Romanesque Art and Architecture
- Course Code
- HARC 0073
- Course Type
- Tutorials
- Subject Credit
- Course Availability
The Romanesque was the first truly international style of the medieval period. Equal attention in this course is given to the three media – architecture, sculpture and painting – and their interrelationship across Europe in a period rich in buildings and artefacts, extending from approximately 1050-1200. The methodology of the course concentrates on determining an artistic language for the style, assessing the religious and historical context of the many great pilgrimage churches initiated by expansion of the religious orders in this period. Sculpture, where there was a great outpouring, is considered as an important complement to architecture and the course traces its stylistic and iconographic development. Fine survivals of goldsmiths’ work and illuminated manuscripts are analysed for their artistic and liturgical importance. Examples of Romanesque – in England referred to as Norman – are within easy reach of Oxford for those who wish to explore further.