2.3 — Romanesque Art
Romanesque art (c. 1000–1150) accompanied a surge in pilgrimage, monastic growth, and stone church construction across Europe. Rounded arches, heavy walls, and sculpted portals defined the style, while portable reliquaries fueled devotional travel.
Architecture: Mass and Rhythm
Romanesque churches often feature thick masonry walls, round arches, barrel or groin vaults, and modular bays that organize space for processions and pilgrims.
- Plans: Latin cross with nave, side aisles, transept, and radiating chapels for relics.
- Elevation: Arcade, gallery/tribune, clerestory (varies by region); compound piers articulate bays.
- Vaulting: Barrel vaults with transverse arches; groin vaults to reduce thrust; stone roofs improved fire resistance.
Pilgrimage and Relics
Major routes (e.g., to Santiago de Compostela) spurred the building of large pilgrimage churches. Reliquaries—often gilded, jeweled containers—drew crowds, donations, and artistic commissions.
Definition: Tympanum
The semicircular (or triangular) space above a portal, often carved with Last Judgment or Christ in Majesty scenes in Romanesque churches.
Sculpture: Didactic Portals
Portal programs taught theology to broad audiences. Lintels, tympana, and jambs carried vivid reliefs of Christ, apostles, virtues/vices, and apocalyptic visions.
- Autun Cathedral (Gislebertus): Expressive Last Judgment with elongated figures and inscribed signature.
- Moissac: Tympanum of Christ in Majesty; trumeau with twisting prophet/evangelist figures.
Manuscripts and Metalwork
Monastic scriptoria produced illuminated Bibles and liturgical books with bold outlines and saturated colors. Metalwork—champlevé enamels, cast bronze doors (Hildesheim), and shrine reliquaries—combined narrative imagery with precious materials.
Wall Painting
Frescoes and secco paintings covered apses and naves with hieratic figures, mandorlas, and didactic cycles (e.g., Christ Pantocrator at Sant Climent de Taüll).
Note: Regional Variation
While round arches and heavy walls are common, details vary: Italian Romanesque retains classical echoes; French and Spanish sites show rich portal sculpture; German examples emphasize westwork towers.
Looking Ahead
Gothic builders will lighten structures with pointed arches, rib vaults, and flying buttresses, transforming how light and height shape sacred space (Chapter 2.4).