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92-582: The Kunsthaus Zürich is in terms of area the biggest art museum of Switzerland and houses one of the most important art collections in Switzerland, assembled over time by the local art association called Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft . The collection spans from the Middle Ages to contemporary art , with an emphasis on Swiss art . The old museum part was drawn-up by architects Karl Moser and Robert Curjel and opened in 1910. Particularly notable are

184-456: A book. Allowing decoration a "right to roam" was to be very influential on Romanesque and Gothic art in all media. The buildings of the monasteries for which the insular gospel books were made were then small and could fairly be called primitive, especially in Ireland. There increasingly were other decorations to churches, where possible in precious metals, and a handful of these survive, like

276-657: A city of artificial islands and a system of canals. By 1500, the first European explorers begin to reach Oceania. Although previous artistic and architectural traditions are continued, the various regions would begin to diverge and record more distinct cultures. The rock art of First Australians is the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world. These sites, found in Arnhem Land , Australia, are divided into three periods: Pre-Estuarine (c. 40,000?–6000 BC), Estuarine (c. 6000 BC–500 AD), and Fresh Water (c. 500 AD–present). They are dated based on

368-741: A commemorative plaque, located at the front of the building. The place was baptized on 20 August 2008 by the city of Zürich as Lydia Welti-Escher Hof . The museum's collection includes major works by artists including Claude Monet (several works including an enormous water lily painting), Edvard Munch , Pablo Picasso , Jacques Lipchitz and the Swiss Alberto Giacometti . Other Swiss artists such as Johann Heinrich Füssli , Ferdinand Hodler or from recent times, Pipilotti Rist and Peter Fischli are also represented. In addition, works by Vincent van Gogh , Édouard Manet , Henri Matisse and René Magritte can be found here. In 2021,

460-488: A constant in medieval art; until the end of the period, far more was typically spent on buying them than on paying the artists, even if these were not monks performing their duties. Gold was used for objects for churches and palaces, personal jewellery and the fittings of clothes, and—fixed to the back of glass tesserae —as a solid background for mosaics , or applied as gold leaf to miniatures in manuscripts and panel paintings. Many objects using precious metals were made in

552-524: A fully Byzantine style in about 500. There continue to be different views as to when the medieval period begins during this time, both in terms of general history and specifically art history, but it is most often placed late in the period. In the course of the 4th century Christianity went from being a persecuted popular sect to the official religion of the Empire, adapting existing Roman styles and often iconography , from both popular and Imperial art. From

644-462: A great strength of Roman art, declines sharply, and the anatomy and drapery of figures is shown with much less realism. The models from which medieval Northern Europe in particular formed its idea of "Roman" style were nearly all portable Late Antique works, and the Late Antique carved sarcophagi found all over the former Roman Empire; the determination to find earlier "purer" classical models,

736-547: A lay market, and monasteries would equally hire lay specialists where necessary. The impression may be left by the surviving works that almost all medieval art was religious. This is far from the case; though the church became very wealthy over the Middle Ages and was prepared at times to spend lavishly on art, there was also much secular art of equivalent quality which has suffered from a far higher rate of wear and tear, loss and destruction. The Middle Ages generally lacked

828-475: A non-realist style, often with large-eyed figures floating on unpainted backgrounds. Coptic decoration used intricate geometric designs, which Islamic art later followed. Because of the exceptionally good preservation of Egyptian burials, we know more about the textiles used by the less well-off in Egypt than anywhere else. These were often elaborately decorated with figurative and patterned designs. Ethiopian art

920-533: A revival of interest and understanding in the 19th century it has been seen as a period of enormous achievement that underlies the development of later Western art. The first several centuries of the Middle Ages in Europe — up to about 800 AD - saw a decrease in prosperity, stability, and population, followed by a fairly steady and general increase until the massive setback of the Black Death around 1350, which

1012-412: A strong foreign influence from both western and Japanese Imperialist powers. A number of historical artistic traditions, especially sculptural, simply ceased to be practiced. However other art forms continued, including traditional architecture and weaving. But by the second half of the century, independence from colonial powers allows their traditional arts to find a renewed interest and respect from within

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1104-474: A usable area of 13,000 square meters, which corresponds to an increase in the size of the Kunsthaus by more than 80%, began operations on October 9, 2021. Half of the extension's budget came from the city and canton of Zurich, with the other half provided by private donors. Chipperfield's design is a massive rectangular sandstone-covered building. The Kunsthaus will become the largest Swiss art museum, overtaking

1196-503: A writing system, and made works on perishable materials, so few records of them exist from this time. Oceanic peoples traditionally did not see their work in the western concept of "art", but rather created objects for the practical purpose of use in religious or social ceremonies, or for use in everyday life. By 1500 BC the Austronesian Lapita culture , descendants of the second wave, would begin to expand and spread into

1288-693: Is a term for architecture and to some extent pictorial and portable art found initially in Southern Europe (Spain, Italy and Southern France) between the Late Antique period to the start of the Romanesque period in the 11th century. Northern European art gradually forms part of the movement after Christianisation as it assimilates post-classical styles. The Carolingian art of the Frankish Empire , especially modern France and Germany, from roughly 780-900 takes its name from Charlemagne and

1380-584: Is alive and well, encompassing traditional styles, symbols, and materials, but now imagined in a diversity of contemporary forms, revealing the complexity of geographic, cultural and individual interaction and history. Art of Oceania properly encompasses the artistic traditions of the people indigenous to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. The ancestors of the people of these islands came from Southeast Asia by two different groups at separate times. The first, an Australo-Melanesian people and

1472-514: Is an art of the court circle and a few monastic centres under Imperial patronage, that consciously sought to revive "Roman" styles and standards as befitted the new Empire of the West . Some centres of Carolingian production also pioneered expressive styles in works like the Utrecht Psalter and Ebbo Gospels . Christian monumental sculpture is recorded for the first time, and depiction of

1564-491: Is debated exactly where the culture developed, but the people themselves originally came from Southeast Asia. Their art is best known by its ceramics, which include elaborate geometric motifs and sometimes anthropomorphic imagery. It is thought some of the designs may be related to modern Polynesian tattoos and barkcloths. They were created by firing a comblike tool that stamped the designs on to wet clay. Each stamp would have one design and would be layered until an elaborate pattern

1656-456: Is difficult, but one has been dated to 1500 BC. The content of the sculptures fit into three categories: mortars, pestles, and freestanding figures. The tops of many pestles contain images, often of birds or human heads. Mortars show similar imagery, or sometimes geometric patterns. Freestanding figures again portray similar themes: humans, animals, and phalluses. The original significance of these pieces however, are unknown, but were perhaps used in

1748-422: Is estimated to have killed at least a third of the overall population in Europe, with generally higher rates in the south and lower in the north. Many regions did not regain their former population levels until the 17th century. The population of Europe is estimated to have reached a low point of about 18 million in 650, to have doubled around the year 1000, and to have reached over 70 million by 1340, just before

1840-568: Is mainly a hybrid of Catholic and Byzantine styles, with little Islamic influence, but the Mozarabic art of Christians in Al Andaluz seems to show considerable influence from Islamic art, though the results are little like contemporary Islamic works. Islamic influence can also be traced in the mainstream of Western medieval art, for example in the Romanesque portal at Moissac in southern France, where it shows in both decorative elements, like

1932-633: Is still being built when European explorers begin to arrive around 1600. The city however, undergoes a decline by around 1800 along with the Saudeleur dynasty, and is abandoned altogether by the 1820s. The 19th century would see the region divided up amongst the colonial powers, however art continued to thrive. Wood carving by men in particular flourishes in the region, creating richly decorated ceremonial houses in Belau , stylized bowls, canoe ornaments, ceremonial vessels, and sometimes sculptured figures. Women on

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2024-785: The Anglo-Saxons and the Christian forms of the book, high crosses and liturgical metalwork. Extremely detailed geometric, interlace , and stylised animal decoration, with forms derived from secular metalwork like brooches , spread boldly across manuscripts, usually gospel books like the Book of Kells , with whole carpet pages devoted to such designs, and the development of the large decorated and historiated initial . There were very few human figures—most often these were Evangelist portraits —and these were crude, even when closely following Late Antique models. The insular manuscript style

2116-684: The Ardagh Chalice , together with a larger number of extremely ornate and finely made pieces of secular high-status jewellery, the Celtic brooches probably worn mainly by men, of which the Tara Brooch is the most spectacular. "Franco-Saxon" is a term for a school of late Carolingian illumination in north-eastern France that used insular-style decoration, including super-large initials, sometimes in combination with figurative images typical of contemporary French styles. The "most tenacious of all

2208-523: The Byzantine Empire , until the end of the Middle Ages when Catholic Europe, having regained the Iberian peninsula in the southwest, was once again under Muslim threat from the southeast. At the start of the medieval period most significant works of art were very rare and costly objects associated with secular elites, monasteries or major churches and, if religious, largely produced by monks. By

2300-476: The Codex Amiatinus —the first step necessary was to plan to breed the cattle to supply the 1,600 calves to give the skin for the vellum required. Paper became available in the last centuries of the period, but was also extremely expensive by today's standards; woodcuts sold to ordinary pilgrims at shrines were often matchbook size or smaller. Modern dendrochronology has revealed that most of

2392-596: The Kunstmuseum Basel in the available space but not the collection. The two upper floors will be for art, with facilities at ground level and a basement link under the street to the original museum across the street in Heimplatz. Lydia Escher (1858–1891), being a prominent Zürich patron of the arts, was honored by the Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster association on the occasion of her 150th anniversary by

2484-540: The Medieval Warm Period benefited agriculture until about 1315. The medieval period eventually saw the falling away of the invasions and incursions from outside the area that characterised the first millennium. The Islamic conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries suddenly and permanently removed all of North Africa from the Western world, and over the rest of the period Islamic peoples gradually took over

2576-489: The Moai (statues) of Rapa Nui/Easter Island. Polynesian art is characteristically ornate, and often meant to contain supernatural power or mana. Polynesian works of art were thought to contain spiritual power and could effect change in the world. However the period beyond 1600 AD had seen intense interaction with European explorers, in addition to continuing earlier cultural traditions. The collections of European explorers during

2668-544: The Paris Psalter , and throughout the period manuscript illumination shows parallel styles, often used by the same artist, for iconic figures in framed miniatures and more informal small scenes or figures added unframed in the margins of the text in a much more realist style. Monumental sculpture with figures remained a taboo in Byzantine art; hardly any exceptions are known. But small ivory reliefs, almost all in

2760-682: The Reichenau School , such as the Pericopes of Henry II (1002–1012). Later Anglo-Saxon art in England, from about 900, was expressive in a very different way, with agitated figures and even drapery perhaps best shown in the many pen drawings in manuscripts. The Mozarabic art of Christian Spain had strong Islamic influence, and a complete lack of interest in realism in its brilliantly coloured miniatures, where figures are presented as entirely flat patterns. Both of these were to influence

2852-536: The Virgin Mary than for skies. Ivory , often painted, was an important material until the very end of the period, well illustrating the shift in luxury art to secular works; at the beginning of the period most uses were shifting from consular diptychs to religious objects such as book-covers, reliquaries and croziers , but in the Gothic period secular mirror-cases, caskets and decorated combs become common among

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2944-649: The oak for panels used in Early Netherlandish painting of the 15th century was felled in the Vistula basin in Poland, from where it was shipped down the river and across the Baltic and North Seas to Flemish ports, before being seasoned for several years. Art in the Middle Ages is a broad subject and art historians traditionally divide it in several large-scale phases, styles or periods. The period of

3036-486: The 7th, and in considerable numbers for the later ones—the city of Norwich alone has 40 medieval churches—but of the dozens of royal palaces none survive from earlier than the 11th century, and only a handful of remnants from the rest of the period. The situation is similar in most of Europe, though the 14th century Palais des Papes in Avignon survives largely intact. Many of the longest running scholarly disputes over

3128-479: The Black Death. In 1450 it was still only 50 million. To these figures, Northern Europe, especially Britain, contributed a lower proportion than today, and Southern Europe, including France, a higher one. The increase in prosperity, for those who survived, was much less affected by the Black Death. Until about the 11th century most of Europe was short of agricultural labour, with large amounts of unused land, and

3220-551: The British Isles includes work from both pagan and Christian backgrounds, and was one of the last flowerings of this broad group of styles. Insular art refers to the distinct style found in Ireland and Britain from about the 7th century, to about the 10th century, lasting later in Ireland, and parts of Scotland. The style saw a fusion between the traditions of Celtic art , the Germanic Migration period art of

3312-471: The Carolingian styles", it continued until as late as the 11th century. Giant initials Islamic art during the Middle Ages falls outside the scope of this article, but it was widely imported and admired by European elites, and its influence needs mention. Islamic art covers a wide variety of media including calligraphy, illustrated manuscripts, textiles, ceramics, metalwork and glass, and refers to

3404-556: The Empire. These were produced, but probably not entirely so, in Imperial workshops in Constantinople, about whose operations we know next to nothing—similar workshops are often conjectured for other arts, with even less evidence. The gold ground style in mosaics, icons and manuscript miniatures was common across Europe by the Gothic period. Some other decorative arts were less developed; Byzantine ceramics rarely rise above

3496-624: The Kunsthaus had 382,603 visitors. On Wednesday admission to the Collection is free of charge for all visitors. The gallery is served by a stop on the Zürich tram system , known as Zürich, Kunsthaus . This is located on Heimplatz , between the museum building and the Schauspielhaus Zürich . The integrated artworks from the collection of the arms dealer Emil Bührle has caused discussion and criticism due to concern that some of

3588-406: The Middle Ages neither begins nor ends neatly at any particular date, nor at the same time in all regions, and the same is true for the major phases of art within the period. The major phases are covered in the following sections. Early Christian art, more generally described as Late Antique art, covers the period from about 200 (before which no distinct Christian art survives), until the onset of

3680-524: The Pacific Islands and mainland Asia was growing, and starting 600 BC, works of the Dongson culture of Vietnam , known for their bronze working, can be found in Oceania, and their imagery has a strong influence on the indigenous artistic tradition. Records to 1000 AD continue to be few, however most artistic tradition are continued to this point, such as New Guinea sculpture and Australian rock art, although

3772-627: The Roman, the Lombard, and Arab. It is the central building of the world. ... the history of Gothic architecture is the history of the refinement and spiritualisation of Northern work under its influence". Islamic rulers controlled at various points Sicily ( Emirate of Sicily ) and most of the Iberian Peninsula ( Al-Andalus ), thus also ruling Christian populations. The Christian Crusaders equally ruled Islamic populations. Crusader art

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3864-455: The ancestors of modern-day Melanesians and Australian Aboriginals, came to New Guinea and Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. The Melanesians expanded as far as the northern Solomon Islands by 38,000 BC. The second wave, the ocean-voyaging Austronesian peoples from Southeast Asia , would not come for another 30,000 years. They would come to interact and together reach even the most remote Pacific islands. These early peoples lacked

3956-413: The animal style had reached a much more abstracted form than in earlier Scythian art or La Tène style . Most artworks were small and portable and those surviving are mostly jewellery and metalwork, with the art expressed in geometric or schematic designs, often beautifully conceived and made, with few human figures and no attempt at realism. The early Anglo-Saxon grave goods from Sutton Hoo are among

4048-517: The area of Christian Valencia , where they produced work that was exported to Christian elites across Europe; other types of Islamic luxury goods, notably silk textiles and carpets, came from the generally wealthier eastern Islamic world itself (the Islamic conduits to Europe west of the Nile were, however, not wealthier), with many passing through Venice. However, for the most part luxury products of

4140-520: The art of Muslim countries in the Near East, Islamic Spain, and Northern Africa, though by no means always Muslim artists or craftsmen. Glass production , for example, remained a Jewish speciality throughout the period, and Christian art, as in Coptic Egypt continued, especially during the earlier centuries, keeping some contacts with Europe. There was an early formative stage from 600-900 and

4232-526: The art of the " barbarian " Germanic and Eastern-European peoples who were on the move, and then settling within the former Roman Empire, during the Migration Period from about 300-700; the blanket term covers a wide range of ethnic or regional styles including early Anglo-Saxon art , Visigothic art , Viking art , and Merovingian art , all of which made use of the animal style as well as geometric motifs derived from classical art. By this period

4324-446: The artists' crafts, and the artists themselves. Art historians attempt to classify medieval art into major periods and styles, often with some difficulty. A generally accepted scheme includes the later phases of Early Christian art , Migration Period art , Byzantine art , Insular art , Pre-Romanesque , Romanesque art , and Gothic art , as well as many other periods within these central styles. In addition, each region, mostly during

4416-531: The artworks may have been sold under duress by Jews persecuted by Nazis during the Third Reich. Critics say that the ownership history of the artworks has not been sufficiently clarified and, in January 2021, a petition was launched to demand access for impartial international researchers. In October 2023, a panel of academics hired to rectify incorrect or misleading Nazi-era provenances resigned in protest over

4508-429: The assumption, still commonly made, that all work of the best quality with no indication as to origin was produced in the capital. Byzantine art's crowning achievement were the monumental frescos and mosaics inside domed churches, most of which have not survived due to natural disasters and the appropriation of churches to mosques . Byzantine art exercised a continuous trickle of influence on Western European art, and

4600-422: The best examples. As the "barbarian" peoples were Christianised , these influences interacted with the post-classical Mediterranean Christian artistic tradition, and new forms like the illuminated manuscript , and indeed coins , which attempted to emulate Roman provincial coins and Byzantine types. Early coinage like the sceat shows designers completely unused to depicting a head in profile grappling with

4692-532: The concept of preserving older works for their artistic merit, as opposed to their association with a saint or founder figure, and the following periods of the Renaissance and Baroque tended to disparage medieval art. Most luxury illuminated manuscripts of the Early Middle Ages had lavish treasure binding book-covers in precious metal, ivory and jewels; the re-bound pages and ivory reliefs for

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4784-545: The context of rituals. Another early culture with an artistic tradition are the Lapita, dating from about 1500 BC to 500 BC, who are thought to be the ancestors of the modern day cultures of Polynesia and Island Melanesia . The culture was formed by the second wave of Oceanic settlers. The name comes from the site of Lapita in New Caledonia , which was among the first places its distinctive sculpture would be found. It

4876-492: The court culture such as silks, ivory, precious stones and jewels were imported to Europe only in an unfinished form and manufactured into the end product labelled as "eastern" by local medieval artisans. They were free from depictions of religious scenes and normally decorated with ornament , which made them easy to accept in the West, indeed by the late Middle Ages there was a fashion for pseudo-Kufic imitations of Arabic script used decoratively in Western art. Pre-Romanesque

4968-403: The covers have survived in far greater numbers than complete covers, which have mostly been stripped off for their valuable materials at some point. Most churches have been rebuilt, often several times, but medieval palaces and large houses have been lost at a far greater rate, which is also true of their fittings and decoration. In England, churches survive largely intact from every century since

5060-541: The date and origin of individual works relate to secular pieces, because they are so much rarer - the Anglo-Saxon Fuller Brooch was refused by the British Museum as an implausible fake, and small free-standing secular bronze sculptures are so rare that the date, origin and even authenticity of both of the two best examples has been argued over for decades. The use of valuable materials is

5152-606: The development of regional styles from 900 onwards. Early Islamic art used mosaic artists and sculptors trained in the Byzantine and Coptic traditions. Instead of wall-paintings, Islamic art used painted tiles , from as early as 862-3 (at the Great Mosque of Kairouan in modern Tunisia ), which also spread to Europe. According to John Ruskin , the Doge's Palace in Venice contains "three elements in exactly equal proportions —

5244-569: The early medieval period the best Byzantine art, often from the large Imperial workshops, represented an ideal of sophistication and technique which European patrons tried to emulate. During the period of Byzantine iconoclasm in 730-843 the vast majority of icons (sacred images usually painted on wood) were destroyed; so little remains that today any discovery sheds new understanding, and most remaining works are in Italy (Rome and Ravenna etc.), or Egypt at Saint Catherine's Monastery . Byzantine art

5336-493: The early part of the period, works in the so-called "minor arts" or decorative arts , such as metalwork, ivory carving, vitreous enamel and embroidery using precious metals, were probably more highly valued than paintings or monumental sculpture . Medieval art in Europe grew out of the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and the iconographic traditions of the early Christian church . These sources were mixed with

5428-851: The end of colonialism however, Polynesians increasingly attempted to assert their cultural identity. Australian First Nations people are most known for their rock art, which they continue to practice after their contact with Western explorers. Other forms of art however, reflect their lifestyle of often moving from one camp to another and is utilitarian and portable, albeit still highly decorated. They used rocks and other natural sources mixed with water to make their paint. Often using sticks to make their famous but recent (from 1971) dot paintings. Even today we still see First Nations people making these. When dancing, they paint their bodies with white "paint" and apply it to their body in patterns and meaningful shapes and lines. Their dancing uses native Australian animals as inspiration. Melanesia, comprising New Guinea and

5520-518: The end of the Middle Ages works of considerable artistic interest could be found in small villages and significant numbers of bourgeois homes in towns, and their production was in many places an important local industry, with artists from the clergy now the exception. However the Rule of St Benedict permitted the sale of works of art by monasteries, and it is clear that throughout the period monks might produce art, including secular works, commercially for

5612-505: The formation in France of the Romanesque style. Art of Oceania The artistic creations of these people varies greatly throughout the cultures and regions. The subject matter typically carries themes of fertility or the supernatural. Art such as masks were used in religious ceremonies or social rituals. Petroglyphs , Tattooing , painting, wood carving, stone carving and textile work are other common art forms. Contemporary Pacific art

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5704-692: The human figure in narrative scenes became confident for the first time in Northern art. Carolingian architecture produced larger buildings than had been seen since Roman times, and the westwork and other innovations. After the collapse of the dynasty there was a hiatus before a new dynasty brought a revival in Germany with Ottonian art , again centred on the court and monasteries, with art that moved towards great expressiveness through simple forms that achieve monumentality even in small works like ivory reliefs and manuscript miniatures , above all those of

5796-543: The iconic mode (the Harbaville Triptych is of similar date to the Paris Psalter, but very different in style), were a speciality, as was relief decoration on bowls and other metal objects. The Byzantine Empire produced much of the finest art of the Middle Ages in terms of quality of material and workmanship, with court production centred on Constantinople , although some art historians have questioned

5888-469: The islands today. After 1600, like the other regions of Oceania, Melanesia saw increasing encounters with European explorers. What they witnessed was a flourishing tradition of art and culture, such as the first record of the region's elaborate wood carving. It isn't until the latter half of the 19th century, however, that westernization begins to takes its toll. Some traditional forms of art go into decline, but others like sculpture survive and even thrive in

5980-417: The knowledge that their bullion value might be realised at a future point—only near the end of the period could money be invested other than in real estate , except at great risk or by committing usury . The even more expensive pigment ultramarine , made from ground lapis lazuli obtainable only from Afghanistan , was used lavishly in the Gothic period, more often for the traditional blue outer mantle of

6072-712: The level of attractive folk art , despite the Ancient Greek heritage and the impressive future in the Ottoman period of İznik wares and other types of pottery. Other local traditions in Armenia , Syria , Georgia and elsewhere showed generally less sophistication, but often more vigour than the art of Constantinople , and sometimes, especially in architecture , seem to have had influence even in Western Europe. For example, figurative monumental sculpture on

6164-409: The more elaborate collections of rock art in this area is the site of Ubirr, a favored camping ground during wet seasons which has had its rock faces painted many times over thousands of years. Sculpture in Oceania first appears on New Guinea as a series of stone figures found throughout the island, but mostly in mountainous highlands. Establishing a chronological timeframe for these pieces in most cases

6256-651: The more remote islands. At around the same time, art began to appear in New Guinea, including the earliest examples of sculpture in Oceania. The period from 1000 BC on, the Lapita people would consolidate and begin to create the contemporary Polynesian cultures of Samoa , Tonga , and Fiji . They would from there venture further out into the Pacific and settle the Marquesas and Northern Cook Islands between 200 BC and 1 AD. Additionally from about 1000 BC, trade between

6348-481: The other hand created textiles and ornaments like bracelets and headbands. Stylistically, Micronesian art is streamlined and of a practical simplicity to its function, but is typically finished to a high standard of quality. This was mostly to make the best possible use of what few natural materials they had available to them. The first half of the 20th century saw a downturn in Micronesia's cultural integrity and

6440-667: The outside of churches appears here some centuries before it is seen in the West. Often overlooked in reviews of medieval art are the works of the African continent. Among these are the arts of Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia. After the African churches refused the Council of Chalcedon and became the Oriental Orthodox Churches , their art developed in new directions, related to Byzantium but different from it. Coptic art arose from indigenous Egyptian conceptions, with

6532-475: The period in the process of becoming nations or cultures, had its own distinct artistic style, such as Anglo-Saxon art or Viking art . Medieval art was produced in many media, and works survive in large numbers in sculpture , illuminated manuscripts , stained glass , metalwork and mosaics , all of which have had a higher survival rate than other media such as fresco wall-paintings, work in precious metals or textiles , including tapestry . Especially in

6624-413: The period is characterized by increasing trade and interaction as well as new areas being settled, including Hawaii, Easter Island, Tahiti, and New Zealand. Starting around 1100 AD, the people of Easter Island would begin construction of nearly 900 moai (large stone statues). At about 1200 AD, the people of Pohnpei, a Micronesian island, would embark on another megalithic construction, building Nan Madol ,

6716-521: The period show that classical Polynesian art was indeed flourishing. In the 19th century, depopulation of areas due to slave raiding and Western diseases disrupted many societies and cultures. Missionary work in the region caused the conversion to Christianity, and in some cases the destruction of traditional cultural and artistic heritage of the region, specifically sculpture. However more secular art forms continue, such as carving non-religious objects like kava bowls and textile work such as tapa making. With

6808-415: The period, while in the West it appears intermittently, combining and sometimes competing with new expressionist possibilities developed in Western Europe and the Northern legacy of energetic decorative elements. The period ended with the self-perceived Renaissance recovery of the skills and values of classical art, and the artistic legacy of the Middle Ages was then disparaged for some centuries. Since

6900-622: The problem in a variety of different ways. As for larger works, there are references to Anglo-Saxon wooden pagan statues, all now lost, and in Norse art the tradition of carved runestones was maintained after their conversion to Christianity. The Celtic Picts of Scotland also carved stones before and after conversion, and the distinctive Anglo-Saxon and Irish tradition of large outdoor carved crosses may reflect earlier pagan works. Viking art from later centuries in Scandinavia and parts of

6992-545: The region, and a new generation are taught these art forms. There is also a notable movement of contemporary art within Micronesia toward the end of the 20th century. Polynesia, like Micronesia, stretched back to Lapita cultural traditions. Lapita Culture included parts of the western Pacific and reached as far east as Tonga and Samoa. However much of Polynesia, like the islands of Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti , and Easter Island, had only relatively recently been settled by indigenous peoples. The most famous Polynesian art forms are

7084-437: The region. Not until more of the islands were explored by the western powers that the sheer diversity of Melanesian art begins to be seen. By the 20th century, Melanesian art begins to find its way to the West and has a profound impact on contemporary artists. However a great cultural disruption would follow the second World War, and much traditional art would begin to decline or be destroyed. This would be followed decades later by

7176-627: The scalloped edges to the doorway, the circular decorations on the lintel above, and also in having Christ in Majesty surrounded by musicians, which was to become a common feature of Western heavenly scenes, and probably derives from images of Islamic kings on their diwan . Calligraphy , ornament and the decorative arts generally were more important than in the West. The Hispano-Moresque pottery wares of Spain were first produced in Al-Andalus, but Muslim potters then seem to have emigrated to

7268-399: The several preserved Moser interiors in the original section of the museum, decorated in masterful Neo-Grec version of Secession style. The bas-reliefs on the facade are by Moser's longtime collaborator Oskar Kiefer. The original museum building was extended in 1925, 1958 and 1976. A $ 230 million extension by London-based David Chipperfield was opened in 2020. An extension building with

7360-403: The splendours of the Byzantine court and monasteries, even at the end of the Empire, provided a model for Western rulers and secular and clerical patrons. For example, Byzantine silk textiles, often woven or embroidered with designs of both animal and human figures, the former often reflecting traditions originating much further east, were unexcelled in the Christian world until almost the end of

7452-437: The start of the period the main survivals of Christian art are the tomb-paintings in popular styles of the catacombs of Rome , but by the end there were a number of lavish mosaics in churches built under Imperial patronage. Over this period imperial Late Roman art went through a strikingly "baroque" phase, and then largely abandoned classical style and Greek realism in favour of a more mystical and hieratic style—a process that

7544-459: The styles and content of the art. Pre-Estuarine, the oldest, is characterized by imagery in a red ocher pigment. However, by about 6000 BC, increasingly elaborate images begin to appear, marking the beginning of the Estuarine period. These rock paintings served several functions. Some were used in magic, others to increase animal populations for hunting, while some were simply for amusement. One of

7636-442: The surrounding islands and people of first wave settlers, has perhaps the most striking art of all Oceania. Stylistically art is typically highly decorative and portrays exaggerated forms, often of sexual themes. It is mostly made in connection with ancestors, hunting, and cannibalism. Commonly they would be used in the context of spiritual rituals, such as the creation of elaborate masks. However, few examples of Melanesian art exist on

7728-411: The vigorous "barbarian" artistic culture of Northern Europe to produce a remarkable artistic legacy. Indeed, the history of medieval art can be seen as the history of the interplay between the elements of classical , early Christian and "barbarian" art. Apart from the formal aspects of classicism, there was a continuous tradition of realistic depiction of objects that survived in Byzantine art throughout

7820-706: The way the history was presented. Medieval art Art of Central Asia Art of East Asia Art of South Asia Art of Southeast Asia Art of Europe Art of Africa Art of the Americas Art of Oceania The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, with over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa . It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional art, genres, revivals,

7912-528: The well-off. As thin ivory panels carved in relief could rarely be recycled for another work, the number of survivals is relatively high—the same is true of manuscript pages, although these were often re-cycled by scraping, whereupon they become palimpsests . Even these basic materials were costly: when the Anglo-Saxon Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey planned to create three copies of the bible in 692—of which one survives as

8004-582: Was a key element in the art all'antica of the Renaissance. Ivory reliefs Byzantine art is the art of the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire formed after the division of the Roman Empire between Eastern and Western halves, and sometimes of parts of Italy under Byzantine rule. It emerges from Late Antiquity in about 500 CE and soon formed a tradition distinct from that of Catholic Europe but with great influence over it. In

8096-666: Was a vital part of the Aksumite empire , with one important example being the Garima Gospels , among the earliest illustrated biblical manuscripts anywhere. Works about the Virgin Mary were especially likely to be illustrated, as demonstrated by a royal manuscript known as EMML 9002 created at the end of the 1300s. Some of these images of Mary can be viewed at the Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean and Egyptian Miracles of Mary project. Migration Period art describes

8188-490: Was created. Their usage was primarily, in cooking, serving, and storing food. Micronesia comprises second-wave settlers of Oceania, encompassing the people of the islands north of Melanesia, and has an artistic tradition attested to early Austronesian waves from the Philippines and the Lapita culture. Among the most prominent works of the region is the megalithic floating city of Nan Madol. The city began in 1200 AD, and

8280-453: Was extremely conservative, for religious and cultural reasons, but retained a continuous tradition of Greek realism, which contended with a strong anti-realist and hieratic impulse. After the resumption of icon production in 843 until 1453 the Byzantine art tradition continued with relatively few changes, despite, or because of, the slow decline of the Empire. There was a notable revival of classical style in works of 10th century court art like

8372-534: Was transmitted to the continent by the Hiberno-Scottish mission , and its anti-classical energy was extremely important in the formation of later medieval styles. In most Late Antique manuscripts text and decoration were kept clearly apart, though some initials began to be enlarged and elaborated, but major insular manuscripts sometimes take a whole page for a single initial or the first few words (see illustration) at beginnings of gospels or other sections in

8464-481: Was well underway before Christianity became a major influence on imperial art. Influences from Eastern parts of the Empire— Egypt , Syria and beyond, and also a robust "Italic" vernacular tradition, contributed to this process. Figures are mostly seen frontally staring out at the viewer, where classical art tended to show a profile view - the change was eventually seen even on coins. The individuality of portraits,

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