Medieval German Art
German Knights with Couched Lances, from an encyclopedia of warfare, 1028
German art after the fall
of Rome was first a lot like Visigothic
or Merovingian
art. By the 900's AD, German art is often
called "Ottonian" after the German
emperors who were ruling at that time. Because these Otto emperors
thought of themselves as being Holy Roman Emperors, putting the old
Roman Empire back together,
they liked art that looked Roman,
or that at least reminded them of ancient Rome (while still being clearly
Christian).
After the Ottonian period in art, between about 1000
and 1200 AD, came the Romanesque,
where people built many big stone churches and castles in Germany. These
were big, heavy buildings that showed how powerful the Holy
Roman Emperors were. The cathedral at Mainz is a good example. The
style was not very different from how people were building at the same
time in France and Italy,
showing how architects often travelled from one place to another.
The last period of German medieval art was called
Gothic. Gothic art is
also pretty much the same in Germany as in France and Italy - it began
in France, but soon spread to both Germany and Italy
(much of Italy was pretty much ruled by Germany at this time anyway).
Romanesque
art
Gothic art
Medieval art page
Main art page
Main medieval page
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