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Romanesque and Gothic

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Submitted By roboto123
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Romanesque is first used to describe the architecture of Western Europe from about the 9th to 12th century. It has become applied by extension to other arts, in particular sculpture. (click)

Sculptures are mostly found inside or on the façade of churches such as tympanum and capitals of the columns. They are all very simple because they believe the soul (inside beauty) is more important than the body. Subject is usually Christian religion, the purpose of the sculpture is to illustrate the message of the Bible, teach stories to the illiterate. A favourite subject for the tympanum is the Last Judgement. The theme vividly reminds the pilgrims of the need of pious devotion.

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At the beginning of the Medieval era, Romanesque columns had all sorts of plants, animals and people intertwined in Gallic patterns. Then many capitals illustrate stories from the bible. click Then, there came the tympanum, then columns to each side, the figures of saints and sinners in stories on the façade of the main entrance. click These very early Romanesque carved figures are saints. Notice the distortions: they have rather blocky bodies made from flat, simple shapes with very large head and hands. Their feet are tiny, compared to their hands. Perspective is also distorted. The size of the figures would make them giants in relationship to the columns. click It also happens to the tympanum: The tympanum of St Trophime; The hands and arms are still very flat and awkward looking; the wings, legs and tail of the birds are connected at unrealistic angles.

They often depicted terrifying spectacles of hell. They also showed a tendency toward geometric

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