in Ravello (1179), commissioned by Sergio Muscettola; On the central panel of the third row of the left door leaf there is an inscription with the date included. Here you can see figures of archers and jugglers that are also found in Trani. The partition frames of the panels are richly decorated. There are scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
• - Trani Cathedral.
Sculptural goldsmithing
The artistic field of Romanesque goldsmithing played a very notable role, not only in the birth and development of monumental sculpture, but also in the training of artists. The reputation of the goldsmiths crossed borders and their works were often used as models. It was said of Godefroid de Huy that: "...he had no equal in the field of goldsmithing, who in various regions had made many reliquaries and objects for kings."[BDG 15].
Embossing was one of the techniques that goldsmiths used the most, since it was the technique that was best used on a wooden base for reliquaries and small altarpieces. Bust-reliquary work undoubtedly had a great impact on the flourishing of Romanesque sculpture. In the Llibre dels Miracles de Saint Foy, written around 1014 by Bernard, teacher of the episcopal school of Angers, there is a magnificent testimony:.
Scrimshaw
The specific art of carving ivory had a great development in the Romanesque era, especially in the areas of Carolingian influence, and showed above all the power of those who commissioned the works, mainly in large monasteries or commissioned by powerful figures.
In the treatise De diversis artibus")[34] (c.1100) there is a description of workshop tools: "Files are also made of pure steel: there are large, medium, four-sided, three-sided and round", as well as the process of bone carving: "To carve the bone, first roughen a piece of this material of the desired size and cover it with plaster; then draw the figures with mini tal and as you wish to obtain them later, so that they are clearly visible, then, with different chisels, reduce the bottom to the estimated depth..."[Su 11]
When a bishop or an abbot of a monastery traveled they normally took with them a portable altar and of the objects of an altar, one of the most important was the Crucifix which was usually made of metal or ivory. Some high-quality specimens are preserved, such as the one found in the abbey of Bury Saint Edmunds in England and today kept in the Metropolitan Museum of New York.[HUA 7].
In the Iberian Peninsula since the century there was a large ivory carving and goldsmith's workshop in the monastery of San Isidoro de León, a great example of which is the Crucifix of Don Fernando and Doña Sancha dated around the year 1063.[Su. 12] It is believed that it was the first in the Hispanic Middle Ages with the representation of the image of Christ, since it was customary for crosses, whether made of noble materials, such as gold or ivory or simply wood, to be made without images. The image of Christ is carved in ivory and is full volume and is represented alive, with the head slightly inclined to the right with an oval face, where the large open eyes stand out with the pupils inlaid with jet stone.[n. 5] He has a beard and mustache with wavy hair and feet pierced by an individual nail each. In the back of the body, as was common, it has a hole to use as a reliquary.[35].
• - Bishop's pastoral staff in walrus ivory (1120-1130) England.
• - Tabernacle (c.1180) of bronze, enamel and ivory from the Lower Rhine area (Germany).
The artistic workshops
In northern Italy there was an expansion during the so-called Lombard Romanesque carried out by the magistri comacini. These sculptors moved in groups very easily and there are documented works in the Alps, Lazio, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. At the beginning of the century they worked throughout the Catalan territory, mainly under the sponsor Abbot Oliba. Most of its sculpture samples are decorated with zoomorphic figures, animals, griffins and vegetables. The human figures are strange and unrealistic looking. Fernando Galtier Martí of the University of Zaragoza has carried out a study (2008), where he explains the development of the work of the Comacini masters, comparing the great similarity between the bell towers of the churches of this period in Lazio and those built in Catalonia. his works throughout Languedoc, Catalonia, Navarra and Italy.[37].
One of the most exuberant sculptural schools was located in the western region of France in the regions of Poitou, Saintonge and Angoumois and also in some other surrounding provinces. The decoration with sculptures was carried out in column capitals in the porticos and friezes, and in the archivolts carved in the radial voussoirs with repetitive elements like the church of Notre Dame la Grande in Poitiers. This method was followed by teachers from Spain and England.[HUA 3].
In general, the Romanesque artists remained anonymous, but some of them left their signature or documents are found (in more isolated cases) with their name, such as in some verses in Modena, which say the name of the sculptor Wiligelmo of Modena (c.1099), author of the cathedral reliefs:
Other times the same artist is represented at work, as Arnau Cadell did on a capital of the cloister of the Sant Cugat monastery: "Hec Est Arnalli sculptoris forma catelli qui claustrum tale construxit perpetuale" (This is the image of the sculptor Arnau Cadell who had this cloister built for posterity). On the doorway of the church of Santa María la Real in the town of Zangoza, a statue-column that represents the Mother of God with an open book in her hands shows this inscription: "Leodegarius me fecit" (Leodegarius made me). Likewise, in another capital of the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre in Chauvigny (Vienne "Vienne (department)") appears: «Godfridus me fecit», or on the portal of the church of Revilla de Santullán in Palencia together with the representation of the sculptor at work it reads: «Micaelis me fecit». Ramón de Bianya signed two tombs from the Elna cloister in Roussillon with: «R. de Bia, me fecit", the work of this sculptor is stylistically related to that of the Italian sculptor Benedetto Antelami, author of the Descent from the Cross of the cathedral of Parma where he made the inscription: "In 1178, the sculptor executed this work in the second month, this sculptor Benedetto Antelami." [BDG 14] There is evidence of another Romanesque sculptor who worked in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in San Isidoro de León, and in the cathedral of Pamplona:.
Teachers usually received a cash remuneration, adding maintenance: "to the refectory, like any monk" and goods in kind. It is known that Master Esteban received a house from the Bishop of Pamplona, with land and a vineyard, to whom he was also given: "sixty measures of wheat, wine and barley so that the farmers who work those lands during your life can deliver it to your house every year." [Su. 13].
Clients
The glory of the creation of works during the Romanesque period was not only for the artifex practicus but for the artifex theoricus (patron), normally the abbot of a monastery, bishop, kings or lords of the nobility were the people who commissioned and paid for the creation of works of art from large constructions to offerings of liturgical pieces, they are named in inscriptions, documents and chronicles, for example the abbot Odilón who was compared to the emperor Augustus for "converting from wood to marble" the cloister of the great abbey of Cluny in the century; As Henri Focillon said: "...the Cluniac monks were the propagators of this movement in Languedoc, in Burgundy, on the Isle of France and in Spain."[40]
Abbot Oliba of Ripoll and Bishop of Vic, Archbishop Gelmírez, had great fame as a builder. "It was an example of ecclesiastical promotion in the western part of Galicia with the construction of nearly sixty churches and the almost completion of the works on the Compostela cathedral. <[Su. 14].
Countess Ermesenda of Carcassonne was a client who contributed to the construction of the Gerona cathedral and several monasteries. King Fernando I of León and his wife Sancha I of León were an example of patrons at the beginning of the century. Among their works, the building with its sculpture of the Basilica of San Isidoro de León stands out. In addition to the earthly glory that it brought them, the intention of the clients was to secure paradise.[Su. 14] The Catalan viscount Bermon went to Abbot Oliba to rebuild the patrimony of San Vicente de Cardona") and to increase the community of canons, because as the viscount confesses in his will: "...it is very difficult to be exempt from guilt who has been sublimated by wealth or secular power...". Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim also wrote in his will about the creation of Romanesque temples:[41].
Romanesque Europe: regional schools
Hasta los últimos años del siglo no parece que hubiera escuelas propiamente dichas de escultura románica, las cuales sólo alcanzaron importancia y desarrollo en el decurso del siglo . Pero antes de dichos siglos se habían formado ya en Occidente notables centros de artes decorativas y suntuarias, sobre todo, de orfebrería con carácter propio o derivado del arte bizantino que muy bien pueden admitirse, al menos, como precursores de las escuelas de escultura románica. Consideradas en su conjunto, se distinguen las siguientes.
Irish and Anglo-Saxon school
This school has been around since the century and is characterized by the interlacing and calligraphic ornaments that from the writing of codices began to serve as ornamental motifs in sculpture. Once the Romanesque period had arrived, he cultivated relief with elongated figures similar to those of French sculpture.
France
French schools were formed throughout the century. Among the most notable, at least seven schools can be distinguished:
• - That of the Isle of France, of rudimentary sculpture until the second half of that century and which is distinguished in the capitals by the use of heads with large mustaches but quite fine and elegant with small folds in the panels at the beginning of the era of Gothic art. The statues of Chartres Cathedral, of Gothic transition, stand out.
• - That of Normandy, with its figures of little relief and its ornamentation of zigzag lines and intertwined dragons.
• - That of Poitou and Saintonge, with its splendid ornamentation of serpentine foliage and allegories and personifications, above all, on the facades of the churches, on whose portals there are series of saints and elders from the Apocalypse on the tympanum or on the archivolts. It is worth highlighting the rich façade of Our Lady la Grande de Poitiers and that of Our Lady of Saintes.
• - That of Auvergne, with its very prominent reliefs, its lively expression through the incorrectness of the drawing and its allegories in the capitals.
• - That of Toulouse and Languedoc, with its elongated figures and great movement, its characters standing with their legs crossed and with their cloths with horizontal folds on the chest and other wavy or jagged but very moved ones at the lower end of the clothing. The historic reliefs of the abbey cloister of Moissac and the reliefs on the façade of its church with their similar ones of Saint Stephen and Saint Saturninus of Toulouse stand out in this school.
• - That of Provence, with its classical reminiscences in the ornamentation and its imitations of the schools of Toulouse and the North despite having been considered (without foundation) as the most influential of the time. The statues on the façade of Saint Giles and Saint Trophimus "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)") in Arles stand out.
• - That of Burgundy, finally with its extraordinary expression in the dramatic attitudes of the characters and with its cloths of very fine folds, ending in swirls that seem inspired by the calligraphy drawings so common in the codices of the time. The reliefs that adorn the portals of the cathedral of Autun and the abbey of Vézelay are famous in this school.
In all the aforementioned schools, effigies of the Virgin were carved, usually representing her sitting on her throne and with the Child on her knees. Many of these, especially in Auvergne, were covered with a copper or silver plate, with the image being made of wood.
Italian peninsula
The Italian school developed from the end of the century to the middle of the century. It was called Italo-Byzantine because the productions of Constantinople and those of the Carolingian school served as models. Before that time, and especially since the beginning of the century, Italy's own sculpture disappeared, receiving it from the Byzantines. Its main monuments are the bronze doors with reliefs in several cathedrals as well as some reliefs in marble chairs and pulpits, although this material was hardly in use for sculptures outside of Italy in the Romanesque era. Also worth noting are some ivories and precious altar frontals. Especially rich is the silver frontal of Cittá di Castello, quite emancipated from Byzantinism, and also the diptych or ivory altarpiece of the Salerno cathedral, in addition to other previous ones of Byzantine inspiration.
Central Europe
German sculpture of the century (compared to French) paid more attention to the furnishings inside the church. For Romanesque metal art, three regional focuses can be identified: bronze sculpture and goldsmithing from the Meuse region (Liège), which also had stylistic strength in the art of stonework and pointed towards the Gothic period; Rhineland (Cologne), in the 2nd century, provided the most magnificent reliquaries in the form of small buildings decorated with figures; Lower Saxony (Hildesheim, Magdeburg, Braunschweig) whose special achievement was once again the casting of bronze, the column, font and gates of Hildesheim being notable. Also noteworthy are the metal reliefs on the doors of the church of Santa María del Capitol (Cologne) "Church of Saint Mary of the Capitol (Cologne)") and those of the Augsburg Cathedral, both from the 19th century.
In stone, the church of Santa Cecilia (Cologne)&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Santa Cecilia (Cologne) (not yet written)") and the church of San Pantaleón (Cologne) "Church of San Pantaleón (Cologne)") stand out.
• - Romanesque sculptures in Germany.
• - Bronze doors from Augsburg Cathedral (995-1006), now in the Diocesan Museum of St. Afra in Augsburg.
• - Baptism of Christ in the baptismal font of Reiner von Huy"), Lüttich, 1107-1118.
• - Detail of the cubic and strictly stylized tomb of Archbishop Friedrich von Wettin") († 1152) from a foundry in Magdeburg.
• - The Lion of Braunschweig"), 1166, the first hollow cast bronze figure since Antiquity.
The German school has developed since the 19th century, due to the impulse that Charlemagne gave to the arts and called Carolingian for the same reason. It continued with some flourishing and under the empire of the Ottonians in the century in which it can be considered as constituted by its own Germanic character two centuries before the French ones. It is distinguished by its bronze works (opus teutonicum) and by its Byzantinism, not exaggerated, but preserving a certain classical physiognomy. Antipendiums were worked, with flat or slightly projecting enamelled figures, but with heads in high relief in several examples, an aesthetic copied from the Byzantines and also followed in Spain (Silos) and in other nations during the Romanesque era. Highly celebrated, among other pieces, are the Carolingian ivory from Frankfurt that represents the celebration of the Mass (century), the bronze doors with reliefs in Hildesheim Cathedral, which represent scenes from Genesis, and the precious antipendium or gold altar with images that belonged to Basel Cathedral due to the munificence of Emperor Henry II the Saint, which, with the aforementioned doors, dates back to the beginning of the century. From the second half of the century and in the transitional Romanesque style, beautiful caskets for relics and other metalwork objects were carved, adorned with images in relief, chiseling, enamels and stones, with the artistic center of such productions being the city of Cologne "Cologne (North Rhine-Westphalia)"). From here the celebrated Cologne or Rhinian school took its name and character and the and that of the remains of Charlemagne from the beginning of the century, made of silver and gilded bronze, were his works. In monumental sculpture, from the same period, those of the cathedral of Bamberg and those of Münster, Magdeburg, etc. are famous, with a lot of movement with swirling folds and the attitude of the represented characters talking to each other.
References
[1] ↑ Se cita que se realizó por orden del abad Guillermo en el año veinticuatro del reinado de Robert, rey. Haciendo referencia a su reinado entre 996 y 1031, por lo que se puede datar en el año 1020.
[2] ↑ Se cree que debió de inspirarse en algún trabajo en marfil como modelo.
[3] ↑ Los cinco sitios donde se encuentra esta iconografía románica son las iglesias de Santo Domingo de Soria, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, San Nicolás de Tudela, el monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos y en la catedral de Santiago de Compostela.
[4] ↑ Asiento con espaldero, ocupado por el obispo en los templos.
[5] ↑ Los ojos de azabache son una característica del taller de marfil de León.
[6] ↑ Sureda, 1988, pp. 100.
[7] ↑ a b Sureda, 1988, pp. 148-149.
[8] ↑ a b Sureda, 1988, p. 132.
[9] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 109.
[10] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 190.
[11] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 174.
[12] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 166.
[13] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 133.
[14] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 136.
[15] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 210.
[16] ↑ Sureda, 1988, pp. 126-127.
[17] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 205.
[18] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 30.
[19] ↑ a b Sureda, 1988, p. 32.
[20] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 37.
[21] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 49.
[22] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 50.
[23] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 30.
[24] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 31.
[25] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 32-33.
[26] ↑ a b Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 34.
[27] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 36.
[28] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 86.
[29] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 91.
[30] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 87.
[31] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 88.
[32] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 90.
[33] ↑ a b Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 84.
[34] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 97.
[35] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 96.
[36] ↑ a b Sarpe, 1984, p. 647.
[37] ↑ a b Sarpe, 1984, p. 649.
[38] ↑ a b Sarpe, 1984, p. 650.
[39] ↑ Sarpe, 1984, p. 651.
[40] ↑ Sarpe, 1984, p. 655.
[41] ↑ Sarpe, 1984, p. 632.
[42] ↑ Sarpe, 1984, p. 653.
[43] ↑ De Vecci/Cerchiari, 1999.
[44] ↑ Sureda, Joan, 1988: pàg.20.
[45] ↑ Sureda, Joan, 1988: pàg.28.
[46] ↑ Georges Duby, Jean-Luc Daval, La Sculpture…, p. 276.
[47] ↑ Marcel Durliat, « La sculpture du XI×10{{{1}}} siècle en occident », en Bulletin Monumental, 1994-2, p. 129-213 (leer en línea).
[48] ↑ Georges Duby, Jean-Luc Daval, La Sculpture…, p. 266.
[74] ↑ Boix i Pociello, Jordi (1996). Castell d'Erill (o d'Erillcastell), a Catalunya romànica. XVI. La Ribagorça. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana. ISBN 84-412-2511-7.
[76] ↑ Theophilus (presbítero) (1847). Theophili, qui et Rugerus, presbyteri et monachi, libri III. de diversis artibus: seu, Diversarum artium schedula (en inglés). J. Murray. Consultado el 10 de diciembre de 2010. . Traducción al inglés de 1847 de la obra en latín de Teófilo Presbítero de 1125 donde se describen diversas técnicas artísticas.: http://books.google.cat/books?id=wo4EAAAAYAAJ
[84] ↑ Aunque hay quienes creen que el término es una popularización del latín cum machinis, es decir 'equipado con instrumentos mecánicos'). El término «maestri comacini» se refiere a menudo a equipos de constructores que realizaban grandes obras de construcción con ayuda de máquinas. Sin embargo, está documentada una constante migración de trabajadores procedentes de Como a lo largo de la Edad Media, desplazándose a muchas regiones de Europa para crear obras de importante importancia técnica.
[85] ↑ Emilia-Romagna, Touring Editore, pag. 40.
The end of the century and the century was a period of experimentation carried out by numerous artistic centers in Western Europe, such as northern Spain, Toulouse, Italy, the Loire... each developing its own character, which will radiate more or less, mixing with other influences before forming a more structured current in the following century, around three main categories of motifs: plants and intertwining, animals and human figures. The constitution of the chronology of the works has raised numerous controversies among art historians during the century.[5].
A great impetus for the production of the new sculpture was the pilgrimage route to Compostela to visit the tomb of the apostle Santiago - discovered around the year 820 among the remains of a Roman settlement - which in the century was already fully established to the point of undertaking the construction of the new cathedral of Santiago in 1075. New churches were built along the route under the organization of the Order of Cluny. These temples were built in places of passage in this period of religious fervor, for a spiritual welcome of pilgrims and the exhibition of relics. France and northern Spain are also places where you can see examples of the first production of Romanesque sculpture applied to architecture. Along the different routes to Santiago, technical, stylistic and iconographic suggestions were disseminated through itinerant construction workshops.
At the end of the century, in the south of France (Cluny, Autun, Vézelay, Moissac, Toulouse), as well as in northern Italy and northern Spain, the tympanums, capitals and walls of the portals began to be richly decorated with ornaments and figures treated with great realism. Sculpture was already an important component in the facades of churches, in the style of the old triumphal arches.[6] Sculpture then becomes monumental, the first monumental sculptures that were presented since the 19th century, a period in which round pieces (three-dimensional pieces) stopped being carved, although an increase in the production of small sculptures and metal works was observed during the pre-Romanesque period.
Relief was used as the best technique for the narration of impressive scenes, where the volume helped to create a greater sense of realism than simple painted surfaces, portraying scenes such as the Vision of the Apocalypse and sculpting on each surface the spirit of the concept of a vengeful God present in the Old Testament; They were also filled not only with biblical figures such as evangelists, apostles and angels, but with series of monstrous creatures, which were not forgotten before their vision: demons and creatures composed of disproportionate and horrible bodies that gave fear of the torture of hell confronted with the kingdom of God.[7] Their objective was not to imitate nature and reality.[8] Iconographically, the strong God, ruler and judge is the focus of the monumental sculpture; Subordinate pictorial locations were often occupied with moralizing themes in which demons and mythical creatures also play their part.[9].
Not many names of the Romanesque sculptors are known, highlighting the Master of Cabestany, Bernard Gilduin"), Gislebertus, Unbertus, Gofridus and Gilabertus from Toulouse, in France; Wiligelmo, Niccòlo and Antelami, in Italy; Arnau Cadell, Leodegarius, Micaelis and Ramón de Bianya, in Spain. Outstanding Romanesque sculptures and groups in France are: façade of Notre-Dame la Grande de Poitiers, considered a masterpiece of Romanesque art, the lintel of Sant Genís, the oldest dated Romanesque sculpture, the church of Saint Trophimus "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)") in Arles (portal, 1180-1190), the abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (tower-porch), abbey of Moissac (south portal, ca. 1120 and cloister in 1100), Autun Cathedral (west portal, c.1130-1135), Cathedral of Saint Mary of Olorón (west portal, ca. 1130), Charlieu Abbey") (north portal, ca. 1170, Angoulême Cathedral (facade, 1115-1130); Abbey of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne") (tympanum).
• - Romanesque sculptures in France.
• - Detail of the façade of Notre-Dame la Grande de Poitiers (second quarter of the century).
• - Tympanum of the abbey church of Vézelay (c. 1120-1130).
• - Portal of Saint Trophimus of Arles "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)").
• - Capital of the Resurrection of Mozac Abbey").
In addition to stone, wood was an important material for the construction of churches, especially in the northern part of Europe, and for carving free devotional or altar images that were rarely worked in stone. Polychrome wood and ivory were the most used material, sometimes covered with bronze or silver metals (crucifixes and small images).[Su. 3] The reliquaries were also plated with metals.
Bronze work was of special importance in liturgical pieces, church doors, baptismal fonts and tombstones. For the upper part of the tombs, a new typology spread from northern France in the middle of the century: the application of the figure of the deceased on the coffin in a recumbent position. One of the first tombs with the effigy of the deceased with a Romanesque character was that of Abbot Isarn of the Abbey of Saint Victor in Marseille.
Characteristics of Romanesque sculpture
The main characteristics of Romanesque sculpture are the following:
• - Didactic purpose and not artistic. The works are made to order and always with the function of narrating or educating about religious topics.
• - Stylization and disproportion of the figures in search of an anti-naturalism that divinizes the figures that appear.
• - Incorrect perspective, the relationship between the logical size of the figure and the background is different from reality. In the reliefs, the differences in size show the importance of the figure represented.
Symmetrical composition.
In the tympanum, the composition always has the figure of Christ as the axis of the representation.
The expression of the figures is sometimes very exaggerated and other times very flat.
The same motifs and themes are always repeated.
The final result of the work is very rough and rigid.
In ensemble sculptures, all figures are shown at the same height to represent equality before God.
In the painted sculptures, vivid and bright colors are used.[10].
Romanesque sculpture emerged in France, without developing with the perfection of architecture, it followed the same steps and evolutions as Greek sculpture, contributing to its formation and development the same causes as for architecture. For this reason, the Roman elements had to be its components along with the northern, Byzantine, Persian elements of the Sassanian dynasty and Arab elements as they are in the architecture. He was frequently inspired by drawings and figures from regional codices and tapestries from the East.
It embraces the development (which does not have) of this sculpture over the centuries and (with its Carolingian antecedents of the century) introducing itself in a good part of the and gradually gives rise to the Gothic, without being separated from it by a perfectly dividing line. As a bridge between one and the other, in the last years of the century and the first half of the style that can be called transitional, which tries to somewhat imitate the reality of Nature and gives his works greater life and movement without the artist completely detaching himself from previous conventions and mannerisms. And such is the variety resulting from this transition, increased by the skill or inexperience of the sculptors, by the influences of different schools, that it is not unusual to combine in the same locality and from the same date reliefs or statues very worthy of appreciation and praise with others of reprehensible taste and without any artistic value.
Specifying further the character of Romanesque sculpture that is constituted by the imitation of Byzantine or Roman models in a decadent style but made with a Latin hand and frequently under the influence of Persian or Arab taste. It is also characterized by a certain rigidity of forms, lack of adequate expression (sometimes exaggerated) in the figures, forgetfulness of the sculptural canon in the human form, forced symmetry.
Dynamics of imitation of models, a series of laws or general rules that are frequently found in Romanesque works. Among them, the Law of adaptation to the framework enunciated by Henri Focillon stands out and which subordinates the sculptural development to the architectural space given for this purpose. The result will be scenes in which the characters adapt to that space, sometimes contracting or stretching, without taking into account other more naturalistic considerations. Another general rule is the isocephaly that we find in some groups of figures all placed with their heads at the same height.
In Romanesque sculpture and even in Gothic sculpture, whether works made of stone, ivory or wood, polychromy was very common, always sober in the vividness of colors, even though the paint has disappeared with the action of time in almost all the specimens or has been replaced by more modern decorations.
The main works of Romanesque sculpture are admired today in the reliefs of very varied capitals and in the magnificent doorways and elegant cornices of many buildings of the time, on whose fronts biblical scenes and allegorical figures are represented (among them, the so-called bestiaries and the personifications of the signs of the zodiac, etc.) together with images of Saints in great relief. Furthermore, Romanesque sculpture was practiced in the carving of curious ivory diptychs, grave crucifixes (of ivory and bronze) and statues of the Virgin Mary (in stone and wood, alone already plated in bronze) that are preserved in their sanctuaries or in Museums and, finally, said sculpture was ingenious in the decoration of caskets or caskets to store relics and jewels, of rich covers for liturgical books, of fontals or antipendium for altars "Altar (religion)"), fonts and stone tombs with reliefs, etc. Since the invasion of the barbarians, the cultivation of glyptics in fine stones was almost completely forgotten in the West, but the gems previously carved by the Greeks and Romans were used, applying them without study to precious and decorative objects, especially rings. There were, however, some carvings with inscriptions or some crude figure, such as the emerald from the Treasure of Guarrazar, and great use of fine cabochon-shaped stones for metalwork objects.
Application and theme
Contenido
La aplicación escultórica en la arquitectura se ejecutó en la parte delantera de las fachadas, especialmente en las portaladas de los templos, donde el creyente recibía el mayor impacto visual. Se utilizó el relieve como la mejor técnica para la narración de escenas impresionantes, donde el volumen ayudaba a crear una mayor sensación de realismo que las simples superficies pintadas. Con este fin, el tímpano "Tímpano (arquitectura)"), el semicírculo sobre la entrada, tuvo un papel muy importante, y fue donde se representaron escenas como la Visión del Apocalipsis o del Juicio Final. También se esculpieron escenas en las arquivoltas de los arcos "Arco (arquitectura)") que enmarcaban la puerta y la profundizaban, y en los canecillos o puntas de las vigas bajo el alero "Alero (arquitectura)"). Estas escenas, dentro del espíritu del concepto de Dios vengativo") presente en el Antiguo Testamento, también se llenaron no sólo de figuras bíblicas como los evangelistas, apóstoles y ángeles, sino con series de criaturas monstruosas, que ante su visión no se olvidaban: demonios y criaturas compuestas de cuerpos desproporcionados y horribles que daban temor a la tortura del Infierno").[11].
Según Henri Focillon, a finales del siglo en Europa hubo un regreso a una profunda religiosidad, causada parcialmente por el miedo a la profecía anunciada por san Juan en su libro del Apocalipsis, con un supuesto fin del mundo. Así, Focillon destacó la repercusión que tuvo esta circunstancia en la creación de una iconografía apocalíptica, donde las escenas escultóricas se adaptaban al espacio de la arquitectura, proponiendo su «ley de Adaptación al marco» de un esquema geométrico sencillo y dentro de unos espacios preconcebidos para ello.
Las «madres de Dios con el niño» fueron muy representadas por toda Cataluña y por el sur de Francia aunque, en cuanto al valor iconográfico, la imagen más importante del románico fue el Cristo Majestad "Majestad (crucifijo)"). Entre los numerosos ejemplos destacan el Cristo que hay en Santa Faz de Lucca, el de la catedral de Milán, el Cristo de Mig Aran y la Majestad de Batlló.[12] La imagen más frecuente era la de Cristo completamente frontal que se mostraba sentado en un trono (Maiestas Domini) para juzgar a los hombres, dentro de una aureola almendrada (mandorla) que significa la Gloria "Gloria (religión)"); los pies solían reposar sobre una semiesfera que representa la Tierra, su mano derecha levantada para bendecir, manifiesta su poder (Dextera Domini) mientras su mano izquierda sostiene el Libro de la Vida que da testimonio de su naturaleza. Normalmente se disponía rodeado por el Tetramorfo, es decir los símbolos de los Cuatro Evangelistas y en algunos casos de los veinticuatro ancianos del Apocalipsis. Se representaba también la psicostasis o pesaje de las almas para escoger a los elegidos que gozarán de Dios eternamente o los condenados al infierno.[Su. 2].
En lo que se refiere al modo de representación, el objetivo no era mostrar la realidad visible, pero sí lo invisible e intocable, aprovechando gran parte de la mímica de las figuras como un medio de comunicación. El principal objetivo no era el tratamiento volumétrico, sino el valor simbólico de las figuras y el contenido de su mensaje. La proporción entre las figuras fue otro factor secundario, se hacían las dimensiones dependiendo más de su importancia jerárquica o del espacio disponible para la realización del relieve, más que guardando la relación que las figuras poseían entre sí. Los cuerpos eran delgados, los gestos expresivos, y los diferentes elementos del relieve se adaptaban al espacio arquitectónico, e incluso casi se agolpaban para encajar en pequeños espacios.[13].
También en el interior de la iglesia se exponían algunos relieves de escultura en los arcos ciegos (arcos en relieve, adosados a la pared), sobre todo en los capiteles de las columnas, donde la libertad imaginativa y la profusión de figuras fantásticas llevará al máximo el tema burlesco. Los capiteles empezaron por representar una decoración de inspiración clásica con temas de vegetación o dibujos geométricos con multitud de animales fantásticos, para pasar después al figurativo, con escenas de la Antigüedad, de la Biblia y sobre temas profanos, que podían estar parados al largo de un ciclo en el deambulatorio y en el claustro. Uno de los puntos culminantes de la escultura románica interior de los templos, era la imagen de Cristo crucificado en majestad realizado en madera con una intensa policromía y colocado sobre el altar.[14].
La escultura pequeña existía también, pero en número reducido, realizada en marfil o madera, y podía estar recubierta de oro o de plata (crucifijos y pequeñas imágenes). La obra en bronce fue de especial importancia en las piezas litúrgicas, las puertas de las iglesias, pilas bautismales y lápidas de tumbas. Para la parte superior de las tumbas, una nueva tipología se fue extendiendo desde el norte de Francia a mediados del siglo : la aplicación de la figura del difunto sobre el ataúd en posición yacente. Una de las primeras tumbas con la efigie del difunto con carácter románico fue la del abad Isarn") (1048) de la abadía de San Víctor de Marsella.[HUA 1].
Technique
Technical learning of the arts in the Romanesque era was through practice and mainly through oral communication between masters and apprentices. However, there are some manuscripts of treaties, such as one preserved in the Capitular library of Lucca, by an anonymous author and known with the title of Compositiones ad tingenda musiva et alia, surely based on this text the so-called Mappae Clavicula was written with more expansions. Awarded to a certain Heraclius, it is the treatise for achieving colors for a painting on canvas. For the making of miniatures"), the manuscript was 'De coloribus et artibus Romanorum.[Su. 4] The monk Theophilus (c.1100) wrote a treatise on the arts called Scheduladiversarum artium in which he indicates and gives advice for the manufacture of all types of objects in metallurgy.[15].
Facades
Lintels
As the starting point of this monumental sculpture, one of the first decorations on French facades is generally taken, a lintel from the abbey of Saint-Genís-des-Fontaines, dated 1020 according to the medieval Latin inscription visible on one side.[16][n. 1] The carving is made with a bevel, basically in two planes, the technique of revised folds begins: each fold of the dresses is slightly raised on the next. It is framed all around by a border of palmettes. In the central part, in the middle, there is a Maiestas Domini blessing inside a mandorla that is carried by kneeling angels. On both sides there are series of three apostles framed by horseshoe arches.[17].
It is similar to the lintel of the monastery of Sant Andreu de Sureda, which presents in the center the resurrected Christ (with a nimbus containing a cross), surrounded by a mandorla with the letters Alpha and Omega. On both sides of Christ are seraphim holding the mandorla and angels with three pairs of wings. There are also two characters (four in total) whose identity is unknown (perhaps they are the evangelists or apostles). The lintel is made of white marble and the characters are surrounded by a border with oriental motifs.[18].
Before making the large tympanum of the west portal of the cathedral of Autun (c.1130), Gislebertus sculpted the lintel for the side portal representing Eve lying down and with her trunk turned towards the viewer, which constitutes one of the most suggestive Romanesque sculptures, since the attitude is completely unusual for the time, causing the transformation of the scene of original sin into a sensual game.[19].
• - Images of Romanesque lintels.
• - Lintel of the portal on the left side of Pieve di San Giovanni (Campiglia Marittima)&action=edit&redlink=1 "Pieve di San Giovanni (Campiglia Marittima) (not yet redacted)"), attributed to Master Mateo (responsible for the construction of the entire building), depicting a wild boar hunting scene (perhaps Meleagro "Meleagro (mythology)") hunting the Calydonian boar "Calidon (mythology)") which symbolizes the victory of Christ and his faithful over the devil (before 1075).
• - Lintel of the abbey of Saint-Genís-des-Fontaines (1120).
• - Lintel of the Monastery of Sant Andreu de Sureda.
• - Lintel of Eve by Gislebertus, in the cathedral of Autun (ca. 1130).
Eardrums
The beginnings of the development of the large portals were slow and modest, having to overcome the good understanding between the two participating guilds, the carving artists and the master builders. The main center in the last two decades of the century was located mainly in Toulouse.[HUA 1] The most important workshop in Toulouse around 1090, was directed by Bernard Gilduin and among his works are some marble reliefs in the ambulatory of the basilica of Saint Sernin, among them a Maiestas Domini.[n. 2] Its evolution within the carving can be seen in the door known as Porte de Miégeville (1100-1118), for the same church, where the Ascension of Christ is represented on the tympanum with representations on the two sides of the side of the portal in life size of Saint Peter and James the Greater. During this stage, the workers from Toulouse must have moved to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, because there are indications of similar work in the porticos of the transepts of this temple. There are also sculptures with a style similar to the porticos of the basilica of San Isidoro in León and the cathedral of Jaca, and this series of works can be called "pilgrimage sculpture."[BDG 1].
Another Languedoc pilgrimage church with a colossal tympanum was Santa Fe de Conques, with the representation of the Last Judgment (c. 1135). The figures have the same stylized shape as those of the tympanum of the Apocalypse of the abbey of Moissac, built between 1100 and 1125. This abbey was one of the large number that continued the artistic guidelines of the monastery of Saint Pierre de Cluny in Burgundy, its tympanum is characterized by a very expressive sculpture, with Christ dominating the entire representation in a frontal position, which although the general arrangement respects symmetry, the characters They have asymmetrical positions. The details in the dresses and decorations are treated with great mastery that produces naturalistic effects. Although there are no remains of the western tympanum of Cluny, the porticos of Autun made by Gislebertus and of the abbey of Vézelay by an anonymous master, are evident examples of the great Romanesque works carried out in France.[20].
• - Romanesque tympanums in France.
• - West tympanum of Charlieu Abbey").
• - Tympanum of the Miègeville door) of the Basilica of Saint Sernin in Toulouse.
• - Tympanum of the Saint-Pierre de Moissac abbey.
• - The tympanum of Sainte-Foy de Conques.
• - Tympanum of Saint-Pierre de Carennac").
• - The tympanum of the Autun cathedral.
• - Tympanum of the Abbaye de Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne").
The Romanesque of Castilla y León was rich in artistic covers, historiated or with geometric and plant ornamentation, starting with those considered the oldest: the Portada del Cordero and the Portada del Perdón, both in the collegiate church of San Isidoro de León. The tympanum of the Lamb is the first known from the kingdom of León, containing several sculptural scenes,[21] it is dated to around the year 1100. The Sacrifice of Isaac is represented with the mystical lamb held by two angels and on both sides of two other angels carrying the symbols of the Passion of Jesus. On the right you see Sarah at the door and two servants that Abraham took, one riding a horse and the other taking off his shoes because he will step into a sacred place. Abraham, also barefoot, hears the voice that comes from heaven, symbolized in the Dextera Domini. On the left side are two other figures from Genesis: Ishmael with a bow and his mother Hagar: «And God was with the boy; and he grew up, and lived in the desert, and was a bow shooter" (Genesis 21:20).[22] These representations of the characters of Ishmael with Hagar only occur in the Iberian Peninsula of the 1st century.[23].
The other tympanum of the Forgiveness of this basilica shows three reliefs with the scenes of the Ascension where Christ is helped by two apostles on his ascent to heaven, in the center of which the Descent is treated with great realism and to the right is the Resurrection with the empty tomb of Christ, guarded by an angel and with the three Marys. These themes made by Maestro Esteban were widely spread by the sculptors of the Camino de Santiago who, upon their return, took them to France.[24].
In Santo Domingo de Soria there is one of the most original tympanums, four archivolts of carved voussoirs crown the pediment "Frontón (architecture)") in which the pantocrator can be seen in its central part, with its oval mandorla and the four evangelists (tetramorphs), in addition to Joseph and Mary completing the scene. The uniqueness of this pantocrator is that it is one of the only five examples in the world (all in the Iberian Peninsula) of the Romanesque iconography called trinitat paternitas, that is, God the Father is represented with Christ sitting on him.[n. 3].
The arches unload on artistic capitals supported by attached columns that, in turn, rest on a continuous bench. The capitals depict scenes from the Old Testament, from the genesis of the Earth and the stars that populate the universe, to the creation of Adam from a clay figure and that of Eve from a rib of clay. In the interior archivolt the twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse are represented (two per voussoir), all of them carrying various musical instruments in attitudes of beatific serenity. The second archivolt depicts the massacre of the innocent saints, whose perpetrator, Herod, is advised in his ear by a winged demon. The third archivolt displays a succession of evangelical events, such as the Assumption, the Visitation, the Annunciation, the Birth of Jesus and the Adoration of the Magi, etc. Finally, the last archivolt contains episodes of the Passion and the Resurrection. The façade of Our Lady of Poitiers possibly served as a model for that of Saint Dominic and it is possible that masters from Poitiers were involved in its construction. The truth is that this frontispiece, whose façade is magnificently preserved due to the fact that a roof was even recently installed, represents one of the greatest achievements of the Spanish Romanesque.[Su. 5].
Late Romanesque sculpture is seen in the porch and tympanum of the Glory of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela where the treatment of the human figure is much less rigid and with a transitional style from Romanesque to Gothic. The entire portico is full of images due to horror vacui (there are two hundred sculptures). The work was carried out by Maestro Mateo and is presided over by the Maiestas Domini accompanied by the tetramorph and surrounded by the elders of the Apocalypse. On the mullion there is an image of the apostle Santiago and serving as the shaft of the columns are the rest of the prophets and apostles. The author signed the work: "In the year 1188 of the Incarnation of the Lord, Master Mateo has directed the work from the beginning."[25].
• - Romanesque tympanums in Spain.
• - Puerta del Cordero in San Isidoro de León.
• - Door of Forgiveness in San Isidoro de León.
• - Tympanum of Santa María la Real, Sangüesa.
• - Tympanum of Santo Domingo de Soria.
In Italy, several schools developed in which the influence of ancient Rome was very marked. A work from the end of the century was the marble chair[n. 4] from the church of San Nicolás de Bari (Bari&action=edit&redlink=1 "Bari (Apulia) (not yet written)")), inspired by models of Roman works. This chair is part of a series that can be found throughout Campania, where several artists dedicated themselves to the decoration of the porticos or interior elements of the churches. These chairs or seats were generally supported on figures of Atlanteans "Atlante (column)"), humans, elephants or lions and it is normal to find these same supports under the columns of the porticos, these porticos evolved until they acquired larger dimensions until they became large atriums "Atrium (architecture)") as in the Cathedral of Modena.[HUA 2].
Two great Italian Romanesque sculptors, Wiligelmo of Modena and Niccolò, the first in the so-called school of Emilia, stood out), he was a very expressive sculptor with great influence from Antiquity. He worked in the Cathedral of Modena. found in Ferrara and Verona.[HUA 2].
Of all the Italian schools, the most influential was that of Lombardy, which was characterized by the exuberant decoration of the porches, covering entire façades such as that of San Miguel de Pavia), mixing plant ornaments, animals, monsters and religious themes. In Tuscany, the master Gulielmo worked in Pisa with a style related to the school of Provence. On its façades, the porticos are flanked by statues located in Roman-style niches and Lintels are transformed into continuous friezes throughout the façade. This school made very ornate archivolts carved in a radial shape.[HUA 3].
• - Bishop's Chair (ca.1098) in Sant Nicolau de Bari.
• - Chair of San Sabino.
• - Stylophore lions "Stylophore (architecture)") by Wiligelmo of Modena at the entrance to the Modena Cathedral.
• - Detail of the tympanum in Ferrara by Nicló.
This method was quickly adopted in England, where radial voussoirs became a favorite way of decorating arches, a system that continued throughout the century. The sources of English Romanesque sculpture were from Lombardy and western France, but with local traditions with Viking zoomorphic styles; In general, his sculpture was not monumental, but rather made with small details.[HUA 4].
Triumph facades
The so-called sculpted portals are those that appear like a triumphal arch with linear compositions covering the entire entrance. Shortly after 1100, stimulated by the rediscovery of Antiquity, Romanesque sculpture from northern Italy, Toulouse and northwest Spain, the sculptors managed to conquer the façade to turn it into a large exhibition of monumental sculpture in different forms. A particularly striking example, despite the numerous restorations "Restoration (art)") that it has had since the Middle Ages, is the façade of the cathedral of Angoulême, which reproduces an eschatological vision distributed across the entire front.[BDG 2].
The front of the Abbey of Saint-Gilles can be considered a true "stone book", addressed to the faithful, often illiterate at the time of its construction. Made by monks of the abbey between 1120 and 1160, the façade remains a recognized masterpiece of Romanesque art in Provence. The decoration of the façade is made up of three portals, the central one larger than the lateral ones. The left portal presents an Adoration of the Magi on the tympanum and the Entry into Jerusalem on the lintel; The central portal has a Christ in Majesty represented on the tympanum and in the lower frieze, which extends along the side walls, between the doors, there are several scenes related to the Passion; The right portal has a Crucifixion on the tympanum, and below, several scenes relating to episodes after the Resurrection of Christ (Noli me tangere, Holy women in the tomb, Appearance to the apostles...). Between the three doors are a series of columns recovered from Roman times, and among them, several large figures: Saint Michael, The Twelve Apostles and the Fight of Angels and Demons. At the bottom, next to the floor, there are characters from the Old Testament, as well as non-religious scenes. The architectural decoration elements are inspired by ancient art: Corinthian capitals, fluted base, ovals and centaurs.[26].
The observation of Antiquity joins the visionary Romanesque iconography on the western portal of the church of Saint Trophimus "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)") in Arles, which, facing the façade of the church, combines the theme of the apocalyptic vision with that of the Last Judgment, and its architectural structure gives great relief to the architraves and the frieze, as well as to the colonnade that serves as a frame for the great statues. The portal of San Tróphimo in Arles reaches its Romanesque development around 1190 and above it you can see the course followed by the sculptors in search of a monumental representation of the triumphal façade. With the magnificent façade of the Saint-Gilles Abbey, it is one of the best collections of carved Romanesque art in Provence. The porch includes a variety of decorative elements: fluted pilasters, capitals with acanthus leaves, Greek friezes, strips of palm leaves, bas-reliefs decorated with scrolls. The order of the portal is inspired by ancient art, and evokes a true Roman triumphal arch that opens onto the abbey. The influence of ancient art, especially that of early Christian sarcophagi, is found in the style of figures and floral motifs of the decoration. The decorative motifs determine themes related to the Old Testament, as well as the wild beasts and evil creatures that are associated with the two patron saints of the cathedral: Saint Stephen and Saint Trophimus. The general structure is similar to that of Saint-Gilles, but here it has been reduced to a single door.[27].
Capitals
Los capiteles son una de las muestras más importantes de la escultura románica y conducen a un mundo rico en simbología.[30] La piedra esculpida era, en muchas ocasiones, un eficaz vehículo de comunicación entre la iglesia y los fieles y con su impacto visual ayudaba a convertir los templos en «el reino de Dios en la tierra»[30] Así, los artesanos escultores tenían la misión de instruir con sencillez y emocionar con su arte.[30] Los capiteles, con profusión de temas y donde el artista tenía más libertad creativa, cumplían plenamente estas funciones.[30]
La escultura románica estaba integrada en la arquitectura formando un todo, siendo las portadas "Portada (arquitectura)") y los capiteles dos claros ejemplos.[30] El escultor, por tanto, debía albergar su obra en espacios reducidos aprovechando la piedra al máximo.[30] Esta «exigencia» provocaba que la escultura no se preocupara por representar imágenes fidedignas de la realidad y a menudo aparecen figuras desproporcionadas, aplastadas, contorsionadas u ocupando varias caras de los capiteles.[30].
La falta de espacio era una de las razones de ese «antinaturalismo» que caracteriza a la escultura —y también a la pintura— del románico.[30] Pero no la única: el objetivo principal del artista no era el tratamiento proporcionado y fidedigno de las figuras, sino su valor simbólico y el contenido del mensaje que querían transmitir al espectador.[30] Esta forma de entender el arte propio del románico deriva de un concepto clásico, el neoplatonismo,[30] una creencia que defendía que el mundo natural tan sólo era una apariencia que escondía la realidad verdadera y trascendente de Dios. Difundido por San Agustín, el neoplatonismo tuvo una influencia decisiva en la configuración del arte medieval.[30].
La creación del hombre, el pecado original, la natividad o el juicio final son algunos de los temas representados en lo que se conoce como capiteles historiados.[30] Pero sin duda, lo que más llama la atención es el rico, y a veces fantasmagórico, repertorio del bestiario medieval.[30] Procedente del mundo clásico, romano de Oriente y persa, el cristianismo lo hizo suyo atribuyendo virtudes o pecados a los diferentes animales reales o fantásticos que formaban parte.[30].
Así, entre los animales que representaban al bien se encontraban las aves, a menudo comparadas con el alma que se eleva hacia el cielo, el león o el grifo.[30] Al otro lado de la balanza, el mono —caricatura grotesca del hombre—, la serpiente —símbolo universal del pecado—, la liebre y el conejo —por su fertilidad— el jabalí y el chivo. Dragones, arpías, basiliscos, sirenas y centauros completaban el repertorio de bestias enemigas del hombre y de Dios.[30].
10th century
In the second half of the century, the architectural decoration of religious buildings was generally very simple. Some decorated relief plaque "Relief (sculpture)"), imposts with moldings and some capitals reused from previous periods. In large buildings, large rectangular "Pillar (architecture)") pillars were placed as separating elements between the nave and the side aisles, so it was very difficult to find large capitals, since they were only placed on smaller "Column (architecture)" columns for smaller churches or crypts. The first experiences in carving capitals represented one of the essential aspects in the transition to monumental Romanesque sculpture during the first half of the century.
In northern Italy, the first capitals with little ornamentation are found in crypts and ambulatories such as in the Abbey of Sant'Antimo in Montalcino (Siena) and the Basilica of Santo Stefano in Verona. During the second half of the century (about 1038 in the cathedral of Caorle) a group of capitals is characterized by the faithful and direct imitation of the ancient Corinthian models observed in the basilicas of the Adriatic, between Venice (Sant Nicolò on the Lido) and Trieste (cathedral of San Giusto). This trend continues in the ambulatory of Tournus and Issoudun, before the end of the century, as well as in the Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral in Auvergne.[BDG 4].
11th century
Acanthus leaves were carved and depicted along with backward-curving volutes at the corners and on the faces of the capitals. Almost at the same time, in the south of France and Catalonia, there was a search for technical means to solve the problem of adapting the motifs used in the reliefs (interlacing, palmettes and rosettes) to the surfaces of the capital. From the end of the first third of the century in the abbey of San Filiberto de Tournus and San Pedro de Roda, a series of capitals appeared on Corinthian images that showed the pre-Romanesque surface relief giving way to the bevelling and with a deep groove. A second group of capitals with proportions closer to cubic shapes show drawings like baskets with foliage: San Pedro de Roda, Santa Fe de Conques and Aurillac. Links with previous work on Romanesque reliefs appear more clearly in the sculpted capitals in the church of Sant Martí del Canigó in Conflent, dating from the beginning of the century.[BDG 5].
• - Capital with vegetation in the abbey of San Filiberto de Tournus.
• - Acanthus leaves in Santa Fe de Conques.
• - Adam and Eve in the basilica of Our Lady of Port Clermont-Ferrand.
• - Capital of Sant Martí del Canigó.
The transition from vegetal to figurative decoration was investigated by Henri Focillon, who highlighted the role of the figure that contributed to forming the style of Romanesque art, and compared them with the capitals of Ottonian art in the church of Vignory adorned with geometric, vegetal and animal motifs, which show the technique and a similar concern of the work, to those observed in the south of France. Since the beginning of the century, Burgundy has had monuments of great importance: Abbey of Cluny, Romainmôtier, Abbey of San Filiberto de Tournus, San Benigno de Dijon, this church had a very important role during the first two decades of the century, due to the works commissioned by the abbot of Italian origin Guglielmo da Volpiano), today it still preserves the crypt with some capitals with a decoration of monsters, masks and figures: its innovative nature makes them one of the most striking in this style. In Paris, the capitals of Saint Germain des Prés (in the Musée de Cluny), contrast with these previous series due to the monumentality of Christ in majesty represented in them.[BDG 6] The Loire River basin was a geographical area with great artistic activity. with acanthus and palmette leaves and with an inscription by the sculptor: "Umbertus me fecit." In other series, human figures appear with representation of stories from the Bible, the Annunciation, the Visitation of Mary and the Flight into Egypt.[BDG 7] The relationship between the capitals of the atrium of Saint Benoît and those of the Abbey of Méobecq compared to those of Saint Hilary the Great in Poitiers"), Saint Martin of Tours and Maillezais raise interesting methodological problems of the chronology of Romanesque sculpture in France.[BDG 7].
12th century
As time progresses, the sculptural themes represent real and fantastic themes, thus Christian themes are mixed with a whole series of bestiaries, monsters of lions with the heads of eagles or birds with the body of a woman, winged mermaids and centaurs in monstrous representations with the purpose of their interpretation as good and evil, without forgetting the obscene themes. The capitals of many cloisters are models of these historic series, as can be seen in the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos in Burgos, the monastery of Sant Cugat in Catalonia and the cloister of Elna in Roussillon. All this overflowing imagination came to an end with the text written by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the century against the historiated capitals.[Su. 7].
• - The doubt of Saint Thomas in the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos.
• - Capital with the Three Magi in the Cathedral of Elna.
• - Washing the feet of Christ to the apostles in the monastery of Sant Cugat.
• - Musicians and minstrels in the monastery of Sant Cugat.
cult imagery
En el período románico la madera fue uno de los materiales más empleados para la elaboración de las imágenes para el interior de los templos. Las esculturas representando a Cristo Majestad y la Virgen María con el Niño llamada Sedes sapientiae, eran las representaciones más numerosas que se hacían para venerar en cada iglesia. Casi todas se han datado a partir del siglo o principios del .[Su. 3]
Los artesanos especializados en trabajo de madera en el período románico y, a juzgar por el tratado del monje Teófilo: «no debían confundirse con los que trabajaban otros materiales». Étienne Boileau, en el siglo en su Livre des métiers, ilustra la creciente especialización que separaba a los carpinteros de los tallistas asociados a los santcristos. Los cristos de madera se realizaban a partir de dos o tres piezas, dos troncos se ensambaban para formar la cruz, una única pieza era utilizada para el cuerpo y otras dos para los brazos. De acuerdo con el Livre des métiers, el encaje era una de las principales cualidades de los artesanos de la madera. En cuanto la obra estaba tallada, se preparaba para recibir la policromía, lo que demuestra claramente las relaciones que existían entre los creadores de imágenes y los pintores, salvo que ambos trabajos fueran realizados por las mismas personas. Se sabe que en muchas de las abadías románicas había talleres de talla de madera junto a los de pintura. La mayoría de estas imágenes estaban destinadas a ser policromadas, pero también a muchas de ellas se las cubrió con una capa metálica, si los recursos económicos lo permitían. Muchas de estas imágenes estaban realizadas para su uso como un relicario. Así, el busto relicario de san Baudime en Saint-Nectaire (Puy-de-Dôme) está realizado sobre una base de madera cubierta con hojas doradas de cobre repujado, con la cabeza y las manos de fundición de cobre (finales del siglo ). El busto de san Cesario de Arlés conservado en la iglesia de Maurs (Cantal), recibió una capa de plata y cobre dorado en el cuerpo solamente, mientras que la cabeza y las manos fueron pintadas directamente sobre la madera.[BDG 9].
Christ in Majesty
The image of the crucified Christ, in the Middle Ages, was represented in various types of iconography: with a naked torso and with the perizonium or short skirt tied to the waist and died on the cross with his eyes closed and his face with drama and a certain tension and the Christ in Majesty who appears on the cross with the long tunic down to his feet, tight at the waist and triumphant, with the particularity of having his eyes open and without any sign of pain. This representation was the most abundant in the West throughout the century, following the prototype of the Eastern Roman Christ.
It represents immortality, without human suffering but triumphs like God, nor does it appear with the crown of thorns. If any of them is crowned, it is with the royal crown. The anatomy follows the verticality of the wood that forms the cross, the hands are open with the fingers stretched and the limbs nailed each individually (four nails).
Among the wooden images of Christs in Majesty, the one from the Volto Santo of Lucca stands out), the one from the Cathedral of Braunschweig from 1173 (signed by its author Imervard, on the tunic belt), the one from the cathedral of Milan, the one preserved in the Museum of Sacred Art of San Gimignano. In the Meuse and Rhineland region, the Christ of Notre Dame de Tongres and that of Saint George of Cologne show a tradition Ottoniana.[BDG 10].
They occurred in large numbers in the valleys of the Pyrenees, where the Christ of Mig Aran stands out, preserved in the church of Viella in the Aran Valley, and the Majesty Batlló, a polychrome wooden image from the 19th century, which represents Christ crucified, in the attitude of Christ Majesty or triumphant, without traces of suffering. It is one of the most interesting samples of medieval imagery of this iconographic type in Catalonia. It seems that its introduction into Catalonia was due to the Pisans, when they arrived around the year 1114 to help Count Ramón Berenguer III of Barcelona in his fight to conquer the Balearic Islands.[31].
Mother of God with Child
During the Romanesque, the most characteristic image of the Mother of God "Mary (mother of Jesus)") is represented sitting on a throne, dressed in a tunic, mantle and generally with a crown&action=edit&redlink=1 "Crown (ornament) (not yet written)"), the Child is on her knees, looking at both images from the front, in later versions she is seen with the Child already seated on the left knee and with a less hieratic attitude. It seems that there is no communication between both characters, it is even difficult to find any sculpture in which they only touch each other, the mother's hands are in an open position as if to protect the Son but without actually rubbing him. This representation of Mary as the Throne of Wisdom coincides with the dogma of the Incarnation. Since 1200, rigidity began to disappear in favor of the expression of tender feelings between mother and child. These statues were objects of great veneration and worship, and the piety of the faithful attributed miracles to them. They were almost always also used as reliquaries and were used to be placed on an altar, but also for processions.[BDG 11].
The sculptors of Roussillon produced a large series of seated images during the second half of the century, among which are the Mother of God of Cornellà de Conflent. In the church of Saint-Nectaire there is a Vierge à l'Enfant, in polychrome wood. This virgin "Sedes Sapientiae" is known by the name Notre-Dame du Mont Cornadore, she embodies the throne of eternal Wisdom. The large number of Catalan mothers of God around the Seo de Urgel and Gerona workshops appear as extensions of these images. Of note are works such as the image of the Virgin of Montserrat from the Montserrat monastery of the 19th century, made of poplar and beech wood, measuring 95 centimeters high and polychrome gilt, and the image made of stone, the image of the Mare de Déu from the Cloister of the Solsona Cathedral, by the master Gilabert de Tolosa"), with great virtuosity and precision of details. The image measures 105 cm high. Other types of Images can be found in northern Spain, Burgundy, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, especially the Ottonian Virgins of Cologne, Hildesheim, Paderborn and Frankfurt, and others in the Scandinavian countries. Many of these works are related to monumental stone sculpture.[BDG 12].
Descendations
The groups of "descendants" were made to occupy the apse of the churches, in a horizontal distribution. Depending on the region, Christ appeared at different moments of the descent from the cross, in some he was still nailed, in others he only had his right hand or head and his body separated from the cross. In Italy, two groups are preserved in their entirety, that of the cathedral of San Lorenzo in Volterra and that of the cathedral of Tivoli").[BDG 13].
These sculptures belong to a moment of great flowering of imagery that occurred in Catalonia during the century and are one of the most unique and excellent Romanesque sculpture groups. More than half of these works were carried out in the Pyrenean areas distributed among the comtats counties of Pallars, Ribagorça and Urgell and many of them are due to the patronage and supervision of the barony of Erill in the times of Saint Ramón, bishop of Roda (1104-1126).[32].
The church of Santa Eulalia "Church of Santa Eulalia (Erill la Vall)") of Erill la Vall in the Boí valley, originally had a group of polychrome Romanesque carvings that represented the theme of the Descent. They were discovered and made known in 1907. The seven figures represent Christ, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the two thieves Dimas and Gestas and Mary with John the Baptist. They are made with poplar wood; Their clothing corresponds to what is traditional for these characters. Inside the temple there is a reproduction of the sculptural group while the original images are in the Episcopal Museum of Vic and in the National Museum of Art of Catalonia. Four images are preserved from the descendant of Saint Mary of Taüll, Christ, Mary, Nicodemus and one of the thieves. In Durro they also preserve the Nicodemus of another descendant.[33].
Although the name of the sculptors is not known, through some document it has been possible to know the process of some works, such as the Descent of the monastery of San Juan de las Abadesses, for which a person named Dulcet acquired the walnut and fir wood and commissioned Canon Ripoll Tarascó "the image of the Savior crucified with the thieves in addition to four other figures", surely although it was not its author, the canon was the one who created the iconography of the group sculptural.[Su. 8].
Las artes suntuarias en piezas de talla de marfil, bronce o de oro (pilas bautismales, recipientes para el ritual de lavado de manos, arcas e imágenes para las reliquias, objetos litúrgicos), estuvieron con frecuencia decoradas con motivos figurativos u ornamentales escultóricos y fueron encargos de reyes y obispos que representaban no sólo el gusto artístico de la época, sino por encima de todo el poder de los comitentes.[Su. 9].
En los países germánicos no se observa el mismo tipo de evolución de España o Francia en relación con la escultura. En esa región tuvo un mayor impacto la producción de piezas metálicas, especialmente con el taller de bronce de Hildesheim del siglo , de tradición otónica. El obispo Bernward, que controlaba su producción acuñó el nombre de un estilo de piezas relacionadas con las ceremonias litúrgicas. Para la iglesia de San Miguel de Hildesheim se realizaron, entre otros objetos, las puertas de bronce y la pila bautismal. Los talleres más famosos en las regiones del Mosa y del Rin fueron los de Renier de Huy, Godofred de Huy y Nicolás de Verdún.[Su. 10].
Otra de las pilas bautismales en bronce más célebres es la que se encuentra en San Bartolomé de Lieja encargada por el abad Hellinus (1107-1118) y realizada por Renier de Huy, trabajada en alto relieve con gestos y movimientos naturalistas y pliegues suaves en sus vestimentas, con un estilo muy cercano al clásico. Este proceso encaminado al naturalismo propio de la región del Mosa fue extendiéndose por las zonas del norte de Francia e Inglaterra. Otro artista de la misma región Nicolás de Verdún, realizó en Klosterneuburg, a orillas de Viena, un púlpito en 1181 con veintiuna escenas del Antiguo y Nuevo Testamento en esmalte (en el siglo se convirtió en un retablo de altar) y un arca relicario que se conserva en la catedral de Tournai.[HUA 5].
• - Pila bautismal de bronce circa 1230, iglesia de San Miguel de Hildesheim.
• - Pila bautismal para Renier de Huy en San Bartolomé de Lieja.
• - Arca relicario de Nicolas de Verdun, que se conserva en la catedral de Tournai.
• - Candelabro en bronce para la catedral de Gloucester (ca. 1104/1113) (Victoria and Albert Museum).
bronze doors
The bronze doors were part of one of the main works of art of the Romanesque Middle Ages. They were works coveted by all the great religious centers; they are found from Venice to Sicily, and in the countries of northern Europe. The Eastern Roman doors of Venice, Salerno and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome are made with silver inlays. The work of Barisano of Trani signed in the cathedrals of Trani") (central portal, c.1185), and Monreale (north portal, c. 1190) and in the one attributed to Ravello (1179), which is characterized by the presence of reliefs obtained by cold finishing and applied on the wooden base, show the Arab and Roman influences of the East. In northern Italy, the doors of San Zeno de Verona consist of wooden ceilings and were made by different masters in a clear Romanesque style; they present an iconography focused mainly on the Old and New Testament, but also include apocalyptic themes and the story of Saint Zeno.[BDG 14]
Among the patronage of Bishop Bernward, were the bronze doors for the church of Saint Michael in Hildesheim decorated with sixteen scenes from the Old and New Testament with a height of 4.5 meters, it was one of the best cast works of the time, made in 1015 and placed by Bishop Godehard, after the death of Bernward in 1022.[HUA 6].
The door of Trani Cathedral is characterized by the lightness of the design, confirmed by the small size of the figures and the importance of the frames of the thirty-two panels; twenty are made with figures of individual saints as if they were Eastern Roman "Icon (religion)" icons; Dragons and lions appear combined with religious iconography of the Virgin and the Apostles.
• - Romanesque carved bronze doors.
• - Troia Cathedral, Apulia (1119), door with little sculptural work.
• - North door of the Cathedral of Monreale (c.1190), by Barisano de Trani, consists of twenty-eight panels representing forty-two figures, showing greater sculptural intention than in its previous doors.
• - Door of the cathedral of San Pantaleón in Ravello (1179), commissioned by Sergio Muscettola; On the central panel of the third row of the left door leaf there is an inscription with the date included. Here you can see figures of archers and jugglers that are also found in Trani. The partition frames of the panels are richly decorated. There are scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
• - Trani Cathedral.
Sculptural goldsmithing
The artistic field of Romanesque goldsmithing played a very notable role, not only in the birth and development of monumental sculpture, but also in the training of artists. The reputation of the goldsmiths crossed borders and their works were often used as models. It was said of Godefroid de Huy that: "...he had no equal in the field of goldsmithing, who in various regions had made many reliquaries and objects for kings."[BDG 15].
Embossing was one of the techniques that goldsmiths used the most, since it was the technique that was best used on a wooden base for reliquaries and small altarpieces. Bust-reliquary work undoubtedly had a great impact on the flourishing of Romanesque sculpture. In the Llibre dels Miracles de Saint Foy, written around 1014 by Bernard, teacher of the episcopal school of Angers, there is a magnificent testimony:.
Scrimshaw
The specific art of carving ivory had a great development in the Romanesque era, especially in the areas of Carolingian influence, and showed above all the power of those who commissioned the works, mainly in large monasteries or commissioned by powerful figures.
In the treatise De diversis artibus")[34] (c.1100) there is a description of workshop tools: "Files are also made of pure steel: there are large, medium, four-sided, three-sided and round", as well as the process of bone carving: "To carve the bone, first roughen a piece of this material of the desired size and cover it with plaster; then draw the figures with mini tal and as you wish to obtain them later, so that they are clearly visible, then, with different chisels, reduce the bottom to the estimated depth..."[Su 11]
When a bishop or an abbot of a monastery traveled they normally took with them a portable altar and of the objects of an altar, one of the most important was the Crucifix which was usually made of metal or ivory. Some high-quality specimens are preserved, such as the one found in the abbey of Bury Saint Edmunds in England and today kept in the Metropolitan Museum of New York.[HUA 7].
In the Iberian Peninsula since the century there was a large ivory carving and goldsmith's workshop in the monastery of San Isidoro de León, a great example of which is the Crucifix of Don Fernando and Doña Sancha dated around the year 1063.[Su. 12] It is believed that it was the first in the Hispanic Middle Ages with the representation of the image of Christ, since it was customary for crosses, whether made of noble materials, such as gold or ivory or simply wood, to be made without images. The image of Christ is carved in ivory and is full volume and is represented alive, with the head slightly inclined to the right with an oval face, where the large open eyes stand out with the pupils inlaid with jet stone.[n. 5] He has a beard and mustache with wavy hair and feet pierced by an individual nail each. In the back of the body, as was common, it has a hole to use as a reliquary.[35].
• - Bishop's pastoral staff in walrus ivory (1120-1130) England.
• - Tabernacle (c.1180) of bronze, enamel and ivory from the Lower Rhine area (Germany).
The artistic workshops
In northern Italy there was an expansion during the so-called Lombard Romanesque carried out by the magistri comacini. These sculptors moved in groups very easily and there are documented works in the Alps, Lazio, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. At the beginning of the century they worked throughout the Catalan territory, mainly under the sponsor Abbot Oliba. Most of its sculpture samples are decorated with zoomorphic figures, animals, griffins and vegetables. The human figures are strange and unrealistic looking. Fernando Galtier Martí of the University of Zaragoza has carried out a study (2008), where he explains the development of the work of the Comacini masters, comparing the great similarity between the bell towers of the churches of this period in Lazio and those built in Catalonia. his works throughout Languedoc, Catalonia, Navarra and Italy.[37].
One of the most exuberant sculptural schools was located in the western region of France in the regions of Poitou, Saintonge and Angoumois and also in some other surrounding provinces. The decoration with sculptures was carried out in column capitals in the porticos and friezes, and in the archivolts carved in the radial voussoirs with repetitive elements like the church of Notre Dame la Grande in Poitiers. This method was followed by teachers from Spain and England.[HUA 3].
In general, the Romanesque artists remained anonymous, but some of them left their signature or documents are found (in more isolated cases) with their name, such as in some verses in Modena, which say the name of the sculptor Wiligelmo of Modena (c.1099), author of the cathedral reliefs:
Other times the same artist is represented at work, as Arnau Cadell did on a capital of the cloister of the Sant Cugat monastery: "Hec Est Arnalli sculptoris forma catelli qui claustrum tale construxit perpetuale" (This is the image of the sculptor Arnau Cadell who had this cloister built for posterity). On the doorway of the church of Santa María la Real in the town of Zangoza, a statue-column that represents the Mother of God with an open book in her hands shows this inscription: "Leodegarius me fecit" (Leodegarius made me). Likewise, in another capital of the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre in Chauvigny (Vienne "Vienne (department)") appears: «Godfridus me fecit», or on the portal of the church of Revilla de Santullán in Palencia together with the representation of the sculptor at work it reads: «Micaelis me fecit». Ramón de Bianya signed two tombs from the Elna cloister in Roussillon with: «R. de Bia, me fecit", the work of this sculptor is stylistically related to that of the Italian sculptor Benedetto Antelami, author of the Descent from the Cross of the cathedral of Parma where he made the inscription: "In 1178, the sculptor executed this work in the second month, this sculptor Benedetto Antelami." [BDG 14] There is evidence of another Romanesque sculptor who worked in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in San Isidoro de León, and in the cathedral of Pamplona:.
Teachers usually received a cash remuneration, adding maintenance: "to the refectory, like any monk" and goods in kind. It is known that Master Esteban received a house from the Bishop of Pamplona, with land and a vineyard, to whom he was also given: "sixty measures of wheat, wine and barley so that the farmers who work those lands during your life can deliver it to your house every year." [Su. 13].
Clients
The glory of the creation of works during the Romanesque period was not only for the artifex practicus but for the artifex theoricus (patron), normally the abbot of a monastery, bishop, kings or lords of the nobility were the people who commissioned and paid for the creation of works of art from large constructions to offerings of liturgical pieces, they are named in inscriptions, documents and chronicles, for example the abbot Odilón who was compared to the emperor Augustus for "converting from wood to marble" the cloister of the great abbey of Cluny in the century; As Henri Focillon said: "...the Cluniac monks were the propagators of this movement in Languedoc, in Burgundy, on the Isle of France and in Spain."[40]
Abbot Oliba of Ripoll and Bishop of Vic, Archbishop Gelmírez, had great fame as a builder. "It was an example of ecclesiastical promotion in the western part of Galicia with the construction of nearly sixty churches and the almost completion of the works on the Compostela cathedral. <[Su. 14].
Countess Ermesenda of Carcassonne was a client who contributed to the construction of the Gerona cathedral and several monasteries. King Fernando I of León and his wife Sancha I of León were an example of patrons at the beginning of the century. Among their works, the building with its sculpture of the Basilica of San Isidoro de León stands out. In addition to the earthly glory that it brought them, the intention of the clients was to secure paradise.[Su. 14] The Catalan viscount Bermon went to Abbot Oliba to rebuild the patrimony of San Vicente de Cardona") and to increase the community of canons, because as the viscount confesses in his will: "...it is very difficult to be exempt from guilt who has been sublimated by wealth or secular power...". Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim also wrote in his will about the creation of Romanesque temples:[41].
Romanesque Europe: regional schools
Hasta los últimos años del siglo no parece que hubiera escuelas propiamente dichas de escultura románica, las cuales sólo alcanzaron importancia y desarrollo en el decurso del siglo . Pero antes de dichos siglos se habían formado ya en Occidente notables centros de artes decorativas y suntuarias, sobre todo, de orfebrería con carácter propio o derivado del arte bizantino que muy bien pueden admitirse, al menos, como precursores de las escuelas de escultura románica. Consideradas en su conjunto, se distinguen las siguientes.
Irish and Anglo-Saxon school
This school has been around since the century and is characterized by the interlacing and calligraphic ornaments that from the writing of codices began to serve as ornamental motifs in sculpture. Once the Romanesque period had arrived, he cultivated relief with elongated figures similar to those of French sculpture.
France
French schools were formed throughout the century. Among the most notable, at least seven schools can be distinguished:
• - That of the Isle of France, of rudimentary sculpture until the second half of that century and which is distinguished in the capitals by the use of heads with large mustaches but quite fine and elegant with small folds in the panels at the beginning of the era of Gothic art. The statues of Chartres Cathedral, of Gothic transition, stand out.
• - That of Normandy, with its figures of little relief and its ornamentation of zigzag lines and intertwined dragons.
• - That of Poitou and Saintonge, with its splendid ornamentation of serpentine foliage and allegories and personifications, above all, on the facades of the churches, on whose portals there are series of saints and elders from the Apocalypse on the tympanum or on the archivolts. It is worth highlighting the rich façade of Our Lady la Grande de Poitiers and that of Our Lady of Saintes.
• - That of Auvergne, with its very prominent reliefs, its lively expression through the incorrectness of the drawing and its allegories in the capitals.
• - That of Toulouse and Languedoc, with its elongated figures and great movement, its characters standing with their legs crossed and with their cloths with horizontal folds on the chest and other wavy or jagged but very moved ones at the lower end of the clothing. The historic reliefs of the abbey cloister of Moissac and the reliefs on the façade of its church with their similar ones of Saint Stephen and Saint Saturninus of Toulouse stand out in this school.
• - That of Provence, with its classical reminiscences in the ornamentation and its imitations of the schools of Toulouse and the North despite having been considered (without foundation) as the most influential of the time. The statues on the façade of Saint Giles and Saint Trophimus "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)") in Arles stand out.
• - That of Burgundy, finally with its extraordinary expression in the dramatic attitudes of the characters and with its cloths of very fine folds, ending in swirls that seem inspired by the calligraphy drawings so common in the codices of the time. The reliefs that adorn the portals of the cathedral of Autun and the abbey of Vézelay are famous in this school.
In all the aforementioned schools, effigies of the Virgin were carved, usually representing her sitting on her throne and with the Child on her knees. Many of these, especially in Auvergne, were covered with a copper or silver plate, with the image being made of wood.
Italian peninsula
The Italian school developed from the end of the century to the middle of the century. It was called Italo-Byzantine because the productions of Constantinople and those of the Carolingian school served as models. Before that time, and especially since the beginning of the century, Italy's own sculpture disappeared, receiving it from the Byzantines. Its main monuments are the bronze doors with reliefs in several cathedrals as well as some reliefs in marble chairs and pulpits, although this material was hardly in use for sculptures outside of Italy in the Romanesque era. Also worth noting are some ivories and precious altar frontals. Especially rich is the silver frontal of Cittá di Castello, quite emancipated from Byzantinism, and also the diptych or ivory altarpiece of the Salerno cathedral, in addition to other previous ones of Byzantine inspiration.
Central Europe
German sculpture of the century (compared to French) paid more attention to the furnishings inside the church. For Romanesque metal art, three regional focuses can be identified: bronze sculpture and goldsmithing from the Meuse region (Liège), which also had stylistic strength in the art of stonework and pointed towards the Gothic period; Rhineland (Cologne), in the 2nd century, provided the most magnificent reliquaries in the form of small buildings decorated with figures; Lower Saxony (Hildesheim, Magdeburg, Braunschweig) whose special achievement was once again the casting of bronze, the column, font and gates of Hildesheim being notable. Also noteworthy are the metal reliefs on the doors of the church of Santa María del Capitol (Cologne) "Church of Saint Mary of the Capitol (Cologne)") and those of the Augsburg Cathedral, both from the 19th century.
In stone, the church of Santa Cecilia (Cologne)&action=edit&redlink=1 "Church of Santa Cecilia (Cologne) (not yet written)") and the church of San Pantaleón (Cologne) "Church of San Pantaleón (Cologne)") stand out.
• - Romanesque sculptures in Germany.
• - Bronze doors from Augsburg Cathedral (995-1006), now in the Diocesan Museum of St. Afra in Augsburg.
• - Baptism of Christ in the baptismal font of Reiner von Huy"), Lüttich, 1107-1118.
• - Detail of the cubic and strictly stylized tomb of Archbishop Friedrich von Wettin") († 1152) from a foundry in Magdeburg.
• - The Lion of Braunschweig"), 1166, the first hollow cast bronze figure since Antiquity.
The German school has developed since the 19th century, due to the impulse that Charlemagne gave to the arts and called Carolingian for the same reason. It continued with some flourishing and under the empire of the Ottonians in the century in which it can be considered as constituted by its own Germanic character two centuries before the French ones. It is distinguished by its bronze works (opus teutonicum) and by its Byzantinism, not exaggerated, but preserving a certain classical physiognomy. Antipendiums were worked, with flat or slightly projecting enamelled figures, but with heads in high relief in several examples, an aesthetic copied from the Byzantines and also followed in Spain (Silos) and in other nations during the Romanesque era. Highly celebrated, among other pieces, are the Carolingian ivory from Frankfurt that represents the celebration of the Mass (century), the bronze doors with reliefs in Hildesheim Cathedral, which represent scenes from Genesis, and the precious antipendium or gold altar with images that belonged to Basel Cathedral due to the munificence of Emperor Henry II the Saint, which, with the aforementioned doors, dates back to the beginning of the century. From the second half of the century and in the transitional Romanesque style, beautiful caskets for relics and other metalwork objects were carved, adorned with images in relief, chiseling, enamels and stones, with the artistic center of such productions being the city of Cologne "Cologne (North Rhine-Westphalia)"). From here the celebrated Cologne or Rhinian school took its name and character and the and that of the remains of Charlemagne from the beginning of the century, made of silver and gilded bronze, were his works. In monumental sculpture, from the same period, those of the cathedral of Bamberg and those of Münster, Magdeburg, etc. are famous, with a lot of movement with swirling folds and the attitude of the represented characters talking to each other.
References
[1] ↑ Se cita que se realizó por orden del abad Guillermo en el año veinticuatro del reinado de Robert, rey. Haciendo referencia a su reinado entre 996 y 1031, por lo que se puede datar en el año 1020.
[2] ↑ Se cree que debió de inspirarse en algún trabajo en marfil como modelo.
[3] ↑ Los cinco sitios donde se encuentra esta iconografía románica son las iglesias de Santo Domingo de Soria, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, San Nicolás de Tudela, el monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos y en la catedral de Santiago de Compostela.
[4] ↑ Asiento con espaldero, ocupado por el obispo en los templos.
[5] ↑ Los ojos de azabache son una característica del taller de marfil de León.
[6] ↑ Sureda, 1988, pp. 100.
[7] ↑ a b Sureda, 1988, pp. 148-149.
[8] ↑ a b Sureda, 1988, p. 132.
[9] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 109.
[10] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 190.
[11] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 174.
[12] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 166.
[13] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 133.
[14] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 136.
[15] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 210.
[16] ↑ Sureda, 1988, pp. 126-127.
[17] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 205.
[18] ↑ Sureda, 1988, p. 30.
[19] ↑ a b Sureda, 1988, p. 32.
[20] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 37.
[21] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 49.
[22] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 50.
[23] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 30.
[24] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 31.
[25] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 32-33.
[26] ↑ a b Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 34.
[27] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 36.
[28] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 86.
[29] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 91.
[30] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 87.
[31] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 88.
[32] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 90.
[33] ↑ a b Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 84.
[34] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 97.
[35] ↑ Barral, Duby, Guillot, 1996, p. 96.
[36] ↑ a b Sarpe, 1984, p. 647.
[37] ↑ a b Sarpe, 1984, p. 649.
[38] ↑ a b Sarpe, 1984, p. 650.
[39] ↑ Sarpe, 1984, p. 651.
[40] ↑ Sarpe, 1984, p. 655.
[41] ↑ Sarpe, 1984, p. 632.
[42] ↑ Sarpe, 1984, p. 653.
[43] ↑ De Vecci/Cerchiari, 1999.
[44] ↑ Sureda, Joan, 1988: pàg.20.
[45] ↑ Sureda, Joan, 1988: pàg.28.
[46] ↑ Georges Duby, Jean-Luc Daval, La Sculpture…, p. 276.
[47] ↑ Marcel Durliat, « La sculpture du XI×10{{{1}}} siècle en occident », en Bulletin Monumental, 1994-2, p. 129-213 (leer en línea).
[48] ↑ Georges Duby, Jean-Luc Daval, La Sculpture…, p. 266.
[74] ↑ Boix i Pociello, Jordi (1996). Castell d'Erill (o d'Erillcastell), a Catalunya romànica. XVI. La Ribagorça. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana. ISBN 84-412-2511-7.
[76] ↑ Theophilus (presbítero) (1847). Theophili, qui et Rugerus, presbyteri et monachi, libri III. de diversis artibus: seu, Diversarum artium schedula (en inglés). J. Murray. Consultado el 10 de diciembre de 2010. . Traducción al inglés de 1847 de la obra en latín de Teófilo Presbítero de 1125 donde se describen diversas técnicas artísticas.: http://books.google.cat/books?id=wo4EAAAAYAAJ
[84] ↑ Aunque hay quienes creen que el término es una popularización del latín cum machinis, es decir 'equipado con instrumentos mecánicos'). El término «maestri comacini» se refiere a menudo a equipos de constructores que realizaban grandes obras de construcción con ayuda de máquinas. Sin embargo, está documentada una constante migración de trabajadores procedentes de Como a lo largo de la Edad Media, desplazándose a muchas regiones de Europa para crear obras de importante importancia técnica.
[85] ↑ Emilia-Romagna, Touring Editore, pag. 40.
• - Portico with the three doors of the church of the Abbey of Saint-Gilles.
• - Central cover of Saint-Gilles.
• - Left cover of Saint-Gilles.
• - Facade of the church of Saint Trophimus "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)") in Arles.
• - Cover of San Trófimo.
• - Tympanum of the western portal of San Trófimo.
The columns-statues in the portal of Santa María la Real in Zaragoza constitute one of the most interesting and complex works of medieval Aragonese art. In addition to religious representations, there are multiple reliefs of great symbolism. They have been considered inspired by the sculpture of Chartres, either directly or through the current of the Burgundian school, due to their elongated proportions and the verticality of the narrow folds of the vestments.[BDG 3]
The portico of Santa María de Ripoll is a façade made like a Roman triumphal arch and has a great decorative profusion with scenes from the Old Testament, worked by anonymous sculptors, following the stories of a Bible that is preserved in the same monastery. The façade was attached to the previous one of the monastery of Santa María de Ripoll, towards the middle of the century, to decorate the main entrance of the church, being one of the most monumental examples, in terms of sculptural decoration, in the Catalan Romanesque area linked to the Toulouse school of Languedoc.[Su. 6].
A point of relationship has been established between the art made in Ripoll and that of Toulouse, by the study of the reliefs and the statues on the columns as well as the folds of the clothing, going so far as to propose a certain approach with the art of the master Gilabert") or his workshop, it also seems to approach the style of the sculptures on the north portal of Grossmünster in Zurich, perhaps due to the similarity of both with an Italian origin.[28] It is demonstrated that the builders knew well the triumphal arches, due to the composition of the pediment with the final crowning of a continuous frieze and the decorative set on two levels superimposed and framed with a staggering of seven horizontal stripes or registers and some columns located on the lateral lines.[29].
• - Praying man on a capital of Saint Benigno of Dijon.
• - Capital of the flight to Egypt from the abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire.
• - Animal capital in the Maillezais museum.
• - Cluny capital.
The origin of Romanesque sculpture in the second half of the century is evident both in the north and on the south side of the Pyrenees. The oldest building is the church of San Salvador de Leyre, in Navarra, consecrated in 1057, with its two groups of capitals located in the crypt and the decoration of flowers and palmettes, which was destined to become one of the favorite subjects of Romanesque sculpture in southeastern France and northwest Spain; The ornamentation was progressively imposed in the last quarter of the century in Santa María de Ujué, before 1089. The history of Romanesque sculpture depends directly on the correct dating of the works of Toulouse, Moissac, Jaca, León and Compostela. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and the Basilica of Saint Sernin in Toulouse are two buildings of comparable importance. Their plans are similar and construction of both began almost at the same time, shortly after 1070. Both contain a similar sculpture program. About 260 Romanesque capitals are preserved in San Sernín, located at the beginning of the semicircular arches inside the building. Showing great stylistic continuity and a progression from the apse to the nave "Nave (architecture)"), the following groups can be distinguished densely decorated capitals in the lower part of the choir and the transept inside the apse and finally those in the aisle of the central nave are almost exclusively with leaf decorations. The chronology of these works is evaluated with the period of reform that took place in Sant Serni between 1075 and 1083. The oldest capitals in Santiago de Compostela consist of decorations of animals and plant motifs and with similarity there are the capitals of the Pantheon of Kings of San Isidoro de León, where there are also those with biblical themes. Today Toulouse, León, and Compostela have been considered contemporary workplaces since 1070.[BDG 8].
• - King David with musicians, Jaca Cathedral.
• - The visit to the abbey of Sant Pere de Moissac.
• - Figurative capital of the basilica of San Sernín in Toulouse.
• - Various capitals from the “O mundo terrestrial” series in Santiago de Compostela.
urn of the Three Wise Men
• - Sculpture in Spain.
• - Gothic sculpture.
• - Others.
The content of this article incorporates material from Archaeology and fine arts, from 1922, by Francisco Naval y Ayerbe, which is in the public domain.
• - Heilbronner, Tim: Ikonographie und zeitgenössische Funktion hölzerner Sitzmadonnen im romanischen Katalonien, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8300-6809-9.
• - This work contains a complete translation derived from «Roman Sculpture» from Wikipedia in Catalan, specifically from this version, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Romanesque Sculpture.
• - Art of the Romanesque Era - Teaching guide of the University of Zaragoza.
• - Portico with the three doors of the church of the Abbey of Saint-Gilles.
• - Central cover of Saint-Gilles.
• - Left cover of Saint-Gilles.
• - Facade of the church of Saint Trophimus "Church of Saint Trophimus (Arles)") in Arles.
• - Cover of San Trófimo.
• - Tympanum of the western portal of San Trófimo.
The columns-statues in the portal of Santa María la Real in Zaragoza constitute one of the most interesting and complex works of medieval Aragonese art. In addition to religious representations, there are multiple reliefs of great symbolism. They have been considered inspired by the sculpture of Chartres, either directly or through the current of the Burgundian school, due to their elongated proportions and the verticality of the narrow folds of the vestments.[BDG 3]
The portico of Santa María de Ripoll is a façade made like a Roman triumphal arch and has a great decorative profusion with scenes from the Old Testament, worked by anonymous sculptors, following the stories of a Bible that is preserved in the same monastery. The façade was attached to the previous one of the monastery of Santa María de Ripoll, towards the middle of the century, to decorate the main entrance of the church, being one of the most monumental examples, in terms of sculptural decoration, in the Catalan Romanesque area linked to the Toulouse school of Languedoc.[Su. 6].
A point of relationship has been established between the art made in Ripoll and that of Toulouse, by the study of the reliefs and the statues on the columns as well as the folds of the clothing, going so far as to propose a certain approach with the art of the master Gilabert") or his workshop, it also seems to approach the style of the sculptures on the north portal of Grossmünster in Zurich, perhaps due to the similarity of both with an Italian origin.[28] It is demonstrated that the builders knew well the triumphal arches, due to the composition of the pediment with the final crowning of a continuous frieze and the decorative set on two levels superimposed and framed with a staggering of seven horizontal stripes or registers and some columns located on the lateral lines.[29].
• - Praying man on a capital of Saint Benigno of Dijon.
• - Capital of the flight to Egypt from the abbey of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire.
• - Animal capital in the Maillezais museum.
• - Cluny capital.
The origin of Romanesque sculpture in the second half of the century is evident both in the north and on the south side of the Pyrenees. The oldest building is the church of San Salvador de Leyre, in Navarra, consecrated in 1057, with its two groups of capitals located in the crypt and the decoration of flowers and palmettes, which was destined to become one of the favorite subjects of Romanesque sculpture in southeastern France and northwest Spain; The ornamentation was progressively imposed in the last quarter of the century in Santa María de Ujué, before 1089. The history of Romanesque sculpture depends directly on the correct dating of the works of Toulouse, Moissac, Jaca, León and Compostela. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and the Basilica of Saint Sernin in Toulouse are two buildings of comparable importance. Their plans are similar and construction of both began almost at the same time, shortly after 1070. Both contain a similar sculpture program. About 260 Romanesque capitals are preserved in San Sernín, located at the beginning of the semicircular arches inside the building. Showing great stylistic continuity and a progression from the apse to the nave "Nave (architecture)"), the following groups can be distinguished densely decorated capitals in the lower part of the choir and the transept inside the apse and finally those in the aisle of the central nave are almost exclusively with leaf decorations. The chronology of these works is evaluated with the period of reform that took place in Sant Serni between 1075 and 1083. The oldest capitals in Santiago de Compostela consist of decorations of animals and plant motifs and with similarity there are the capitals of the Pantheon of Kings of San Isidoro de León, where there are also those with biblical themes. Today Toulouse, León, and Compostela have been considered contemporary workplaces since 1070.[BDG 8].
• - King David with musicians, Jaca Cathedral.
• - The visit to the abbey of Sant Pere de Moissac.
• - Figurative capital of the basilica of San Sernín in Toulouse.
• - Various capitals from the “O mundo terrestrial” series in Santiago de Compostela.
urn of the Three Wise Men
• - Sculpture in Spain.
• - Gothic sculpture.
• - Others.
The content of this article incorporates material from Archaeology and fine arts, from 1922, by Francisco Naval y Ayerbe, which is in the public domain.
• - Heilbronner, Tim: Ikonographie und zeitgenössische Funktion hölzerner Sitzmadonnen im romanischen Katalonien, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8300-6809-9.
• - This work contains a complete translation derived from «Roman Sculpture» from Wikipedia in Catalan, specifically from this version, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Romanesque Sculpture.
• - Art of the Romanesque Era - Teaching guide of the University of Zaragoza.