After the death of the last Caroline monarch, the Germanic king of Saxon descent consolidated his power in the eastern part of the empire. These rulers repelled the invading nations, rebuilt an effective central government, and opened a new dynasty-Otto Dynasty. Their first task is to reform the church. The Benedictine St. Michael Abbey Church in hildesheim was one of the magnificent buildings built at that time. Tooth carvings and manuscripts made by artists of the Otto dynasty combine elements of Caroline and Byzantine art.
Otto I, the greatest king of Otto, restored Charlemagne's imperial ambition. In 962, he was crowned emperor by Pope John XII and captured Rome at the request of the Pope. The Pope was later deposed by the emperor on charges of disobedience.
build
Emperor Otto established close ties with the Vatican, promoted the reform of monasteries, and supported it by funding the construction of a large number of religious buildings. The revival of large-scale construction projects effectively reproduces the architectural ambition of the ancestor Caroline dynasty, and at the same time conveys and strengthens the desire of Emperor Otto to restore the glory of the Christian Roman Empire.
St siriakus convent church in Grorod
One of the best-preserved churches during the Otto dynasty was the monastery of Saint Cyriakus in Gende. Based on the basic form of early Christian court style, court style is also the dominant form of architectural layout in Caroline Dynasty.
St Michael's Church in hildesheim.
The most ambitious patron of architecture and art in the Otto dynasty was Bernwald, who became the bishop of hildesheim after serving as a court priest.
St Michael's Church was severely damaged in World War II, but the restored interior has an extremely wide wall space between multi-arch and high side windows, maintaining the grandeur and solemnity of the original design.
The seats of the western choir are particularly eye-catching. The architects raised the ground height here, so it can accommodate a semi-underground chapel or underground chapel. Monks can enter this underground chapel from the west and the auditorium, which is obviously a holy place for storing relics of saints.
Hardware appliance
The emperors of Otto dynasty relied on the authority of the church to strengthen their rule, which prompted them not only to build many new churches, but also to provide luxurious works of art to decorate them. The works of art sponsored by the emperor and his peers are very valuable, usually made of expensive materials.
Bishop bronze doors of Bernwald, hildesheim
Bernwald made a pair of bronze doors sculptures for St. Michael's Church in hildesheim, which was completed in 10 15, the same year as the underground chapel.
This pair of hildesheim bronze doors is considered by many scholars to be the first large-scale sculpture made by lost wax method in history. The door leaf is cast as a whole, with a height of 4.8 meters. They are also the first pair of gates decorated with narrative scenes since early Christianity. The details in the picture show the scene of God accusing and judging Adam and Eve because they stole the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden and committed the original sin (this story is called temptation and depravity). Shown below is a part of the embedded inscription, which indicates the year and Bernwald's name in classical Roman font.
The theme on the left door leaf is taken from the Old Testament, and the theme on the right door leaf is taken from the New Testament. The old testament stories are arranged from top to bottom in chronological order, while the new testament stories are the opposite, suggesting that the information conveyed by the Christian Bible makes people sublimate. If viewed in pairs horizontally, these scenes convey the information of the origin and redemption of sin through the prophecy system, that is, the Old Testament predicted the New Testament.
Eve's significance here is particularly important. Early Christian writers believed that Eve should be responsible for the original sin, but during the Otto dynasty, the reference to her sin increased greatly and became stronger and stronger. The responsibility of the priest's moral corruption actually fell on Eve, who was the first woman and the first seducer.
Monument to Bishop Bernwald in hildesheim
Priests will regard bronze doors in Bernwald as a treasure, commensurate with the imperial architecture, if only because it reminds people of the gate built by Charlemagne for Aachen and other bronze doors in Rome. Bernwald made a bronze column for St. Michael's church. The column body was embossed with spiral strips to show the life of Jesus, among which Rome's intention was more obvious.
The Solemn Communicator of the Empire: Tooth Carvings and Manuscripts
The early painters of Otto dynasty faithfully copied the characteristics of Caroline's manuscript for the court painting school, while the later manuscripts merged the artistic elements of Caroline and Byzantium, forming a new style with a wide range of themes and extraordinary power, as did the tooth carving. The manuscripts of Otto dynasty show that artists and patrons pay more and more attention to the narrative scene of Jesus' life, which is the most important contribution to iconology in this period.
Christ blessed Otto II and Diophano.
A tooth carving named "Christ Bless Emperor Otto II and Queen Diofano" commemorated their coronation ceremony and showed that the event was approved by God. In terms of composition and style, this work is very close to the Byzantine tooth carving "The Coronation of Romano and Dochia by Christ" made decades ago. The composition of the two is the same: Christ with long hair and beard (whose identity is determined by the halo printed with the cross) is located on the central platform, anointing the emperors and queens on both sides. In both works, the queen's clothes are decorated with similar complex geometric patterns. This similarity shows that Otto II's tooth carvings came from the East, and so did the inscriptions on them. It seems to have been written by the Greeks, and both Greek and Latin were used.
Gospel of Otto III
The Gospel of Otto III, written for the sons of Otto II and Diofano, conveys the imperial majesty like the couple's tooth carvings. The emperor displayed symbols of imperial power, such as a crown, an eagle's head and a sphere engraved with a cross, while the throne was decorated with a royal lion. The military attache and the priest separated the two sides of the emperor, symbolizing his sovereignty in these two fields.
Otto III was crowned King of Germany in Aachen in 986 and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in Rome in 993. This manuscript was made about 1000 years ago, shortly after Otto III was crowned twice. The image of Otto III in the manuscript reflects historical events. He is depicted here as the Roman and Byzantine emperors, and even the legal heir of Charlemagne. His connection with Christ enhanced his imperial dignity. Contrary to the expression of early Christianity, Christ is doubly noble because he is portrayed as the image of the Roman emperor.
The Gospel of Otto III contains the richest series of illustrations on the life of Christ. "Jesus washed St. Peter's feet" once again shows the powerful influence of ancient painting handed down through Byzantine art.
The miniature paintings of St. Luke in the Gospels of Otto III, though small in size, symbolize great majesty. He appeared on two rainbows, holding a terrible cloud high and radiating light in all directions. The bull symbolizing St. Luke is painted in the clouds, surrounded by five prophets in the Old Testament, and the outermost circle is surrounded by several angels. Below the picture, two lambs drink the fountain of life flowing at the foot of St. Luke.
incise
During the reign of Otto Dynasty, the size of sculptures gradually increased. Taking Bernwald bronze doors of St. Michael's Church in hildesheim as an example, even many small works showed great momentum.
Jerome cross
The Jerome Cross was named after the Archbishop of Cologne, Jerome, who ordered its construction around 970. It uses life-size and the effect is spectacular. This is an example of large-scale work.
Jerome's cross shows the suffering of Christ in the form of sculpture and is full of deep sympathy for the suffering of Christ. It is made of painted gold-plated oak, which is full of three-dimensional sense. In Jerome's cross, there is a space behind the head of Christ to hold the Eucharist (the host, the bread or the holy bread used as the Eucharist in Mass), and this sculpture is transformed into the sacred bone box (the container used to worship the holy things or the Eucharist).
The Madonna of Essen
The Virgin of Essen has a condescending momentum. This is due to Maria's positive attitude, her big eyes, and the brilliance of gold. Apples, Christian books and light wheels are decorated with jewels, enamels and gold and silver threads, which further enhances this effect. Linear details such as folds and facial features are suppressed, and the focus is on the body of the character.
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