Reading Robert Nelson’s 1996 article “Living on the Byzantine Borders of Western Art,” one may be inspired to wrestle with the divisions imposed by most introductory textbooks on the Art History of the West. [1]. This is particularly true for those teaching the first “half” of such a subject, which is often known affectionately, for better or worse, as “Caves to Cathedrals.” And yet, how might the divisions suggested by the traditional chapter layouts be overcome and the interactions of the western, Byzantine, and Islamic worlds be more accurately introduced to students without leaving them adrift in a sea of connections that may seem more confusing to the new student than liberating? What about introducing students to the depths of these waters as opposed to just skimming along the surface? The authors of Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages: Exploring a Connected World have created a book that not only grapples directly with these issues, but also introduces the medieval world as one that was most decidedly interconnected. They demonstrate throughout their text how the separations many of us were trained in are false or at least not as hard and fast as we might assume. And in fact, as they themselves note, “elucidating the diversity of medieval art is the primary goal of the book” (5). Since this book is meant as an introductory textbook, my review will focus on both the contents as well as issues of their application in the classroom.
To begin, the authors are forthright in terms of what they are attempting, and not attempting, to achieve. “Overall, the book seeks to explore episodes of cultural encounter while indicating differences and points of rupture, but it does not claim to cover every population and location equally” (7). The book is arranged chronologically, and the discussion of each chapter’s contents is based around five broad themes: artistic production, status and identity, connection to the past, ideology, and access to the sacred. These themes are neither mutually exclusive nor specifically labelled as such throughout the text. For students, a number of very helpful boxed texts help to address traditional rough spots on their journey through the ancient and medieval world, for example, one dealing with the use of BCE and CE (7) and another on medieval number symbolism (179). A balance between depth and coverage is addressed by choosing two works or objects to treat in detail within each chapter (identified via the heading “Work in Focus”), though this is not to say by any means that other works are only given a cursory glance. Many of the works selected will be familiar to instructors, but some will also provide opportunities to learn along with their students. In addition to architecture and sculpture, throughout the book, works of art in the form of ceramics, jewelry, manuscripts, tapestries, and other textiles form part of the narrative.
All in all, this lavishly illustrated textbook provides a wonderful balance of different types of medieval art and architecture. In this regard, the podcast episode “Conceptualizing the Middle Ages,” available on the book’s accompanying website, https://artofthemiddleages.com, provides students and their instructors with both an introduction to the authors and to webmaster Erika Loic, as well as a reflection on the team’s long and careful consideration of what to include where and why. Together with the textbook’s introductory chapter, this particular podcast episode is a wonderful place for a class to start setting the stage for what is to come.
Although the book is focused on the Middle Ages, medieval art and architecture are never treated as though they arose out of a vacuum. Chapter 1 introduces the role of groups from the East in this development as well as a preview of the various styles visible in the Roman world and beyond, such as the Celtic. The variety inherent in the religious landscape is also described, with a treatment of three buildings from Dura-Europos that leaves the discussion of the architecture aside for a focus on the paintings, though models of all three (house-church, synagogue, and Mithraeum) are included. Overall, this chapter provides a solid foundation for the next, which is focused on the fourth and fifth centuries.
Chapter 2, like all of those that follow, begins with a brief introductory box text providing some necessary context for the period covered. Very welcome in the pages that follow are the numerous ways in which the Christianization of the Empire is explained as something gradual that took a long time (via maps, texts, and images). The basic discussion provided of the early councils and some of the main heresies, as well as how we might think about them, is also at a level appropriate for an introductory textbook, for example that of the Miaphysites versus Chalcedonians and also the discussion of scroll versus codex. The same is true for the examples given of some of the fascinating funerary art of this period. A strength of this book is its treatment of transitions and thus the example of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome is well chosen for explaining and illustrating the slow emergence of Christian Iconography. The same is true of the use of the Orthodox Baptistery of Ravenna to illustrate how the connection between Old and New Testament were portrayed in art of the period.
Chapter 3covers the sixth- to mid-seventh century and introduces Islam (via box text) while focusing on two early monuments: the Ka’aba and the Friday Mosque of Muhammed. Chapter 4 moves into the mid-seventh to late-eighth century, introducing the Dome of the Rock as its first work in focus and bringing readers through to the Lindisfarne Gospels. Throughout the discussion, the works are introduced in relation to both contemporary pieces as well as works such as the Holy Sepulchre that would have influenced how these works were seen by their various audiences. In this way, the change in Umayyad coinage introduced by Abd al-Malik is discussed in relation to the coinage of Justinian II and the Tara Brooch is discussed in relation to the variety of contemporary portable objects. The reader is also reminded throughout of works from earlier chapters, which provides instructors a nice way to reinforce the link with previous discussions that will have occurred in the classroom. Here, as throughout the book, the incorporation of textiles provides extremely interesting parallels to more traditional works.
Occasionally, the diversity of the works of art and architecture being covered leads to some abrupt transitions, such as that leading into the discussion of Madinat al-Zahra in chapter 5 (late eighth century to ca. 960). However, the resulting comparison with both Baghdad and Samarra is worth the slight bump along the way. Another interesting comparison is that of the Mosque at Kairouan as a model for North African mosques that followed and of St Gall as a model for subsequent monasteries. Here too, works are compared with those from previous chapters, as in the case of the Oseberg Ship, one of the works in focus of this chapter, and the Sutton Hoo ship burial (chapter 3). Chapter 5, like many others in the text, is rich in maps, another clear strength of this book as an instructional tool. However, the box on the lost wax process (132) may prove a bit confusing to students as there is no distinction between objects that are mold cast and solid, which the authors seem to be describing, and hollow cast, which most people will associate with the production of the equestrian statue of Theodoric that is discussed.
Chapter 6 covers the period from ca. 960 to ca. 1070. Here, the reliquary of St Foy is used to represent the ninth- through eleventh-century reemergence of freestanding figural sculpture. Those more familiar with works like Bernward’s bronze doors at Hildesheim will find them mentioned, but not discussed more fully. Instead, one of the possibilities that opens itself up to consideration as a result of a more global approach appears via the treatment of Bernward’s bronze column at Hildesheim and the discussion of its Roman, but also local, prototypes.
Chapter 7 moves into the period from ca. 1070 to ca. 1170 andintroduces a number of monuments typically scattered over various chapters in the traditional survey texts, such as the Urnes Stave Church, the city of Isfahan, and the cathedral complex at Pisa. The pilgrimage movement and the similarities between numerous Cluniac monastic churches are introduced while looping back to the discussion of St Foy via a discussion of the abbey church in Conques. Other movements from this period, such as the Crusades, the Romanesque (defined here in a box text but avoided within the book as a whole), and Monasticism (including a discussion of the differences between the Cluniac and Cistercian Orders) are treated throughout as a way of illustrating how the works of this period represent “a combination of local artistic traditions and wider European trends” (206). Textiles are again used as examples of “cross-cultural communication and exchange” (201) and the Melisende Psalter, the first work in focus of this chapter, is described straightforwardly as an example of works that do not fit into conventional categories. The Abbey of St Denis is the second work in focus of this chapel, which helps to erase the sense of a strict boundary between Romanesque and Gothic in texts that use those terms and relegate them to separate chapters. Chapter 7 ends with a discussion of the Eleanor Vase as an example not of a particular style, but as a work that “encapsulates a number of issues central to medieval art” of this period (205).
The wide-ranging coverage of the book leads to some very interesting comparisons, as in the case of chapter 9 (ca. 1250 to 1340), where the Chora Monastery, the Scrovegni Chapel, and the Monastery Church from Dečani are grouped together under the rubric of “New Realms of Power and Prestige.” Although the nuances may be lost on the student new to these monuments, those more familiar with them will find prompts for new ways of thinking about them that are quite exciting. The strength of both religious as well as emerging secular and political identities are revealed in this chapter via the discussion of works like the paintings from the Hall of the Nine in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, the Sainte-Chapelle, and the Birds Head Haggadah (the second work in focus in this chapter). The issue of depictions of the prophet Muhammad (as well as those of earlier prophets) is addressed via an in-depth treatment of The Compendium of Chronicles, the first work in focus of the chapter. [2]. Instructors and especially students will find another of the podcasts accessible via the companion website, entitled “Muhammad in Islamic Art,” to be extremely enlightening in this regard. The variety of works featured throughout the book is represented in this chapter via an absolutely exquisite wedding ring with architectural and figural (dragons) decoration.
The “increasing interconnectedness of Eurasian societies in this period” (337) is visible in the works covered by chapter 10 (ca. 1340 to ca. 1450), where the travel accounts of Marco Polo and the Catalan Atlas are both introduced. In different ways, the works in focus of this chapter, the Convent at Wienhausen and The Alhambra, reinforce this lesson. Once again, the authors do a particularly nice job of tying these into other late medieval monuments examined earlier in the text. In addition, the fourteenth-century changes to images of Christ’s suffering are discussed, as is the first castle to be addressed as such (Karlštejn Castle, Czech Republic).
A final chapter poses and attempts to answer the question of when the Middle Ages came to an end via a discussion of the fifteenth century writ large. One interesting lens the authors provide to examine this period through, is that of works of architecture like the Cathedral of Milan that took a long time to complete. Another lens is that of artists (El Greco) and others (Christopher Columbus) who traveled. A third involves the introduction of the printing press. From this theme, the discussion transitions to a brief treatment of the issues surrounding collecting and displaying medieval works as well as preserving and in the case of Notre Dame cathedral, reconstructing them as part of their conservation. The authors freely admit that there are no easy answers to many of the related questions surrounding these issues and the text ends with a nice sign-off that directly addresses (and hopefully inspires) the reader.
At an average of just under 30 pages, the book’s twelve chapters will work well for most introductory courses taught during a standard semester. As the authors themselves suggest, the website is a very rich resource for students that should prove particularly helpful for introductory research assignments or in-class activities: galleries, plans, maps, timelines, glossary (with images), primary sources, and podcasts. More advanced students will also particularly benefit from consulting the latter two sections. Many of the gallery entries also provide links to additional, external sources that will be of interest. The textbook contains a helpful glossary of its own as well. And yet, despite all of these resources, one desideratum for future editions of the book is a timeline or larger boxed text at the back with the major rulers of each dynasty discussed in the book accompanied by the dates of each person’s reign. Standardizing the conclusions of each chapter so that they echo the summarizing “[t]his chapter began and ended...” (259) language of chapter 8 would be another.
Depending on the goals or learning outcomes of a class, instructors may find that they need to spend more or less time providing more linear historical background for their students. How to strike a balance between simply introducing standard material and troubling or complicating a subject within an introductory course is one that will have to be decided on a class by class or course by course basis, ultimately. But for those who “bear with it” as Alexandra Gillespie urges in her part of the podcast mentioned at the beginning of this review, the many potential rewards of embracing a work like Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages await. For those willing to embrace it, the authors have most certainly created a work that “will encourage readers to recognize the richness and complexity of medieval art and architecture and appreciate how they shaped a vibrant, connected world” (23).
--------
Notes:
1. Robert S. Nelson, “Living on the Byzantine Borders of Western Art,” Gesta 35, no. 1 (1996): 3-11.
2. No images of Muhammad’s face are shown in this chapter, nor anywhere else in the book.