![]() ![]() The result was a fusion of divergent cultural aesthetic qualities. The Carolingians thus borrowed heavily from early Christian and Byzantine architectural styles, although they added their own innovations and aesthetic style. During the eighth and ninth centuries, the Carolingian dynasty (named for Charlemagne) dominated western Europe politically, culturally, and economically.Ĭarolingian architecture is characterized by its conscious attempts to emulate Roman classicism and Late Antique architecture. The palette consists of a limited range of colours including ochre, red, and brown.Ĭarolingian architecture is characterized by its attempts to emulate late Roman classicism, early Christian, and Byzantine styles. On the western wall, the rows are tied together with an image of the Last Judgment. The bottom row contains scenes from the crucifixion of Saint Andreas. The next three rows show scenes from the youth, life, and Passion of Christ. The top row features scenes from the life of King David of the Old Testament. The paintings are organized in five rows that stretch from the southern wall across the west wall to the northern wall. The original church has several significant early medieval frescoes from around 800 CE. The Abbey of Saint John at Müstair, Switzerland is the site of exceptionally well-preserved Carolingian art. Art historians have found numerous other Carolingian frescoes in churches and palaces that have since been nearly completely lost. It was destroyed later in the century but contained multiple Carolingian frescos of the Seven Liberal Arts, the Four Seasons, and the Mappa Mundi (Map of the World). A villa that featured the oratory of the Palatine Chapel belonged to Bishop Theodulf of Orléans, a key associate of Charlemagne. ![]() Various forms of Carolingian painting include frescoes, which reached a pinnacle of production under the reign of Charlemagne. Outside the elite circle that produced these works, however, the quality of visual art was much lower. Surviving frescoes show a greater degree of modelling, a variety of poses, and a relatively naturalistic rendering of draperies and acknowledgement of the bodies beneath. Their facial expressions and body language imply a sense of interaction, although few stand in profile and none turn their backs to the viewer. The figures in the frescoes, although relatively flat and posed in a stylized manner, display a degree of modelling and an acknowledgement of the body beneath the clothing. Paintings show an attempt to conform to Charlemagne’s desire to revive the Roman Empire under a Christian banner. These sites have allowed art historians to theoretically conceptualize Carolingian paintings. Surviving examples of painting from this era consist mainly of frescoes and mosaics produced in present-day France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, northern Italy, and the Low Countries. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of important monasteries under imperial patronage. This period is popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. It was the French Revolution, however, that provided the BnF with the greatest number of manuscripts, confiscated from religious institutions.\)Ĭarolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire from about 780 to 900 CE, during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs. Many of their treasures entered the king's library either directly or as donations from private collections.įurther acquisitions of Carolingian manuscripts were made in the following centuries. During the French Wars of Religion, a number of religious institutions were destroyed and their collections sold. The manuscripts belonging to the Carolingian rulers were never passed on to their descendents, and were thus not part of the first royal library founded by Charles V, which was housed in the Louvre. The history of the collection is tied to that of the Royal Library. The collection also contains various documents related to Carlo Magno (capitularies, laws, letters, etc) as well as scientific works. It gathers works by several Latin authors, for example Augustinus and Plinius, Sententiae and Epistolae morales ad Lucilium by Seneca, Satyrae by Juvenalis, Comoediae by Publius Terentius, Ab urbe condita by Titus Livius and Ars amoris by Ovidius. It contains several precious bibles, for example the Charlemagne's Evangeliary (BnF NAL 1203), which had been presented to Napoleon I in 1811 at the birth of his son, was exhibited next to the Psalter, the First Bible of Charles the Bald (an exceptional iconographic cycle with full page miniatures), and the prestigious Purple Lectionary. This collection was digitised in the context of the Europeana Regia project.
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