Iii. Western European Art 4. Art of England

Architecture

The Battle of Hastings (1066) decided the fate of not only the English kingdom, but also English art. Simultaneously with the Norman warriors, the Norman clergy flooded the old land of the Anglo-Saxons, and instead of the Anglo-Saxon church buildings, partly stone, partly wooden, luxurious stone churches of the Norman-Roman style, which, however, soon adopted and began to develop in their architecture some individual traits due to Anglo-Saxon traditions. The British divided the history of their architecture for many periods; Sharp, for example, numbered them until 1550, seven, but the phases of development of this architecture easily fit into the framework of our division.

Since the publication of the writings of Britton, much research has been written about English cathedrals. The special charm of these temples, as well as the charm of the Cathedral of Pisa, is their open location. The place where they are built, as a rule, is surrounded by a stone wall. Their plans are characterized by a significant length of the choir, which is a continuation of the three-nave longitudinal corpus, which is strongly distinguished by its ends and was moved almost to the middle of the building by a transept. It is also characteristic of the straight cut end of the choir, which, however, is made typical of English church architecture only during the period of the Gothic domination. In terms of their internal architecture, these monumental Romanesque temples of England are Norman churches with circular arches, empores, triforiums, heavily dissected pillars and flat, often harmoniously painted and gilded beamed ceilings, which are constantly used here with the only exception. According to the great length of the churches of this style, the horizontal direction is emphasized by eaves and dividing strips stretching in several rows along the walls and enveloping the semi-columns protruding from them. In addition to the basil itself with columns, churches were built with thick, massive pillars resembling columns; these buildings in their architecture, as believed Degio, closer to the Old Saka rather than the Norman samples.

Towers in England are rarely grouped together; most often there is only one four-sided tower above the building, crowning the center of the cross, usually terminating horizontally at the top and seated with battlements. Western facades are very diverse, but in addition to them, the longitudinal sides are usually cut from the outside by arcades. By their general character, these churches are luxurious, but somewhat angular and heavy; the same can be said about the details of their architecture. Of capitals as opposed to the continental Norman style in England, there is a cuboid capital that takes on very special forms that are rarely found on the continent. The favorite forms are tubular and tubular capitals (fig. 178), in which the lateral surfaces of the cube are divided into two semi-circular platforms or into a larger number of them. Tympanum and arch profiles, pandantos and columns are richly decorated with rigid, stern ornaments. In an era that fed on a wide variety of traditions, ancient ornamental motifs were kept here — vegetative curls, scales, braided lines, spirals, zigzags, and other forms, which were deliberately given some fragility.

Fig. 179. The plan of the Norwich Cathedral. By Ruprich-Robert

Fig. 178. Anglo-Norman capitals of the pillars. By Ruprich-Robert

The surviving cathedrals of the Anglo-Norman style are Winchester (1079–1093), Norwich (built from 1096), Ilisky (1082–1174) and Peterborosky (1140–1193), supported by heavily dissected pillars. The twelve-span longitudinal body of the heavy Winchester Cathedral gives the impression of a long gallery lined with pillars; nothing remained of its Romanesque architecture, since it was rebuilt in the Late Gothic period. On the contrary, the longitudinal case of the Norwich Cathedral (fig. 179), divided into fourteen compartments, still remains, with the exception of its middle nave, which subsequently received a vaulted covering, as an example of a purely Norman architectural system. The famous cathedral in Ili, whose three-nave longitudinal body is crossed, as well as the longitudinal body of Winchester Cathedral, is a three-nave transept, completely retaining the Norman-Romance forms of its harmonious, noble architecture only in the transverse aisles. The original facade of the Ilisky cathedral (fig. 180), above the semicircular arcades of which raised high crenellated towers, like the towers of the castle, was also rebuilt in a later time. Of these four large basilicas with pillars, the most pure Norman character still has the cathedral in Peterborough. Its longitudinal hull has retained its original architecture, similar to that of the cathedral in Ili, and the middle nave, its old wooden ceiling. The general character of the interior of this cathedral (fig. 181) is a stern, Romanesque, but archery facade with its three huge, full-length aisles, the entrance arches leading to the luxuriously finished, also archery-arched, porch - already quite Gothic.

Fig. 180. Or cathedral on the west side. From the photo of Fris

The passage to the churches with round pillars is a restored in a purely Norman style the abbey church in Waltgem, with its heavy but picturesquely alternating pillars and columns, with capitals and zigzag arches. Real churches with round pillars are usually less massive than large cathedrals with many-sided pillars in general. Flat ceilings in these churches are more organically connected with the rest of the building, because they do not exist, as in Norwich and other similar cathedrals, stuck to the walls and pillars of semi-columns and service columns, which in vain make them expect vaults. From the churches of this kind you can point to the church of sv. Bartholomew in London and similar churches in Gloucester, Colchester, Kirkwall and Carlisle, as well as on the churches in Kels and Djedberg, in Scotland, which are now in ruins.

All these Anglo-Romanesque buildings, which originally had a flat surface, can be contrasted as a model of the vaulted Norman basilica, the magnificent Dergemsky Cathedral, built in 1093–1128. His entire architecture suggests that at first it was supposed to have a vaulted floor, although the preserved rectangular and arched cross arches with ribs were built only in 1233. In this cathedral, heavily dissected columns in the form of bundles of columns alternate with thick and short columns, even the rods of which, partly entwined with spiral grooves, are covered with rough Norman ornaments.

Fig. 181. The interior of the cathedral in Peterborough. From the photo of Fris

The pointed arch was introduced in England, apparently also by Cistercian monks. But while the Cistercian churches of the continent, with their construction of arches, represent the transition to Gothic, such English churches, and in cases where their arcades are pointed, remain with flat wooden ceilings. At the same time, for example, in Fauntense, whose church has round pillars and still circular-arched windows, the side aisles are covered with transverse box-shaped vaults, while in Kerkstol church, also with circularly-arched windows, are cross-chested vaults supported by brackets. The flat-covered churches in Byland and Whitby are distinguished inside by lancet architecture; but in them the lowermost windows, flush with the ground, end in semicircular arches. Thus, if you do not take into account flat ceilings, the existence of which is not consistent with other conditions, we in the 12th century English Cistercian churches find a clearly defined transitional style.

At the same time, this style also began to appear in the architecture of large cathedrals, and then quickly, earlier than in Germany, developed into the early Gothic style, called Early English in England. English architects studied with half-ready French Gothic and therefore had the opportunity to freely develop the Gothic style further on their own artistic taste. A very special place should be given to a kind of round church of the Knights Templar in London (St. Mary's Church), built in 1185 in the Norman style, but with some already pointed-arched motifs in the choir, and in 1240 it was equipped with a purely Gothic (although and early style) in unison. The transitional style is embodied most clearly in the overweight church of the Abbey of Malmesbury.

The first truly Gothic building in England was the choir of Canterbury Cathedral, erected in 1174 by the French architect Wilhelm of Sansa, so there is nothing surprising in the fact that this choir is very similar to the choir of Sansa Cathedral. Then, from 1184, they were restored in the Early English style, which was the first in England to use the outer arch-butane, the western parts of Chichester Cathedral. The end of the 12th century belongs to the monumental and original facade of the Peterborough cathedral mentioned above. In 1190, the construction of the choir of Lincoln Cathedral began, initially having an unusual rounded shape for England with three chapels diverging in radii, but then, in the next century, received a rectangular ending. The longitudinal building of the Peterborosky Cathedral (1209–1235), according to Degio, is perhaps the most perfect work of the fully formed English early Gothic. Here, for the first time, a completely new feature of the English Gothic appears - the so-called star-shaped arches, obtained by means of a fan-shaped arrangement of increased in the number of ribs of the cross-vault. At the same time, as Peterborosky Cathedral, built a cathedral in Wales, the facade of which Shnaze considered the most beautiful facade in England, perhaps because his view from the two western towers very much resembles the Gothic facades of churches in continental Europe. Inside, the cathedral is distinguished by its noble simplicity, but the impression it makes is harmed by the lack of connection between the vaults (their ribs rest on the brackets placed high) and complex pillars from which the ribs do not emanate.

The most characteristic and beautiful work of English early Gothic remains for us the Salisbury Cathedral, which, inside its wide, green-planted fence, forms a quiet, isolated artistic world. The eastern parts of this cathedral were built in 1220–1250, the longitudinal building was built a little later, and the tower above the center of the cross, with its exceptionally high and thin spire (the highest English bell tower!), Was only in the XIV century. The newer parts of this building were constructed in the style of old ones, as a result of which it was all conceived immediately. The three-nave longitudinal body is crossed by two transepts. The chorus ends squarely, as well as the eastern side of the square, in terms of its chapel, which, like in other English churches, is called the Chapel of Our Lady (Lady Chapel). The narrow archery windows, which in England are called lanceolate, are joined into groups: two in the side aisles, two together, in the upper walls - three each. The complex pillars of the oldest eastern parts of the cathedral have a feature that is often found in England, namely: their round trunks are furnished with four free-standing thin and slender columns, performing the function of service columns; in the chapel of the Mother of God, these thin, resembling the newest iron construction columns are pushed to the middle of the chapel. The flat, cupped capitals are ornamented with plant stems, from which single stylized leaves, not resembling acanth leaves, are hung. Abacus and base - round. The place of the Norman-style zigzags is occupied by a series of peculiar, strongly outstanding forward quatrefoils; since the latter are somewhat similar to teeth, they are called tooth-like ornaments or dog tusks (Dogteeth). Openwork stone carving (Masswerk) or completely absent - even in the windows, or plays a very modest role; likewise, the outer arch-butane on the longitudinal sides of the building are still in the period of formation. About the Salisbury Cathedral, the author of this essay was written in 1879: “Outside, this exemplary creation of early Gothic, known as Early English, is extremely noble and beautiful, but in its architecture and general plan it is more Romanesque than Gothic church. In any case, Early English still has much in common with the German transitional style, which does not prevent it from being a completely distinctive, archery-arched style that cares not so much about the unity of the design as about the decorative application of the pointed arch ”.

Sculpture and painting

In England, after the Norman Conquest, the visual arts did not achieve prosperity as quickly as architecture. The art of French Normandy, as we have seen, took a very weak part in the development of facade plastics. The Norman architecture of England did not attempt to surpass it in this respect. Romanesque sculptures found on some portals, such as on the southern portal of the Ili cathedral, are poor in content and coarse. The southern portal of the unfinished church of Malmesbury Abbey, decorated with reliefs of biblical content, animal figures and images of the months of the year — works of a shapeless style — is comparatively richer in sculptures. The wide western façade of the Welsh Cathedral, decorated in both vertical and horizontal directions with rows of simple arched canopies, was published only in 1851 by Kokerquille, but since that time it has been heavily weathered. It is an example of complete, though not coherent scenery: besides separate statues placed under the mentioned canopies and images of the Last Judgment on the middle gable are decorated with a number of reliefs representing biblical scenes. The forms in these reliefs are romance, but still rather clumsy, despite the fact that the facade was built a little earlier than 1250, therefore, at the very end of the epoch we are considering.

Gravestone monuments and fonts in the XII century were not completely without sculptural decorations. Of the English tombstones, for acquaintance with which the best workbook was the old composition of Stotgard, among the earliest are the statues of Roger's bishops (died in 1139) and Jocelyn (died in 1184) in Salisbury Cathedral. These images are flat, rough and lifeless; their heads are of the most general type; in them there are no signs of portrait similarity. But with the accession of the patron of the arts of King Henry III (1216), the state of the sculpture immediately changed. The predecessor of this sovereign, King John, is depicted on the monument in the Worcester Cathedral more freely and vitally than was previously done in England. Just as the king on this monument is represented, for the first time in English gravestone sculpture, with open eyes, so English art is now beginning to open its eyes. The tombstones of the English knights of the time, which were depicted with crossed legs (motif found only in England), in chain mail and a rather long neoped outerwear are characteristic. Being independent of any ecclesiastical template, these images already from the first half of the 13th century, not attaining true portrait resemblance, in the general stock of the figure reveal to some extent a desire for freshness and naturalness. Characteristic in this respect is the monument to William Longspy (died in 1238) in Salisbury Cathedral, the figure is depicted with its legs not crossed; characteristic is also, precisely on the crossed legs of the figure, a monument to Robert de Ros (d. 1227) in the Templar Round Church in London, in which other statues of this kind have been preserved.

In applied plastic, the first place should be allotted to goldsmith skill. Anglo-Saxon treasures, melted into gold by the Norman conquerors, are known to us only by legend. From the works of I century. after the Norman conquest only a few survived. Among them the bronze gilded candlestick of the London South Kensington Museum, made, as can be seen from the inscription on it, by the abbot Peter Gloucester (1104–1115), is especially curious. This candlestick is ornamented with ribbon wickerwork of chased work, and on it, between the loops of wickerwork, figures of people, pursued by monsters, twist. Here we see a relic in the Romanized forms of the ancient Irish-Anglo-Saxon traditions.

Very little can also be said about the painting of the considered epoch. Even monumental painting on glass is represented during this time very poorly. The beautiful colored glasses in the choir windows (1180) in the Canterbury Cathedral belong to the Saint-Denis School. Manuscripts were still supplied with drawings;Anglo-Saxon miniature painting (see Vol. 2, II, 2) died after the condo. Soon aftermath, they are managed.

Fig. 182. Initial from the Psalter of Albani. According to goldschmidt

These painters tend to strive for richness and luxury of colors, and their sincerity is reflected in simplicity, with which they use the English male and female types. The second quarter of the 12th century is characterized by the illustrated Bible in the British Museum, with strong, though often irregular, pen-filled drawings on a blue background. Fantastic trees in these drawings, having the appearance of arabesques, indicate the complete alienation of artists from nature. Of the later works of miniature painting, Robert Shampar, the workman's library, is renowned in the Rouen Library, the magnificent Psalter of the Leiden University Library, the biblical Jerome's Commentary on the Prophet Isai, in the Bodleyan Library in Oxford, and the two-volume Bible of the Paris National Library. But the Bible’s Paris Library deserves special attention. Genevieve - a three-volume manuscript belonging to the first half of the XIII century. Her numerous images are just inside the initials; biblical events are reproduced in gross forms, and the composition of these images does not indicate that their performers were endowed with rich imagination; in the last two volumes, figures are often prohibitively long; the backgrounds are already gold, circled in red stripes. The preference given to light yellow, gray and light green inks, gives this picture a bright harmony of tones, which is not found in the miniatures of the continent. A special branch of the XII century Norman-English school is the illustrations of the Psalter. Quite low in artistic terms is written between 1114 and 1116. in the monastery of St. Albani, near London, and the Psalter of Albani investigated by Goldschmidt, kept in the sacristy of the church of Sts. Godegard in Hildesheim: painted illustrations with a pen, as well as images made with a brush, for the sake of convenience, often sketch out the drawings, which mean the artists forget the Anglo-Saxon conscientious and thorough technique of the preceding period. Regarding the content, the images of the scenes of the struggle of people against animals placed inside the initials are especially instructive, as they, being in close connection with the corresponding places of the Psalms, prove that similar sculptural images so often found on church portals and capitals the same time, should be interpreted in the spirit of the Psalmist, that is, as the personification of the spiritual struggle. The miniatures of the later manuscripts of the monastery of St. Albani are already higher in technical design. However, only in the middle of the 13th century, this style of slightly painted pen drawings reached its highest development under the hands of the English monk Matthias from Paris. From his works, mention should be made of the “History of King Offa”, “The Life of the Abbots” and the “History of the Angels” in the British Museum. The image of the Virgin Mary in the last of the manuscripts we just mentioned deserves a special praise and drawn with a pen and lightly brushed and painted; in it the style in question is in full brilliance. But manuscripts of this kind characterize only one of the directions, along with which, also in England, painting with thick colors against a gold background gradually triumphed.