Medieval Visual Art

Medieval society was a theocentric society, and as a result, symbolic representations of religious figures can be found throughout the time period's art work. The first period of Medieval art is called the Byzantine. In this period, mosaics were a very prominent art form, and could be found built into the walls of the churches. However, other art forms were present, and the Medieval artists created a new painting technique, involving egg yolk and a wooden support. This style of art lacked three-dimentional qualities, but was very symbolic. This artwork includes gold backgrounds, representing a heavenly atmosphere, halos to represent religious stature, and sometimes Roman political figures such as Emperors to represent a unification of church and state (debatably the opposite of today's society). Also, the way in which Christ was represented on the cross was symbolic. He had been represented on the cross with his eyes open, showing his victory over death, but this later changed, and he was drawn with his eyes closed. It is possible that this was done to show an empathetic view of Christ.

For many centuries, people of the medieval ages lacked the knowledge of architectual styles that the Romans had had. This knowledge was rediscovered, however, during a period of time in which religious pilgrammages gained popularity, and thus more churches needed to be built to satisfy the new amounts of worshipers. The technique that was rediscovered was called vaulting, in which mortar was used to hold stones together. This is called the Romanesque style, and this style, along with the Gothic style, were the common forms of architecture of the Middle Ages. The difference between designs was that the Romanesque style had one tower, and was not as decorative as the ornate Gothic Style. One very prominent aspect of Gothic architecture is the use of gargoyles. Originating from the french word "gargouille," meaning throat or pipe, gargoyles served symbolic as well as functional purposes. They were found on the roofs of buildings done in the Gothic style as guardians of the building, and serves as gutters, guiding water away from the sides of buildings. "Gargoyles" that did not serve as gutters were referred to as chimera.

http://www.eyeconart.net/history/medieval.htm

http://www.gargoylegothica.com/