1. Medieval aesthetics - slide 1
1. The iconoclastic controversy and the goals of Medieval art
Pope Gregory the Great’s letter of 600
John Damascene’s statement of c.720
Empress Theodora & the restoration of images in 843 A.D.
Medieval aesthetics - slide 1

2. Medieval aesthetics - slide 2
In this controversy, three justifications are offered for the use of religious images
(1) A way of teaching
(2) Enhances worship
(3) The Incarnation
Medieval aesthetics - slide 2

3. Medieval aesthetics - slide 3
Conclusions: the goals of early Medieval art were practical
To teach
To enhance worship
2. Byzantine mosaics & the new abstraction
Founding of Constantinople in 324
Movement (for a brief time) of the capital of the Western Roman Empire to Ravenna (402-c.540) - images
Medieval aesthetics - slide 3

4. Medieval aesthetics - slide 4
James Snyder & the new abstraction
Harold Osborne’s distinction between two types of abstraction
pure abstraction
abstraction-in-representation
Byzantine works of art are symbol systems for referring the mind and feelings to something other than the work of art--to God, the saints, moral lessons, & religious doctrine
Medieval aesthetics - slide 4

5. Medieval aesthetics - slide 5
The idea of a work of art as a symbol system continued into the high middle ages
Example: Gothic architecture
Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis ( ) & the rise of Gothic
Suger’s rebuilding of Saint-Denis beginning in 1134
Medieval aesthetics - slide 5

6. Medieval aesthetics - slide 6
Influence of Dionysius the Areopagite (c.500 A.D.)
The objects within the church & the entire building are symbol systems which refer the mind and emotions (whole self) to the Divine.
images
Medieval aesthetics - slide 6

7. Medieval aesthetics - slide 7
4. The Medieval reluctance to accept sensuous enjoyment of beautiful objects
Augustine ( )
Aquinas ( )
5. The social status of the artist in the Middle Ages
See essay by Castelnuovo
The stigma in the Middle Ages against manual labor, inherited from ancient Greece & Rome
Medieval aesthetics - slide 7

8. Medieval aesthetics - slide 8
There was a hierarchy within the arts -- roughly
architects, illuminators, & miniturists at the top - image 1 image 2
goldsmiths & glassmakers next
painters & sculptors at the bottom
The anonymity of most medieval artists reflects their social status
Medieval aesthetics - slide 8

9. Medieval aesthetics - slide 9
The status of the medieval artist began to change in the 12th century
Signatures of artists become more widespread reflecting the gradual “ennoblement of the artist” (234)
Artists gradually break out of “the ghetto of the mechanical arts” (237)
Medieval aesthetics - slide 9

10. Medieval aesthetics - slide 10
The role of Dante ( ) in this change in the status of the artist
His praise for Cimabue & Giotto
frescoes from the
Scrovegni chapel, Padua
Medieval aesthetics - slide 10