What is the Romanesque style in architecture. Romanesque style in art. Artistic culture of the Early Middle Ages

Roman style

artistic style that dominated Western Europe (and also affected some countries of Eastern Europe) in the 10th-12th centuries. (in a number of places - and in the 13th century), one of milestones development of medieval European art. The term R. With." was introduced at the beginning of the 19th century

R. s. absorbed numerous elements of early Christian art, Merovingian art (See Merovingian art) , culture of the "Carolingian Renaissance" (See Carolingian Renaissance) (and, in addition, the art of antiquity, the era of the migration of peoples, Byzantium and the Muslim Middle East). In contrast to the tendencies of medieval art that preceded it, which were of a local nature, R. s. was the first art system of the Middle Ages, covering (despite the huge variety of local schools caused by feudal fragmentation) most European countries. The basis of the unity of R. s. there was a system of developed feudal relations and an international essence catholic church, which was in that era the most significant ideological force in society and, due to the absence of a strong secular centralized authority, had a fundamental economic and political influence. The main patrons of the arts in most states were monastic orders, and the builders, workers, painters, copyists and decorators of manuscripts were monks; only at the end of the 11th century. wandering artels of lay stonemasons (builders and sculptors) appeared.

Separate Romanesque buildings and complexes (churches, monasteries, castles) were often created in the middle of a rural landscape and, being located on a hill or on an elevated bank of a river, dominated the district as an earthly likeness of the "city of God" or a visual expression of the overlord's power. Romanesque buildings are in perfect harmony with the natural environment, their compact forms and clear silhouettes seem to repeat and enrich the natural relief, and the local stone, which most often served as a material, organically combines with the soil and greenery. The external appearance of the buildings of the R. with. full of calm and solemnly severe strength; Massive walls, whose heaviness and thickness were emphasized by narrow window openings and stepped portals, played a significant role in creating this impression, as well as the towers that become in the R. with. one of the most important elements of architectural compositions. The Romanesque building was a system of simple stereometric volumes (cubes, parallelepipeds, prisms, cylinders), the surface of which was dissected by blades, arched friezes and galleries, rhythmizing the wall mass, but not violating its monolithic integrity. Temples of R. s. they developed the types of basilica and centric (most often round in plan) churches inherited from early Christian architecture; at the intersection of the transept with the longitudinal naves, a light lantern or tower was usually erected. Each of the main parts of the temple was a separate spatial cell, both inside and outside, clearly separated from the rest, which was largely due to the requirements of the church hierarchy: for example, the church choir was inaccessible to the flock who occupied the naves. In the interior, the measured, slow rhythms of the arcades dividing the naves and the girth arches, cutting through the stone mass of the vault at a considerable distance from each other, gave rise to a feeling of the unshakable stability of the divine world order; this impression was intensified by the vaults themselves (mainly cylindrical, cross, cross-ribbed, less often domes) that came to the R. s. to replace flat wooden ceilings and originally appeared in the side naves.

If in early R. with. wall painting dominated, then at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th centuries, when the vaults and walls acquired a more complex configuration, the leading type of temple decoration was the monumental reliefs that adorned the portals, and often the entire facade wall, and in the interior concentrated on the capitals. In mature R. with. the flat relief is replaced by an increasingly convex one, saturated with chiaroscuro effects, but invariably maintaining an organic connection with the wall, inserted into it or, as it were, growing out of its array. Epoch R. s. It was also the heyday of book miniatures, generally distinguished by their large size and monumental compositions, as well as various branches of decorative and applied arts: casting, embossing, bone carving, enameling, artistic weaving, carpet weaving, jewelry art.

In Romanesque painting and sculpture, themes related to the idea of the limitless and formidable power of God (Christ in glory, the Last Judgment, etc.) occupied a central place. In strictly symmetrical compositions, the figure of Christ dominated, significantly exceeding the rest of the figures in size. A more free and dynamic nature was assumed by narrative cycles of images (on biblical and gospel, hagiographic, and occasionally historical plots). For R. s. there are numerous deviations from real proportions (heads are disproportionately large, clothes are treated ornamentally, bodies are subject to abstract schemes), thanks to which the human image becomes the bearer of an exaggeratedly expressive gesture or part of an ornament, often without losing intense spiritual expressiveness. In all types of Romanesque art, patterns often played a significant role, geometric or composed of motifs of flora and fauna (typologically dating back to works of the animal style (See Animal style) and directly reflecting the spirit of the pagan past of the European peoples). General system images of R. s., at a mature stage, gravitated towards the universal artistic embodiment of the medieval picture of the world, prepared characteristic of Gothic (See Gothic) the idea of the cathedral as a kind of "spiritual encyclopedia".

In the architecture of France, where the original forms of R. s. appear at the end

10th century, the most widespread were three-nave basilicas with barrel vaults in the middle nave and cross vaults in the side ones, as well as the so-called pilgrimage churches with a choir surrounded by a bypass gallery with radial chapels (the Church of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, about 1080 - 12th century) . In general, French Romanesque architecture is marked by the extreme diversity of local schools: the Burgundian school gravitated towards the special monumentality of the compositions.

(the so-called Church of Cluny-3) , to the wealth of sculptural decoration - the school of Poitou (Church of Notre Dame in Poitiers, 12th century); in Provence distinctive feature of the churches was the main portal (single-span or three-span), richly decorated with sculpture, developing, probably, the motif of the ancient Roman triumphal arch (St. Trophime church in Arles) . Strict in decor, the Norman churches, with the clarity of their spatial divisions, largely prepared the Gothic (the Church of La Trinite in Cana, 1059-66). In the secular architecture of R. s. in France there was a type of castle-fortress with a donjon. To the heights of the Romanesque fine arts of France belong the sculpture of the tympanums of the Burgundian and Languedoc churches, imbued with powerful expression [in Vezelay, Autun , Moissake], numerous cycles of murals, monuments of miniatures and arts and crafts (including Limoges enamels (See Limoges enamel)).

In the Romanesque architecture of Germany, the Saxon school stood out [churches with two symmetrical choirs on the west and east, sometimes with 2 transepts, devoid of the front side (St. Michaelskirche in Hildesheim, after 1001-33)], and in the mature period - church architecture Rhine cities, where in the 11-13 centuries. grandiose cathedrals were built [in Speyer, Mainz, Worms]; here the so-called connected system of ceilings was widely used, in which each travey of the middle nave corresponded to 2 traveys of the side aisles. The ideas of the greatness of imperial power, characteristic of the German Romanesque, found a vivid expression in the construction of imperial palaces (Palatinates). In the "Ottonian period" R. s. (2nd half of the 10th - 1st half of the 11th centuries) the German book miniature flourished (the most important centers are the Reichenau Abbey and Trier), as well as the art of casting (bronze doors in the cathedral in Hildesheim). In the era of mature German R. with. All greater value acquires stone and stucco sculpture.

In Italy, R.'s elements with. first originated in the Lombard school (See Lombard school) , where already in the 9th-10th centuries. the so-called first R. of page has developed. (regular masonry of walls and supports, stone ceilings, tectonic decor of external surfaces in the absence of a clear relationship between the elements of a volumetric composition). For Italian R. s. predominantly urban character of architecture, constant antique and (in southern Italy and Sicily) Arab influences are typical. The architecture of Tuscany [the cathedral complex in Pisa], where the Inlay style arose, is more closely connected with the Germanic and French Romanesque.

In Spain, partly in connection with the Reconquista, in the Romanesque era, the construction of castle-fortresses and city fortifications (for example, in Avila) was widely developed (as nowhere else in Europe). The church architecture of Spain often followed the French "pilgrimage" prototypes (the cathedral in Salamanca; see illustration at Salamanca station), but on the whole it was distinguished by the comparative simplicity of compositional solutions. Spanish sculpture R. s. in some cases, it anticipates the complex figurative systems of Gothic. In Spain (mainly in Catalonia), numerous Romanesque murals have also been preserved, marked by a sharp lapidarity of the drawing and extreme intensity of color.

R. s. also develops in England (after the Norman conquest of 1066; in architecture here the traditions of local wooden architecture were combined with the influence of the Norman school, and in painting the miniature, which is characterized by a special richness of floral ornament, gained leading importance), in the countries of Scandinavia (if large city cathedrals follow here predominantly German models, then in parish and rural churches the features of local originality clearly appear), in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary. Outside of Europe R.'s centers of page. there were castles built by the crusaders in the 12-13 centuries. in Palestine and Syria (Castle Krak des Chevaliers,

12th-13th centuries). Separate features of R. s., due not so much to direct influences, as to some similarity of ideological and artistic tasks, manifested themselves in art. Ancient Rus'(for example, in the architecture and plastic arts of the Vladimir-Suzdal school (See Vladimir-Suzdal school)).

Lit.: General History of Arts, vol. 2, book. 1, Moscow, 1960; General history of architecture, vol. 4, L. - M., 1966; Grabar A., Nordenfalk C., Romanesque painting from the 11th to the 13th century, N. Y., ; Conant K. J., Carolingian and Romanesque architecture. 800-1200, [Hamondsworth, 1959]; Demus 0., Romanische Wandmalerei, Münch., ; Fillitz H., Das Mittelalter, Bd I, B., 1969; Francastel P., L "humanisme roman, P. - La Hayt, .

E. T. Yuvalova.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

Romanesque style - an artistic style that dominated Western Europe, as well as affecting some countries of Eastern Europe, in the XI-XII centuries (in a number of places - and in the XIII century), one of the most important stages in the development of medieval European art.

The development of Romanesque architecture was associated with monumental construction, which began in Western Europe at the time of the formation and flourishing of feudal states, the revival of economic activity and the new growth of culture and art. The monumental architecture of Western Europe originated in the art of the barbarian peoples. These are, for example, the tomb of Theodoric in Ravenna (526-530), church buildings of the late Carolingian era - the court chapel of Charlemagne in Aachen (795-805), the church in Gernrod of the Ottonian period with its plastic integrity of large masses (second half of the 10th century) .

Tomb of Theodoric in Ravenna

Combining classical and barbarian elements, distinguished by severe grandeur, she prepared the formation of the Romanesque style, which further developed purposefully over two centuries. In each country, this style developed under the influence and strong influence of local traditions - ancient, Syrian, Byzantine, Arabic.

The main role in the Romanesque style was given to severe fortress architecture: monastic complexes, churches, castles. The main buildings during this period were the temple-fortress and the castle-fortress, located on elevated places, dominating the area.

Romanesque buildings are characterized by a combination of a clear architectural silhouette and concise exterior decoration - the building has always blended harmoniously into the surrounding nature, and therefore looked particularly solid and solid. This was facilitated by massive walls with narrow window openings and stepped-in-depth portals. Such walls carried a defensive purpose.

The main buildings during this period were the temple-fortress and the castle-fortress. The main element of the composition of the monastery or castle is the tower - donjon. Around it were the rest of the buildings, made up of simple geometric shapes - cubes, prisms, cylinders.

Features of the architecture of the Romanesque Cathedral:

The plan is based on an early Christian basilica, that is, a longitudinal organization of space
Enlargement of the choir or the eastern altar of the temple
Increasing the height of the temple
Replacing the coffered (cassette) ceiling with stone vaults in the largest cathedrals. The vaults were of several types: box, cross, often cylindrical, flat along the beams (typical of Italian Romanesque architecture).
Heavy vaults required powerful walls and columns
The main motive of the interior - semicircular arches

Chapel of Penitent Sinners. Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne.

Germany.

A special place in the construction of large cathedrals in Germany was occupied in the 12th century. powerful imperial cities on the Rhine (Speyer, Mainz, Worms). The cathedrals erected here are distinguished by the grandiosity of massive clear cubic volumes, an abundance of heavy towers, and more dynamic silhouettes.

In Worms Cathedral (1171-1234, ill. 76), built of yellow-gray sandstone, the divisions of volumes are less developed than in French churches, which creates a feeling of monolithic forms. Such a technique as a gradual increase in volumes, smooth linear rhythms is not used either. The squat towers of the crossroads and four high round towers with cone-shaped stone tents at the corners of the temple on the western and eastern sides, as if cutting into the sky, give it the character of a severe fortress. Smooth surfaces of impenetrable walls with narrow windows dominate everywhere, only sparingly enlivened by a frieze in the form of arches along the cornice. Slightly protruding lisen (shoulder blades - vertical flat and narrow ledges on the wall) connect the arched frieze, plinth and galleries in the upper part. In Worms Cathedral, the pressure of the vaults on the walls is relieved. The central nave is covered with a cross vault and brought into line with the cross vaults of the side aisles. For this purpose, the so-called "connected system" was used, in which for each span of the central nave there are two side spans. The edges of the external forms clearly express the internal volumetric-spatial structure of the building.

Worms St. Peter's Cathedral

Abbey Maria Laach, Germany

Liebmurg Cathedral, Germany

Bamberg Cathedral, east façade with two towers and polygonal choirs

France.

Most monuments of Romanesque art them in France, which in the 11-12 centuries. It was not only the center of philosophical and theological movements, but also the wide dissemination of heretical teachings, to a certain extent overcoming the dogmatism of the official church. In the architecture of Central and Western France, there is the greatest variety in solving structural problems, a wealth of forms. The features of the Romanesque style temple are clearly expressed in it.

An example of it is the church of Notre-Dame la Grande in Poitiers (11-12 centuries). This is a hall low, poorly lit temple, with a simple plan, with a low-protruding transept, with a poorly developed choir, framed by only three chapels. Almost equal in height, the three naves are covered with semi-cylindrical vaults and a common gable roof. The central nave is immersed in twilight - light penetrates it through the rarely located windows of the side aisles. The heaviness of the forms is emphasized by a squat three-tiered tower above the crossroads. The lower tier of the western façade is divided by a portal and two semicircular arches extending into the thickness of the steppe. The upward movement, expressed by small pointed towers and a stepped pediment, is stopped by horizontal friezes with sculptures of saints. Rich ornamental carving, typical of the Poitou school, spreads over the surface of the wall, softening the severity of the building. In the grandiose churches of Burgundy, which took first place among other French schools, the first steps were taken to change the design of vaulted ceilings in the type of basilica church with a high and wide middle nave, with many altars, transverse and lateral ships, an extensive choir and a developed, radially located crown. chapels. The high, three-tiered central nave was covered with a box vault, not with a semicircular arch, as in most Romanesque churches, but with light lancet outlines.

An example of such a complex type is the grandiose main five-nave monastery church of Cluny Abbey (1088-1107), which was destroyed in the early 19th century. Serving as the center of activity of the powerful Cluniac order of the 11th-12th centuries, it became a model for many temple buildings in Europe.

She is close to the temples of Burgundy: in Paray le Manial (beginning of the 12th century), Vesede (first third of the 12th century) and Autun (first third of the 12th century). They are characterized by the presence of a wide hall located in front of the naves, the use of high towers. Burgundian temples are distinguished by the perfection of forms, the clarity of dissected volumes, the measured rhythm, the completeness of the parts, their subordination to the whole.

Monastic Romanesque churches are usually small in size, the vaults are low, the transepts are small. With a similar layout, the design of the facades was different. For the southern regions of France, near the Mediterranean Sea, for the temples of Provence (in the past an ancient Greek colony and a Roman province), a connection with ancient late Roman order architecture is characteristic, the monuments of which have been preserved here in abundance; facades, sometimes reminiscent of Roman triumphal arches(Church of Saint Trophime in Arles, 12th century). Modified domed structures penetrated the southwestern regions.

Priory of Serrabona, France

Italy.

There was no stylistic unity in Italian architecture. This is largely due to the fragmentation of Italy and the attraction of its individual regions to the culture of Byzantium or the Romanesque - those countries with which they were connected by a long economic and cultural communication. Local late antique and early Christian traditions, the impact of the art of the medieval West and East determined the originality of the Romanesque architecture of the advanced schools of Central Italy - the cities of Tuscany and Lombardy, in the 11-12 centuries. liberated from feudal dependence and began the extensive construction of city cathedrals. Lombard architecture was instrumental in developing the vaulted structure and skeleton of the building.

In the architecture of Tuscany, the ancient tradition manifested itself in the completeness and harmonious clarity of forms, in the festive appearance of the majestic ensemble in Pisa. It includes the five-aisled Pisa Cathedral (1063-1118), the baptistery (baptistery, 1153-14th century), the inclined bell tower - campanile (the Leaning Tower of Pisa, begun in 1174, completed in the 13th-14th centuries) and the Camio cemetery -Santo.

Each building juts out freely, standing out with the simple enclosed volumes of cube and cylinder and the gleaming whiteness of marble in the green-grassed square by the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the breakdown of the masses, proportionality has been achieved. Graceful white marble Romanesque arcades with Roman Corinthian and composite capitals divide the facade and outer walls of all buildings into tiers, lightening their massiveness and emphasizing the structure. Large in size, the cathedral gives an impression of lightness, which is enhanced by inlays of colored marble in dark red and dark green (such decoration was typical for Florence, where the so-called "inlay style" became widespread). The elliptical dome above the crossroads completed its clear and harmonious image.

Pisa Cathedral, Italy

After the fall ancient rome it took several centuries for European culture to overcome the decline that followed the collapse of the ancient world. Term Roman style(from Latin Roma or French Romanesque), very conditional and inaccurate, arose in the first half of the 19th century, historians and art historians drew attention to the fact that the art of the early Middle Ages outwardly resembles ancient Roman art.

Roman style truly fused various elements of Late Antique and Merovinian art (named after the Frankish Merovingian dynasty), Byzantium and the countries of the Middle East.

This style is most fully expressed in architecture. Buildings of this style are notable for their monumentality and rationality of constructions, extensive use of semicircular arches and vaults, as well as multi-figured sculptural compositions. The Romanesque style left its mark on all other types of art: monumental painting and sculpture, arts and crafts. Products of that era were distinguished by massiveness, simplicity of severe forms and bright multicolor.

Roman style was formed in the era of feudal fragmentation, and therefore the functional purpose Romanesque architecture- defense. Such a functional feature of this style determined the architecture of both secular and religious buildings and corresponded to the lifestyle of a Western European person of that time. The formation of the Romanesque style was facilitated by the significant role of monasteries as centers of pilgrimage and culture.

Romanesque church - the main elements of architectural forms

In the feudal castle, which in the Romanesque era was the main type of secular architectural structures, the dominant position was occupied by a tower house, a rectangular or polyhedral shape, the so-called donjon - a kind of fortress within a fortress. On the first floor of the donjon there were utility rooms, on the second - front rooms, on the third - living rooms of the owners of the castle, on the fourth - the dwelling of guards and servants. At the bottom there were usually a dungeon and a prison, on the roof there was a watch platform.

During the construction of the castle, its functionality was ensured and artistic and aesthetic goals were least of all pursued. To ensure defense, castles were built, as a rule, in inaccessible places. The castle was surrounded by high stone (crenellated) walls with towers, a moat filled with water, and a drawbridge.

Gradually, such castle architecture began to influence the city's rich houses, which were built according to the same principles; some of them later spread to monastic and urban construction: fortress walls, watchtowers, city (monastic) gates. The medieval city, or rather, its center, was crossed by two axes-highways. At their intersection there was a market or cathedral square - the center public life townspeople. The rest of the space was built up spontaneously, however, the building had a predominantly central-concentric character, fitting into the city walls. It was during the XI-XII centuries. a characteristic type of a medieval cramped city arose with narrow high houses, each of which was a closed space in itself. Squeezed between neighboring buildings, with small iron-wrapped doors and windows protected by strong shutters, the house included housing and utility rooms. Gutters lined the twisted, narrow streets. The crowding of buildings, the lack of running water and sewerage often led to terrible epidemics.

Examples of the main types of capitals, columns and supports

Column capital (Romanesque Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene, Vézelay, France - Vézelay Abbey, Basilique Ste-Madeleine) Column capitals (Cathedral Saint-Lazare, Autun, France - Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d "Autun) Column capital (Lyon, France)

Portals and internal structure of temples

Doorway, Le Puy Cathedral, France - Le Puy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy) Window in the Great Hall, Durham Castle, England - Durham Castle West window of Notre Dame Cathedral in Tournai, Belgium - Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Tournai ( fr.) West nave, church in Poitiers, France - The Église Saint Hilaire le Grand is a church in Poitiers ( fr.) Church of St. Michael in Hildesheim, 1001-31, Germany - St. Michael's Church at Hildeshe Rochester Castle, England - Rochester Castle Windsor Castle, England - Windsor Castle Rialto Bridge, Venice, Italy - Rialto Bridge Pisa Cathedral, Italy - Cathedral of Pisa Church in Aulnay, 1140-70, France - Aulnay Church Durham Cathedral, England - Durham Cathedral White Tower, Chapel of St. John - Tower of London, St. John's Chapel Oratory of Germigny-des-Prés, 806, France - Germigny-des-Prés Le Puy Cathedral, France - Le Puy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy) Rochester Castle, Interior - Rochester Castle, Interior Maria Laach Abbey, Germany - Maria Laach Abbey Tewkesbury Abbey, England - Tewkesbury Abbey Church in the village of Kilpeck, England, doorway- Kilpeck Church Western portal of the Cathedral of St. Martin in Worms, Germany - Kathedrale St. Martin zu Worms German)

The most significant building of Romanesque architecture is the temple (cathedral). Influence christian church on the spiritual and secular life of that time was enormous.

Religious architecture developed under the strong influence (depending on local conditions) of ancient, Byzantine or Arabic art. The power and severe simplicity of the appearance of Romanesque temples were generated by concerns about their strength and the idea of the superiority of the spiritual over the bodily. The outlines of the forms are dominated by simple vertical or horizontal lines, as well as semicircular Roman arches. The task of achieving strength and simultaneously lightening the structures of the vaults was solved by creating cross vaults formed by two segments of semicircular vaults of equal radius intersecting at a right angle. The temple of the Romanesque style most often develops the ancient Christian basilica inherited from the Romans, which formed a Latin cross in plan.

Massive towers become a characteristic element of the exterior, and the entrance is formed by a portal (from the Latin porta - a door) in the form of semicircular arches cut into the thickness of the wall and decreasing in perspective (the so-called perspective portal).

The interior layout and dimensions of the Romanesque church met cultural and social needs. The temple could accommodate a lot of people of various classes. The presence of naves (usually three) made it possible to distinguish parishioners in accordance with their position in society. Arcades that came into use in Byzantine architecture, became widespread in Romanesque architecture.

In Romanesque architecture, the heels of the arches rested directly on the capitals, which was almost never done in antiquity. However, this technique became widespread during the Italian Renaissance. The Romanesque column has lost its anthropomorphic meaning, as was customary in antiquity. All columns now have a strictly cylindrical shape without entasis, which was later inherited by the Gothic. The shape of the capital developed the Byzantine type - the intersection of the cube and the ball. In the future, it became more and more simplified, becoming conical. The thickness and strength of the walls, simple masonry with almost no cladding (unlike the ancient Roman) are the main criteria for the construction.

In Romanesque cult architecture, sculptural plasticity became widespread, which, in the form of a relief, covered the planes of walls or the surface of capitals. The compositions of such reliefs, as a rule, are planar, they do not have a sense of depth. The sculptural decor in the form of a relief was located, in addition to the walls and capitals, on the tympanums of the portals and the archivolts of the vaults. In such reliefs, the principles of Romanesque plasticity are most clearly reflected: emphasized graphic and linearity.

The outer walls of the cathedrals were also decorated with stone carvings of floral, geometric and zoomorphic ornaments (fantastic monsters, exotic animals, animals, birds, etc.). The main decor of the cathedral was located on the main facade and inside, at the altar, located on a dais. Decoration was carried out with the help of sculptural images, which were brightly painted.

Romanesque sculpture is characterized by a monumental generalization of forms, deviations from real proportions, due to which one or another created image often becomes the bearer of an exaggeratedly expressive gesture or an element of ornament.

In the early Romanesque style, before the walls and vaults acquired a more complex configuration (end of the 11th-beginning of the 12th century), monumental reliefs became the leading type of temple decor, and wall painting played the main role. Marble inlay and mosaics were also widely used, the technology of execution of which has been preserved since antiquity.

Sculptural reliefs and wall paintings sought to give an instructive meaning. The central place here was occupied by themes related to the idea of \u200b\u200bthe limitless and formidable power of God.

Strictly symmetrical religious compositions were dominated by the figure of Christ and narrative cycles, primarily on biblical and gospel themes (the terrible prophecies of the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment with the presentation of the theological scene hierarchical structure world, heaven and the righteous, hell and sinners condemned to eternal torment, weighing the good and evil deeds of the dead, etc.).

In the X-XI centuries. the technique of colored stained-glass windows develops, the composition of which at first was very primitive. Glass vessels and lamps begin to be made. The technique of enamel, ivory carving, casting, chasing, artistic weaving, jewelry art, book miniature, the art of which is closely connected with sculpture and wall painting, are developing. All sorts of fences, gratings, locks, hinges for doors and lids of chests, fittings for chests and cabinets, etc. are made of wrought iron in large quantities. Bronze was used for door knockers, which were often cast in the form of animal or human heads. Doors with reliefs, fonts, candelabra, rukomoi, etc. were cast and minted from bronze.

In the XI century. tapestries (woven carpets) begin to be made, on which, with the help of weaving, multi-figure compositions and complex ornamentation are made, which is strongly influenced by Byzantine and Arab art.

Romanesque furniture

The furniture of the Romanesque period exactly corresponded to the mentality and standard of living of a medieval person, satisfying only his elementary needs. It is possible to talk about furniture art, and then with a large degree of conventionality, starting from the 9th century.

Carved oak cabinet, Lower Saxony

Chair in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy - St. Peter's Basilica

The interior of the house was sparse: in most cases, the floor was earthen. Only in the palace of a rich lord or king was sometimes the floor paved with stone slabs. And only a very rich person could afford not only to lay the floor with a stone, but to create an ornament on it with a colored stone. From the earthen and stone floor, from the stone walls in the premises of houses and castles, it was constantly damp and cold, so the floor was covered with a layer of straw. In rich houses, the floor was covered with straw mats, and on holidays - with armfuls of fresh flowers and herbs. In the secular literature of the late Middle Ages, in the descriptions of the houses of kings and noble nobles, the floor in the banquet hall, strewn with flowers, is often mentioned. However, the aesthetic factor played a very small role here.

In the houses of the highest nobility, it was customary to cover the stone walls with carpets brought from the countries of the East. The very presence of the carpet testified to the nobility and wealth of its owner. When the art of making woven carpets (trellises) developed, they began to tighten the wall with them in order to save heat.

The main living space of the signor's house is the central hall, which served as a living room and dining room, in the center of which there was a hearth. The smoke from the hearth came out through a hole in the ceiling of the room. Only much later, in the 12th-13th centuries, did they guess to move the hearth to the wall, and then put it in a niche and equip it with a cap that pulled the smoke into a wide, non-closing chimney. Servants covered the embers with ashes by night to keep warm longer. The sleeping quarters were often made common, so the beds in such sleeping quarters were arranged very wide, where the owners often slept with the guests, warming each other. In rich houses, they began to arrange separate bedrooms, which were used only by the owners of the house and the most honored guests.

The bedrooms for the signor and his wife were usually made in small and cramped side rooms, where their beds were set on high wooden platforms with steps and a canopy that was pulled up to protect against night cold and drafts.

Due to the fact that in the early Middle Ages the technology of manufacturing window glass was not known, the windows were not initially glazed, but were climbed with stone bars. They were made high from the ground and were very narrow, so twilight reigned in the rooms. Spiral staircases were widely used, which was very convenient for moving, for example, along the floors of the donjon tower. The wooden roof rafters from the inside of the building were left open. Only later did they learn to make hemmed ceilings from boards.

The twilight of the cold rooms of the houses of the Romanesque era was compensated by the bright and colorful colors of unsightly furniture, expensive embroidered tablecloths, elegant utensils (metal, stone, glass), carpets, and animal skins.

The range of furniture items in residential premises was small and consisted of various types of chairs, stools, armchairs, beds, tables and, of course, chests - the main furniture objects of that time, less often - cabinets.

At the hearths and at the table they sat on rough-hewn benches and primitive stools, in the boards for sitting of which knots were inserted that served as legs.

Apparently, it was they who were the predecessors of the three-legged stools and chairs, which were very common in Western Europe. Of the antique seating furniture, only one form of a folding stool or chair with X-shaped crossed legs continued to live (like the Greek diphros okladios or the ancient Roman sella curulis - curule chair), easily carried by the servant behind his master. At the table or at the hearth, only the signor had his place. For him, a ceremonial chair or armchair, assembled from turned balusters (rods), with a high back, elbows (or without them) and a footstool was placed to protect the stone floor from the cold. In this era, however, very rarely, wooden chairs and armchairs were made. In Scandinavia, a number of seating areas have been preserved, decorated with through and flat carvings depicting an intricate decorative pattern of fantastic animals intertwined with straps and branches.

Front seats with high backs were also made, which were intended for the highest hierarchs of the church. One of the rare surviving examples that has lost the crossbars on the backs is the episcopal throne of the 11th century. (Cathedral in Anagni). Its decoration, consisting of arches on the front and side walls, is clearly inspired by Romanesque architecture. An example of a folding seat with cruciform legs is the stool of St. Ramon in the Cathedral of Roda de Isabena in Spain, richly decorated with carvings. The legs of the stool end with animal paws, in the upper part they turn into lion heads. An image has been preserved (Durham Cathedral, England) of a seat with a music stand of a very rare type, intended for copyist monks. The seat has a high back side walls decorated with openwork carved arches. The movable music stand rests on two slats extending from the backrest and fixed in grooves on the top of the front legs. Seating items such as benches were commonly used in temples and monasteries. The decor on the benches was obviously borrowed from the architectural decor and was made in the form of carved or painted arches and round rosettes.

A sample of a richly decorated pew from the church of San Clemente in Taule (Spain, 12th century) has been preserved. This bench, made in the form of a kind of throne, has three seats, separated by columns, between which and the side walls there are three arches. The side walls and canopy are richly decorated with openwork carvings. Once it was painted: in some places traces of red paint have been preserved on it.

In general, the seating furniture was uncomfortable and heavy. There was no upholstery on stools, chairs, benches and armchairs. To hide defects in joints or a poorly finished wooden surface, the furniture was covered with a thick layer of primer and paint. Sometimes the raw wooden frame was covered with canvas, which was covered with primer (gesso) from a mixture of chalk, plaster and glue, and then painted with paints.

During this period, beds are of great importance, the frames of which are installed on turned legs and surrounded by a low lattice.

Other types of beds, decorated with openwork semicircular arches, borrow the shape of a chest and rest on square legs. All beds are equipped with a wooden canopy and canopy, which was supposed to hide the sleeper and protect him from cold and drafts. But such beds belonged mainly to noble nobles and ministers of the church. Beds for poor people were quite primitive and were made in the form of a kind of container for a mattress, similar to a chest without a lid, with a small notch in the middle of the front and back walls. The uprights at the feet ended with chiseled cones, and a high wall with a small wooden canopy was made at the head.

Tables in the early period are still very primitive. This is just a removable board or a roughly knocked together shield, which was mounted on two goats. The expression to set tables came precisely from that time, when, as necessary, tables were set up or removed after the end of the meal. In the mature Romanesque period, rectangular tables are made, the table top of which does not rest on legs, but on two side shields connected by one or two prolegs (longitudinal bars), the ends of which protrude outward and wedged. On such tables there is no carving and decoration, with the exception of a few semicircular fillets and curly cuts on the edges of the sidewalls. More complex in design and shape are tables with round and octagonal tabletops, standing on one central support in the form of a pedestal with a rather complex relief. It is also known that stone tables were often used in monasteries.

But the chest was the most versatile and practical piece of furniture in the Roman era. It could simultaneously serve as a container, a bed, a bench and even a table. The shape of the chest, despite its primitive design, originates from ancient sarcophagi and gradually becomes more diverse. Some types of chests had massive and very high legs. For greater strength, chests were usually upholstered with iron fittings. Small chests could be easily carried in case of danger. Such chests often did not have any decorations and, above all, met the requirements of convenience and strength. Later, when the chest took its special place among other furnishings, it was made on high legs, and the front side was decorated with flat carvings. Being the ancestor of all other forms of furniture that came later, the chest until the 18th century. retained great importance in the setting of the home.

Placed vertically on its side, the chest was the prototype of the cabinet, most often with one door, a gable roof and a pediment decorated with flat carvings and coloring. Its iron fittings are also decorated with curly carvings. Gradually appear, especially in churches, tall cabinets with two doors and short rectangular legs. Church and monastery utensils were stored in them. One of these cabinets is in Aubazia (Corrèze department). Its two front doors are reinforced with iron fittings and decorated with round carved arches, the side walls are decorated with paired arches in two tiers - the decor is clearly architectural in nature; massive legs of the cabinet are a continuation of the vertical racks of the frame. There is a similar cabinet in the Halberstadt Cathedral. This one-door wardrobe is decorated with cut dragons on both sides of the pediment, a carved rosette and bound with massive iron bands. The top of the door is rounded. All this betrays the influence of architecture on furniture decoration, typical of the Romanesque style.

Usually cabinets, as well as chests, were trimmed with iron linings (shackles). It was these wrought iron linings that held the thick raw boards of the product, since the box and frame-panel knitting known from antiquity were not actually used here. Over time, forged lining, in addition to the function of reliability, received decorative functions.

In the manufacture of such furniture the main role belonged to a carpenter and a blacksmith, so the forms of Romanesque furniture are very simple and concise.

Romanesque furniture was made mainly from spruce, cedar and oak. In the mountainous regions of Western Europe, all the furniture of that era was made of soft wood - spruce or cedar; in Germany, the Scandinavian countries and England, oak was usually used.

In the Romanesque era, the largest range of furniture objects, in comparison with living quarters, was intended for cathedrals and churches. Pews with music stands, sacristies, church cabinets, separate reading stands, etc. were widespread in the XI-XII centuries.

Ordinary household furniture, which was made and used by villagers, artisans and small traders, retained its forms, proportions and decorations without any change for several more centuries.

In religious buildings and their furnishings from the second half of the 13th century. the Gothic style begins to spread, which subjugates most Western European countries to its influence. But this a new style for a long time does not affect folk applied art and furniture making.

Preserving traditional forms, such furniture only facilitates its proportions, freeing itself from an excessive supply of materials. In urban furniture, starting from the 14th century, elements of Gothic decor applied to the Romanesque design are already beginning to be found.

Used study materials. benefits: Grashin A.A. A short course in the style evolution of furniture - Moscow: Architecture-S, 2007

Brief description and history of style with examples.

Romanesque painting (1000–1200)

In the history of Christian art, the term "Romanesque" is rather vague and refers to various art disciplines, including architecture, sculpture, and painting. This term, which describes this school of painting, is considered by historians to be even less accurate and meaningful than the term “Gothic”. It is difficult to establish the exact chronology of the direction, since in different countries it developed in different time.

If Romanesque sculpture is characterized, for the most part, by realistic works, then Romanesque painting is distinguished by the formality of a style devoid of naturalism and humanism. We can say that Gothic refinement is preceded by Romanesque austerity. Romanesque painting is dominated by linear constructions, creating majestic calm or, alternatively, agitated expressiveness. The decorative nature of Romanesque stained glass, manuscripts, altarpieces, paintings and other works can be seen as a kind of bridge between Eastern Byzantine and Western Gothic art.

Style characteristic

The individual style of Romanesque painting begins to take shape after the period of the Carolingians and the Ottenian Renaissance. It is characterized by the use of frescoes, tempera and wax painting. It is worth noting that the choice of paints and color pigments of the medieval master was limited.

in Italy

The period of Romanesque art in Italy lasted somewhat longer than in other countries. Fast development directions can be connected by direct contacts with the East. The duration is due to the fact that Romanesque art was in the hands of old and famous masters such as Duccio di Buoninsegna, Cimabue and Giotto di Bondone, who continued to create their works with the advent of the Gothic period.

Frescoes in Saint-Savin.

In Spain

Nowhere else can one find such an abundance of Romanesque painting, heralding the beginning of the Gothic period, as in Spain and one of its regions - Catalonia. The iconographic themes of churches and altars mainly focused on the representation of Christ and the Virgin.

Fresco in the Church of San Clemente

In England

It is difficult to give a general idea of the Romanesque painting of England, as it is known, for the most part, from illustrated manuscripts. Many frescoes, paintings and other objects of art have not survived to this day, although they undoubtedly could help in shaping the assessment of the direction.

In Germany and Austria

art Germany and Austria between the ninth and eleventh centuries is a complex mixture of Romanesque and earlier medieval painting, and the near extinction and loss of works of art also add to the complexity of the analysis.

In Hungary and the Czech Republic

Historically, these countries have played an important role in the development of Romanesque art. The architecture and painting of Hungary and the Czech Republic reflect the ideas of the direction and have a pronounced oriental influence.

Romanesque painting updated: September 16, 2017 by: Gleb

After the fall of Ancient Rome, it took several centuries for European culture to overcome the decline that followed the collapse of the ancient world. Term Roman style(from Latin Roma or French Romanesque), very conditional and inaccurate, arose in the first half of the 19th century, historians and art historians drew attention to the fact that the art of the early Middle Ages outwardly resembles ancient Roman art.

Roman style truly fused various elements of Late Antique and Merovinian art (named after the Frankish Merovingian dynasty), Byzantium and the countries of the Middle East.

Romanesque church - the main elements of architectural forms

Gradually, such castle architecture began to influence the city's rich houses, which were built according to the same principles; some of them later spread to monastic and urban construction: fortress walls, watchtowers, city (monastic) gates. The medieval city, or rather, its center, was crossed by two axes-highways. At their intersection there was a market or cathedral square - the center of the public life of the townspeople. The rest of the space was built up spontaneously, however, the building had a predominantly central-concentric character, fitting into the city walls. It was during the XI-XII centuries. a characteristic type of a medieval cramped city arose with narrow high houses, each of which was a closed space in itself. Squeezed between neighboring buildings, with small iron-wrapped doors and windows protected by strong shutters, the house included housing and utility rooms. Gutters lined the twisted, narrow streets. The crowding of buildings, the lack of running water and sewerage often led to terrible epidemics.

Examples of the main types of capitals, columns and supports

Portals and internal structure of temples

Doorway, Le Puy Cathedral, France - Le Puy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy) Window in the Great Hall, Durham Castle, England - Durham Castle West window of Notre Dame Cathedral in Tournai, Belgium - Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Tournai ( fr.) West nave, church in Poitiers, France - The Église Saint Hilaire le Grand is a church in Poitiers ( fr.) Church of St. Michael in Hildesheim, 1001-31, Germany - St. Michael's Church at Hildeshe Rochester Castle, England - Rochester Castle Windsor Castle, England - Windsor Castle Rialto Bridge, Venice, Italy - Rialto Bridge Pisa Cathedral, Italy - Cathedral of Pisa Church in Aulnay, 1140-70, France - Aulnay Church Durham Cathedral, England - Durham Cathedral White Tower, Chapel of St. John - Tower of London, St. John's Chapel Oratory of Germigny-des-Prés, 806, France - Germigny-des-Prés Le Puy Cathedral, France - Le Puy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy) Rochester Castle, Interior - Rochester Castle, Interior Maria Laach Abbey, Germany - Maria Laach Abbey Tewkesbury Abbey, England - Tewkesbury Abbey Church in the village of Kilpeck, England, doorway - Kilpeck Church Western portal of the Cathedral of St. Martin in Worms, Germany - Kathedrale St. Martin zu Worms German)

The most significant building of Romanesque architecture is the temple (cathedral). The influence of the Christian Church on the spiritual and secular life of that time was enormous.

The interior layout and dimensions of the Romanesque church met cultural and social needs. The temple could accommodate a lot of people of various classes. The presence of naves (usually three) made it possible to distinguish parishioners in accordance with their position in society. Arcades, which came into use in Byzantine architecture, became widespread in Romanesque architecture.

Strictly symmetrical religious compositions were dominated by the figure of Christ and narrative cycles, primarily on biblical and gospel themes (the terrible prophecies of the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment with the presentation of the theological scene of the hierarchical structure of the world, paradise and the righteous, hell and sinners condemned to eternal torment, weighing the good and evil deeds of the dead, etc.).

Romanesque furniture

Carved oak cabinet, Lower Saxony

Chair in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy - St. Peter's Basilica

At the hearths and at the table they sat on rough-hewn benches and primitive stools, in the boards for sitting of which knots were inserted that served as legs.

Front seats with high backs were also made, which were intended for the highest hierarchs of the church. One of the rare surviving examples that has lost the crossbars on the backs is the episcopal throne of the 11th century. (Cathedral in Anagni). Its decoration, consisting of arches on the front and side walls, is clearly inspired by Romanesque architecture. An example of a folding seat with cruciform legs is the stool of St. Ramon in the Cathedral of Roda de Isabena in Spain, richly decorated with carvings. The legs of the stool end with animal paws, in the upper part they turn into lion heads. An image has been preserved (Durham Cathedral, England) of a seat with a music stand of a very rare type, intended for copyist monks. The seat is equipped with a high back, its side walls are decorated with openwork carved arches. The movable music stand rests on two slats extending from the backrest and fixed in grooves on the top of the front legs. Seating items such as benches were commonly used in temples and monasteries. The decor on the benches was obviously borrowed from the architectural decor and was made in the form of carved or painted arches and round rosettes.

During this period, beds are of great importance, the frames of which are installed on turned legs and surrounded by a low lattice.

In the manufacture of such furniture, the main role belonged to the carpenter and blacksmith, so the forms of Romanesque furniture are very simple and concise.

Ordinary household furniture, which was made and used by villagers, artisans and small traders, retained its forms, proportions and decorations without any change for several more centuries.

In religious buildings and their furnishings from the second half of the 13th century. the Gothic style begins to spread, which subjugates most Western European countries to its influence. But this new style did not affect folk arts and crafts and furniture making for a long time.

Used study materials. benefits: Grashin A.A. A short course in the style evolution of furniture - Moscow: Architecture-S, 2007