St. Andrew's Church, an Example of Romanesque Art

Romenesque architecture came about sometime during the eleventh century AD. In a lot of ways, it was the successor to the art of the Western Roman Empire, as the Byzantines continued to develop their own style different to that of the West. It reused classic Roman elements such as rounded archways, columns, and barrel vaulting. However, they took these elements, as well as elements from Germanic and Islamic architecture, and developed an entirely new style out of it. They would take ideas like joggled architecture and apply it to their columns. They took the westwerk concept of having two symmetrical towers and add to it with arcades. They would take the Roman barrel vault and create a transverse archway to mimic it.

Based on the name, you’d think that it would be limited to the Mediterranean, much like how Roman art and architecture was. Well not only would you be wrong, but you’d be stupid as well. Well, okay, maybe not stupid, but you’re still wrong. Romanesque architecture was one of the first art styles that was effectively universal in Christian Europe. You can find pieces from as far south as Spain to as far north as Scandinavia. Each region did have their own style, but they each had the following in common: One portal, and the feeling of mass, of bulk. These buildings were designed to be big, tough, and impressive. In fact, one of the best examples that demonstrate how tough these buildings are is the St. Andrew’s Church in Krakow, Poland

Kurwa!

St. Andrews is one of the oldest buildings still standing in Krakow, and it's the one of the best preserved examples of Romanesque architecture in the country. It was commissioned in the late eleventh century by Voivode Sieciech, a powerful statesman for the Kingdom of Poland. This is interesting because this means that this church was being built by a kingdom that wasn’t even 100 years old yet. Heck, the area was actually still pretty new to being Christian, since the first lord of the land who was baptized lived only 140 years prior to this being commissioned. I find that really neat to see that this building was commissioned so early on by the state. I think it shows how the Kingdom wanted everyone to make sure that yes, it was here to stay. This would also explain why this is one of the few fortress churches still standing after all of these years.

A bit anachronistic, but still pretty much what this type of church meant

Basically, back in the day, Europe was prone to going through a lot of wars all at once. Basically, what would happen is that one lord would want some tiny piece of land that they currently don't have and would beat up the person who owns that land to get it. Sometimes they would get the land and kill or drive off the owner, sometimes they failed and it's their land that comes under threat of being seized. Because of those wars, the average peasant that wasn't currently in either lord's army needed some form of protection. These churches were designed to give a safe haven for those very people during one of those many wars. These churches can be told apart from others of similar looks by the small slits inside the facade. Those slits were designed to allow the archers inside of the building to shoot at their besiegers. The fact that it was designed to be a miniature redoubt is possibly why it was the only church in the city to not be burned down by these fellows.

Now multiply this image by a billion and you get an idea on how scared you should be

When the Mongol Empire invaded Europe back in the 13^th century, they smashed through Russia and Poland like the Hulk smashes through armies. They pretty much had free reign throughout the realm, looting what they wanted and settling down when they can. Despite that though, this building was not affected. That’s how impressive the architecture was. That type of story really appeals to my inner Viking, since this church not only succeeded in being aesthetically pleasing, but it succeeded as a fortress against basically the worst thing you can throw at a fort.

However, I will admit that like the Hagia Sophia, this building has had some remodeling done, particularly on the inside.

HEY WAIT A MINUTE!

Yep. This building underwent some heavy remodeling during the 1600’s, when baroque was all the rage. They added all sorts of murals and gilding to the place to make it look more impressive on the outside. However, this church would still be defined as Romanesque, because the exterior of the building still follows many of the traditions of many of the other buildings of its type, in particular the large portal and the sheer size and mass of the building. Plus, any building that survived the Mongol Horde gets a pass from me.

This does lead me to one question though: can this church into space?

Arhat (luohan)

One of the many beliefs that a majority of the schools of Buddhism espouse is the concept that anyone can eventually become a Buddha. What that means is that anyone who achieves enlightenment in their current life becomes a Buddha upon their death. From there, they can choose to leave samsara, the wheel of life, death, and rebirth; or go hardcore and abandon their escape from samsara to help others ascend, which pegs them as a Bodhisattva, or princely Buddha. It takes a certain person to be able to give the figurative finger to paradise in my opinion, and these guys aren’t even the top of the totem pole as far as Buddhism is concerned.

You also have the celestial Buddhas, who not only become the principal Buddha in a certain sect, but also are served by Bodhisattvas. Yes, there are Buddhas who are even more enlightened than the guys who denied themselves freedom to help others. No, I’m not mimicking the plot to Dragon Ball Z in the desperate attempt to look like I know about Buddhism. This is actually how this works. This isn’t even the insane part either. There is a rank even higher than the celestial Buddhas. Even these guys are small potatoes to the Maitreya Buddha, or future Buddha.

Marty! I've become Enlightened! I also have my own celery soda!

The future Buddha is a pretty big deal in most Buddhist schools. In a way, you can see the appearance of this guy in a similar light to seeing Jesus during the Rapture. This fellow will appear when the Dharma, or Buddha’s teachings, have all but been forgotten, and reignite it. This guy will ensure everyone will be enlightened and be able to break the cycle of suffering.

Since this is a pretty big deal, it’d be a good idea to have some people wait for the coming of the Maitreya. In fact, Buddha advocated that some Arhats, or people enlightened during their life, look out and help the guy out. This concept of salvation also hit a nerve with the Chinese people, especially those who practiced Buddhism around the time of the early Liao Dynasty. They suffered from persecution not so long ago, and the turmoil that occurs between dynastic changes makes the idea of the Maitreya very popular. So it’s no surprise that they decided to make their own Arhats, or luohans, to await the Maitreya.

Now I downright love this piece. I love how this statue was glazed, since the greens and golds of the robe are so rich in color. I also love how they decided to add realistic details, such as the shaved head, and how the skin has a different texture from the robes. In a way it’s very reminiscent of the Greeks, since there’s that sense of naturalism when I look at it. It almost looks like the statue is alive.

Don't blink...

Another reason why I absolutely dig this piece is that this quality implies that these were made using an imperial style. You can tell because the glazing is done in a similar way to sancai, the three color style of glaze that was popular with the previous dynasty, the Tang. Another tell is that these were actually reinforced with iron rods, a technique mostly restricted to works commissioned by the Emperor. But what makes this actually cool isn't that they used elements similar to those in imperial work, but that the techniques spread across the area, since workshops have been found in the same area that use these techniques.

This piece does however lead me to one question, brought along by the Jesus comparison I made. What would’ve happened if Jesus and Buddha met in life?

If only, if only...

I was thinking more "rap battle” but that works fine too.

The Colossus of Rhodes

The Ancient Greeks were the best stonemasons and sculptors of the Classical Era. Sure, you had the Romans, but they tended to either copy Greek designs or simply duplicate their statues for the most part.It doesn't help that your opinion is dead wrong Mr. Strawman Argument, but face it: the Greeks were the true innovators and masters of their craft, especially when it came to stone and metal work. The ultimate culmination of that work would have to be the Colossus of Rhodes.

So what? It's a Drawing?

Sadly, we don't have any real remains of the Colossus, which was destroyed in a massive earthquake back in 226 BC, but this thing was beyond impressive back in the day. In fact, this thing was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, standing alongside the Pyramids of Giza and the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos. It was over thirty meters tall, or about a hundred or so feet tall in imperial. To give you an idea on how tall this thing was, it's two thirds the size of the Statue of Liberty, which is impressive considering that the latter was made with far more modern techniques. It's even funnier because the Statue of Liberty actually drew a lot of inspiration from the Colossus in its design and construction.

Rip-off artists...

Now, I love the Colossus for several reasons, despite it not being in a state of existance anymore. For one thing, the materials that made the Colossus further adds to how it was a propaganda piece; it was forged from the weapons left behind by the invading army of Cyprus, which attacked Rhodes back in 305 BC. That just adds that fun little twist that we see in quite a few Greek pieces; not only is it a piece that was designed to show the triumph of Rhodes over Cyprus, but it also adds just a little salt into the wound by being MADE from the weapons of their defeated enemies. I guess that's another hint that I'm a jerk, since I thought that was cool.

I also like the techniques that were used in its construction of the Colossus. Since having a pure bronze stature would be beyond expensive for the size they wanted, the Greeks of Rhodes decided to innovate. Like the Statue of Liberty, the Colossus had a bronze "skin" that was reinforced with iron ribbing. On top of that, it was then filled in with stone, to make doubly sure that the statue would remain intact. Talk about ingenious.

Finally, I love it because it was the inspiration for one of our most well known icons: the Statue of Liberty. The engineers that designed her based a lot of her design on how the Colossus was built, and it shows. Heck, there's a sonnet on the pedestal that describes the Statue of Liberty as the "New Colossus". Here's to hoping our Colossus doesn't suffer any accidents.

You maniacs! You blew it up!

Yeah, like that. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Art of the Near East

Some of the oldest civilizations appeared in the Near East. You had the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and so on. Along with the sheer number of cultures in the area, you also had civilizations rise, fall, and disappear. This type of fluidness and instability always interested me, since it adds a dynamic to the culture of the area that places like Egypt and Greece lack, and I'm also kind of a jerk that gets interested in how the wars of that time shaped history. Sociopathy aside, my interest soared when I started looking at some of the pieces that these cultures made. However, it wasn’t their ceramics or stonework, both impressive in scale and style, which interested me. It was this piece that caught my attention:

The “Striding Horned Demon” is an interesting piece, and it's not because of the fact he's effectively butt-naked. For one thing, this was not made in the Fertile Crescent of the Euphrates and Tigris, but in the Zagros Mountains of Persia, where the civilization of Elam would pop up eventually. He’s also a metal sculpture rather than a ceramic or stone figure, which is odd considering that most figures found at this time were stone or ceramic, and were absolutely terrifying.

We are become Terror, Destroyers of Minds

Now, the "Striding Horned Demon" is a contemporary style for this period, as the peoples who made this were metalworkers, but it is still different from things like the votive figures you usually see. He is also depicted with horns, which to most cultures in that area meant divinity or royalty of some sort, so this had to be an important item for this culture. He’s only about seven or so inches tall, so while he can't necessarily fit into your pocket, he is still pretty small.

Now, I love this piece for a variety of reasons. First off, I like the amount of effort that the sculptor put into this piece. This implies that the sculptor spent a long period of time etching and carving into a wax mold, since metal sculptures were all made by wax molding at the time. Second, I like the fluidity of his form; he’s not made stiff and blocky like most of the sculptures you see are; he has curves and muscling. His pose is still fairly stiff, but that sense of naturalism when it comes to the body is a breath of fresh air in my opinion. I also love the material that he was made from, because this guy is made out of arsenical bronze.

 

Well that doesn't sound pleasant

You see, there’s actually more than one type of bronze, and one of the oldest types was arsenical bronze. That’s because copper bonds very well to it and it’s commonly found with arsenic in it. Therefore, it made total sense for the people of the time to just use that. We eventually stopped using it because that stuff’s not only poisonous, but finicky; it takes a certain mix with arsenic to produce good bronze, while mixing copper and tin is simpler to do. Lastly, he as well as most other pieces at this time reminds me of the Dwarves from the Elder Scrolls series. In fact, this piece reminds me of this guy:

Oh darn it, now I want to play Skyrim again.

We Have Liftoff!

Why hello there folks! Welcome to the first of what will hopefully be several posts that this blog will soon house. At the moment it is a little threadbare, what with this being the first post on a newly created blog, but that will change in time. With that in mind, let's go over some of the subjects that you can expect from this series of half-mad ramblings. That way, you as the reader can at least expect some of what I as the gibbering buffoon writing this will be doing here.

At the moment, you can expect me to go through and review the works of several art periods. These will range from the beyond old prehistoric era to the slightly less old medieval era. It will cover various media, ranging from paintings to sculptures to even architecture. It's not limited to one culture either; expect me to cover pieces from all around the world. Works can range from the obelisks of Ancient Egypt to the paintings of Kublai Khan's China. What each piece will be a mystery to even me, as I tend to gravitate towards works that simply catch my interest, with no arranged plan whatsoever. Coincidentally, if you're lucky (or unlucky based on your point of view), I might attempt to imitate some of techniques used to create some of these pieces or sketch out a replica.

So with that in mind, join me on what I hope to be the beginnings of an interesting series. I apologize in advance. With that in mind, let's take the first step on our journey: