Gothic~ The Gargoyles

We have been studying the gothic architecture but we have not really gone over any gargoyles so I had to research about this. I found that gargoyle in french means gullet or throat, gargouille because the gargoyles on the cathedrals usually are used for down spouts for draining rain water from the cathedrals. Gargoyles are also can be considered Chimeras(which is like greek mythology)because they are made of parts of different animals.

Not only do they function for draining rain water but also they serve a sort of religious moral The reason why they were demon bat creatures on the churches was to remind people of the church being a safehaven for humans because the gargoyles symbolized the evil in the world; thats why they are outside the cathedrals and not inside. There are also the demon creatures who look like gargoyles but are called grotesques they are not gargoyles because they do not function like gargoyles; more like decoration.

Even on the chrystler building they were inspired by the gargoyles and consturcted what looks like a bird gargoyle, or more like a grotesque because it does not serve a function.

Notre Dame is most famous for its gargoyles.

I found that St. Vitus had many as well. It looks more human like. There are such a variety of gargoyles, bat, goat, pig,cat, dragon, and bird but they are not either of them but a combination of them.

 There are just so many cool gargoyles!!! What I really like about them is their emotion carved in stone with the deep lines and hollowed or popping eyes. They have such unique character and I think that is what really is makes Gothic stand out from the Romansque or Byzatine art.

Chartes Cathedral

The church is in a shape of a cross which is eyecatching. In the video when they mentioned Mary's blue tunic they said it was Chartes blue. I wonder what came first the name of that specific color and the church was named from this specific piece or the stainglass was just named after it being in the Chartes Cathedral? I noticed the main colors were the primary red,blue, and yellow, which is like several ancient cultures we have looked at; like Egypt and the Ancient near East. The stainglass were arranged in a flower shape to me, which is like in the Vezely Church I saw in the video some chandelier or decoration with the same flower shape, or something close to it. I think its cool that people in the current time can still touch the stainglass, by restoring it and being apart of it; so many years and its still being worked on to match how it was originally made.

Early Medieval and Romanesque

 In the French church Saitn Pierre de Chauvigny  have sculptures of dragon like creatures devouring people who are considered sinners. It was built in the late Romanesque time and so it has some gothic elements to it. It has pointed arches and a bell tower. It was painted red and white later in 1856. The red and white is what surprised me when I was hunting for a church to research, too bad it was not the original idea. I think the red over white adds to the disturbing imagery. It defiently has that shock value to persuade people not to sin and to grab a hold of their attention.

Annuciation

    All of the capitals to their columns have human and animal figures decorating it. Not only do they have dragons but also Sphinxes ( I guess they show up everywhere). more mythological creatures are present, like the manticore (half lion humans), sirens but, they have bibliocal scenes as well;like Anunciation, Adoration of the Magi, Presentation of Christ, Temptation of Christ and Satan with demons. A lot of mixing of religon and another factor seems to be repeated in other churches, like the one with the zodiac symbols around sculptures of Christ.

                                                                   Exterior

                                                Satan and Demons

                                                 Sphinxes and Manticore.


This type of style in the sculptures makes me think of a combination of cultures we have learned. For one I think of India because of the figures surround a space and tell a story about religion and myths. Sphinxes and other creatures are used just like Ancinet Near East, and Greek. The exaggerated hands in the Annuciation reminds me of Etruscan art(the figures of people playing instruments) and Roman art( the statue of a leader). since we learned that most people during this time were illiterate it makes sense that they made the sculptures have dramatic expressions...they get the message across. I still think the dragon devouring the sinner is creepy...its like the painting by Goya with Saturn devouring his son.

Vezelay,Church and Hill

In this video when they first had shown the shot of the zoom out I was amazed at how the town stretched out in what looked like just a thick line of buildings embedded among green vegetation. In the Saint Magdalene church they have an arch which looks similar to a greek pediment, because it has sculptures in an arrow like shape, with the figures getting smaller on both left and right side. Finding out that the St. James shell is a symbol for pilgrimage was interesting because to me a shell is something I would not have known as meaning that. There seems to be a connection to all cultures with images having a significant meaning wheather obvious or not. Also one of my main questions is that of the Mary Magdalene relic; what would it have been. could it have been something that belonged to her or a part of her? I think I have heard from something that relics can be pieces of that person, like a finger or a tooth?

Early Christian and Byzantine

                                                              (Dove with olive leaf)
I know that one of the Christian symbols is that of the dove. I own a pet dove and she has been cooing to me all day so I thought why not research about why they became a symbol. The dove is represented as gentle,loving, and peaceful. It seems that the artists of the early Christian and Byzantine mostly chose the dove as a symbol none other than the fact that the dove is mentioned a lot in the Bible.Here is a quote from the Bible, Mattew 10.6 "Be ye there fore wise as serpents and harmless as doves." That quality of being peaceful is through the useage of the dove is portrayed several times through out the Bible. Also Milton a writer paraphrases Matthew by saying "I would have you drive the temple the money changers, who buy and sell, not doves, but the Dove, the Holy Spirit Himself", he refers a dove as being God. Also in Paradise Lost, Book 11 a dove is mentioned. It flies with an olive leaf which is like a symbol that means God declares peace.
    
               In the Early Christian and Byzantine art they have the dove in many of their mosaics.

Above Jesus, is the dove flying downwards, just showing its presence while he is being baptized.

Below Doves are shown throughout the scene

 

 

 

 

The dove is usually shown as white or as a turtledove. Probably it was more popular using the white doves because the color white means innocense and purity, also maybe they did it because the whiteness stood out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...P.s. Autumn approves this blog.

Edwards, Karen. "Dove." Milton Quarterly 40.2 (2006): 114-119. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

Etruscan sarcophgi

 The Etruscan sargophgi are made from stone, like terracotta. Some techniques they used were plastering and polychrome painting. The ashes of the dead are placed in an urn inside the sculptures.They are all usually lying on their side alone in a reclining position or with a loved one. Some wear cloth that cover their head and are adorned with jewelry.The sides of the sarcophgi have base relief of mythology or funeral procession scenes.

            Not only did the Etruscans have human figures for funeral sculptures but also animals. Just like many other cultures like China having fierce animals guarding the tombs.

          Seianti Hanunia Tlesnasa was an Etruscan  wealthy noblewoman. Unlike the others her skeleton was found inside, which is one the most intact that has been found. The sarcophagus is in the British Museum. Helenistic style.

Another wealthy lady, named Larthia Seianti. she also has her hand up holding her cloth over her head just like Tlesnasa(show of rank?). They both have seianti in their names so I wonder what that means? relatives?  
    bas-relief on all four sides:

 Couples are shown together eating. woman and man. both reclining like the usual position of the sarcophgi. It is hollowed out and normally has the ashes or treasures of the dead inside.

more couples: this seems different though, the man and woman dont seem to be so much together compared to the one above.

A more different version of the couple sarcophgi

These two have more emotion in their pose and faces. To me they have a somewhat scared and lonely look and yet they are holding each other maybe it is saying they are together holding eachother as they pass into the after life.
 




Bonfante, Professor Larissa, Etruscan Life and Afterlife: a Handbook of Etruscan Studies. 1986   Wayne State University Press Detroit Michigan. Nov 12 2012 web.

Witcombe LCE Christopher. Art History Resources. May 2012. Web Nov 12 2012.

 

 

The Hagia Sophia, Istanbol

This cathedral I noticed had the growing curving arches and also colums. Some of their columns looked similiar to both ionic and Corinthian because they had swirls and leafy decor. The column with the hole in it which supposedly has healing powers its like every culture has superstitions. Even though they say it has history of an emperor using it to heal I wonder if it was used mostly just afterwards and more when it was a museum so then it would like a gimmick landmark to lure tourists in. The chandeliers were in a flower shape. Was this a common symbol to Istanbol?  They said some mosaics were stolen and shipped to vencince, are these placed in a museum? The mosaics that were still entact were of seperate images of the empress donating to a christ figure and another mosaic with Constatine with christ; now did they do this so they appeared more god like and as important? The cathdral seemed to be changed so much over time with different religions that it was like they were fighting with eachother like children, scribbling on each others drawings. Some covered up the mosaics because it showed figures which was against islam religion. The cathedral must have been so very impressive that people didnt want to build their own new mosques or churches.