{Romanesque Art [continued (14)}[6th March 1991]

[Redbook8:310-311][19910306:0930q]{Romanesque Art [continued (14)}[6th March 1991]

19910306:0930

[continued]

‘It is easy to see the difference between Romanesque painting affected by Byzantine art (as at Berzé-la-Ville), and that which was not (as at Tahull).* In the former, there is a striving for naturalism in the way the folds of draperies are used to emphasise the structure of the human body, and the highlights attempt to convey its three-dimensional quality and roundness of forms. Modelling is achieved not only by the use of highlights but also by many dynamic lines which help to define the shapes and postures of the figures, while other such lines are used merely as patterns in order to enrich the surface of the picture. This last feature is not Byzantine but Romanesque. Berzé-la-Ville is a small church near Cluny, belonging to it, and the place of rest for Abbot Hugh (ob. 1109), who built the great church at Cluny. As S. Anglo in Formis is thought to reflect the style of the lost mosaics of Monte Cassino, so the wall paintings of Berzé are believed to reflect the style and quality of the frescoes that we know decorated the great church at Cluny.

**

*[Sic; presumably, Taüll]

**[– Encylopaedia of Visual Art 3:570-571]

[continued]

[PostedBlogger01112023]