Gothic Rose Window

The north rose window from Notre Dame in Paris combines nature and geometry beautifully. The concentric circles divided into sections resembles petals of a flower, as well as the figures around the bottom curves of the main circle. At the end of each "petal" there is a circle that contains figures of saints and religious figures. Apart from the figures in the circles, the rose window is decorated with geometric and organic designs. The tracery alone is stunning in the rose window, the stained glass adds beautiful colors and detail to the window. Nature was considered valuable enough to be included in an elaborate cathedral, but only in a modified organized form. Symmetry and order were more desirable than a realistic version of a flower.

Romanesque Art

This carving from the Maria Laach Abbey shows the devil next to a dog like creature. The animal, grapes, and vines are idealized, but still very beautiful. The dog's neck is turning, giving us a strange view of the dog, dogs could never do this in real life. The designs are more symmetrical than they would be in nature. This relief looks like a fusion of Roman and Greek styles and is further progressed toward realism compared to the medieval period. I think in this particular carving, nature is used more ornamentally and less symbolically than other examples of art I've looked at so far on this blog. This could be because as greater achievements by man are made, such as large buildings, advancements in science, and so on, nature is less revered because man is dominating it and can control it more, as well as escape from the weather.

Early Medieval relief

This ivory relief was likely a decorated gospel cover of Mark. It shows Mark at his desk with his gospel symbol, the lion, over him. During medieval times animals were very important to people. Evidence of this is given in art and the fact that each gospel writer had his own animal. Mark was the lion, Luke an ox, and John's symbol was the eagle. Matthew was the only gospel writer without an animal symbol, he was shown as an angel. King Richard also had an animal associated nickname, which was King Richard the Lionhearted. During this time period it is clear that animals were highly regarded since they were worthy of being associated with kings and saints. Animals held symbolic meaning in the medieval times, lions represented courage, lambs represented patience and humility, goats symbolized victory, and so on. These animals were given wings to represent their connection to the divine.

Islamic Art

This example of Islamic art was done in the around the year 1540. There are six tiles that compose a repeating pattern of flowers. In Islamic mosques and places of worship, animals and human figures were not permitted as acceptable forms of art since they were seen as idols.  However, it was not uncommon for human figures and animals to be depicted in art outside of the traditional Muslim places of worship. This piece shows a repeating pattern of the same plant and is done in shades of blue to make it appear that it is night time. This flower is not fairly naturalistic, but not quite right. The flowers are too large if this plant is a tree and too abundant if this plant is a non woody stemmed species. I am impressed that there are some neighboring plants shown next to the main one. This might just be the fear of empty space, but it could also show the plants that grew next to each other and a small picture of a larger ecosystem. This plant may be a fruit tree because of its blossoms, but is also valued for its aesthetic qualities since it is being repeated so often.

Byzantine Manuscript

This page comes from an illuminated manuscript of the bible illustrated during the Byzantine period. There are lots of organic shapes in this drawing sample. Flowers, vines, and a snake are depicted in a very small space. These organic lines differ a lot from earlier nature depictions, which show more rigid and orderly nature. An interesting thing about this artwork is that while the snake, vines, and flowers are organic, none of them are realistic. The coloring isn't something that you would find in nature and the actual flowers themselves don't exist in reality. The snake is also not something you would see in real life, but it is easy for the viewer to tell what they represent. All of these things lead me to believe that nature was thought of as beautiful in the Byzantine times, but could be made more beautiful and interesting with alterations. Nature must have been valued aesthetically as a concept, but perceived with greater interest and beauty if non natural colors and physiology was fused with nature.

Late Antiquity Art

This fresco is from the Late Antiquity period in art history. We can see that all of the men are riding horses in this picture, and the man in the center is riding a chariot with two horses pulling him. It looks like in this instance and time in history that horses are seen as a status symbol, and the more horses you owned, the more powerful and wealthy you were perceived. The background is flat and plain. You cannot see a ground line, any trees, the sky, or any other indication of nature in this piece besides the horses. Animals are an indicator of wealth, but crops, gardening, fruit growing were viewed as an activity of the poor, so it wasn't often depicted in this period of art.

Roman Landscapes

This Roman landscape was found in Pompeii. Roman art incorporated landscapes, while Greek art did not. This landscape shows the city as well as some local nature. This landscape is somewhat impressionistic and shows depth and perspective somewhat accurately.  This landscape shows people interacting with the stream, trees, and goats around them. I doubt that this is a depiction of a real place since the goats are in a shrub and grass less area and the pond looks more like a section of a stream that appears and disappears out of no where.  I think this fresco accurately shows how people and nature interacted in the Roman era. The people seem to be enjoying themselves, but these activities are not done purely for leisure, herding and fishing are the livelihood of many Romans.