Romanesque
Description
Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 12th 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, especially for Romanesque architecture, which retained many basic features of Roman architectural style – most notably round-headed arches, but also barrel vaults, apses, and acanthus-leaf decoration – but had also developed many very different characteristics. Medieval sculpture, specially romanesque, is the best and most famous through Art History. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Gislebertus
Master French Romanesque sculptor who carved the dramatic Last Judgment tympanum and narrative capitals of Saint-Lazare in Autun.
Master of Cabestany
Anonymous but highly individual Romanesque sculptor active across France and Tuscany, noted for energetic relief carvings with expressive angular faces.
Wiligelmo
Pioneering Italian Romanesque sculptor who carved the monumental relief panels of Genesis across the facade of Modena Cathedral.
Master of Pedret
Celebrated Catalan Romanesque fresco painter who decorated church apses in the Pyrenees with vivid, primary-colored depictions of Christ and the Virgin.
Bernard Gilduin
Master sculptor who carved the solemn marble relief altar table and apostle figures for the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
Romanesque church tympanums were carved with terrifying, vivid depictions of Hell and demons specifically to act as 'sermons in stone' for illiterate medieval pilgrims arriving after long journeys.
↗ Source: britannica.com
Gislebertus proudly carved his signature 'Gislebertus hoc fecit' (Gislebertus made this) directly beneath the feet of Christ on the Autun tympanum, marking a historical turning point toward individual artist recognition in the Middle Ages.
↗ Source: britannica.com