Romanesque Sculpture

Sculpture from the Romanesque period saw advances in metalwork, enamels, and figurative friezes and scenes found in architecture.

Learning Objective

Examine the characteristics of Romanesque sculpture

Key Points

Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 CE to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century or later, depending on region.
Precious objects in the media of metalwork, ivories, and enamels held very high status in the Romanesque period and became very sophisticated.
Many spectacular shrines made to hold relics have survived, such as the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral by Nicholas of Verdun; the bronze Gloucester candlestick is also a superb example of metal casting.
Large reliquaries and altar frontals were built around a wooden frame, but smaller caskets were made entirely of metal and enamel. A few secular pieces such as mirror cases, jewelry, and clasps have also survived.
During the 11th and 12th centuries, figurative sculpture strongly revived, and architectural reliefs are a hallmark of the later Romanesque period. Figurative sculpture was based largely on manuscript illumination and small-scale sculpture in ivory and metal.
Most Romanesque sculpture is pictorial and biblical in subject. A great variety of themes are found on capitals of buildings and include scenes of Creation and the Fall of Man, episodes from the life of Christ, and Old Testament scenes.

Terms

tympanum
In architecture, the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch and often containing sculpture or other imagery or ornaments.
enamel
A material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C (1,380 and 1,560 °F); the powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating on metal, glass, or ceramics.
portal
An opening in a wall of a building, gate, or fortification, especially a grand entrance to an important structure.

Full Text

Background: Romanesque Art

Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 CE to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century or later, depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 19th-century art historians specifically to refer to Romanesque architecture, which retained many basic features of Roman architectural style (most notably round-headed arches, barrel vaults, apses, and acanthus-leaf decoration) while also developing many very different characteristics. In Southern France, Spain, and Italy, there was an architectural continuity with the Late Antique, but the Romanesque style was the first style to spread across the whole of Catholic Europe, from Sicily to Scandinavia. Romanesque art was also greatly influenced by Byzantine art, especially in painting, and by the anti-classical energy of the decoration of the Insular art of the British Isles. From these elements was forged a highly innovative and coherent style.

Romanesque Sculpture

Metalwork, enamels, and ivories

Precious objects in the media of metalwork, ivories, and enamels held very high status in the Romanesque period, and the names of more makers of these objects are known than those of contemporary painters, illuminators, or architect-masons. Metalwork, including decoration in enamel, became very sophisticated. Many spectacular shrines made to hold relics have survived, of which the best known is the Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral by Nicholas of Verdun and others (c. 1180–1225). The bronze Gloucester candlestick is a superb example of metal casting, with highly intricate and energetic qualities that draw on manuscript painting. The Stavelot Triptych and Reliquary of St. Maurus are other examples of Mosan enamelwork. Large reliquaries and altar frontals were built around a wooden frame, but smaller caskets were made entirely of metal and enamel. A few secular pieces such as mirror cases, jewelry, and clasps have also survived, but these no doubt under-represent the amount of fine metalwork owned by the nobility.

The Gloucester candlestick, early 12th century

The bronze Gloucester candlestick is a superb example of metal casting, with highly intricate and energetic qualities that draw on manuscript painting.

Architectural sculpture

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the tradition of carving large works in stone and sculpting figures in bronze died out, as it effectively did (for religious reasons) in the Byzantine world. Some life-size sculpture was evidently done in stucco or plaster, but surviving examples are rare. The best-known surviving sculptural work of Proto-Romanesque Europe is the life-size wooden Crucifix commissioned by Archbishop Gero of Cologne in about 960–65, apparently the prototype of what became a popular form. These were later set up on a beam below the chancel arch, known in English as a rood, from the 12th century accompanied by figures of the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist to the sides.

During the 11th and 12th centuries, figurative sculpture strongly revived, and architectural reliefs are a hallmark of the later Romanesque period. Figurative sculpture was based largely on manuscript illumination and small-scale sculpture in ivory and metal. The extensive friezes sculpted on Armenian and Syriac churches have been proposed as another likely influence. These sources together produced a distinct style which can be recognized across Europe, although the most spectacular sculptural projects are concentrated in South-Western France, Northern Spain, and Italy.

Images that occurred in metalwork were frequently embossed. The resultant surface had two main planes and details that were usually incised. This treatment was adapted to stone carving and is seen particularly in the tympanum above the portal, where the imagery of Christ in Majesty with the symbols of the Four Evangelists is drawn directly from the gilt covers of medieval Gospel Books. This style of doorway occurs in many places and continued into the Gothic period.

Most Romanesque sculpture is pictorial and biblical in subject. A great variety of themes are found on capitals of buildings and include scenes of Creation and the Fall of Man, episodes from the life of Christ, and Old Testament scenes which prefigure his Death and Resurrection, such as Jonah and the Whale and Daniel in the lions' den. Many Nativity scenes occur, with theme of the Three Kings being particularly popular. A feature of some Romanesque churches is the extensive sculptural scheme which covers the area surrounding the portal or, in some case, much of the facade. The purpose of the sculptural schemes was to convey a message that the Christian believer should recognize wrongdoing, repent, and be redeemed. The Last Judgement reminds the believer to repent, while the carved or painted Crucifix, displayed prominently within the church, reminds the sinner of redemption.

Vézelay Abbey, Burgundy, France

The tympanum of Vézelay Abbey in Burgundy, completed in the 1130s, has a great deal of decorative spiral detail in the draperies.

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