{Ottonian Art [continued (3)]}[24th February 1991]

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‘After these early experiments in cire perdue casting, Bernward commissioned two major works: a hollow, cast bronze coluimn nearly 13 ft (4m) high which once supported a crucifix, and a pair of bronze doors nearly 16 ft (5m) high for his foundation of the Abbey of St Michael, dated 1015. With these, sculptors took the first steps towards a new monumental art, without which the achievements in architectural sculpture of the late 11^th and early 12^th centuries [ce] would hardly have been possible.’

– E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:560

[A photocopy of a double-page spread headed ‘Bernard’s Column’ from Encylopaedia of Visual Art 3:556-557 is inserted in the ms here but is not reproduced in the ts]

[continued]

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{Ottonian Art [continued]}[23rd February 1991]

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[continued]

‘At the same time* – indeed, already in Henry II’s lectionary, but in an even more pronounced manner – in the somewhat later Bamberg Apocalypse (Staatliche Bibliothek, Bamberg; A1142) a hardening of forms occurs: a new insistence on flat colour with a strict formal balance, not unrelated to the search for pattern and harmony in architectural design, which enabled powerful and expressive images to be created. A similar emphasis on pattern, although very different in character, being based more on an almost metallic brilliance and jewel-like details, was developed in another scriptorium which also enjoyed the imperial patronage of Henry II, at Regensburg, where outstanding manuscripts like the Sacramentary of Henry II (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich; Cod. 4456) and the lectionary of Abbess Uta of Niedermünster (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich; Cod. 13601) were written.

‘Towards the end of the Ottonian period, around the middle** of the 11^th century [ce], both at Salzburg and at Ecternach, hardened forms again dominate, but here solid figures almost sculptural in three-dimensional solidity contribute yet another characteristic as source material for the beginnings of Romanesque style of the 12^th century [ce].’

***

*(Early 11^th century [ce])

2048A~1024

**2048A~1024

***– E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:5[49]-[55]2

[continued]

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{Ottonian Art}[23rd February 1991]

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[continued]

‘In all this* a clear sense of harmony is expressed, achieved by balance and the regular repetition of geometric units. It was these qualities of order** and harmony*** that were further developed during the 11^th century,**** both within the Ottonian Empire and elsewhere, and were fundamental to the creation of the great Romanesque church.#

‘Indeed, architectural historians usually discuss the beginnings of Romanesque architecture in terms of the abbeys of St. Michael at Hildesheim and Limburg an de Haardt, one founded by St. Bernard of Hildesheim in 1001, the other by the Emperor Conrad II in 1025.’

#*

‘The Ottonian desire to increase the articulation of architecture, to produce a structural sense of order and harmony....’

#**

*(Church of St. Cyriakus, Gernrode, founded 961[ce])

**S~

***s~

****2048A~a~|1024C|1024ce

#[sic]

cf Greek cycle 2048A~ff at c[irca]1100-900[bce] – Protogeometric period: Reworking of old forms and patterns with new precision and eye for proportion and design: beginning of Greek classical art.

([– S&C] Booklet, 7.1)

#*– E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:547

#**[– Encylopaedia of Visual Art 3:548]

[continued]

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[Creature Relationships (2)][23rd February 1991]

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[continued]

*

**

ref [[Redbook8:286][19910221:1142q][Creature Relationships (1)][21st February 1991]] 286 – conventional layout of 4 living creatures. (I think this difference is discussed in an earlier vol[ume], c[irca] mid 1989?, and cannot easily be resolved, in relation to e.g. astrology, except by making the Eagle a Sea Eagle, perhaps?**

***

*– E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:543 

[Codex Aureus of St Emmeram]

**(note eg Hercules and Ophiuchus↑ in what would then be the Man corner)

***& note that on the sky-map the Eagle is between-below Sagittarius & Capricornus, & only just (if at all) on the Sagittarius side of that invisible dividing line at C. Perhaps (with Cygnus the Swan ‘behind’ & ‘below’) Aquila is taking off from the water into the realms of Air – the Spiritual Realm – to which Men may rise, and from which they fall?

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{Carolingian Art}[23rd February 1991]

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[continued]

‘The Carolingian achievement as a whole was of the greatest importance to the civilisation of Northern Europe. The long established predominance of the Mediterranean tradition was finally broken, not by any fundamentally opposed aesthetic but more by the absorption of its humanist tradition. Throughout the Middle Ages, from the 9^th century onwards, whatever influence the Classical tradition was to have on the art of the West, be it in its antique, its early Christian, or in [sic] its Byzantine guise, it has always to be qualified by what might be called an indigenous northern classicism created by Carolingian artists.’

– E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:544

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{Viking Art}[23rd February 1991]

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[continued]

‘The great stone raised by Harold Bluetooth in memory of his parents (in Jelling church, Jutland) is historically the most important example of the Mammin style. It can be dated, from an inscription, to 983-5[ce]. On one face is a low-relief carving of the crucified Christ, surrounded by interlocking loops and circles: the first dated Christian monument in Scandinavia. On the other face stands a great “heraldic” beast entangled with a snake. The Jelling stone probably started a fashion for erecting carved stone memorials in Scandinavia[,] which became more common in the 11^th century.’

– E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:421

[An illustration photocopied in the ms but not reproduced in the ts, captioned: ‘The stone of Gaut Bjornsson carved in the Borre Style (c840-c980). Kirk Michael, Isle of Man’ – E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:420, shows what appears to be in effect a relief Celtic cross on complex interlocking braided weave patterns]

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[Anglo-Saxon Art [continued (4)]][23rd February 1991]

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[continued]

‘The amazing richness of the few objects that do survive gives us a hint of what the Anglo-Saxons achieved. Certainly if one heeds the praise of their continental contemporaries it is apparent that the art of the Anglo-Saxons was held in very high regard indeed.’

– ibid [Encylopaedia of Visual Art 3:] 414

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[Anglo-Saxon Art [continued (3)]][23rd February 1991]

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‘We know from written records that large numbers of Italian books, paintings and other church furnishings were being brought to Northumbria by Benedict Biscop, Abbot Geolfrith, and St. Wilfred.’

*

‘Fortunately, due to the missionary activity of such Anglo-Saxon saints as St. Boniface and St. Willibrord in Germany and the Netherlands, a certain number of works did travel abroad, and some of them, the Book of Echternach for instance, still exist (the latter in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris). Of even greater general importance was Charlemagne’s employment of Alcuin of York as principal scholar and cultural adviser to the Frankish court, for through him much of the literature and learning salvaged by the English from Italy passed back to the Continent before England herself suffered at the hands of barbarian invaders.’

**

* – E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:402

** – E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:409

[continued]

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[Anglo-Saxon Art [continued]][21st February 1991]

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[continued]

(See E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:403 Illus[tration], a carpet page from the Lindisfarne Gospels)[‘The Lindisfarne Gospels, a carpet page; 698. British Museum, London’]

‘Thus by 700[ce] various traditions were available in Northumbria: Irish, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon represented by the books of Durrow and Ecternach; the purely Mediterranean tradition by the Codex Amiatinus. The various styles and ideas merged in hybrid manuscripts, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels.’

*

‘...The most remarkable monument to the interplay of different cultures is the Franks Casket (British Museum, London). A box about 9 in[ches] (23 cm) long, it appears, from the evidence of its inscriptions, to have come from northeastern England. It is made of whalebone plaques carved with such diverse subjects as Wayland the Smith murdering King Nithad’s son, Titus capturing Jerusalem, and the Adoration of the Magi. Such enthusiastic eclecticism is typical of the Northumbrian Renaissance and is its greatest contribution to the history of European culture, for it preserved for the future so much of the classical past and gave completely unexpected impetus to Christian art and literature in northern Europe.’

**

* – E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:402

** – ibid [Encylopaedia of Visual Art 3:] 404

[continued]

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[Anglo-Saxon Art][21st February 1991]

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[continued]

*

**

*E[ncylopaedia of] V[isual] A[rt] 3:399

**[depicting the Five Senses]

{See also XI: [] 55}

[continued]

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[Creature Relationships (1)][21st February 1991]

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19910221.1142

[continued]

*

Note that the relationship of the upper pair to the lower pair is reversed compared to C[ircles] A[nalysis] & S[ynthesis] – I believe that this may be to official Church layout, as I have seen it elsewhere.**

*E[ncyclopaedia] B[ritannica] 27:85

**[See earlier (/later?) volumes?]

{& see [[Redbook8:291][19910223:1628#][Creature Relationships (2)][23rd February 1991],] 291

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{Anglo-Saxon Art: Cultural eclecticism}[21st February 1991]

[Redbook8:286][19910221:1142p]{Anglo-Saxon Art: Cultural eclecticism}[21st February 1991]

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[continued]

‘In Ireland, monumental crosses represented the Celtic Christian tradition, and similar* Anglo-Saxon crosses may be found in England.’

**

*How similar? Encircled? (See [[Redbook8:287-289][19910221:1142#]{Anglo-Saxon Art}[21st February 1991],] 289)<910223>

**– E[ncyclopaedia] B[ritannica] 27:85

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