Before one can get into the great, yet surprisingly simple, debate over whether or not the capital figural statue heads, on the right side of the apse, in the interior at Notre Dame Du Bourg at Langon are in fact the sculptural depictions of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England; firstly one must have a general understanding of not only Eleanor’s life but of the tradition of Romanesque sculpture.
Starting, a brief synopsis of the life of the great Eleanor of Aquitaine: she was born during the 12th century in 1122 and lived until she was eighty-two. Eleanor was the proud daughter of a distinguished dynasty, and she never forgot her lineage: successors to Carolingians which equalled the Capetians and surpassed the Plantagenets in prestige.
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As instructed by the illustrious Abbot Suger, King Louis VII, of France, sent his armies to Aquitaine, they got there first. It is important to note that in those days the Kingdom of France itself was very small, and in fact just centred on the city of Paris. Consequently, Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine were married at Bordeaux in July of 1137, which in turn expanded the Kingdom of France. However, Louis VII was the boring second son of France, who anticipated an ecclesiastical career of a monk and not the throne. The marriage between Louis VII and Eleanor was characterised as one of turbulence, with the Mother in law disapproving strongly of Eleanor's impressive wardrobe, and Eleanor, herself, feeling as though Louis neglected her both emotionally and physically, even later complaining that she married a monk and not a king. Her marriage to Louis VII eventually ended. Hastened by the disastrous Second Crusade, in which Eleanor wanted to go as she was bored by Paris and her husband. On the way to the Holy Land she and her maids dressed up as Amazonians, and by the time she got back, there were loads of promiscuous rumours about her time on crusade. For instance, the rumour that she had promiscuous relations with her uncle when in the city of Antioch, which is in modern day Turkey. Wholly ruining her …show more content…
The capital in question, is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the Cloisters. According to files at the Cloisters, it is impossible to date exactly when this capital and the seven others at Langon where created, but they are estimated to have been sculpted between 1155 and 1183. The files at the Cloisters also claim, that there is no direct connection can be established between Eleanor and Henry, and the priory of Langon. However in contrary during their nuptial progress, they visited the Church of Notre Dame du Bourg at Langon. As the Church at Langon was well underway but still undergoing construction, thus making the capital dedication possible, even if Eleanor and Henry were not there at the time of the creation of the sculpture, due to the establishment of travelling ateliers masons — the likeness of the most powerful people would have generally been known. The rise of figural sculpture in the Romanesque period occurred simultaneously with the rise of the artist. The early 12th century in Europe, brought about the revival of figural stone sculpture to a high level of stylistic subtlety and iconographic complexity. This expressionist style was combined with theological motifs, nature, and the functionality of images that came to represent a certain truth as reality. It was in this context, that the artist, following the patrons
The main purpose of this paper is to describe the visual analysis of the artwork. This paper examines an Egyptian half nude portrait art which is taken from Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fig.1). The statue characterized both male and female seated figure with a Braid hair. In this essay, I will present a complete visual description of this artwork (its preservation, costume and iconography), and then I will compare it to another artwork which is chosen from Textbook that is Akhenaten and his Family (Fig. 2).
Romanesque sculpture were often incorporated their art on the outside of the building. Not only was architecture important that it wasn’t gospel literature that would move the people but how they often felt before entering the building.
The dowry she brought with her into marriage had to be returned intact if her husband repudiated her.” When Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII divorced, he did not have any authority to the duchy of Aquitaine and instead, the property remained in her possession. Eleanor used her land in order to justify her power and secure her validation in the Crusade.
With works in every known medium, from every part of the world, throughout all points in history, exploring the vast collection of the Museum of Modern Art was an overwhelming experience. The objects in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts are an important historical collection, reflecting the development of a number of art forms in Western Europe. The department's holdings covered sculpture in many sizes, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, jewelry, and tapestries. The gallery attracted my appreciation of the realistic qualities of the human body often portrayed in sculpture.
Even with all the different events going on in her life, Eleanor was still able to play an active role as the Duchess of Aquitaine. When her marriage to Henry began to fall apart, Eleanor kept busy by contributing to the rules of “courtly love.” She also spent most of her time finding powerful men to marry her daughters. Matilda married Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria ; Eleanor married Alfonso VIII, King of Sicily, and later married Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse. Eleanor also played an active role in the lives of her sons.
This essay aims to investigate two different time periods in the history of art. It will scrutinize the influence that the respective societal contexts had on the different artists, which in turn, caused them to arrange the formal elements in a specific way. I will be examining an Egyptian sculpture of the god Isis nursing Horus, her son, as well as the Vladimir Virgin icon, which dates from the Byzantine era. Experts vary on the precise ‘lifetime’ of the Ancient Egyptian civilization, but according to Mason (2007:10) it existed from 3100 BCE up to 30 BCE. The Byzantine era, which
Relief sculptures can be found inside the palace above the arched walkways and in the chapel (Perouse de Montclos 285). In the salon of war an equestrian relief sculpture is place above the fireplace (Perouse de Montclos 239). The palace has an abundance of sculpture to connecting it to classical culture.
This essay is an attempt to address the marble sculpture commonly known as Laocoon and His Sons, and why exactly I believe it to be a work of high art, of great value and significance to the species.
When examining the statue, there is an old woman bent and weary. Her posture helps clue us in, with her age and the state of her health. The figure is dressed in cloth that drapes off her body as she carries a basket that is filled with what we may think are offerings. On her head, there are vines that create a band around the top of her head used to signify the festival that was going on during that time. The specific detail that is seen on this statue persuades us to want to know the story of this woman. Doing so, the process involves lots of research about the time and art. During the hellenistic period, artists begin to introduce more inner beauty than physical beauty. There is an opportunity to learn more about the structure itself, then settle for what is given and seen.
Auguste Rodin is a famous French sculptor whose talent made his clay sculptors become famous in the modern style. His talent allowed him to produce several sculptures with unique and complex styles. Although he was very talented, he received a lot of criticism from people around him because he didn’t use the traditional, decorative styles of the time. He was very good at modeling the human body using realism and gave character to his sculptures by adding great physical features. The Burghers of Calais is one of Rodin’s most famous sculptures which he completed in the 1889. Its material is Bronze and it represents an important story from the Hundred Years war. The story is about Calais, which was an important French port that was under constant
The sculptures and paint show details how society viewed and interpreted women body, sexuality, and maternity. In addition, revealed that these women were protected from threats around them with ornaments. Civilizations since early times, believed that we were in permanent threat from forces we do not see or cannot explain and because of it, we protected ourselves with artificial elements in a form of jewelry, crowns or caps. This idea has been continue from one generation to the next to the point that in modern societies some of us still use this type of protection in our bodies (e.g., small cross, divine images, tattoos, etc.).These pieces of art also indicate that humans believed in gods with superpowers and they are looking over us constantly. Humanity also believes in dark forces or demons trying to makes us do things that would upset the good gods. Some of the differences between these sculptures and paint are the material in which each one of them were created. The first figure, the Woman of Willendorf was carved in limestone, the second piece, the portrait of Queen Tiye was carved in wood and the last piece, the Virgin and Child Icon was created of tempera on a wood. You can also notice how the details on their faces and bodies changes throughout the time and years. The woman of Willendorf figurine offers details of a voluptuous nude women’s body but there is not face, or feet. Queen Tiye statue shows the face of a woman in detail closed to the gods but without any body parts and lastly The Virgin and Child Icon, is an expression of divinity of the views, reflections and beliefs from the gospel. Because communities started to innovate on the art of carving and painting, populations began to discover and/or create art with the objective of expressing different purposes of our daily lives, such as the beauty of a woman’s body, or to commemorate an ancient
In the stories of The Wife of Bath and Queen Guinevere from the tale of King Arthur, both women of nobility and are strong characters. The Wife of Bath is a woman who likes to be known in the upper class and enjoys and parties. Queen Guinevere “is more passionate and caring,” she takes her royal status for granted. In the Middle Ages, these two women did not fit the idea of how women were to act or think towards their roles as women in that time period.
Examples of Romanesque sculpture are dated back to the last decade of the eleventh century and then first decades of the twelfth. “The primary source of artistic patronage was provided by the monastic institutions, for whom sculptors executed large relief carvings for the decoration of church portals and richly ornate capitals for cloisters” (Cleaver 156)
The piece I decided to analyze is the famous sculpture, Laocoön and his two sons. I decided on this particular piece for a few reasons, one being the emotion we see on the subjects’ faces, and the other being the importance for future art. When I began this research I could not have possibly understood the relevance this piece had on the art that was yet to come.
In many places throughout the world many buildings, monuments and sculptures have been made. Some were made centuries ago, and some were made recently. Many works of arts are significant or a great part of history. Some of the many buildings that have been made throughout time could have also been dedicated to someone or something. For example, the Arch of Titus was dedicated to Titus. Another example would be the Arc de Triomphe which was dedicated to soldiers. Many buildings can have a very significant meaning behind them, in the following essay I will be speaking about the importance of both of these works of art, which are the Arch of Titus and the Arc de Triomphe.