![]() These scenes could take place anywhere and at any time. Backgrounds tend towards solid gold fields or non-specific landscapes. Human figures and faces appear rather generalized, sometimes to the point that mosaic name labels must be included to identify them. Their simplified, decorative forms tell stories through line and color, rather than volume and shading. This pared-down style attracts a lot of people to medieval art today. Photo by Tango7174 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).Įventually, medieval art shifted in style, becoming less naturalistic than its classical precedents. Mosaics in the apse of Monreale Cathedral, Sicily, Italy, began in 1174 CE. ![]() Elsewhere might appear representations of saints, especially the saint to whom a church is dedicated, angels, and biblical stories. ![]() The most important – usually those located in and near the apse, as well as on domed ceilings – feature monumental images such as Christ Pantocrator, the Virgin and Child, the Lamb of God (a symbolic representation of Christ as a lamb with a cross), and crosses. Unsurprisingly, religious themes dominate the subject matter of medieval mosaics in the Christian world. By contrast, the art form never really caught on in Western European nations like France and England. This tradition took hold particularly strongly in the Byzantine Empire, especially in Turkey and Greece, and in Byzantine-influenced Italy. Mosaics flourished as Christianity grew and prospered starting in the 5th century CE when they replaced murals as church decoration. Photo by Petar Milošević via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Lamb of God mosaic, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 526/7-547 CE.
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