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Gothic: Visual Art of the Middle Ages 1140-1500
Gothic gives readers a comprehensive description of the art in the Middle Ages by presenting outstanding treasures of medieval imagery such as religious panel paintings, Madonna statues, illumination,and goldsmithing, as well as courtly culture and architecture. As the introduction points out, visual images were important because they were an effective way of communicating "specific ideas and aspirations in durable form". A castle fortress on a hill communicated one thing, a monumental cathedral in the midst of a bustling city something else. Gothic art served a religious, social, political, or perhaps all three. Based on some excellent photos by Achim Bednorz, the text by Bruno Klein brings to life the remote world of the Middle Ages, helping the reader to see and understand the life and aspirations in the times now know as the Gothic epoch.
568 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 17, 2018
A beautiful and massive book (it weighs at least 5kg). The images of Medieval Gothic architecture and artifacts are superbly produced by Achim Bednorz and brilliantly capture some of the great wonders of the medieval world.
The text, by Bruno Klein, is translated from German, and it is hardgoing in places. However, Klein is deeply knowledgeable and passionate about art and medieval history. In an era where most people were illiterate, a history of art is a history of the time. Visuals were a hugely significant means of communication, for both theoretical and practial reasons. The ruling and clerical classes felt obliged to communicate to those under their care. Writing was time-consuming and the materials expensive, and manual labour meant that many people simply did not have the time or resources to learn. Into this vacuum came visual imagery, in the form of paintings and sculpture. We walk through cathedrals like they are art galleries, to be contemplated, and they were clearly intended for contemplation. But their primary purpose was as visual sermons, where the clergy would stand in front of the images and explain their meaning to the people gathered around. Thus people could recall the messages when they were in church, or the town hall, or walking past. Images served not only to tell the Christian story, but also to illustrate how life should be lived. The people in a passion scene are never there just to illustrate the story, but also to show how we should respond emotionally to the story. In the same way, images illustrated how people of different ranks were to behave, and how they could improve.
While art undoubtedly served propaganda purposes (some orders of monks, for example, used images to portray their piety and superiority to other orders), or a means of elevating social status (donors were very frequently portrayed in the work they commissioned, not only to signal their virtue, but also to obtain prayers), it also reflected in permanent form the worldview of the times. Paintings of cities, for instance, would symbolize the order within cities and the comparative disorder without (the countryside could be quite dangerous). But they did not just illustrate: architectural forms enforced social structures, by separating people according to social standing, but also provided for communication between ranks, through images.
The book ranges through cathedrals, castles, town halls, painting, stained glass, tombs, liturgical artifacts and cities. The observations on these varied art forms likewise range in scale, from the position of buildings to the tiniest detail in a painting, and discuss the practical aspects of art forms and their development (I never knew there were so many kinds of arches), along with their social and spiritual impact.
Altogether, this was a magnificent book, and a fascinating commentary on the Middle Ages. Highly recommended.
The text, by Bruno Klein, is translated from German, and it is hardgoing in places. However, Klein is deeply knowledgeable and passionate about art and medieval history. In an era where most people were illiterate, a history of art is a history of the time. Visuals were a hugely significant means of communication, for both theoretical and practial reasons. The ruling and clerical classes felt obliged to communicate to those under their care. Writing was time-consuming and the materials expensive, and manual labour meant that many people simply did not have the time or resources to learn. Into this vacuum came visual imagery, in the form of paintings and sculpture. We walk through cathedrals like they are art galleries, to be contemplated, and they were clearly intended for contemplation. But their primary purpose was as visual sermons, where the clergy would stand in front of the images and explain their meaning to the people gathered around. Thus people could recall the messages when they were in church, or the town hall, or walking past. Images served not only to tell the Christian story, but also to illustrate how life should be lived. The people in a passion scene are never there just to illustrate the story, but also to show how we should respond emotionally to the story. In the same way, images illustrated how people of different ranks were to behave, and how they could improve.
While art undoubtedly served propaganda purposes (some orders of monks, for example, used images to portray their piety and superiority to other orders), or a means of elevating social status (donors were very frequently portrayed in the work they commissioned, not only to signal their virtue, but also to obtain prayers), it also reflected in permanent form the worldview of the times. Paintings of cities, for instance, would symbolize the order within cities and the comparative disorder without (the countryside could be quite dangerous). But they did not just illustrate: architectural forms enforced social structures, by separating people according to social standing, but also provided for communication between ranks, through images.
The book ranges through cathedrals, castles, town halls, painting, stained glass, tombs, liturgical artifacts and cities. The observations on these varied art forms likewise range in scale, from the position of buildings to the tiniest detail in a painting, and discuss the practical aspects of art forms and their development (I never knew there were so many kinds of arches), along with their social and spiritual impact.
Altogether, this was a magnificent book, and a fascinating commentary on the Middle Ages. Highly recommended.
November 17, 2019
One of my very favorite books I own is the Baroque companion to this book, so having the double set is awesome. This one is definitely fantastic! Rich imagery, great information, and nicely put together.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews