Art XV Conclusion

The art of Christian nations for one and a half thousand years of inspired labor has won a worthy place in the world history of art. In some respects, at least in Italy, it reached the degree of development that Hellenistic-pagan art occupied at the time when Christian separated from it. Of course, the paths of artistic and historical development are repeated as little as the world historical ones, but it is instructive to compare the new achievements with the old ones. In general, only the ideal art of the heyday of the XVI century resembles the ideal art of the century of Pericles (see t. 1, fig. 356), and realism and mannerism of the XVII and XVIII centuries. - on the Greek art of the Alexandrian era; however, something speaks in favor of the fact that the century Phidias has already resurrected in the ideal art of the Gothic era, and the renewed age of Alexander and Apelles in the realistic art of the XV century. The flowering of ideal art in the Christian world, in accordance with the essence of Christianity, was, however, significantly more abstract and disembodied than in the pagan world; 15th century realistic art in any case, it seems to be more youthful, rudimentary, naive and primitive than the realistic art of Diadochov’s time (see v. 1, vol. 3, III). It is the fact that the realistic art of the XV century. stands on the threshold of a new rise, distinguishes it from the era that followed the flowering of Greek art, and brings it closer to the era of strict realism before Phidias.

In terms of content, the art of the Christian peoples up to the end of this period was essentially religious. Of course, at all times there was no shortage of magnificent secular buildings, which were often also decorated with secular images taken from history, poetry, and science. However, it was the churches that excelled the remarkable buildings of antiquity; only the sculpture of the Gothic cathedrals became close to the ancient plastic arts of the temples; only church wall, easel and book painting of the late Middle Ages reaches that spiritual concentration, tenderness and depth, which Greek art did not know at all, since it served as an essentially excellent, cheerful, secular and sensual religion.

There is no doubt that the field of visual arts began to expand precisely in the XV century. First of all, portraiture so vigorously stood next to the paintings of religious content that in many ways filled, even almost supplanted the latter; The return of the plastic arts of the Christian peoples to classical antiquity was clearly reflected in the fact that they again returned to the subjects from Greek mythology. But in the art of large murals accessible to the masses, these pagan subjects still timidly ventured to penetrate; leaving aside the miniature and engraving, they were limited mainly to easel painting, intended for the dwellings of humanists and connoisseurs. A household picture from the life of the people, landscape, architectural landscape, painting from life, no matter how energetically they performed in the background, have never attained such independence as in the post-Alexandrian art of the ancient world.

With regard to artistic mastery in style and technology around 1500, almost everything that Greco-Roman antiquity possessed and knew was again achieved. In the closest terms, this refers to Italian architecture, which, having completely abandoned northern-medieval forms, turned abruptly towards the Hellenistic-Roman style; at the same time, animated by the impulse to independent creativity, she stopped at the beginning of the Renaissance flourishing, which fell to the 16th century. Architecture of Italy XVI. became a model for all Christian nations up to the nineteenth century and beyond.

The visual arts, despite some attempts to revive ancient antiquity from their medieval past, began to progress uncontrollably. The great sculptors of the end of the 15th century again caught up with all their pagan predecessors, unless they surpassed them. They did not stand next to them only in the sense of the beauty of rounded shapes in figures and groups. Reliefs with more perfect deepening of the plane, which, however, were not frequent, adjoined, apparently, to the beginnings of the same relief in the Late Antique epoch in order to quickly surpass it in a clear transfer of space. However, with regard to the stylish conformity of forms, even in the height of the 15th century, sculpture could not yet correspond to the classical examples of the Greeks and Romans.

Painting at the end of the XV century. in some respects, she was ahead of her older Greco-Roman sister, but could not surpass her in everything. In the ability to link her plastically painted human figures with perspective-deepened architectural or landscape plans taken from the outside world and in the ability to decorate paintings with a variety of pictorial details, that is, in the ability to fill a plane, she was ahead of all ancient painting. But in the ability to give the picture a picturesque unity with lightness of light and shade, light and broad writing, so that the individual strokes merge into one whole only in the eyes and soul of the viewer, a new painting, judging by antique portraits, like portraits painted on the covers of Hellenistic-Egyptian mummies, and in ancient landscapes, such as sea views with Odyssey in Rome (see t. 1, fig. 486), was still far behind antique. Pictures in general, not counting some of the best works of the Flemish school, were designed for a painterly effect less than for the architectural and plastic.

The fact that the art of Christian peoples, starting with symbolic-decorative schemes, gradually won for itself pure enjoyment of the whole external and internal world of a living person, was an artistic and historical event of the greatest importance. The fact that at this time only entered into life, warming it, in the first third of the XVI century. has become its wonderful content.

Volume 2. European Art of the Middle Ages
Preface 7
Introduction 9
Book One. ART OF CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITY (ca. 100 - 750 years)
I. Ancient Christian art of the first three centuries 17
1. Introduction. Architecture before Constantine the Great 17
2. Painting to Constantine the Great 21
3. Sculpture to Constantine the Great 29
Ii. Christian Art (IV - early VIII centuries) 33
1. Introduction. Architecture 33
2. Painting 66
3. Sculpture 90
Book two. ART OF EARLY MIDDLE AGES
I. The Art of the Christian East (c. 700–1050) 107
1. Introduction. 107 Byzantine architecture
2. Painting (between 717-1057) 112
3. Sculpture (850-1057) 120
4. Art of Armenia and Georgia (IX - XI centuries) 122
Ii. Western art (VIII - XI centuries) 124
1. The Art of Italy and Spain (c. 750–1050) 124
2. Art of England and Ireland (650-1050) 134
3. The Art of the Carolingian and Otto Epochs in the East and West of the Rhine (750–1050) 141
Book three. THE ART OF THE MATURE OF THE MIDDLE AGE
I. The Second Epoch of the Flowering of Middle-Byzantine Art and its Successors in the East 193
1. Introduction. Art of the Byzantine Empire 193
2. The Art of Russia (1000-1250) 199
3. Art of Armenia and Georgia 203
Ii. Art of Italy 204
1. Introduction. Byzantine art and its influence on the art of Venice and Lower Italy 204
2. The Art of Rome and Umbria 218
3. Art of Tuscany 226
4. Lombardo-romance art 237
Iii. Western European art 248
1. The Romanesque art of southern France 248
2. Art of Northern France 274
3. Art of Spain and Portugal 294
4. Art of England 301
Iv. Art of Germany and neighboring countries 310
1. The Art of Westphalia and Saxony 310
2. Art of the Rhineland 343
3. Art of Southern Germany and Austria 373
4. Art of the countries in the North German lowland and Scandinavia 392
Book four. ART OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES
I. Western European art 403
1. Art of Northern France 403
2. Art of Southern France 434
3. Art of Burgundy and the Netherlands 439
4. Art of Spain and Portugal 452
5. Art of England 457
Ii. Art of Germany and neighboring countries 464
1. Art of the Rhineland 464
2. Art of Southern Germany and Austria 488
3. Art of Northern Germany 505
4. Art of Scandinavia 519
Iii. Art of Italy 520
1. Art of Tuscany and Central Italy 520
2. Art of Northern Italy 562
3. Art of Rome and Southern Italy 574
Iv. The Art of the Late Middle Ages in the East 582
1. The late Byzantine art (1250 - 1450) 582
2. Art of Russia in the era of the Tatar-Mongol yoke (about 1225-1400) 588
3. Art on the Middle and Lower Danube 591
4. Gothic art in the eastern Mediterranean countries 593
Conclusion 595
Book five. ART XV.
I. Western European Art 601
1. Art of the Netherlands and Burgundy 601
2. Art of France 644
3. Art of Spain and Portugal 664
4. Art of England 675
Ii. Art of Germany and neighboring countries 681
1. Art of the Rhine Countries 681
2. Art of Southern Germany and Austria 710
3. Art of Northern Germany 758
4. Art of Scandinavia 771
Iii. Art of Italy 774
1. Art of Tuscany and Central Italy. . 774
2. Art of Northern Italy 847
3. Art of Rome and Southern Italy. . 893
Iv. Art of Eastern Europe 904
1. Byzantine art 904
2. Russian Art of Renaissance (1462–1598) 905
3. Art of the Italian early Renaissance in the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, in Turkey and Hungary 909
Conclusion 912

[1] “Pax” in Catholic church use — made of precious metal with blackening or enamel, ivory, wood or other material; a small image to which members of the clergy apply during ceremonial supper when Agnus Dei is sung. and to those who pray, turning to them with an exclamation: “Pax vobiscum!” (“Peace to you!”).

[2] The Catholic church hymn composed by Blessed Augustine and beginning with the word "exultet", that is, "let him rejoice." In the Great Fours, this hymn was read from the pulpit, with part of the scroll being thrown over the edge of the pulpit so that parishioners could see the pictures that adorned the scroll; for the reader, these drawings seemed upside down.

[3] Small columns, consisting of several rods, as if tied with a bundle in the middle.

[4] Filigree work, or filigree (from the Latin. Filum - thread, granum - grain), is called the type of jewelry technology, making art products formed by fine gold or silver granulated, that is, turned into a number of small grains, wire.

[5] Shalyga - the highest point of the arch or vault.

[6] Named after the Nürnberg patrician family who donated it.

[7] Vigalois is one of the Knights of the Round Table.

[8] The Beinhaus is a building in which relics dug from graves are kept.

[9] Jus Sasatense.

[10] Maremma - the coast.

[11] Now completely renovated. There are some old copies from it. See: Wenturi A. Storia dell'arte italiana. T. V, p. 291–293.

[12] Corso Donato and Brunetto Latini.

[13] Gzyms (gzymz) - German outdated. Cornice, any decoration shelf, pripolok. - Dictionary Dahl.

[14] Petaz - ( Greek petasos) - the ancient Greeks had a flat felt hat with wide round fields. The god Hermes was usually depicted with winged P. The Romans wore similar hats in the village and during their journeys, but in the city only in the theater, for protection from the sun.

[15] The author adheres to the old views on the architecture of St. Basil’s Cathedral and is completely unfamiliar with Russian wooden architecture.