Roles Of Animals In Medieval Art

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The fabric of art history is modified by many beliefs, whether they are religious, scientifically skeptic, or open-mindedly. Art is influenced my many subject matters, subsequently an individual is able to see how themes alternate dramatically, all depending on the time period. Medieval art has established its place on the canvas with its primitive and sophisticated open interpretations. One of many immense repertory obsessions medieval artists had was portraying animals, whether they were real or imaginary. Artists pursued symbolic and allegorical relationships, thus animal portrayals became a great opportunity to express what they pursued. There are numerous reasons why painting, drawing, and sculpting animals in medieval art became concrete…show more content…
Many may say that the medieval times was an unproductive age compared to the Roman Empire and the Renaissance era. What individuals do not take into account was the many artistic styles spreading from the Byzantine, early Christian, Anglo Saxon, Islamic, Carolingian, Romanesque, Ottonian, Norman, and Gothic. Nonetheless, Christianity became the dominant creed in the Middle Ages. Their Style was based on old ideas and a combination of cultures, yet were established with new attitudes that were unseen before. The representation of animals was mostly used in religious aspects; it only increased due to the restrictions church had in portraying their Gods, it later became known as the Iconoclasm…show more content…
Animals were starting to appear more continuously, and were integrated in the Medieval Ages as part as an artistic subject; One can assume that it was due to the daily usage of animals at that age. Such as using dogs to hunt, horses for transportation, ox and mules for equipment carriage, or wildlife for food. In the manuscript illumination Saint Anthony Abbot Blessing the Animals, the Poor, and the Sick, done in 1400 in Saint Veronica, Cologne , one is able to indicate by the title animals are set apart as their own (if it’s not for the title). In the image creatures are being integrated in a crowed of poor and sick peasants, while Saint Anthony blesses them all. This implies that they are now part of the medieval society. The view towards animals had evolved, since some plenty of animals were treated as humans. There have been situations where animals had their own clothing, some have been imprisoned, and many were given “human” funeral with positive context. In the Laon Cathedral, built in 1215, France, one is able to see statues of oxen attached to the two octagonal towers. This addition was not solely for decoration purposes, but to honor the oxen for their contributions to the cathedral. The oxen helped (were used to) transport stone and other materials . Animals were not always seen as representations but in many instances as individual

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