Marvellous and the monstrous in the sculpture of twelfth-century Europe / Kirk Ambrose.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ambrose, Kirk, 1968-

Series:

Boydell studies in medieval art and architecture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Monsters in art.

Sculpture, Romanesque--Themes, motives.

Sculpture, Romanesque.

Sculpture, European--12th century--Themes, motives.

Sculpture, European.

Decoration and ornament, Romanesque--Themes, motives.

Decoration and ornament, Romanesque.

Decoration and ornament, Architectural--Europe--Themes, motives.

Decoration and ornament, Architectural.

Christian art and symbolism--Europe--Medieval, 500-1500.

Christian art and symbolism.

Themes, motives.

Europe.

Physical Description:

187 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Other Title:

Marvellous and the monstrous in the sculpture of 12th-century Europe

Place of Publication:

Woodbridge : The Boydell Press, 2013.

Summary:

Representations of monsters and the monstrous are common in medieval art and architecture, from the grotesques in the borders of illuminated manuscripts to the symbol of the green man', widespread in churches and cathedrals. These mysterious depictions are frequently interpreted as embodying or mitigating the fears symptomatic of a 'dark age'. This book, however, considers an alternative scenario: in what ways did monsters in twelfth-century sculpture help audiences envision, perhaps even achieve, various ambitions? Using examples of Romanesque sculpture from across Europe, with a focus on France and northern Portugal, the author suggests that medieval representations of monsters could service ideals, whether intellectual, political, religious, and social, even as they could simultaneously articulate fears; he argues that their material presence energizes works of art in paradoxical, even contradictory ways. Accordingly, Romanesque monsters resist containment within modern interpretive categories and offer testimony to the density and nuance of the medieval imagination. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Past Present 21

2 Ideal Bodies 40

3 (IL)Legibility 64

4 Creating Monsters 93

5 Imagining Cosmos 123.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-178) and index.

ISBN:

1843838311

9781843838319

OCLC:

827974078