Medieval Art (Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic)
What the exam tests
Medieval art in the PAU is treated as a set of visual systems, not a gap between antiquity and the Renaissance. You must distinguish Byzantine, Islamic, Romanesque, and Gothic works by function, structural logic, and image theory. Expect questions on mosaic programmes, mosque hypostyle halls, pilgrimage churches, stained glass, and the shift from monastic to urban patronage.
Core rules and concepts
- Byzantine. Continuity with early Christian basilica and central plan; Hagia Sophia's pendentives unify square bay and dome. Gold-ground mosaics (Ravenna, San Vitale) place emperor and clergy in axial hierarchy; icons and Iconoclasm (726–843) shape theology of images. Cloisonné enamel and Theotokos types recur.
- Islamic. Hypostyle prayer hall, qibla wall, mihrab, minaret, and geometric/stellar tilework avoid figural imagery in sacred spaces. Horseshoe and multifoil arches in Córdoba's Mezquita; muqarnas vaults; calligraphy as ornament.
- Romanesque. Thick walls, small windows, barrel and groin vaults, and compound piers support stone roofs after fire risk. Pilgrimage plan: nave, aisles, transept, ambulatory, radiating chapels (Santiago de Compostela). Tympanum programmes (Autun, Moissac) teach through eschatology; sculpture is subordinated to architecture.
- Gothic. Pointed arch, rib vault, flying buttress, and pinnacle shift load outward, allowing taller clerestories and stained glass. Chartres and Reims organise façade sculpture around portals; Sainte-Chapelle dissolves walls into glass. Rayonnant and Flamboyant are French phases; Spanish Gothic adapts.
Worked example
Prompt: "How does a Gothic nave differ structurally from a Romanesque one?" Reasoning: name the rib vault and pointed arch as the Gothic load path; explain that the flying buttress carries lateral thrust to external piers, so the wall can be opened into a clerestory; contrast Romanesque barrel vault, which requires continuous thick walls and small openings. Link the structural change to coloured light and scholastic theology, then cite one building. That chain - element, load, spatial effect, meaning - earns analysis marks.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating "Gothic" as a style label alone; it is a structural system.
- Mixing Byzantine central plan with Romanesque pilgrimage plan.
- Calling the mihrab a "altar" or the minaret a "tower for bells".
- Forgetting that Romanesque sculpture is architectural, not autonomous.
- Dates: Gothic begins c.1140 at Saint-Denis, not 1200.