ROMANESQUE ART
Chapter 2: Romanesque Sculpture
Jacques Rouveyrol
1. Color:
It is everywhere in Romanesque churches: on the walls, in the sculptures.
2. Iconography:
It reflects a "terrified" faith: the Apocalypse on the tympanums.
The man of the 12th century believes. He believes in a God who is completely foreign, transcendent, and has nothing in common with man. A terrifying God whose will is incomprehensible to the human mind. The Byzantine figure of God on the tympanum of Moissac is meant to create this impression of overwhelming power.
He also believes that the end of the world is near, that it could concern him directly, that the Apocalypse could come tomorrow, if not today.
The Gothic God will draw closer to man. His will, clearly distinguishing good from evil, will become understandable, and the Last Judgment will replace the Apocalypse on church tympanums.
The God of the late Gothic period, in the 14th and 15th centuries, will become even more "human": it will be the Crucified One — God touched by death: the Christ of pity.
3. Characteristics: the rejection of "realism."
Romanesque sculpture is not inspired by "nature."
The representation of man appears "distorted."
We must understand the reasons for this distortion. They are mainly due (cf. Focillon) to the subordination of sculpture to the architectural framework — to the domination of architecture over sculpture, a domination that would only begin to loosen during the Gothic age and would be fully overcome during the Renaissance.
3.a. First principle: Subordination to the architectural framework (Architectural factor).
The capital, the arch, constitute formal frames within which sculpture must fit and, to do so, must adapt itself.
Thus, the trapezoidal man (shown below) owes his shape to the voussoir in which he is set.
3.b. Second principle: Space as "place" (Metaphysical factor)
The Aristotelian theory, dominant in the Middle Ages, did not conceive of space as homogeneous, like Euclid did, but rather as made up of places that are strictly distinct and independent from one another.
It matters whether a body is located at the bottom, at the top, on the left, or on the right. Proof of this lies in the fact that a flame rises because the top is its natural place; and that a stone falls because the bottom is its natural place.
Several consequences follow from this conception:
a. Each figure occupies a place — and occupies it completely.
This leads to distortions, which are the only way for the figure to fully fill the place assigned to it.
b. Each place is independent of every other (by its content):
The capitals of the cloister at Moissac follow one another without any logical sequence, even though, given their succession, one might expect them to tell a story — starting from Genesis, for example, and leading to the Resurrection.
But this is not the case. They succeed one another in a purely historical "disorder."
c. Each place is dependent on every other (by its form):
Thus, each figure must adapt to the shape of the neighboring figure — just as the uneven stones of a Romanesque wall adjust their forms to one another — and in doing so, undergo distortions.
Below, at Moissac, the figures of the Tetramorph are adjusted to the shape of the divine space, and the figures of the seraphim are adjusted to the shapes of the Tetramorph spaces.
3.c. Third principle: Hierarchical perspective (Symbolic factor)
The Middle Ages rejected linear perspective, which would later be developed during the Renaissance.
This was because it refused to create an illusory (as much as real) sense of depth in the "wall," which remains the essential support of Romanesque architecture.
However, it did not ignore the concept of perspective. Instead, it established a hierarchical perspective:
— In the center, at the top, and in the largest space, the most important figure is placed (for example, God).
— To the right and higher up is the next most important figure — for example, the evangelist closest to the divine: Saint John (symbolized by the eagle, the creature who can look directly at the sun).
— To the left and higher up: Saint Matthew (the angel), to whom an angel directly dictated his Gospel.
— To the right but lower down: Saint Mark (the lion), representing the Resurrection of Christ.
— To the left and lower down: Saint Luke (the ox, the sacrificial animal), representing the Crucifixion.
— At the very bottom, the least "noble" figures: the Elders of the Apocalypse.
3.d. Fourth principle (1): Submission to the framework (Plastic factor)
The Romanesque capital is inherited from the Corinthian capital: the figures sculpted onto it reproduce the underlying structure — the framework — of this type of capital: rosettes, double rows of acanthus leaves, and hooks.
As a result, the figures are deformed to fit into this underlying framework.
3.e. Fourth principle (2): Submission to the ornamental framework (Plastic factor)
Symmetry or metamorphosis.
Geometric demands, inherited from the Corinthian framework — especially symmetry — create further deformations, and, above all, give rise to hybrid figures born from metamorphoses.
There are, in addition, consequences from a particular conception of Nature.
God created the world and gave form to the beings that inhabit it, but the infinity of His power cannot be summed up by the familiar creatures alone.
Nature itself is the expression of divine power and is constantly generating new forms.
This is certainly not Darwinism or Lamarckism of the 19th century, because in the 12th century there was no idea of evolution or adaptation.
Nature does not create to improve, but because it is an active force.
Thus, on the borders of illuminated manuscripts and on the walls of churches, there appear "monstrous" chains of creatures — devouring each other or transforming into one another in endless metamorphoses.
4. Ornaments
Here, there is no deformation.
Especially on the abacus of capitals or on the archivolts of tympanums, we find geometric figures — and it is worth noting that interlacing patterns (the geometric forms of the monstrous chains mentioned earlier) are likely the most common designs.
5. Tradition
In contrast to the contemporary artist, the Romanesque artist was not oriented toward invention but toward tradition.
His task was to transmit.
This reflects a fundamental idea of the Middle Ages: all knowledge was considered already given, already revealed.
The Church Fathers were responsible for explaining this knowledge; artists were responsible for illustrating it.
In monasteries, monks copied manuscripts; similarly, artists reproduced sacred stories and teachings on the walls of churches.
However, the sculptor’s role was not limited to simple reproduction.
He immersed himself in the model and created an adaptation of it in stone.
The tympanum at Moissac, for example, may have been inspired by the Apocalypse manuscript from Saint-Sever.
Liturgical dramas also served as important models for sculptors.
6. Painting
Its characteristics are very similar to those of sculpture.
6.a. Wall Painting
-
a. Rejection of depth illusion:
The depiction must avoid any illusion of three-dimensional depth. -
b. Submission to the frame:
The figures must conform to the same constraints as sculpture, adapting to the architectural framework. -
c. Submission to the underlying geometric structure:
Just as in sculpture, painting follows an internal, often geometric organization.
6.b. Manuscripts
-
a. Background color:
A stony tone is often used for the parchment on which monks wrote or created illuminated manuscripts.
All attempts at representing depth through perspective are excluded (though it is worth noting that by the 15th century, the first experiments with linear perspective appear in illuminated manuscripts). -
b. Submission to the frame:
As with sculpture, figures in manuscripts — particularly in decorative capital letters — must adapt to the "architecture" of the page or the margins.
No comments:
Post a Comment