ROMANESQUE PERIOD

University of Bahrain
Department of Architecture and Interior design
INTERIOR DESIGN PROGRAM
SEM I 2019-20

INTD 211 History and Theory of Interiors I

Romanesque art refers to the art of Europe from
approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the
13th century, or later, depending on region.

which retained many basic features of Roman architectural

style - most notably
1. round-headed arches,
2. barrel vaults,
3. apses, and
4. acanthus-leaf decoration
Traditionally, however, the term refers to the
specific style of architecture, along with sculpture
and other minor arts that appeared across
France, Germany, Italy and Spain during the 11th
century.

The first major movement of Medieval art, the style known as

"Romanesque" can be used to cover all derivations of Roman
architecture in the West, from the fall of Rome (c.450 CE) until the
advent of the Gothic style.
The Romanesque style is characterized by a
massiveness of scale, reflecting
1. the greater social stability, and
2. the growing confidence of the Christian Church in
Rome
Influences

Romanesque art was also greatly influenced by

1. Byzantine art, especially in painting, and
2. Insular art of the British Isles

Insular art, is the style of art produced in the post-Roman

history of the British Isles. The term derives from insula,
the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain
Art work Practiced:
General Decoration
Embroidered carpets and wonderful tapestry art adorned the
floors and walls, the altars and stalls.
Art work Practiced:
Ivory Carving
As well as sculpture and stone-carving, the
art of ivory carving was practiced with
enthusiasm in the Romanesque period.
Art work Practiced:
Stained Glass
Stained-glass windows soon began
to replace the tapestries
Art work Practiced:
Metalwork
the art of metalwork, in gold,
bronze and other was
practiced as important art
Illuminations
Romanesque illuminated manuscripts developed alongside
murals.
Painting
Murals
From the early 11th century, Romanesque Churches were
painted with murals throughout in order to guide their
predominantly illiterate congregations
Followed essentially Byzantine iconographic models

most common subjects :

1. Christ in Majesty
2. The Last Judgement
3. Scenes from the Life of Christ.
About Painting:
1. Colors, used were primary like blue, yellow, red – very striking
2. Stained glass painting
became widely used
3. Compositions usually had
little depth
4. Figures still often varied in size
in relation to their importance,
and landscape
backgrounds
5. Portraiture hardly existed .
Sculpture Art:
METAL-, ENAMEL-, AND IVORYWORK

Metalwork, including decoration in enamel, became very sophisticated

Religious art pieces: Large reliquaries ,altar frontals ,smaller

caskets were all metal and enamel.
A few secular( non-religious) pieces: such as mirror cases,
jewellery etc.

Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in US English, is a material made by fusing

powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C (1,382 and
1,562 °F). The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth,
durable vitreous coating on metal, and also glass or ceramics, although the use of
the term "enamel" is often restricted to work on metal, which is the subject of this
article. Enameled glass is also called "painted". The fired enameled ware is a
fully laminated composite of glass and metal.
 Altar Frontal

an altar frontal is a decorative piece, usually of textile,

but also metalwork, stone or other material that can adorn
a Christian altar.
 Casket

a small ornamental box or chest for holding jewels,

letters, or other valued objects.
Caskets Reliquary

Candlestick Altar Frontals

Architectural sculpture
Most Romanesque sculpture is pictorial and Biblical in subject
Character of sculptures: They are highly
individualized, not only in appearance but also
expression
 Painting Wall painting

Manuscript illumination: The large wall surfaces and

Focus- BIBLE plain, curving vaults of the
Romanesque period lent
themselves to mural
decoration
Stained glass: painting art on glass
surfaces, bright colors, even on
ceilings
Other visual arts
Embroidery

Romanesque embroidery is best

known from the Bayeux Tapestry, and
other styles have survived, mostly as
church vestments.

embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly 70 meters (230 ft)

long,
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily
with the Christian religion, especially among the Eastern
Orthodox, Catholics
ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE
It combines features of Roman and Byzantine buildings
and other local traditions.
The characters are:
1. massive quality
2. Thick walls
3. Round headed arches
4. Sturdy piers
5. Groin vaults
6. Large towers
7. Decorative arcading
Other principles include:
Regularity
Symmetry
Simple defined shapes
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the
word "Romanesque", meaning "descended from
Roman“.
 Barrel Vault

Paired columns

Expression of building
Arcades
Projecting towers offering massive scale
Romanesque church
By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are
CHURCHES

Buildings of every type were constructed in the

Romanesque style, with evidence remaining of simple
domestic buildings, elegant town houses, grand
palaces, commercial premises, civic buildings, castles,
city walls, bridges, village churches, abbey churches,
abbey complexes and large cathedrals
The general impression given by Romanesque architecture, is
one of massive solidity and strength

Romanesque architecture is often divided into two periods

1.the "First Romanesque" style and
2.the "Romanesque" style
Walls
The walls of Romanesque buildings are often of massive
thickness with few and comparatively small openings. They
are often double shells, filled with rubble.
Buttresses
Because of the massive nature of Romanesque
walls, buttresses are not a highly significant feature,
Arches and openings
The arches used in Romanesque architecture are nearly always
semicircular, for openings such as doors and windows, for vaults
and for arcades. Wide doorways are usually surmounted by a
semi-circular arch, except where a door with a lintel is set into a
large arched recess and surmounted by a semi-circular "lunette"
with decorative carving. These doors sometimes have a carved
central jamb.
Arcades
An arcade is a row of arches, supported on
piers or columns. They generally occur in the
interior of large churches, separating the nave
from the aisles.
Piers
In Romanesque architecture, piers were often employed to
support arches. They were built of masonry and square or
rectangular in section
Columns
Columns are an important structural feature of Romanesque
architecture. Colonnades and attached shafts are also used
structurally and for decoration

1. Salvaged columns

2. Drum columns

3. Hollow core columns

Salvaged columns
During this period in Italy, a great number of antique Roman columns were
salvaged and reused in the interiors and on the porticos of churches.
Drum columns
In most parts of Europe, Romanesque columns were massive, as they
supported thick upper walls with small windows, and sometimes heavy
vaults. The most common method of construction was to build them out of
stone cylinders called drums.

Hollow core columns

Where really massive
columns were called for;
columns had to be
constructed of Ashlar
masonry, and the hollow
core was filled with rubble.
Hollow core column
 Drum column

Paired columns
Capitals
The foliate Corinthian style provided the inspiration for
many Romanesque capitals
Vaults and roofs
The majority of buildings have wooden roofs, generally of a
simple truss, tie beam or king post form.

In churches, typically the aisles are vaulted, but the nave is

roofed with timber,
Vaults of stone or brick took on several different forms and
showed marked development during the period, evolving into
the pointed ribbed arch characteristic of Gothic architecture

Barrel vault Groin vault

Ribbed vault Pointed arched vault

The painted barrel vault
Groin vault ribbed vaults
Romanesque vs. Gothic Architecture

S. No. Character Romanesque Gothic

1 Radiating chapels Separate compartments. Unified, unbroken space
and apse .
2 Vault Mostly barrel-vaults, some Groin-vaulted cathedrals
groin-vaults
.
3 Arch type Rounded arches. Pointed arches.
4 Main vault Thick walls, buttresses. Exterior flying buttresses.
support
5 Clerestory Small windows. Large stained-glass windows.

6 Elevation Horizontal, modest height. Vertical, soaring.

7 Exterior Plain, little decoration, solid. Ornate, delicate, lots of
sculpture
8 Sculptural Thin, elongated, abstract More realistic proportions and
decoration figures. individualized features
9 Mood Dark, gloomy. Tall, light-filled.

10 Example St. Sernin, Toulouse, France Chartres Cathedral, France.

Draw the sketches for the
following:
1. Barrel Vault
2. Groin/ cross vault
3. Ribbed vault
4. Rounded headed arches
5. arcades