Comparison of the Depiction of the Human Body in Art

With their simple, nude, idealized sculptural forms, and stances devoid of contrapposto, the Male and Female Figures from Baule, Cote d’Ivoire (see left) and the Greek Kouros (see lower) appear similar at first glance; upon closer inspection, however, the statues depict the human body and ideal forms in different manners. For example, both statues depict idealized human forms, but the respective societies upheld different characteristics as ideal. The sculptor of the Baule figures exaggerated the lengths of the figures’ necks and enlarged the size of their heads and calf muscles, bestowing them with ideal qualities in Baule culture. Similarly, the Kouros boasts a triangular shaped head and hair, a flat face, a slim waste, and appealed to the love of pattern that dominated the Daedalic style of the time. In addition to their stylistic characteristics, however, the Baule figures include naturalistic aspects of human anatomy while the Kouros attempt at anatomically correct muscular is rendered inaccurately.

Comparison of Sacred Spaces

Although they were built for different purposes, out of different materials, in different countries, and by different peoples, both the Togu na in Dogon, Mali (see bottom) and the synagogue at Dura-Europos (see top) serve as sacred spaces with surprising similarities. The Togu na, also referred to as the “Men’s House of Words,” serves as the meeting place for the men of the Dogon society to make decisions concerning the welfare its citizens, and is considered the most important part of the community. Dogon houses like Togu na are built over long spans of time, and, consequently, walls of the house are formed by a combination of old and new wooden posts adorned with artwork. The newer posts are more detailed, brighter, and boast some writing, but all of the posts show narrative scenes of subjects ranging from legendary female ancestors depicted in stylized forms to horsemen, hunters, or women preparing food. Similarly, the synagogue at Dura-Europos served as a sacred space in its community and exhibits walls adorned with narrative art. The murals that cover the walls depict Old and New Testament content and narrative scenes that are devoid of action but that tell stories through stylizedgestures like those found on the wooden posts of the Togu na.

Comparison of the Depiction of Women in Art

Both the Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman from the Early Roman Empire (see left) and the Female Mask from Mende, Sierra Leone (see right) portray the ideal form of a woman, but do so in opposing manners. The Flavian bust was carved from marble circa 90 CE, and used contemporary fashion to depict idealized beauty without concern for conveying Roman Republican virtues as earlier statues did. The African Female Mask, too, is a portrayal of idealizedfemale beauty, but also expresses the virtues of the Mende woman’s role in society as a wife, mother, and provider. In an overt example of the way in which the definition of beauty varies from time period to time period and from culture to culture, the Flavian Woman exhibits an elegant and delicate neck while the African mask boasts a large, rolling neck—both of which were considered marks ofbeauty by their respective societies.

Trendsetters or Rule Breakers?

Within gothic art and architecture, there exist many deviations from the standard style. Both Saint-Maclou in Rouen, France and a cloth guild in Bruges, Belgium serve as prime examples of gothic architecture that are a far cry from Chartres and Notre-Dame.

Saint-Maclou is an example of what is referred to as the flamboyant gothic style that was prominent in the 14^th century. The church differs from stereotypical gothic style in its size and structure. Saint-Maclou stands at 75 feet high and is 180 feet long, much smaller than comparable gothic cathedrals, and its façade is uniquely ornate. The façade boasts five portals with intricately topped doorways and is dominated by the characteristic flamboyant tracery that form screen-like curving patterns that overlay the rest of the structure. This church and its unique and complex model epitomize flamboyant gothic style and accentuate the way in which not all gothic structures were created equal.

Similar to Saint-Maclou in its deviation from gothic norms, the hall of the cloth guild represents a new type of gothic architecture that appeared in the late Middle Ages—namely, one that is secular and reflects the development of urban life in Europe. Constructed as a market and guild hall for Bruges’ cloth makers, the structure serves as a testament to the increasing formation of craft guilds and is an indicator of the importance of artisans and merchants at the time. The architectural components of the structure do not necessarily scream “gothic.” The building does include, however, crenellations, lancet windows, flying buttresses, and pinnacles.

Overall, these two structures represent the variations and diversity found in gothic architecture and illustrate how the style evolved over time.

Saint-Savin-Sur-Gartempe...and I thought my last name was bad...

While studying for our most recent AP art history test, a fellow classmate of mine and I tried to figure out a way to remember the not so pretty name of this beautiful Romanesque church. After half-heartedly muttering something about a saint saving the south by guarding the temperature, we gave up and hoped that the fact that the test was multiple-choice would increase our odds of success.

More so than its name, however, the church is notable for its hall church plan and its painted nave vault. A hall church is one in which the aisles are approximately the same height as the nave, and when combined with tall windows as in Saint-Savin-Sur-Gartempe, the result is more illumination of the nave. This added light accentuates the biblical paintings found on the nave’s continuous vault. These paintings depict scenes primarily from the Old Testament, specifically the first five books, but throughout the rest of the church New Testament themes reign supreme.

Ultimately, not only the church’s name, but also its plan, illumination, paintings, and style are unique.

Tympan-uhmmm?

During our AP art history unit on Romanesque Europe, our class learned to both love and despise (not exactly in that order…) the Romanesque church portal. After viewing many slides, learning about the most commonly depicted motifs, and stumbling over the pronunciation of “voussoirs,” our brilliant teacher Mr. Lovell challenged us to pair off and create our own portal, modeling the tympanum theme after one of the images we had studied. After two class periods of work, here is our final product (see picture above).

We used the tympanum of the center portal of the narthex of La Madeleine in Vézelay, France as our model (see picture above). The church’s tympanum illustrates the Pentecost and mission of the apostles, depicting Christ in a mandorla as the central figure instilling the Holy Spirit in the apostles. So, naturally, our rendition depicts a lion as the king of the jungle…? It’s a stretch, but our portal is at least structurally accurate. We illustrated the trumeau and two jambs as tree trunks and adorned the jambs with ascending serpents. Our voussoirs are depicted as large jungle leaves that create a standard archivolt. For the tympanum we drew a central lion inside a mandorla to represent Christ and surrounded him with stereotypical jungle animals to serve as the twelve apostles. Along the lintel we illustrated groups of people running in fear to the right and left away from Christ, representing humanity awaiting salvation.

Despite our questionable rendition, the assignment was a tremendous help in understanding not only the architecture that makes up Romanesque church portals, but also the crucial role they played in society at the time. Now we know our tympanums from our trumeaus!

The High Cross of Muiredach

In an age of predominately small and personal art, early medieval Irish high crosses stood out as art of grand mass and scale. Towering at eighteen feet, the High Cross of Muiredach is no exception. This high cross erected in a burial ground in Monasterboice, Ireland in 923 is made of sandstone, is considered one of the largest and finest early medieval crosses, and is a prime example of the dual function of crosses as both sculpture and architecture.

The name of this particular high cross comes from an inscription on its base that asks for a prayer for a man named Muiredach who is thought to have been the abbot of a late 5th century Irish monastery in Monasterboice. The cross boasts concave arms with square terminals that are looped by four arcs that form a circle--these characteristics mark the cross as Celtic. Art historians debate the origin of this Celtic symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. Some believe that the idea came from linking the Christian cross and the circular pagan symbol for the sun, while others think that the inspiration stemmed from crosses carrying victory wreaths around their intersection.

The west and east faces of the high cross of Muiredach depict two different relief images of Christ. The west face illustrates crucified Christ while the east shows Christ risen. Below the risen Christ on the east face, souls of the dead are weighed on scales to enhance the portrayal of Christ as the judge of the world.