Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Left door of the Iconography explained?

Top panel: God creates Adam. Adam after the creation.Second panel: Adam and Eve are introducedThird panel: The fallFourth panel: God interrogates Adam and EveFifth panel: Expulsion from paradiseSixth panel: Life on earth(door handle)Seventh panel: Cain and Abel make their offerings to GodEighth panel: Cain kills Abel

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Left door in Bernward Doors's Iconography.

Top panel: God creates Adam. Adam after the creation.Second panel: Adam and Eve are introducedThird panel: The fallFourth panel: God interrogates Adam and EveFifth panel: Expulsion from paradiseSixth panel: Life on earth(door handle)Seventh panel: Cain and Abel make their offerings to GodEighth panel: Cain kills Abel

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In the context of Bernward Doors, explain the Right door and the Iconography.

Top panel: Noli me tangere; ascension of Christ into heavenSecond panel: The women at the tombThird panel: The crucifixionFourth panel: Christ appears before Pilate and HerodFifth panel: The child Jesus is brought to the TempleSixth panel: The gifts of the Wise Men(door handle)Seventh panel: The birth of ChristEighth panel: The annunciation to Mary

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Right door about the Iconography of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

Top panel: Noli me tangere; ascension of Christ into heavenSecond panel: The women at the tombThird panel: The crucifixionFourth panel: Christ appears before Pilate and HerodFifth panel: The child Jesus is brought to the TempleSixth panel: The gifts of the Wise Men(door handle)Seventh panel: The birth of ChristEighth panel: The annunciation to Mary

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Right door of the Iconography explained?

Top panel: Noli me tangere; ascension of Christ into heavenSecond panel: The women at the tombThird panel: The crucifixionFourth panel: Christ appears before Pilate and HerodFifth panel: The child Jesus is brought to the TempleSixth panel: The gifts of the Wise Men(door handle)Seventh panel: The birth of ChristEighth panel: The annunciation to Mary

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Right door in Bernward Doors's Iconography.

Top panel: Noli me tangere; ascension of Christ into heavenSecond panel: The women at the tombThird panel: The crucifixionFourth panel: Christ appears before Pilate and HerodFifth panel: The child Jesus is brought to the TempleSixth panel: The gifts of the Wise Men(door handle)Seventh panel: The birth of ChristEighth panel: The annunciation to Mary

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In the context of Bernward Doors, explain the Typological correlation and the Iconography.

To understand the parallelism between the panels of the left and right doors, one must enter the medieval mindset, with its typological reading of the Old Testament according to the revelation of the New Testament (concordantia veteris et novi testamenti - harmony of the Old and New Testament). The typological concordances presented on the Bernward doors are based for the most part on the theological writings of the Church Fathers, especially St. Augustine:

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Typological correlation about the Iconography of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

To understand the parallelism between the panels of the left and right doors, one must enter the medieval mindset, with its typological reading of the Old Testament according to the revelation of the New Testament (concordantia veteris et novi testamenti - harmony of the Old and New Testament). The typological concordances presented on the Bernward doors are based for the most part on the theological writings of the Church Fathers, especially St. Augustine:

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Typological correlation of the Iconography explained?

To understand the parallelism between the panels of the left and right doors, one must enter the medieval mindset, with its typological reading of the Old Testament according to the revelation of the New Testament (concordantia veteris et novi testamenti - harmony of the Old and New Testament). The typological concordances presented on the Bernward doors are based for the most part on the theological writings of the Church Fathers, especially St. Augustine:

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Typological correlation in Bernward Doors's Iconography.

To understand the parallelism between the panels of the left and right doors, one must enter the medieval mindset, with its typological reading of the Old Testament according to the revelation of the New Testament (concordantia veteris et novi testamenti - harmony of the Old and New Testament). The typological concordances presented on the Bernward doors are based for the most part on the theological writings of the Church Fathers, especially St. Augustine:

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Focus on Bernward Doors and explain the Style and composition.

The doors are made up of a number of framed panels; unlike the Roman originals, however, the design at Hildesheim is not their design, but probably an imitation of the ancient Roman examples. Moreover, the impact of the frames is significantly reduced in favour of the figural scenes by their narrowness and the flat relief, so that they appear like the images of a contemporary illustrated manuscript, like the Codex Aureus of Echternach.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Style and composition of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

The doors are made up of a number of framed panels; unlike the Roman originals, however, the design at Hildesheim is not their design, but probably an imitation of the ancient Roman examples. Moreover, the impact of the frames is significantly reduced in favour of the figural scenes by their narrowness and the flat relief, so that they appear like the images of a contemporary illustrated manuscript, like the Codex Aureus of Echternach.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: How does Bernward Doors explain its Style and composition?

The doors are made up of a number of framed panels; unlike the Roman originals, however, the design at Hildesheim is not their design, but probably an imitation of the ancient Roman examples. Moreover, the impact of the frames is significantly reduced in favour of the figural scenes by their narrowness and the flat relief, so that they appear like the images of a contemporary illustrated manuscript, like the Codex Aureus of Echternach.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Style and composition discussed?

The doors are made up of a number of framed panels; unlike the Roman originals, however, the design at Hildesheim is not their design, but probably an imitation of the ancient Roman examples. Moreover, the impact of the frames is significantly reduced in favour of the figural scenes by their narrowness and the flat relief, so that they appear like the images of a contemporary illustrated manuscript, like the Codex Aureus of Echternach.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In the context of Bernward Doors, explain the Composition of the scenes and the Style and composition.

The composition of the individual scenes is simple and effective. In contrast to the dramatic depictions of Carolingian art, the artists avoided richly decorated backgrounds. The scenery, consisting of plants (especially on the left leaf) and architectural elements (mostly on the right leaf) are depicted in low relief and kept to a minimum. They are only there at all where they are necessary for comprehension of the scene or for compositional reasons. Instead, vast empty spaces provide negative space around the figures in the panels, to great effect. Alexander von Reitzenstein identified the empty space as an "effective space of corresponding gestures." With their movement and individual gestures, each figure interacts with others – none of the figures can be understood on their own, independent of their counterparts, without losing their meaning.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Composition of the scenes about the Style and composition of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

The composition of the individual scenes is simple and effective. In contrast to the dramatic depictions of Carolingian art, the artists avoided richly decorated backgrounds. The scenery, consisting of plants (especially on the left leaf) and architectural elements (mostly on the right leaf) are depicted in low relief and kept to a minimum. They are only there at all where they are necessary for comprehension of the scene or for compositional reasons. Instead, vast empty spaces provide negative space around the figures in the panels, to great effect. Alexander von Reitzenstein identified the empty space as an "effective space of corresponding gestures." With their movement and individual gestures, each figure interacts with others – none of the figures can be understood on their own, independent of their counterparts, without losing their meaning.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Composition of the scenes of the Style and composition explained?

The composition of the individual scenes is simple and effective. In contrast to the dramatic depictions of Carolingian art, the artists avoided richly decorated backgrounds. The scenery, consisting of plants (especially on the left leaf) and architectural elements (mostly on the right leaf) are depicted in low relief and kept to a minimum. They are only there at all where they are necessary for comprehension of the scene or for compositional reasons. Instead, vast empty spaces provide negative space around the figures in the panels, to great effect. Alexander von Reitzenstein identified the empty space as an "effective space of corresponding gestures." With their movement and individual gestures, each figure interacts with others – none of the figures can be understood on their own, independent of their counterparts, without losing their meaning.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Composition of the scenes in Bernward Doors's Style and composition.

The composition of the individual scenes is simple and effective. In contrast to the dramatic depictions of Carolingian art, the artists avoided richly decorated backgrounds. The scenery, consisting of plants (especially on the left leaf) and architectural elements (mostly on the right leaf) are depicted in low relief and kept to a minimum. They are only there at all where they are necessary for comprehension of the scene or for compositional reasons. Instead, vast empty spaces provide negative space around the figures in the panels, to great effect. Alexander von Reitzenstein identified the empty space as an "effective space of corresponding gestures." With their movement and individual gestures, each figure interacts with others – none of the figures can be understood on their own, independent of their counterparts, without losing their meaning.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In the context of Bernward Doors, explain the Figures and the Style and composition.

As usual in medieval art, the figures are not individualized, but repeat a few stylised types. They have the disproportionately large, oval faces which are characteristic of Pre-Romanesque sculpture. Their very large, almond-shaped eyes sit in flat sockets with sharply delineated eyebrows. The hair is composed of parallel strands from a central parting. Nevertheless, the facial expressions of some figures are very individuated and match the figures' gestures. Especially relevant in this respect is the figure of Cain who looks up to the Hand of God in heaven with fearful, terror-stricken eyes and pulls his cloak tight around his body.A progressive feature of the figures on the Bernward Doors is their style of relief: the figures do not extend a uniform distance from the background, but 'lean' out from it, so that when seen side on they almost give the impression of "roses on a trellis, with nodding heads." A particular apt example of this is the figure of Mary with the baby Jesus in the depiction of the Adoration of the Magi: while her lower body is still in low relief, her upper body and Christ project out further, and finally Mary's shoulders and head are cast in the round. This unusual style was used for artistic reasons, not because of technical limitations.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Figures about the Style and composition of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

As usual in medieval art, the figures are not individualized, but repeat a few stylised types. They have the disproportionately large, oval faces which are characteristic of Pre-Romanesque sculpture. Their very large, almond-shaped eyes sit in flat sockets with sharply delineated eyebrows. The hair is composed of parallel strands from a central parting. Nevertheless, the facial expressions of some figures are very individuated and match the figures' gestures. Especially relevant in this respect is the figure of Cain who looks up to the Hand of God in heaven with fearful, terror-stricken eyes and pulls his cloak tight around his body.A progressive feature of the figures on the Bernward Doors is their style of relief: the figures do not extend a uniform distance from the background, but 'lean' out from it, so that when seen side on they almost give the impression of "roses on a trellis, with nodding heads." A particular apt example of this is the figure of Mary with the baby Jesus in the depiction of the Adoration of the Magi: while her lower body is still in low relief, her upper body and Christ project out further, and finally Mary's shoulders and head are cast in the round. This unusual style was used for artistic reasons, not because of technical limitations.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Figures of the Style and composition explained?

As usual in medieval art, the figures are not individualized, but repeat a few stylised types. They have the disproportionately large, oval faces which are characteristic of Pre-Romanesque sculpture. Their very large, almond-shaped eyes sit in flat sockets with sharply delineated eyebrows. The hair is composed of parallel strands from a central parting. Nevertheless, the facial expressions of some figures are very individuated and match the figures' gestures. Especially relevant in this respect is the figure of Cain who looks up to the Hand of God in heaven with fearful, terror-stricken eyes and pulls his cloak tight around his body.A progressive feature of the figures on the Bernward Doors is their style of relief: the figures do not extend a uniform distance from the background, but 'lean' out from it, so that when seen side on they almost give the impression of "roses on a trellis, with nodding heads." A particular apt example of this is the figure of Mary with the baby Jesus in the depiction of the Adoration of the Magi: while her lower body is still in low relief, her upper body and Christ project out further, and finally Mary's shoulders and head are cast in the round. This unusual style was used for artistic reasons, not because of technical limitations.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Figures in Bernward Doors's Style and composition.

As usual in medieval art, the figures are not individualized, but repeat a few stylised types. They have the disproportionately large, oval faces which are characteristic of Pre-Romanesque sculpture. Their very large, almond-shaped eyes sit in flat sockets with sharply delineated eyebrows. The hair is composed of parallel strands from a central parting. Nevertheless, the facial expressions of some figures are very individuated and match the figures' gestures. Especially relevant in this respect is the figure of Cain who looks up to the Hand of God in heaven with fearful, terror-stricken eyes and pulls his cloak tight around his body.A progressive feature of the figures on the Bernward Doors is their style of relief: the figures do not extend a uniform distance from the background, but 'lean' out from it, so that when seen side on they almost give the impression of "roses on a trellis, with nodding heads." A particular apt example of this is the figure of Mary with the baby Jesus in the depiction of the Adoration of the Magi: while her lower body is still in low relief, her upper body and Christ project out further, and finally Mary's shoulders and head are cast in the round. This unusual style was used for artistic reasons, not because of technical limitations.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In the context of Bernward Doors, explain the Identity of the artist and the Style and composition.

Unlike, for example, the Market Portal of the Mainz Cathedral, the identity of the artist responsible for the Bernward Doors is not preserved. As a result, older research attempted to identify a varying number of different artists on the basis of stylistic analysis of the individual panels. Rainer Kahsnitz has since put these attributions in doubt, since the differences in execution between the reliefs is so marginal that they might as easily be the result of technical requirements as different artistic styles. Probably a single artist was responsible for the creation of the Bernward Doors, with a small group of apprentices and assistants.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Identity of the artist about the Style and composition of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

Unlike, for example, the Market Portal of the Mainz Cathedral, the identity of the artist responsible for the Bernward Doors is not preserved. As a result, older research attempted to identify a varying number of different artists on the basis of stylistic analysis of the individual panels. Rainer Kahsnitz has since put these attributions in doubt, since the differences in execution between the reliefs is so marginal that they might as easily be the result of technical requirements as different artistic styles. Probably a single artist was responsible for the creation of the Bernward Doors, with a small group of apprentices and assistants.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Identity of the artist of the Style and composition explained?

Unlike, for example, the Market Portal of the Mainz Cathedral, the identity of the artist responsible for the Bernward Doors is not preserved. As a result, older research attempted to identify a varying number of different artists on the basis of stylistic analysis of the individual panels. Rainer Kahsnitz has since put these attributions in doubt, since the differences in execution between the reliefs is so marginal that they might as easily be the result of technical requirements as different artistic styles. Probably a single artist was responsible for the creation of the Bernward Doors, with a small group of apprentices and assistants.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Describe the characteristics of the Identity of the artist in Bernward Doors's Style and composition.

Unlike, for example, the Market Portal of the Mainz Cathedral, the identity of the artist responsible for the Bernward Doors is not preserved. As a result, older research attempted to identify a varying number of different artists on the basis of stylistic analysis of the individual panels. Rainer Kahsnitz has since put these attributions in doubt, since the differences in execution between the reliefs is so marginal that they might as easily be the result of technical requirements as different artistic styles. Probably a single artist was responsible for the creation of the Bernward Doors, with a small group of apprentices and assistants.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Focus on Bernward Doors and explain the Predecessors and later works.

There are various possibilities for the model of the Hildesheim doors as panelled doors (on the Roman model) and for the material used. Outstanding examples of monumental bronzeworking of the period include the doors of the Palatine chapel (c.800) and the doors of the Marktportal of Mainz Cathedral, which Archbishop Willigis had the founder Berenger cast in 1009. However, these doors have no figural decoration, except for door handles in the shape of lion's heads on the Aachen Wolfstür. As his biographer Thangmar reported in the Vita Bernwardi, Bishop Bernward lived first in the Hostel of the Schola Francorum at the Vatican and then in the Imperial Palace on the Palatine during his stay at Rome in 1001/2. He would have had the opportunity to view the monumental bronze door at the entrance to Old St. Peter's. He probably also saw the Late Antique wooden doors of Santa Sabina with their relief cycle in which Old and New Testament scenes are arranged opposite each other in a typology. The Late Antique doors of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan are also a possible model.Franz Dibelius first pointed out the clear parallels between illumination of manuscripts in the time of Charles the Bald and the composition of the images and figures of the left door. Some scenes of the Bernward Doors, e.g. the creation of Adam or the earthly life of Adam and Eve are arranged nearly identically to the so-called Moutier-Grandval Bible (London, British Library, Ms Add. 10546). Significantly, this Late Carolingian manuscript came from Tours, where Bernward stayed in 1006, returning to Hildesheim a year later with expensive relics for the silver Cross of Bernward. Close parallels can also be seen with other significant manuscripts of the ninth century, such as the c.800 Alcuin Bible (Bamberg State Library, Msc.Bibl.1) and the Bible of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, created in 877 at Corbie Abbey (Rom, Abbazia di S. Paolo fuori le mura). That Bernward brought copies of famous Frankish bibles back from his travels is definitely not certain, but possible. The ivory cover of the Stammheim Missal (de), in which Alcuin presents a book to St. Martin of Tours, as the patron saint of his cloister, could derive from a bible of Tours acquired by Bernward. Rudolf Wesenberg drew further iconographic and stylistic connections, but with traditional frescos in St. Paul beyond the Walls and Old St. Peter's which Bernward could have seen while in Rome.A range of further medieval bronze doors followed the Bernward Doors, but they have no clear connection with Hildesheim. The idea of casting the whole door from a single mold did not catch on - the most important metal doors are composed of a wooden frame with bronze panels inserted. One of the Gniezno Doors, made for Poland in about 1175, is also a single piece casting, but artistically much less sophisticated.  This apparently proved too difficult, and for the other door 24 cast panels were soldered together. For the western doors of St. Paulus in Worms, in 1881, the sculptor Lorenz Gedon created a detailed replica of the Bernward Doors; unlike the original, these were made of cast iron and for reasons of space, the two highest images (the creation of Adam and the Ascension of Christ!) were not included.  The Renaissance Florence Baptistery doors are the most famous doors in the tradition Bernward played an important role in reviving.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Predecessors and later works of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

There are various possibilities for the model of the Hildesheim doors as panelled doors (on the Roman model) and for the material used. Outstanding examples of monumental bronzeworking of the period include the doors of the Palatine chapel (c.800) and the doors of the Marktportal of Mainz Cathedral, which Archbishop Willigis had the founder Berenger cast in 1009. However, these doors have no figural decoration, except for door handles in the shape of lion's heads on the Aachen Wolfstür. As his biographer Thangmar reported in the Vita Bernwardi, Bishop Bernward lived first in the Hostel of the Schola Francorum at the Vatican and then in the Imperial Palace on the Palatine during his stay at Rome in 1001/2. He would have had the opportunity to view the monumental bronze door at the entrance to Old St. Peter's. He probably also saw the Late Antique wooden doors of Santa Sabina with their relief cycle in which Old and New Testament scenes are arranged opposite each other in a typology. The Late Antique doors of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan are also a possible model.Franz Dibelius first pointed out the clear parallels between illumination of manuscripts in the time of Charles the Bald and the composition of the images and figures of the left door. Some scenes of the Bernward Doors, e.g. the creation of Adam or the earthly life of Adam and Eve are arranged nearly identically to the so-called Moutier-Grandval Bible (London, British Library, Ms Add. 10546). Significantly, this Late Carolingian manuscript came from Tours, where Bernward stayed in 1006, returning to Hildesheim a year later with expensive relics for the silver Cross of Bernward. Close parallels can also be seen with other significant manuscripts of the ninth century, such as the c.800 Alcuin Bible (Bamberg State Library, Msc.Bibl.1) and the Bible of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, created in 877 at Corbie Abbey (Rom, Abbazia di S. Paolo fuori le mura). That Bernward brought copies of famous Frankish bibles back from his travels is definitely not certain, but possible. The ivory cover of the Stammheim Missal (de), in which Alcuin presents a book to St. Martin of Tours, as the patron saint of his cloister, could derive from a bible of Tours acquired by Bernward. Rudolf Wesenberg drew further iconographic and stylistic connections, but with traditional frescos in St. Paul beyond the Walls and Old St. Peter's which Bernward could have seen while in Rome.A range of further medieval bronze doors followed the Bernward Doors, but they have no clear connection with Hildesheim. The idea of casting the whole door from a single mold did not catch on - the most important metal doors are composed of a wooden frame with bronze panels inserted. One of the Gniezno Doors, made for Poland in about 1175, is also a single piece casting, but artistically much less sophisticated.  This apparently proved too difficult, and for the other door 24 cast panels were soldered together. For the western doors of St. Paulus in Worms, in 1881, the sculptor Lorenz Gedon created a detailed replica of the Bernward Doors; unlike the original, these were made of cast iron and for reasons of space, the two highest images (the creation of Adam and the Ascension of Christ!) were not included.  The Renaissance Florence Baptistery doors are the most famous doors in the tradition Bernward played an important role in reviving.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: How does Bernward Doors explain its Predecessors and later works?

There are various possibilities for the model of the Hildesheim doors as panelled doors (on the Roman model) and for the material used. Outstanding examples of monumental bronzeworking of the period include the doors of the Palatine chapel (c.800) and the doors of the Marktportal of Mainz Cathedral, which Archbishop Willigis had the founder Berenger cast in 1009. However, these doors have no figural decoration, except for door handles in the shape of lion's heads on the Aachen Wolfstür. As his biographer Thangmar reported in the Vita Bernwardi, Bishop Bernward lived first in the Hostel of the Schola Francorum at the Vatican and then in the Imperial Palace on the Palatine during his stay at Rome in 1001/2. He would have had the opportunity to view the monumental bronze door at the entrance to Old St. Peter's. He probably also saw the Late Antique wooden doors of Santa Sabina with their relief cycle in which Old and New Testament scenes are arranged opposite each other in a typology. The Late Antique doors of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan are also a possible model.Franz Dibelius first pointed out the clear parallels between illumination of manuscripts in the time of Charles the Bald and the composition of the images and figures of the left door. Some scenes of the Bernward Doors, e.g. the creation of Adam or the earthly life of Adam and Eve are arranged nearly identically to the so-called Moutier-Grandval Bible (London, British Library, Ms Add. 10546). Significantly, this Late Carolingian manuscript came from Tours, where Bernward stayed in 1006, returning to Hildesheim a year later with expensive relics for the silver Cross of Bernward. Close parallels can also be seen with other significant manuscripts of the ninth century, such as the c.800 Alcuin Bible (Bamberg State Library, Msc.Bibl.1) and the Bible of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, created in 877 at Corbie Abbey (Rom, Abbazia di S. Paolo fuori le mura). That Bernward brought copies of famous Frankish bibles back from his travels is definitely not certain, but possible. The ivory cover of the Stammheim Missal (de), in which Alcuin presents a book to St. Martin of Tours, as the patron saint of his cloister, could derive from a bible of Tours acquired by Bernward. Rudolf Wesenberg drew further iconographic and stylistic connections, but with traditional frescos in St. Paul beyond the Walls and Old St. Peter's which Bernward could have seen while in Rome.A range of further medieval bronze doors followed the Bernward Doors, but they have no clear connection with Hildesheim. The idea of casting the whole door from a single mold did not catch on - the most important metal doors are composed of a wooden frame with bronze panels inserted. One of the Gniezno Doors, made for Poland in about 1175, is also a single piece casting, but artistically much less sophisticated.  This apparently proved too difficult, and for the other door 24 cast panels were soldered together. For the western doors of St. Paulus in Worms, in 1881, the sculptor Lorenz Gedon created a detailed replica of the Bernward Doors; unlike the original, these were made of cast iron and for reasons of space, the two highest images (the creation of Adam and the Ascension of Christ!) were not included.  The Renaissance Florence Baptistery doors are the most famous doors in the tradition Bernward played an important role in reviving.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Predecessors and later works discussed?

There are various possibilities for the model of the Hildesheim doors as panelled doors (on the Roman model) and for the material used. Outstanding examples of monumental bronzeworking of the period include the doors of the Palatine chapel (c.800) and the doors of the Marktportal of Mainz Cathedral, which Archbishop Willigis had the founder Berenger cast in 1009. However, these doors have no figural decoration, except for door handles in the shape of lion's heads on the Aachen Wolfstür. As his biographer Thangmar reported in the Vita Bernwardi, Bishop Bernward lived first in the Hostel of the Schola Francorum at the Vatican and then in the Imperial Palace on the Palatine during his stay at Rome in 1001/2. He would have had the opportunity to view the monumental bronze door at the entrance to Old St. Peter's. He probably also saw the Late Antique wooden doors of Santa Sabina with their relief cycle in which Old and New Testament scenes are arranged opposite each other in a typology. The Late Antique doors of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan are also a possible model.Franz Dibelius first pointed out the clear parallels between illumination of manuscripts in the time of Charles the Bald and the composition of the images and figures of the left door. Some scenes of the Bernward Doors, e.g. the creation of Adam or the earthly life of Adam and Eve are arranged nearly identically to the so-called Moutier-Grandval Bible (London, British Library, Ms Add. 10546). Significantly, this Late Carolingian manuscript came from Tours, where Bernward stayed in 1006, returning to Hildesheim a year later with expensive relics for the silver Cross of Bernward. Close parallels can also be seen with other significant manuscripts of the ninth century, such as the c.800 Alcuin Bible (Bamberg State Library, Msc.Bibl.1) and the Bible of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, created in 877 at Corbie Abbey (Rom, Abbazia di S. Paolo fuori le mura). That Bernward brought copies of famous Frankish bibles back from his travels is definitely not certain, but possible. The ivory cover of the Stammheim Missal (de), in which Alcuin presents a book to St. Martin of Tours, as the patron saint of his cloister, could derive from a bible of Tours acquired by Bernward. Rudolf Wesenberg drew further iconographic and stylistic connections, but with traditional frescos in St. Paul beyond the Walls and Old St. Peter's which Bernward could have seen while in Rome.A range of further medieval bronze doors followed the Bernward Doors, but they have no clear connection with Hildesheim. The idea of casting the whole door from a single mold did not catch on - the most important metal doors are composed of a wooden frame with bronze panels inserted. One of the Gniezno Doors, made for Poland in about 1175, is also a single piece casting, but artistically much less sophisticated.  This apparently proved too difficult, and for the other door 24 cast panels were soldered together. For the western doors of St. Paulus in Worms, in 1881, the sculptor Lorenz Gedon created a detailed replica of the Bernward Doors; unlike the original, these were made of cast iron and for reasons of space, the two highest images (the creation of Adam and the Ascension of Christ!) were not included.  The Renaissance Florence Baptistery doors are the most famous doors in the tradition Bernward played an important role in reviving.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Focus on Bernward Doors and explain the Original location dispute.

The "Angelic temple" named in the inscription has been identified by some scholars as Bernward's sepulchral church of the archangel St. Michael. According to them, the doors were originally hung in the south aisle (perhaps as two separate doors), in the cloisters, or in no longer extant westwork and were transferred to the Cathedral in 1035 for the new western entrance which Wolfhere (de) reports that Bishop Gotthard had made in his biography, Vita Godehardi. A combination of the previous hypothesis with the original location of the doors is provided by Wesenberg. Latterly, Bernhard Bruns attempted to locate the original location of the doors at St. Michael's by their iconography. The excavations carried out during renovations in 2006 have now demonstrated that St. Michael's never had a westwork. But the installation of the doors on the south aisle has also come into question, since foundation remains of a narthex were found there, next to the western stairway tower. Recent research in religious history now demonstrates templum angelicum was a liturgical form for a church dedicated to St. Michael.Other scholars argue that the doors were in Hildesheim Cathedral from the beginning, in the westwork which is otherwise held to have first been built in 1035. Although the current west gallery has only been there since 1035, they argue that Bernward had already laid down a west building here, whose shape and appearance can no longer be reconstructed with confidence. Either Bernward would have had the previous west choir and the crypt underneath truncated to create space for a vestibule, where the Bernward Doors might have been installed or he would have had the west choir extended and installed the doors in the entrance to a chapel, which would have been built in front of the apse. Only a few hints in the foundations support the idea of a Bernwardian west gallery in the cathedral and they allow no more detailed conjecture about its layout.Literary sources offer no evidence for Bernward's construction work on the cathedral. If the doors were located in the western part of the building, they would have had to have been moved pretty soon after, since the cathedral was drastically altered by his successors Gotthard, Azelin and Hezilo. A later period of drastic reconstruction of the western part of the building occurred in 1842–50. Later, the westwork was largely rebuilt after taking severe damage in an air raid during the Second World War. The modern plan of Wilhelm Fricke (which is not uncontroversial) is not based on the alleged layout of Bernward's time, but on the westwork of Minden Cathedral and the alleged appearance of Hildesheim cathedral's westwork under Bishop Hezilo (1054–61).The leaves of the door escaped damage in the air raid of Hildesheim on 22 March 1945 only because they had been removed (at the initiative of the cathedral chapter) almost three years earlier, along with many other artworks of the cathedral. The leaves of the doors were taken to the so-called Kehrwieder wall in the southeast of the old city, where they spent the war underground. Since the doors weigh several tonnes, they had to be transported lying longwise in a stable scaffold by two teams of horses.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Original location dispute of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

The "Angelic temple" named in the inscription has been identified by some scholars as Bernward's sepulchral church of the archangel St. Michael. According to them, the doors were originally hung in the south aisle (perhaps as two separate doors), in the cloisters, or in no longer extant westwork and were transferred to the Cathedral in 1035 for the new western entrance which Wolfhere (de) reports that Bishop Gotthard had made in his biography, Vita Godehardi. A combination of the previous hypothesis with the original location of the doors is provided by Wesenberg. Latterly, Bernhard Bruns attempted to locate the original location of the doors at St. Michael's by their iconography. The excavations carried out during renovations in 2006 have now demonstrated that St. Michael's never had a westwork. But the installation of the doors on the south aisle has also come into question, since foundation remains of a narthex were found there, next to the western stairway tower. Recent research in religious history now demonstrates templum angelicum was a liturgical form for a church dedicated to St. Michael.Other scholars argue that the doors were in Hildesheim Cathedral from the beginning, in the westwork which is otherwise held to have first been built in 1035. Although the current west gallery has only been there since 1035, they argue that Bernward had already laid down a west building here, whose shape and appearance can no longer be reconstructed with confidence. Either Bernward would have had the previous west choir and the crypt underneath truncated to create space for a vestibule, where the Bernward Doors might have been installed or he would have had the west choir extended and installed the doors in the entrance to a chapel, which would have been built in front of the apse. Only a few hints in the foundations support the idea of a Bernwardian west gallery in the cathedral and they allow no more detailed conjecture about its layout.Literary sources offer no evidence for Bernward's construction work on the cathedral. If the doors were located in the western part of the building, they would have had to have been moved pretty soon after, since the cathedral was drastically altered by his successors Gotthard, Azelin and Hezilo. A later period of drastic reconstruction of the western part of the building occurred in 1842–50. Later, the westwork was largely rebuilt after taking severe damage in an air raid during the Second World War. The modern plan of Wilhelm Fricke (which is not uncontroversial) is not based on the alleged layout of Bernward's time, but on the westwork of Minden Cathedral and the alleged appearance of Hildesheim cathedral's westwork under Bishop Hezilo (1054–61).The leaves of the door escaped damage in the air raid of Hildesheim on 22 March 1945 only because they had been removed (at the initiative of the cathedral chapter) almost three years earlier, along with many other artworks of the cathedral. The leaves of the doors were taken to the so-called Kehrwieder wall in the southeast of the old city, where they spent the war underground. Since the doors weigh several tonnes, they had to be transported lying longwise in a stable scaffold by two teams of horses.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: How does Bernward Doors explain its Original location dispute?

The "Angelic temple" named in the inscription has been identified by some scholars as Bernward's sepulchral church of the archangel St. Michael. According to them, the doors were originally hung in the south aisle (perhaps as two separate doors), in the cloisters, or in no longer extant westwork and were transferred to the Cathedral in 1035 for the new western entrance which Wolfhere (de) reports that Bishop Gotthard had made in his biography, Vita Godehardi. A combination of the previous hypothesis with the original location of the doors is provided by Wesenberg. Latterly, Bernhard Bruns attempted to locate the original location of the doors at St. Michael's by their iconography. The excavations carried out during renovations in 2006 have now demonstrated that St. Michael's never had a westwork. But the installation of the doors on the south aisle has also come into question, since foundation remains of a narthex were found there, next to the western stairway tower. Recent research in religious history now demonstrates templum angelicum was a liturgical form for a church dedicated to St. Michael.Other scholars argue that the doors were in Hildesheim Cathedral from the beginning, in the westwork which is otherwise held to have first been built in 1035. Although the current west gallery has only been there since 1035, they argue that Bernward had already laid down a west building here, whose shape and appearance can no longer be reconstructed with confidence. Either Bernward would have had the previous west choir and the crypt underneath truncated to create space for a vestibule, where the Bernward Doors might have been installed or he would have had the west choir extended and installed the doors in the entrance to a chapel, which would have been built in front of the apse. Only a few hints in the foundations support the idea of a Bernwardian west gallery in the cathedral and they allow no more detailed conjecture about its layout.Literary sources offer no evidence for Bernward's construction work on the cathedral. If the doors were located in the western part of the building, they would have had to have been moved pretty soon after, since the cathedral was drastically altered by his successors Gotthard, Azelin and Hezilo. A later period of drastic reconstruction of the western part of the building occurred in 1842–50. Later, the westwork was largely rebuilt after taking severe damage in an air raid during the Second World War. The modern plan of Wilhelm Fricke (which is not uncontroversial) is not based on the alleged layout of Bernward's time, but on the westwork of Minden Cathedral and the alleged appearance of Hildesheim cathedral's westwork under Bishop Hezilo (1054–61).The leaves of the door escaped damage in the air raid of Hildesheim on 22 March 1945 only because they had been removed (at the initiative of the cathedral chapter) almost three years earlier, along with many other artworks of the cathedral. The leaves of the doors were taken to the so-called Kehrwieder wall in the southeast of the old city, where they spent the war underground. Since the doors weigh several tonnes, they had to be transported lying longwise in a stable scaffold by two teams of horses.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Original location dispute discussed?

The "Angelic temple" named in the inscription has been identified by some scholars as Bernward's sepulchral church of the archangel St. Michael. According to them, the doors were originally hung in the south aisle (perhaps as two separate doors), in the cloisters, or in no longer extant westwork and were transferred to the Cathedral in 1035 for the new western entrance which Wolfhere (de) reports that Bishop Gotthard had made in his biography, Vita Godehardi. A combination of the previous hypothesis with the original location of the doors is provided by Wesenberg. Latterly, Bernhard Bruns attempted to locate the original location of the doors at St. Michael's by their iconography. The excavations carried out during renovations in 2006 have now demonstrated that St. Michael's never had a westwork. But the installation of the doors on the south aisle has also come into question, since foundation remains of a narthex were found there, next to the western stairway tower. Recent research in religious history now demonstrates templum angelicum was a liturgical form for a church dedicated to St. Michael.Other scholars argue that the doors were in Hildesheim Cathedral from the beginning, in the westwork which is otherwise held to have first been built in 1035. Although the current west gallery has only been there since 1035, they argue that Bernward had already laid down a west building here, whose shape and appearance can no longer be reconstructed with confidence. Either Bernward would have had the previous west choir and the crypt underneath truncated to create space for a vestibule, where the Bernward Doors might have been installed or he would have had the west choir extended and installed the doors in the entrance to a chapel, which would have been built in front of the apse. Only a few hints in the foundations support the idea of a Bernwardian west gallery in the cathedral and they allow no more detailed conjecture about its layout.Literary sources offer no evidence for Bernward's construction work on the cathedral. If the doors were located in the western part of the building, they would have had to have been moved pretty soon after, since the cathedral was drastically altered by his successors Gotthard, Azelin and Hezilo. A later period of drastic reconstruction of the western part of the building occurred in 1842–50. Later, the westwork was largely rebuilt after taking severe damage in an air raid during the Second World War. The modern plan of Wilhelm Fricke (which is not uncontroversial) is not based on the alleged layout of Bernward's time, but on the westwork of Minden Cathedral and the alleged appearance of Hildesheim cathedral's westwork under Bishop Hezilo (1054–61).The leaves of the door escaped damage in the air raid of Hildesheim on 22 March 1945 only because they had been removed (at the initiative of the cathedral chapter) almost three years earlier, along with many other artworks of the cathedral. The leaves of the doors were taken to the so-called Kehrwieder wall in the southeast of the old city, where they spent the war underground. Since the doors weigh several tonnes, they had to be transported lying longwise in a stable scaffold by two teams of horses.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Focus on Bernward Doors and explain the Liturgical significance.

According to the Hildesheim cathedral ordinarium of 1473 "On Ash Wednesday in the medium monasterii, the bishop performed the ash sprinkling and the expulsion of public penitents through the southwestern church doors. After that they departed from the cathedral barefoot with the clergy through the large bronze doors and after walking about they went back in through the same doors." The rite of the expulsion of the penitents in Lent derives its meaning from the banishment of Adam and Eve from Paradise shown on the doors. "The images of the left leaf with the creation of humanity, the fall of man and the story of Cain and Abel corresponds to the breviary reading (Genesis 1-5.5) on Septuagesima Sunday and the following week, which begins the pre-Lenten period." Thus in its original location, the door probably also served for the education of the penitents, who were restricted to the vestibule (Narthex or "Paradise") of the churchbuilding during Lent.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: Explain the Liturgical significance of this artwork, Bernward Doors.

According to the Hildesheim cathedral ordinarium of 1473 "On Ash Wednesday in the medium monasterii, the bishop performed the ash sprinkling and the expulsion of public penitents through the southwestern church doors. After that they departed from the cathedral barefoot with the clergy through the large bronze doors and after walking about they went back in through the same doors." The rite of the expulsion of the penitents in Lent derives its meaning from the banishment of Adam and Eve from Paradise shown on the doors. "The images of the left leaf with the creation of humanity, the fall of man and the story of Cain and Abel corresponds to the breviary reading (Genesis 1-5.5) on Septuagesima Sunday and the following week, which begins the pre-Lenten period." Thus in its original location, the door probably also served for the education of the penitents, who were restricted to the vestibule (Narthex or "Paradise") of the churchbuilding during Lent.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: How does Bernward Doors explain its Liturgical significance?

According to the Hildesheim cathedral ordinarium of 1473 "On Ash Wednesday in the medium monasterii, the bishop performed the ash sprinkling and the expulsion of public penitents through the southwestern church doors. After that they departed from the cathedral barefoot with the clergy through the large bronze doors and after walking about they went back in through the same doors." The rite of the expulsion of the penitents in Lent derives its meaning from the banishment of Adam and Eve from Paradise shown on the doors. "The images of the left leaf with the creation of humanity, the fall of man and the story of Cain and Abel corresponds to the breviary reading (Genesis 1-5.5) on Septuagesima Sunday and the following week, which begins the pre-Lenten period." Thus in its original location, the door probably also served for the education of the penitents, who were restricted to the vestibule (Narthex or "Paradise") of the churchbuilding during Lent.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Bernward Doors

Prompt: In Bernward Doors, how is the Liturgical significance discussed?

According to the Hildesheim cathedral ordinarium of 1473 "On Ash Wednesday in the medium monasterii, the bishop performed the ash sprinkling and the expulsion of public penitents through the southwestern church doors. After that they departed from the cathedral barefoot with the clergy through the large bronze doors and after walking about they went back in through the same doors." The rite of the expulsion of the penitents in Lent derives its meaning from the banishment of Adam and Eve from Paradise shown on the doors. "The images of the left leaf with the creation of humanity, the fall of man and the story of Cain and Abel corresponds to the breviary reading (Genesis 1-5.5) on Septuagesima Sunday and the following week, which begins the pre-Lenten period." Thus in its original location, the door probably also served for the education of the penitents, who were restricted to the vestibule (Narthex or "Paradise") of the churchbuilding during Lent.

Category:Medieval European metalwork objects

Category:Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Detail of the left door leaf: [[Cain and Abel

Detail of the right door leaf: The [[adoration of the Magi

Iconographic program of the Bernward Doors, in German

Bronze doors of the Marktportal, [[Mainz Cathedral

The westwork of Hildesheim Cathedral in 2005.

Wooden door of St. Sabina in Rome, c.430.


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: Focus on Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo) and explain the abstract.

Battle of the Centaurs is a relief sculpture by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, created around 1492. It was the last work Michelangelo created while under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, who died shortly after its completion. Inspired by a classical relief created by Bertoldo di Giovanni, the marble sculpture represents the mythic battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. A popular subject of art in ancient Greece, the story was suggested to Michelangelo by the classical scholar and poet Poliziano. The sculpture is exhibited in the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy.Battle of the Centaurs was a remarkable sculpture in several ways, presaging Michelangelo's future sculptural direction.  Michelangelo had departed from the then current practices of  working on a discrete plane to work multidimensionally. It was also the first sculpture Michelangelo created without the use of a bow drill and the first sculpture to reach such a state of completion with the marks of the subbia chisel left to stand as a final surface. Whether intentionally left unfinished or not, the work is significant in the tradition of "non finito" sculpting technique for that reason. Michelangelo regarded it as the best of his early works, and a visual reminder of why he should have focused his efforts on sculpture.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: Explain the abstract of this artwork, Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo).

Battle of the Centaurs is a relief sculpture by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, created around 1492. It was the last work Michelangelo created while under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, who died shortly after its completion. Inspired by a classical relief created by Bertoldo di Giovanni, the marble sculpture represents the mythic battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. A popular subject of art in ancient Greece, the story was suggested to Michelangelo by the classical scholar and poet Poliziano. The sculpture is exhibited in the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy.Battle of the Centaurs was a remarkable sculpture in several ways, presaging Michelangelo's future sculptural direction.  Michelangelo had departed from the then current practices of  working on a discrete plane to work multidimensionally. It was also the first sculpture Michelangelo created without the use of a bow drill and the first sculpture to reach such a state of completion with the marks of the subbia chisel left to stand as a final surface. Whether intentionally left unfinished or not, the work is significant in the tradition of "non finito" sculpting technique for that reason. Michelangelo regarded it as the best of his early works, and a visual reminder of why he should have focused his efforts on sculpture.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: How does Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo) explain its abstract?

Battle of the Centaurs is a relief sculpture by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, created around 1492. It was the last work Michelangelo created while under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, who died shortly after its completion. Inspired by a classical relief created by Bertoldo di Giovanni, the marble sculpture represents the mythic battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. A popular subject of art in ancient Greece, the story was suggested to Michelangelo by the classical scholar and poet Poliziano. The sculpture is exhibited in the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy.Battle of the Centaurs was a remarkable sculpture in several ways, presaging Michelangelo's future sculptural direction.  Michelangelo had departed from the then current practices of  working on a discrete plane to work multidimensionally. It was also the first sculpture Michelangelo created without the use of a bow drill and the first sculpture to reach such a state of completion with the marks of the subbia chisel left to stand as a final surface. Whether intentionally left unfinished or not, the work is significant in the tradition of "non finito" sculpting technique for that reason. Michelangelo regarded it as the best of his early works, and a visual reminder of why he should have focused his efforts on sculpture.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: In Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo), how is the abstract discussed?

Battle of the Centaurs is a relief sculpture by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, created around 1492. It was the last work Michelangelo created while under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, who died shortly after its completion. Inspired by a classical relief created by Bertoldo di Giovanni, the marble sculpture represents the mythic battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. A popular subject of art in ancient Greece, the story was suggested to Michelangelo by the classical scholar and poet Poliziano. The sculpture is exhibited in the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy.Battle of the Centaurs was a remarkable sculpture in several ways, presaging Michelangelo's future sculptural direction.  Michelangelo had departed from the then current practices of  working on a discrete plane to work multidimensionally. It was also the first sculpture Michelangelo created without the use of a bow drill and the first sculpture to reach such a state of completion with the marks of the subbia chisel left to stand as a final surface. Whether intentionally left unfinished or not, the work is significant in the tradition of "non finito" sculpting technique for that reason. Michelangelo regarded it as the best of his early works, and a visual reminder of why he should have focused his efforts on sculpture.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: Focus on Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo) and explain the Background.

Michelangelo, at 16, was working under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici when he sculpted the Battle of the Centaurs, although the work was not commissioned but created for himself. The work reflected what was then a current fashion for reproducing ancient themes. Specifically, Michelangelo was inspired by a relief that had been produced for Lorenzo by Bertoldo di Giovanni, a work in bronze that hung in the Medici palace. Michelangelo chose to work in marble rather than the more expensive medium of bronze so as to keep down costs. Bertoldo's work, The Equestrian Battle in the Ancient Manner—also known as Battle (with Hercules)—was a recreation of a damaged Roman battle sarcophagus and required liberal imagination to fill in the gaps left by the damaged original. Bertoldo took other liberties with his source material and seems to have himself been inspired by the Antonio del Pollaiuolo engraving Battle of the Nudes.The young sculptor never finished the work. While a number of biographies have attributed this to the loss of power of the Medici family, Eric Scigliano, a biographer of the sculptor, argues that Michelangelo had plenty of time to finish the sculpture if he had chosen to and points out that this was only the first of several "non finito" sculptures, preceding the Taddei Tondo and Pitti Tondo. He also notes that Michelangelo expressed no dissatisfaction with the work.Whether or not the sculpture was intentionally left incomplete, Michelangelo regarded this sculpture as the best of his early works. He kept it for the rest of his life, though he destroyed or abandoned many of his other pieces. He remarked to his biographer Ascanio Condivi that looking at it made him regret the time he had spent in pursuits other than sculpture.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: Explain the Background of this artwork, Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo).

Michelangelo, at 16, was working under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici when he sculpted the Battle of the Centaurs, although the work was not commissioned but created for himself. The work reflected what was then a current fashion for reproducing ancient themes. Specifically, Michelangelo was inspired by a relief that had been produced for Lorenzo by Bertoldo di Giovanni, a work in bronze that hung in the Medici palace. Michelangelo chose to work in marble rather than the more expensive medium of bronze so as to keep down costs. Bertoldo's work, The Equestrian Battle in the Ancient Manner—also known as Battle (with Hercules)—was a recreation of a damaged Roman battle sarcophagus and required liberal imagination to fill in the gaps left by the damaged original. Bertoldo took other liberties with his source material and seems to have himself been inspired by the Antonio del Pollaiuolo engraving Battle of the Nudes.The young sculptor never finished the work. While a number of biographies have attributed this to the loss of power of the Medici family, Eric Scigliano, a biographer of the sculptor, argues that Michelangelo had plenty of time to finish the sculpture if he had chosen to and points out that this was only the first of several "non finito" sculptures, preceding the Taddei Tondo and Pitti Tondo. He also notes that Michelangelo expressed no dissatisfaction with the work.Whether or not the sculpture was intentionally left incomplete, Michelangelo regarded this sculpture as the best of his early works. He kept it for the rest of his life, though he destroyed or abandoned many of his other pieces. He remarked to his biographer Ascanio Condivi that looking at it made him regret the time he had spent in pursuits other than sculpture.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: How does Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo) explain its Background?

Michelangelo, at 16, was working under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici when he sculpted the Battle of the Centaurs, although the work was not commissioned but created for himself. The work reflected what was then a current fashion for reproducing ancient themes. Specifically, Michelangelo was inspired by a relief that had been produced for Lorenzo by Bertoldo di Giovanni, a work in bronze that hung in the Medici palace. Michelangelo chose to work in marble rather than the more expensive medium of bronze so as to keep down costs. Bertoldo's work, The Equestrian Battle in the Ancient Manner—also known as Battle (with Hercules)—was a recreation of a damaged Roman battle sarcophagus and required liberal imagination to fill in the gaps left by the damaged original. Bertoldo took other liberties with his source material and seems to have himself been inspired by the Antonio del Pollaiuolo engraving Battle of the Nudes.The young sculptor never finished the work. While a number of biographies have attributed this to the loss of power of the Medici family, Eric Scigliano, a biographer of the sculptor, argues that Michelangelo had plenty of time to finish the sculpture if he had chosen to and points out that this was only the first of several "non finito" sculptures, preceding the Taddei Tondo and Pitti Tondo. He also notes that Michelangelo expressed no dissatisfaction with the work.Whether or not the sculpture was intentionally left incomplete, Michelangelo regarded this sculpture as the best of his early works. He kept it for the rest of his life, though he destroyed or abandoned many of his other pieces. He remarked to his biographer Ascanio Condivi that looking at it made him regret the time he had spent in pursuits other than sculpture.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: In Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo), how is the Background discussed?

Michelangelo, at 16, was working under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici when he sculpted the Battle of the Centaurs, although the work was not commissioned but created for himself. The work reflected what was then a current fashion for reproducing ancient themes. Specifically, Michelangelo was inspired by a relief that had been produced for Lorenzo by Bertoldo di Giovanni, a work in bronze that hung in the Medici palace. Michelangelo chose to work in marble rather than the more expensive medium of bronze so as to keep down costs. Bertoldo's work, The Equestrian Battle in the Ancient Manner—also known as Battle (with Hercules)—was a recreation of a damaged Roman battle sarcophagus and required liberal imagination to fill in the gaps left by the damaged original. Bertoldo took other liberties with his source material and seems to have himself been inspired by the Antonio del Pollaiuolo engraving Battle of the Nudes.The young sculptor never finished the work. While a number of biographies have attributed this to the loss of power of the Medici family, Eric Scigliano, a biographer of the sculptor, argues that Michelangelo had plenty of time to finish the sculpture if he had chosen to and points out that this was only the first of several "non finito" sculptures, preceding the Taddei Tondo and Pitti Tondo. He also notes that Michelangelo expressed no dissatisfaction with the work.Whether or not the sculpture was intentionally left incomplete, Michelangelo regarded this sculpture as the best of his early works. He kept it for the rest of his life, though he destroyed or abandoned many of his other pieces. He remarked to his biographer Ascanio Condivi that looking at it made him regret the time he had spent in pursuits other than sculpture.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: Focus on Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo) and explain the Subject and theme.

According to Condivi, the poet Poliziano suggested the specific subject to Michelangelo, and recounted the story to him. The battle depicted takes place between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding feast of Pirithous. Pirithous, king of the Lapiths, had long clashed with the neighboring Centaurs. To mark his good intentions Pirithous invited the Centaurs to his wedding to Hippodamia (part of whose name, "Hippo," Ιππο, literally translates as "horse", which may suggest some connection to them). Some of the Centaurs over-imbibed at the event, and when the bride was presented to greet the guests, she so aroused the intoxicated centaur Eurytion that he leapt up and attempted to carry her away. This led not only to an immediate clash, but to a year-long war, before the defeated Centaurs were expelled from Thessaly to the northwest.The myth was a popular subject for Greek sculpture and painting. The Greek sculptors of the school of Pheidias perceived the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs as symbolic of the great conflict between order and chaos and, more specifically, between the civilized Greeks and Persian "barbarians". Battles between Lapiths and Centaurs were depicted in the sculptured friezes on the Parthenon and on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.Scigliano suggests that Michelangelo's Battle of the Centaurs also reflects the themes of "Greeks over barbarians" and "civilization over savagery", but in Michelangelo's work he sees, in addition, the triumph of "stone over flesh". He notes that in the work itself, Michelangelo depicts his combatants using rocks against one another, and suggests that the sculptor could not have missed the coincidence that the name of the human fighters—Lapith—reflects the Latin word for stone (lapis) and the Italian word for stone plaque (lapide).

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: Explain the Subject and theme of this artwork, Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo).

According to Condivi, the poet Poliziano suggested the specific subject to Michelangelo, and recounted the story to him. The battle depicted takes place between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding feast of Pirithous. Pirithous, king of the Lapiths, had long clashed with the neighboring Centaurs. To mark his good intentions Pirithous invited the Centaurs to his wedding to Hippodamia (part of whose name, "Hippo," Ιππο, literally translates as "horse", which may suggest some connection to them). Some of the Centaurs over-imbibed at the event, and when the bride was presented to greet the guests, she so aroused the intoxicated centaur Eurytion that he leapt up and attempted to carry her away. This led not only to an immediate clash, but to a year-long war, before the defeated Centaurs were expelled from Thessaly to the northwest.The myth was a popular subject for Greek sculpture and painting. The Greek sculptors of the school of Pheidias perceived the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs as symbolic of the great conflict between order and chaos and, more specifically, between the civilized Greeks and Persian "barbarians". Battles between Lapiths and Centaurs were depicted in the sculptured friezes on the Parthenon and on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.Scigliano suggests that Michelangelo's Battle of the Centaurs also reflects the themes of "Greeks over barbarians" and "civilization over savagery", but in Michelangelo's work he sees, in addition, the triumph of "stone over flesh". He notes that in the work itself, Michelangelo depicts his combatants using rocks against one another, and suggests that the sculptor could not have missed the coincidence that the name of the human fighters—Lapith—reflects the Latin word for stone (lapis) and the Italian word for stone plaque (lapide).

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: How does Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo) explain its Subject and theme?

According to Condivi, the poet Poliziano suggested the specific subject to Michelangelo, and recounted the story to him. The battle depicted takes place between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding feast of Pirithous. Pirithous, king of the Lapiths, had long clashed with the neighboring Centaurs. To mark his good intentions Pirithous invited the Centaurs to his wedding to Hippodamia (part of whose name, "Hippo," Ιππο, literally translates as "horse", which may suggest some connection to them). Some of the Centaurs over-imbibed at the event, and when the bride was presented to greet the guests, she so aroused the intoxicated centaur Eurytion that he leapt up and attempted to carry her away. This led not only to an immediate clash, but to a year-long war, before the defeated Centaurs were expelled from Thessaly to the northwest.The myth was a popular subject for Greek sculpture and painting. The Greek sculptors of the school of Pheidias perceived the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs as symbolic of the great conflict between order and chaos and, more specifically, between the civilized Greeks and Persian "barbarians". Battles between Lapiths and Centaurs were depicted in the sculptured friezes on the Parthenon and on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.Scigliano suggests that Michelangelo's Battle of the Centaurs also reflects the themes of "Greeks over barbarians" and "civilization over savagery", but in Michelangelo's work he sees, in addition, the triumph of "stone over flesh". He notes that in the work itself, Michelangelo depicts his combatants using rocks against one another, and suggests that the sculptor could not have missed the coincidence that the name of the human fighters—Lapith—reflects the Latin word for stone (lapis) and the Italian word for stone plaque (lapide).

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: In Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo), how is the Subject and theme discussed?

According to Condivi, the poet Poliziano suggested the specific subject to Michelangelo, and recounted the story to him. The battle depicted takes place between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding feast of Pirithous. Pirithous, king of the Lapiths, had long clashed with the neighboring Centaurs. To mark his good intentions Pirithous invited the Centaurs to his wedding to Hippodamia (part of whose name, "Hippo," Ιππο, literally translates as "horse", which may suggest some connection to them). Some of the Centaurs over-imbibed at the event, and when the bride was presented to greet the guests, she so aroused the intoxicated centaur Eurytion that he leapt up and attempted to carry her away. This led not only to an immediate clash, but to a year-long war, before the defeated Centaurs were expelled from Thessaly to the northwest.The myth was a popular subject for Greek sculpture and painting. The Greek sculptors of the school of Pheidias perceived the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs as symbolic of the great conflict between order and chaos and, more specifically, between the civilized Greeks and Persian "barbarians". Battles between Lapiths and Centaurs were depicted in the sculptured friezes on the Parthenon and on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.Scigliano suggests that Michelangelo's Battle of the Centaurs also reflects the themes of "Greeks over barbarians" and "civilization over savagery", but in Michelangelo's work he sees, in addition, the triumph of "stone over flesh". He notes that in the work itself, Michelangelo depicts his combatants using rocks against one another, and suggests that the sculptor could not have missed the coincidence that the name of the human fighters—Lapith—reflects the Latin word for stone (lapis) and the Italian word for stone plaque (lapide).

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: Focus on Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo) and explain the Composition and technique.

The relief consists of a mass of nude figures writhing in combat, placed underneath a roughed-out strip in which the artist's chisel marks remain visible. Art historian Howard Hibbard says that Michelangelo has obscured the centaurs, as most of the figures are represented from the waist up. Part of one of the few identifiable centaurs is visible in the bottom center, his leg extending between the legs of the twisting figure above him and his rump pinning another to the ground.  According to Hibbard, Michelangelo has obscured a lone female figure in the work. The attempt to abduct Hippodamia had been the provocation for the brawl, however, and she is given a central location in the sculpture by Michelangelo. Her position balances the composition by placement similar to that of the twisted figure on the left. Her body also is twisting. They are equidistant from the edges of the composition. She is one of only two figures whose full body is displayed in the work. They both are displayed from head to toe. She can be seen among the figures in the center right, grasping the arm of one of her assailants, who has grabbed her hair. Her head, arms, back, hip, left leg, and left foot are displayed prominently. Another assailant, placed behind her, has his arm around her torso. Battle of the Centaurs was an early turning point and a harbinger of Michelangelo's future sculptural technique. The Michelangelo biographers, Antonio Forcellino and Allan Cameron, say that Michelangelo's relief, while created in a classical tradition, departed significantly from the techniques established by such masters as Lorenzo Ghiberti and Donatello. Rather than working on discrete, parallel planes as his predecessors had done, Michelangelo carved his figures dynamically, within "infinite" planes. Forcellino and Cameron describe this break with modern practice as Michelangelo's "own personal revolution", and they point specifically to the left of the relief where a twisting figure becomes "something of an artistic manifesto." Particularly striking is the composition of the figure's upper limbs, which deviate from the carefully articulated norms. Also remarkable, according to them, is the manner in which Michelangelo sculpted independently of his preparatory drawings, freeing him from the constraints of two-dimensional vision and allowing him to merge the figures fluidly and multi-dimensionally.Battle of the Centaurs was also the first sculpture for which Michelangelo eschewed the use of the bow drill. Finer details of the relief were probably achieved with the use of a toothed chisel called a gradina. The smooth figures of the foreground contrast strongly with the roughly hewn background, created with a subbia chisel. A traditional sculptor's tool, the subbia produced punched marks that had never before been left as a final surface in a work completed to this degree. Georgia Illetschko insisted in 2004, these unfinished surfaces are "a conscious compositional element", and not due to a lack of time. According to Scigliano, it was an important development in the non finito sculpting technique.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG


Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)

Prompt: Explain the Composition and technique of this artwork, Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo).

The relief consists of a mass of nude figures writhing in combat, placed underneath a roughed-out strip in which the artist's chisel marks remain visible. Art historian Howard Hibbard says that Michelangelo has obscured the centaurs, as most of the figures are represented from the waist up. Part of one of the few identifiable centaurs is visible in the bottom center, his leg extending between the legs of the twisting figure above him and his rump pinning another to the ground.  According to Hibbard, Michelangelo has obscured a lone female figure in the work. The attempt to abduct Hippodamia had been the provocation for the brawl, however, and she is given a central location in the sculpture by Michelangelo. Her position balances the composition by placement similar to that of the twisted figure on the left. Her body also is twisting. They are equidistant from the edges of the composition. She is one of only two figures whose full body is displayed in the work. They both are displayed from head to toe. She can be seen among the figures in the center right, grasping the arm of one of her assailants, who has grabbed her hair. Her head, arms, back, hip, left leg, and left foot are displayed prominently. Another assailant, placed behind her, has his arm around her torso. Battle of the Centaurs was an early turning point and a harbinger of Michelangelo's future sculptural technique. The Michelangelo biographers, Antonio Forcellino and Allan Cameron, say that Michelangelo's relief, while created in a classical tradition, departed significantly from the techniques established by such masters as Lorenzo Ghiberti and Donatello. Rather than working on discrete, parallel planes as his predecessors had done, Michelangelo carved his figures dynamically, within "infinite" planes. Forcellino and Cameron describe this break with modern practice as Michelangelo's "own personal revolution", and they point specifically to the left of the relief where a twisting figure becomes "something of an artistic manifesto." Particularly striking is the composition of the figure's upper limbs, which deviate from the carefully articulated norms. Also remarkable, according to them, is the manner in which Michelangelo sculpted independently of his preparatory drawings, freeing him from the constraints of two-dimensional vision and allowing him to merge the figures fluidly and multi-dimensionally.Battle of the Centaurs was also the first sculpture for which Michelangelo eschewed the use of the bow drill. Finer details of the relief were probably achieved with the use of a toothed chisel called a gradina. The smooth figures of the foreground contrast strongly with the roughly hewn background, created with a subbia chisel. A traditional sculptor's tool, the subbia produced punched marks that had never before been left as a final surface in a work completed to this degree. Georgia Illetschko insisted in 2004, these unfinished surfaces are "a conscious compositional element", and not due to a lack of time. According to Scigliano, it was an important development in the non finito sculpting technique.

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca. 07.JPG

''Battle of the Centaurs'', detail.<br>The fluidity of the twisting figure's limbs is a departure from the careful articulation of earlier Italian Renaissance sculpture.<ref name="ForcellinoCameron2009"/>

File:Michelangelo, centauromachia, 1492 ca., 14.JPG