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Medieval and Early Christian Art |
As we cast our eyes on the contracted nature of medieval art, after examining the sculpture of antiquity in its multi-dimensional spectacle, there is a sense that the medieval world lost its ability to present images in a classical precision. This was the intention of the medieval artist. Most religious artists after the fourth century, when christianity dominated as the chief religion of the Roman world, chose to reject the ideals of perfection in form and technique. Rather, these monastic artists sought to present images which would draw the spectator into the inner eye of their work, pointing to its spiritual significance. This attitude towards art reflected the religious ideals of the monk artist. The monastic values of the day advocated a rejection of the physical body and the material world, certainly the representation of man in art replicated these ideals. Man and Woman were not represented as images of physical perfection. Rather their appearance was nondescript; their function was to represent a historical or biblical character in a symbolic tableau from the Old or New Testament. The predominating features of these characters conveyed religious ideals. Consequently, certain features, uplifted hands and eyes, for example, became stock elements in medieval art. |
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