c. 350-750

Produced: Hiberno-Saxon/Insular Art 

• After the Fall of the Roman Empire there were many different fighting clans
• However, Rome left behind Christianity
• Celts, Norse, Germanic and Anglo-Saxons mixing as the Huns and others moved further west
• Art was portable and functional, not much was left behind
• Thus, the Migration Period is shrouded in mystery

c. 350-750

Insular/Hiberno-Saxon Art

• Insular or Hiberno-Saxon art developed after Ireland had been monasticized by the Christians and reintroduced their beliefs to the Germanic Anglos and Saxons, combining Celtic serpentine patterns with Anglo-Saxon metalworking.
• It is the fusion of Germanic traditions (Anglo-Saxons) with Celtic traditions (Irish monks)
• Insular Art was confined to Great Britain and Ireland
• The art was portable and functional
• Birth of illuminated manuscripts

Sutton Hoo Ship Burial

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• Anglo-Saxon King Redwald's burial site. He was thought to play a major role in the establishment of Christian rulership in England
• Undisturbed
• Many incredible artifacts were recovered and were in the Hiberno-Saxon (Insular) style.

Belt Buckle

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c. 625-633

Hiberno-Saxon (Insular)

Recovered from the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship, England

• Hollow, might have contained holy relics
• Interlacing noodle pattern that is rational, symmetrical, logical, and serpentine
• Solid gold

Shoulder Clasps

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c. 625-633

Hiberno-Saxon/Insular

Recovered from the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship, England

• cloisonné: inlaid gems, glass and enamel into gold casing
• roman origins
• millefiori: patterns created by using colored rods of glass
• boars on either end parallel each other are abstract, perfectly symmetrical and mirrored

cloisonné

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cloisonné

Ancient technique for decorating metalwork,

it involved inlaying gems, glass and enamel into gold casing

millefiori

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The codex- bound sheets of paper, papyrus or vellum containing hand-written content- replaced the scroll because they were superior in terms of:

• portability
• sturdiness
• economic use of materials by using both sides
• ease of reference

Book of Durrow

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7th Century

Ireland

illuminated manuscript, Insular style

• Oldest surviving Insular gospel
• The text includes the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (the four Evangelists)
• Each gospel is preceded by a full-page miniature of the evangelist or his symbol, then a purely decorative carpet page, then an incipit page which begins with a giant elaborate letter where text diminishes in size. 
• There are 6 carpet pages (decorative page)
• Written on vellum (calves skin) or parchment (sheep skin)
• Paints = clay and a protein binder, like an egg
• Gold, ivory and jewels constitute its paneling (cover)

• Ireland was never a part of the Roman Empire [which is perhaps the reason they did not slavishly copy Roman art but invented a style all their own]
• As Germanic tribes (Anglos and Saxons) began to colonize Great Britain, Christians fled to Ireland where it was safer
• Saint Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland
• Irish Christians found themselves isolated from the Roman Catholic Church, so they established monasteries (monasticism) as opposed to a centralized hierarchy
• They sent missionaries to the Mainland in order to convert their pagan neighbors and set up monasteries there
• Monasteries sprouted up all over Europe as a result
• Monasteries became centers of art and learning, producing great scholars and manuscripts like the Secret of Kells 
• Ireland was now the cultural and religious leader of western Europe

incipit page

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carpet page

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purely decorative page that follows the symbol of the evangelist in an illuminated manuscript

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symbol of the evangelist page

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Man of Saint Matthew

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7th Century

Ireland

Book of Durrow

This is the symbol page of Saint Matthew. The ornamentation of the border and his coat represent what the earliest Insular art did best, however they had no experience drawing people so those aspects of him are strange and awkward (like the feet in drawn in profile), lack of anatomical understanding or realism.

Lindisfarne Gospel

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c. 710-725

England

Hiberno-Saxon/Insular Codex

Author: Eadfrith, Bishop of the church of Lindisfarne

Written in latin - Lindisfarne ransacked by vikings - Later a man named Aldred translated it into english making it the earliest known gospel written in a form of english - In the 19th Century it was mass reproduced

Saint Matthew Writing the Gospel

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c. 710-725

Hiberno-Saxon/Insular Codex

From Matthew's portrait or symbol page we can see the lack of understanding for perspective or human form, yet composition is precise and readable, colors are harmonious and ornamentation is uniquely Insular as it follows a meditative symmetry.

Matthew is accompanied by the winged man that represents him as he writes the New Testament.

Moses looks on behind a curtain with the Old Testament closed, as if to lament that he is no longer considered.

Ezra Restoring the Bible, Codex Amiatinus

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c. 716

Codex Amiatinus, England

• gift for the pope
• not in the Insular style
• attempt at realism looks childish in comparison to other manuscripts and Roman wall paintings which the artist was most likely trying to emmulate

Charlemange/Charles the Great

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Carolingian Empire

Charlemange or Charles the Great is referred to some as the father of Europe. Aside from being of Frankish origin (king of the Franks) he:

• United the Germanic tribes under Christianity
• Crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope
• Standardizes liturgy (worship), latin and education
• Amassed a great collection of Roman books
• Invented lower case and standardized script
• Ushers in a new renaissance

Carolingian Empire

renovatio imperii romani = Renovation of Imperial Rome

Palatine Chapel

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c. 792-805

Aachen, Germany

Carolingian

Architect: Odo of Metz

Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel was a central monument for the Carolingian renaissance and housed the remains of Charlemagne. You enter in through the impressive westwork which comprises the entrance's vestibule. Light shines in through the east onto the altar. It combines Byzantine and Romanesque elements and owes a lot of its design to the Basilica of San Vitale (on the left). Charlemagne actually requested from the Pope "marble, mosaics, and other materials from the walls and floors" in Ravenna and Rome to build his palace. This is called "spolia" meaning recycled. There are bi-banded voussoirs, shown on the cover image.

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Westwork

Ambulatory

(shaded)

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The Palace Chapel of Aachen has a 16 sided ambulatory.

It is the processional way around the east end of a cathedral behind the high altar.

Barrel Vaults

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The aisles and nave are separated by a row of pillars supporting the upper wall, called an arcade. Barrel vaults locations are also shown.

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Cloister Vaults

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Throne of Charlemagne

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Saint Matthew, Coronation Gospels

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c. 9th century

Carolingian/ Early medieval

This is a page in the codex the Coronation Gospels depicting the evangelist Matthew and represents a more classical, modeled approach to painting during this time.

Saint Matthew from the Ebbo Gospel

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c. 816-823

Ebbo Gospel

This portrait is a reinterpretation of Saint Matthew from the Coronation Gospels, but uses a frenetic, whipping painting style. It was much different and experimental compared to other works at the time. Charlemagne encouraged people to copy Ancient Roman books and realistic painting styles so we see in the Carolingian Empire artists wrestling with issues like perspective, shadows and representing a figure 3-dimentionally. For example, the book is drawn without any effort to foreshorten it but his foot has perspective and highlighting.

Matthew thinks he's in the prime of his life from 8ge 16 to 23 so... why does he look so upset?

It is a book of precepts written for monks living under the authority of an Abbot in Italian monasteries.

Saint Benedict founded twelve monastic communities.

Saint Benedict is sometimes regarded as the father of Western Monasticism, and the Patron Saint of Europe and students.

The Saint Gall Plan

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c. 817

Benedictine monastic complex

Dedicated to: Gozbert, Abbot of Saint Gall

Donor:  Haito, the abbot of Reichenau

Earliest surviving blueprints of a Medieval building complex

Served as brainstorming for the ideal community but never built

40 buildings included...

• church
• scriptorium
• lodgings for traveling monks
• dormitory
• infirmary
• refectory (monastic dining hall)
• cloister (covered walkway)

Cloister

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periods of fixed prayer at regular intervals

 Ora et labora = Work and pray

Ottonian Empire

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Dynasty of monarchs in Germany, starting with its first emperor Otto the Great.

Otto the First was crowned by the Pope as Holy Roman Emperor, the first Roman Emperor in 40 years.

Each Ottonian king was determined to define himself as a Roman Emperor in the style of Constantine and Charlemange

Gero Crucifix

c. 970

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c. 970

Ottonian

Cologne, Germany

Commissioner: Gero, Archbishop of Cologne

• Oldest large sculpture of the crucified Christ
• Depicted vulnerable and disfigured. Emphasis on suffering.
• Hung above the Altar where the Eucharist (Holy Communion) takes place

Bishop's throne; the seat of the Bishop

It is a symbol of their teaching authority and a reference to when the apostles once sat around Christ at the Last Supper.

Church of Saint Michael

c. 1000

c. 1000

Hildesheim, Germany

Ottonian

Bishop Berward commissioned this church.

Doors of Bishop Bernward

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c. 1000

Church of Saint Michael, Germany

Ottonian

Bishop Bernward:

member of the Ottonian Court

went on a pilgrimage to Rome

-revival of Roman antiquity

-various scenes from Old and New Testament

-can be read up and down or from side to side

-each corresponds with each other in meaning and composition

The year 1000 seems fitting to revive these ancient scenes!