10. The Church Triumphant

(E.H.Gombrich/The Story of Art)

-The thirteenth century

- フランス北部でゴシック様式が誕生。梁の架け方が変わることで大きな窓を作ることが可能になる。これが美しいステンドグラスになる

-大聖堂を囲む彫像も、単なる聖書のシンボルの具現化に留まらず自然な表情、仕草を持つように。身体に沿った衣服のひだも復活。

-しかし五世紀のギリシャ彫刻では美しい身体を具現化させることが追究されたのに対し、ゴシック様式では宗教的物語をより感動的に、説得力を持って伝えるために技法が磨かれた

-ゴシック様式は北フランスからイギリス、ドイツへ。イタリアは西よりも東、ビザンチン美術の影響を色濃く受けていたが、十三世紀後半になってまず彫刻でニコラ・ピサノ、続いて絵画でジョットが台頭。特にジョットは、ビザンチン美術が残してきたヘレニズム的な陰影・奥行きのある表現を再興し、観る者の眼前に物語が展開するような作品を生み出す。

-もう一つ、ジョットはその人気ぶりから画家本人の人となりも注目を集める。それまで芸術家個人の名前が作品に残ることはなかった。このジョットから、芸術の歴史は偉大な芸術家の歴史となっていく。

The new idea was born in northern France. It was the principle of the Gothic style. [...] There was no need for heavy stone walls — instead one could put in large windows. (139)

We can hardly imagine the impression which these buildings must have made on those who had only known the heavy and grim structures of the Romanesque style. These older churches in their strength and power may have [...] offered shelter against the onslaught of evil. The new cathedrals gave the faithful a glimpse of a different world. [...] these miraculous buildings seemed to proclaim the glories of heaven. (141-142)

The most frequent task of the northern painters of that time was still the illumination of manuscripts, but [...] we see how important it has become to the artists to show us the feelings of his figures. (145)

But the whole idea of sitting down in front of a person or an object and copying it was alien to them. (147)

Italian cities such as Venice were in close contact with the Byzantine Empire and Italian craftsmen looked to Constantinople rather than to Paris for inspiration and guidance. [...] It was Byzantine art which ultimately allowed the Italians to leap the barrier that separates sculpture and painting. For all it’s rigidity, Byzantine art had preserved more of the discoveries of the Hellenistic painters than had survived the picture-writing of the Dark Ages in the West. (149-150)

Giotto had rediscovered the art of creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface.(151)

people did not think it necessary to preserve the names of these masters for posterity. [...] Very often they did not even sign their work. [...] No doubt they were appreciated in their time, but they gave the honour to the cathedral for which they had worked. In this respect, too, the Florentine painter Giotto begins an entirely new chapter in the history of art. From his day onwards the history of art [...] is the history of the great artists. (152-153)