A joy of my college education is that I get to take additional classes to my major that have become more and more enjoyable as I approach the end of the undergraduate journey. A seed was planted as I walked through the halls of museums and cathedrals while in Europe during the fall of 2010. I now have within me a growing passion for Art and the deep-rooted history that encompasses all of it. I am currently in an Art History course and have decided to make my Theme Journal in blog form. The blog will save me some typing because you know what they say, "An image is worth 1,000 words." The underlying theme that I have chosen to pull out of art from different time periods is deity. Deity in religious context is the ultimate goal and curiosity. Engulf yourself entirely in the artwork and somehow make your personal connection, as will I.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Gothic

Chartres Cathedral 
Royal Portal (west facade)
France 1145-1155 
Chartres Cathedral

The Charte Cathedral is unique in that one tower and side is Romanesque while the other is Gothic. The Early Gothic west facade was all that remained of Chartres Cathedral after the fire of 1194. The distinct contrast and difference makes this a unique holy space. 

The sculptures of the Royal Portal proclaim the majesty and power of Christ. The 3 doors are united with images from Christ's life. The tympana depict, from left to right, Christ's Ascension, the Second Coming, and Jesus in the lap of the Virgin Mary. 

Mary's prominence in the Chartres facade has no parallel in the decoration of Romanesque church portals. At Chartres the designers gave her a central role in the sculpture, a positioned she maintained as the Mother of Divinity through out the Gothic period. The cult of Virgin Mary reached a high point in the Gothic Age. As the mother of Christ, she stood compassionately between the Last Judge and the horrors of Hell, interceding for all her faithful. With focus on Christ, his divine deity as the Son of God was exemplified. Chartres is just one of the many architectural wonders that represent the worship to Almighty God.  

Royal Portal (west facade)

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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Romanesque

Baptism of Christ
Baptismal font from Notre Dame-des-Fonts 
Rainer Huy 
1118 
The sculptor, Rainer of Huy was a bronze worker from Meuse River Valley in Belgium and was renowned for his metalwork.  

The bronze basin rests on the foreparts of a dozen oxen. Where this stemmed from was King Solomon's Temple that is referred to in 1 Kings 7:23-25 "molten sea... on twelve oxen". It is interesting because the medieval scholars equated the oxen with the 12 apostles. From revelation given in these latter days the 12 oxen actually represent all the 12 tribes of Israel (joining of people as God's offspring). 

The Old Testament story of King Solomon's Temple prefigured Christ's baptism which is the central scene on the Romanesque font. This work revived the classical style along with the classical spirit. The figures are softly rounded, with idealized bodies and faces and heavy clinging drapery. 

I like how this particular romanesque piece has Christ seated in majesty in the center, with his apostles round about him. He sends them forth on their missions to convert the heath and lost, heal the sick, and cast out the devils from bodily possession. The divinity of Christ in this baptismal scene shows him, the son of God, cleansing himself with the emersion of water though he be sinless to set the way for all mortal human beings on earth to receive exaltation. 

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