Mediaeval Art

The subject of the research is a group of mediaeval, anthropomorphic handles of small tools - knives, pins used for styling hai r, and ear scoops (spatulas) - with single and double representations of complete standing human figures. In terms of the subject matter and presented symbols, places of production, the material used, the artistic level and technique of craft and their intended use, they do not constitute a uniform group.
The collected and analysed group includes 160 items. One of the research aims was to determine the artefacts' features that would allow systematising, and thus creating a system of classification of the handles. It was possible to distinguish six types of the analysed artefacts. They are based on the types of props accompanying the images of single figures or their absence and representations of the two figures. Within these types, the subtypes, varieties and variants have been distinguished.

The interest for mediaeval pictorial techniques can be analysed through the study of the
paintings, the observation of the techniques used as well as the testing of those techniques but
also with the support of written sources like notarial acts or, concerning our work, records of
paint formulas. In 2011, Mark Clarke published a new version of the Liber Diversarum Aritum
initial text and it has been chosen as a support for the argument. This unexpected publication,
issued only a few months after the beginning of our research allowed us to work on aspects
which were not offered in the more conventional philological approach. As a consequence
we decided to elaborate our thought on the analysis of the methods that are developed in
the text. We did not leave out the translation of this text neither the concrete analysis of the
manuscript nor its dating but we do not wish to make it the main point of our process. The
information we find in the Liber of Montpellier can be organised according to the five mainprinciples the painter follows to paint: the drawing, the creation of colours, their mixing, the
use of colours in painting, the silver and gold decoration. Associated to this modus operandi is
a concern for the quality of the support, its preparation and the precaution which are essential
for the application of the materials and tools. We shall expand on some of those details. The
comparisons made with preserved mediaeval works shall help to determine what distance
unifies and separates theory from practise. Thanks to this work on the analysis of the technique,
we hope to contribute to a larger reflection persisting on the skills developed by the mediaeval
painter.

This is a reassessment of the Ghent altarpiece in the context of the upcoming third edition of The Gospel of John Restored and Translated, to be published in seven or eight volumes by Editores Volcán Barú, as providing clues that the figures represent Jesus and the Mary called Magdalene. The analysis includes an analysis of the original version of the work, the underpainting revealed by x-radiography and other means.

From a book restoring the hypothetical original version of the Gospel of John, in which the centrality of Mary called Magdalene is recovered, comes this discussion of the black madonna artistic tradition of Mediaeval Europe and elsewhere in the world. The contention is that many of these are not of the Virgin Mary but rather the younger Mary, and reasons are given for why it is rare that modern art historians are willing to entertain that possibility. Issues of badly conceived attempts at restoration, especially in Chartres, are also considered.

Starting from the identification and analysis of common points between the different stories of origin of the icons so-called "acheiropoieta" (or "not made by human hands"), the article wants to give an account of the theological implications of such cycles of legends, true "founding myths" of the Christian image. The article identifies some shared features and themes in the stories – related in particular the miraculous specificities of the “acheiropoieton” image, the inability of the artist to paint the face of the Lord, the particular quality of the image “not made by human hands” to be vicar on earth of the model, the Christological and redemptive beauty inspiration – in order to highlight the line of continuity linking the icons “not made by human hands” to the anthropological status of the image and art.

Henry of Blois (d. 1171) was a towering figure in twelfth-century England. Grandson of William the Conqueror and brother to King Stephen, he played a central role in shaping the course of the civil war that characterized his brother's reign. Bishop of Winchester and abbot of Glastonbury for more than four decades, Henry was one of the richest men in the kingdom, and effectively governed the English Church for a time as Papal Legate. Raised and tonsured at Cluny, he was an intimate friend of Peter the Venerable and later saved the great abbey from financial ruin. Towards the end of his life he presided, albeit reluctantly, over the trial of Thomas Becket. Henry was a remarkable man: an administrator of exceptional talent, a formidable ecclesiastical statesman, a bold and eloquent diplomat, and twelfth-century England's most prolific patron of the arts.

In the first major book-length study of Henry to be published since 1932, nine scholars explore new perspectives on the most crucial aspects of his life and legacy. By bringing ecclesiastical and documentary historians together with archaeologists and historians of art, architecture, literature and ideas, this interdisciplinary collection will serve as a catalyst for renewed study of this fascinating man and the world in which he operated.

Contributors: Martin Biddle, Barbara Bombi, John Crook, Claire Donovan, M.J. Franklin, Edmund King, William Kynan-Wilson, Matthew M. Mesley, John Munns

The wall-paintings in the Tempietto Longobardo at Cividale, ca 750/760, are rendered in an unmistakable Byzantine style. They were probably made by a workshop lead by a master painter from Constantinople. As such, the paintings are important as rare evidence of figural religious art from the iconoclastic period. The technically most accomplished part of the decoration is the painting depicting Christ flanked by the archangels Michael and Gabriel in the lunette over the western door, the main entrance to the chapel. The very distinctive physiognomic type of the Christ indicates that the painter rendered a specific prototype. The article discusses parallels and traces the origin of this particular iconographic type.

Erstmals liegt hier eine grundständige Analyse der Gattung des gedruckten Heiltumsbuches vor. Heiltumsbücher reflektieren in Bild und Text kostbare Reliquienbehältnisse, wie sie während einer Heiltumsschau den Gläubigen gewiesen wurden. Die Untersuchung widmet sich der spezifischen Medialität und Ästhetik dieser Drucke und ihrer Ausrichtung auf ein größeres Publikum . Darüber hinaus geht sie der besonderen Rolle der Auftraggeber nach sowie deren Einfluss auf Gestalt und Ordnung der Bücher. Das Zusammenwirken von Bild und Text als Präsenz von Wirklichkeit steht dabei im Zentrum der medialen Analyse. Der älteren These, das Heiltumsbuch gattungsgenalogisch als Vorläufer von Sammlungs- und Ausstellungkatalogen aufzufassen, begegnet die Untersuchung mit dem Nachweis, dass hier eher von Gattungsanalogien auszugehen sei.

The numerous monuments of late mediaeval religious architecture on the island of Pag are a valuable witness to the development of mediaeval architecture not merely on Pag, but also throughout the broader geographic region. Unfortunately, only a few of these structures have remained in function to the present. Most of these churches are in ruins today, and many of them have disappeared entirely. It is nonetheless possible to reconstruct to some extent on the basis of what has been preserved and also the data offered in archival records the full wealth of the architectural activity in this period, as well as particular elements in the manner of construction, and certain stylistic developmental advances.
Several churches had already been constructed in Pag as early as the early Christian period, and also during the early mediaeval period. Some of them remained in function afterwards (St Jerome in Vlašići, the older church of the Blessed Virgin in Stari Grad, St Nicholas at Povljana, St George above Pag, St George at Smokvica, St Peter at Prosika). The real expansion in architectural activity took place at the end of the 13th century and during the 14th century, when a large number of small churches were built next to fields and salt flats, as well as churches in the town itself.
Of the numerous religious structures built at the end of the 13th and in the first half of the 14th century, the majority of those located in the southeastern part of the island belong to the characteristic type of single-naved rectangular churches of small dimensions, with a semicircular apse, roofed with a barrel vault which was strengthened by a horizontal band supported on laterally placed pilasters. The ruined remains of the following churches show that they belonged to this type: St Michael near Gorica, St Martin at Stara Povljana, St Nicholas at Pag Point, and the most attractive of them all, the Church of St Guy on the hill above Kolan. For some churches, such as St Andrew and St John at the salt flats, St Martin in Stari Grad, SS Cosmos and Damian in Stari Grad, and St Gregory near Stari Grad, it is not possible to determine whether they belonged to the same time because of their poor preservation, but the preserved remains indicate a similar plan.
In the northwestern part of the island, remains have been preserved from the cited period of the Churches of St Christopher near Stara Novalja, St George at Caska, St Guy at Vidasovi Stanovi, St John near Jakišnica, St Martin at the tip of Lun Point, and St Andrew near Novalja. In contrast to those in the southeastern part of the island, these churches exhibit neither typological nor stylistic uniformity, and the two constructed on the Lun peninsula, which was owned by inhabitants of the adjacent island of Rab (St Guy and St John), are stylistically more advanced than the contemporary structures in other sections of the island.
The greatest number, however, of the religious structures from the end of the 13th century and from the 14th century disappeared entirely (or the structures were later remodelled completely). The following churches are known merely on the basis of archival records: St Ambrose, St Andrew, St Francis, St George, the Holy Cross, St Margaret, and St Matthew in Stari Grad, St Maurus at Barbat, St Quirinus near Pag, St Euphemia and St Stephen near the salt flats, St Maurus at Dinjiška, the Holy Cross at Stara Vasa, St Catherine at Novalja, and St Anthony in the Novalja plain.
The large Cathedral of the Our Lady was constructed at the beginning of the 14th century in Stari Grad, in a simple form of the developed Romanesque, even in a somewhat rustic style (due to lack of funds). Its impoverished aesthetic appearance was somewhat modified at the end of the 14th century, when the previous facade was demolished and a new one built, decorated with reliefs by the Zadar sculptor Pavao of Sulmona. The migration of the inhabitants of the town to the new Pag, and the construction of a new cathedral, meant that the Church of Our Lady lost all of its importance. Nonetheless, thanks to the fact that it later belonged to the Franciscans, who built a monastery next to it, this church has remained in function up to the present.
There are somewhat fewer monuments of religious architecture from the second half of the 14th century, but they are as equally poorly preserved as those from the earlier period. Ruined remains are preserved of the following churches: St Christopher at Barbat Point, St Anthony in Stari Grad, Our Lady near Stara Novalja, St Mary Magdalen in Bošana, St Catherine in Pag, St James in Stari Grad and the Holy Spirit near Kolan. These structures mostly show typological differences in relation to the monuments from the previous period, which is apparent in the increased dimensions, the loss of the vault, and the somewhat more careful construction technique, but they retained the semicircular apses and the technique of walling layers of dressed stone characteristic for the Romanesque style.
A large number of churches from this period have also not been preserved: St Thomas in Košljan, St Bartholomew in Zamet, St Chrysogonus, St Lucia, and St Dominique in Stari Grad, and St Helen near Prosika.
Architectural activity was concentrated in the area of the new city of Pag during the 15th century. Only a few small churches were erected in small places and on agricultural estates. Two of them (St Mary in Metajna and St Jerome near Kolan) have been preserved in their original form and are still in use, two are in ruins (the Holy Trinity near Pag and St Bartholomew near Dinjiška), while one has been reconstructed from the very foundations (St Luke in Kolan).
Five churches were built in Pag itself during the 15th century. The Church of St James was demolished in 1903, and its appearance is known from only a single panoramic photograph. The Dominican monastery and the Church of St Anthony were adapted for profane functions, and were greatly damaged. Nonetheless, on the basis of remains and the preserved plans from the beginning of the last century, the appearance of both the church and monastery is known. The Church of St Francis has been entirely preserved, and is still in function, but the monastery structures that were once located next to it have entirely disappeared. The Church of St George is no longer in religious use, but it has been completely preserved. All three of these structures represent simple types of provincial Gothic architecture – elongated single-aisled structures with rectangular apses.
The Church of the Annunciation and the Benedictine Convent are still in function today. The church, with its rib vaulted apse and lateral chapel, and rich architectural decoration, is a fine example of developed Gothic architecture.
The central Church of Our Lady, intended to be but never actually the cathedral of Pag, the most significant monument of religious architecture on the island, is also important in a wider context. Constructed according to the forms of other Dalmatian cathedrals, and thus close to their Romanesque spatial conceptions and solutions, it also represents a combination of Gothic and Renaissance elements. The lengthy period of construction and the succession of architectural groups (the Zadar architects, the brothers Pavao and Juraj Dimitrov, Šibenik architects from the circle of Juraj Dalmatinac, and the Korčula master-builders Marko Andrijić and Nikola Alegreti) made their mark on this structure with a variety of artistic experience and orientations, all pleasingly incorporated into a unified conception.
The data about over fifty late mediaeval religious structures on one island speaks for itself about the spiritual climate of the time and space, but all of these churches (both those preserved and those no longer extant) represent an orientation for better knowledge of the past on the island of Pag. No matter how modest and artistically undefined in the sense of a given stylistic category, the churches of Pag represent the most intact segment of late mediaeval architecture in the Northern Dalmatian region, a true reflection of the period and the way of life, and the emphasized aesthetics of individual segments of this architecture would require a far more active approach to the preservation of these monuments.

The image depicting the marriage feast at Cana (Gospel of John chapter 2) in this little-studied psalter is typical for its placement of Jesus in the center rather than off to one side of the banquet table, and with his bride rather than being artistically less able to draw the viewer's eye than an anonymous bridal couple. This short essay - from the forthcoming third edition of the book - considers why this would be the case in terms of the standard triclinium arrangement, and who then are the figures shown in this miniatrure.

Le liber Diversarum Artium (Ms. Lat. 277, n°17, Bibliothèque de l'école de Médecine de Montpellier) : un outils de recherche pour l'historien de l'art.


L'intérêt pour les techniques picturales médiévales peut s'éprouver à travers l'étude des œuvres et leur observation technique, par l'expérimentation des techniques elles-mêmes mais aussi par l'appui des sources écrites telles que les actes de la pratique et pour ce qui nous intéresse ici, les réceptaires.
Mark Clarke a publié en mai 2011 une nouvelle transcription du texte original du Liber Diversarum  Artium que nous avons choisi comme outils central de notre thèse. Cette publication inattendue quelques mois après le commencement de notre recherche nous a finalement autorisé à produire un travail qui s'attache à des aspects différents de ceux proposés dans cette approche philologique plus classique. Ainsi, nous avons fait le choix de baser notre réflexion sur l'analyse des modes opératoires développés dans le traité. Nous n'avons pas laissé de côté la traduction du texte, l'analyse matérielle du manuscrit et sa datation mais nous ne souhaitons pas en faire le propos central de notre démarche.
L'information contenue dans le Liber de Montpellier peut être organisée selon cinq grands principes que suit le peintre pour pouvoir exécuter sa peinture : le dessin, la fabrication des couleurs, leur mélange, l'emploi des couleurs dans la peinture, la décoration avec l'or et l'argent. A ce modus operandi s'ajoute le souci de la qualité du support, de sa préparation, les précautions indispensables à la mise en œuvre de la matière et les outils. Aussi, l'étude du texte développera chacun de ces aspects. L'expérimentation de certaines recettes et la comparaison avec des œuvres médiévales conservées permettront de mesurer la distance qui unit et sépare la théorie de la pratique. Avec ce travail d'analyse de la technique, nous espérons contribuer à une réflexion plus large, s'attardant sur les compétences développées par le peintre médiéval.