ROMANESQUE ART/EVERYMAN ART LIBRARY

by PETZOLD ANDREAS

Presents the Romanesque period, from 1050 to 1200 A.D., through an entirely new approach; including discussions of issues important to the period. The book emphasizes society, the role of women, patronage, and the development of institutions such as the monastery and the university. This approach serves to enliven a period in art and culture that had been previously burdened by reference as €œthe Dark Ages.€ It also provides a social and political context for a discussion of the period and presents broader survey scope through references to Islam, Judaism, and other non-Christian cultures.

Genres: Art, Art History

172 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fair introduction to Romanesque art. However it is more commentary than history and is quite biased. Biased against whom? Why, the misogynist male-dominated established Church. There is a feminist and modernist element in this book: Eve is identified by the author in Romanesque art as Adam's 'sexual partner and temptress', crawling on her elbows and knees in one illustration in 'an allusion to the misdemeanor of talking in church, a fault women were often accused of', something the artist could not have intended as such. The 'temptress' element the author wishes us to see in the context of the papal reforms intending to 'enforce celibacy on the clergy', an idea that I consider far-fetched (Women and RA).



Quite obviously, Romanesque art was created against a very piously Christian society, but the author does not seem to understand the very Catholic theology and spirituality of the time. He is confused by four Marys in the Bible, thinking St. Mary Magdalen to be a Church-created composite of all four. He thinks that in the Coronation of the Virgin, the Virgin became the bride of Christ, his equal and no longer simply his mother (Women and RA). He thinks devotion to the Virgin Mary entails a submission to the point of slavery to her. Additionally, the cult of relics and saints are treated as an element of the past even though they have by no means ended. Saints are thought to be *created* by the Church.



The author also makes sweeping historic conclusions without citing specific sources: the Bayeux tapestry was 'most likely made...of female embroiderers' (Rom Art and Society), Thomas a Becket is said to have been murdered 'while celebrating Mass' (RA and the Church, history speaks to the contrary), the universities of Paris, Oxford, Poitiers were created as part of a reaction against monasticism (is that even true?).



In short, I have found this book a pain to read, despite the large pictures, large font and short length.