This document provides information on several artworks from 14th century Europe. It describes an ivory sculpture of the Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris that represents the pinnacle of Gothic art. It also discusses a tabernacle sculpture featuring the Madonna and Child from Florence, and a fresco of the Nativity with Prophets from Siena. Finally, it summarizes artworks housed in cathedrals and churches in England, Germany, and the Czech Republic that demonstrate innovations in Gothic architectural styles during this period.

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Century Art in Europe
Student Slides

2. • 1. 17-1 (Tabernacle) Eeman
• 2. 17-13 (Nativity with Prophets Isaiah and
Ezekiel) Ben
• 3. 17-16 (Pages with Betrayal and Arrest of
Christ/ Annunciation/ Book of hours) Mollie
• 4. 17-18 (Attack on the Castle of Love) Priya
• 5. 17-20 (Exeter Cathedral) Grace
• 6. 17-21 (Church of the Holy Cross) Tori
• 7. 17-24 (Saint Luke) Aliyah
• 8. 17-25 (Beautiful Virgin and Child) Shoba

3. Tabernacle: Madonna and Child
• Tabernacle: Andrea Orcagna, Orsanmichele,
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Florence
1355-1359
Marble, mosaic, gold, lapis lazuli
Commissioned by Confraternity of Orsanmichele:
charitable society which honored the image of the
Madonna and Child and gave to needy people
Created “tour-de-force of architectural sculpture”
Base has sculpted saints on pedestal against piers,
and reliefs of Madonna’s life at base
• Painting: Bernardo Daddi, 1346-7, tempera and
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gold on wood panel
Second replacement of image of Madonna and
Child
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Original might have been burned in fire of 1304
First replacement=also lost
Image in painted believed to have healing powers
Subjects revealed by angels drawing curtains back

4. Nativity with Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel
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Panel from the Maesta
Currently located in Washington DC
Depicts Mary, a midwife, Jesus, and Prophets Isaiah and
Ezekiel
Follows Western Style of Nativity in a shed
Rejoicing angels fill sky behind shed
Shepherd and Sheep add realism
Light, intense colors, and calligraphic linear quality similar to
Gothic manuscripts
Defined space in shed shows move towards more realistic depictions
of people and their world
Shows the shift towards realistic depictions during 14th and 15th centuries
The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel
1311 CE
tempera on single panel
overall (including original frame): 48 x 87 cm (18 7/8 x 34
1/4 in.)

5. Pages with the Betrayal and Arrest of Christ and
Annunciation c. 1325-28
-Betrayal & arrest on the left
-Annunciation on the right
-From the Book of Hours
-Grisaille and color on vellum
-Grisaille technique- monochromatic in shades of gray
with faint touches of color
-Queen Jeanne is seen in the Annunciation, kneeling
before a lectern and reading (perhaps from her Book of
Hours)
-The inclusion of the patron in the prayer within a
scene conveyed the idea that the scenes were visions
inspired by meditation rather than records of historical
events
-Mary is shown receiving the archangel Gabriel while
rejoicing angels look on
-In the betrayal, Judas Iscariot embraces Jesus,
identifying him to the Roman soldiers
-This sets in motion the events that lead to the
Crucifixion
-St. Peter is shown defending Jesus, he raises his sword
and slices off the ear of the high priest’s servant,
Malchus
-On the bottom it shows knights riding goats and
jousting

6. • Don’t know what was kept in the
box
• Whole thing is made out of Ivory!
• Boxes similar to these existed for
personal items like boxes, mirrors,
and combs w/ secular scenes in
the panels inspired by popular
literature and folktales
• This one could be a gift box from a
lover
• In its ivory panels, the God of Love
shoots his arrows; knights and
ladies throw flowers as missiles
and joust with flowers
• A lot of detail in the panels
17-18 Attack on the Castle of Love,
Lid of a box. Paris c. 1330-50. Ivory ox with
iron mounts, panel 11.5 x 24.6 cm
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

7. • A tournament takes place in front
of the actual castle ; Castle of Love
• Once a mock battle, designed to
keep nights fit for war became a
lovers combat
• In the center panel, women watch
jousting knights charge to the blare
of heralds trumpets
• Knights use crossbows and a
catapult to hurl roses at the castle
• God of love helps the women by
aiming his arrows at the attackers
• The action concludes in the scene
on the right where the
tournament’s victor and his lady
love meet in playful joust of their
own

8. More clear photo…

9. Exeter Cathedral
Exeter, England 14th Century
Slide by: Grace Leyden
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Designed by Thomas of Witney
Most complete/decorated style building
Christian Church
Includes stone colonnettes, moldings, and vault ribs
Diamond-shaped piers rise massed molding that make
the arcade seem to ripple
4 part vault, with intersecting cross-ribs, with
additional unique ribs called tiercerons to create a
richer linear pattern
Bosses cover intersections where ribs meet
Large clerestory windows with bartracery mullions
illuminate the nave
Perpendicular style made of yellow sandstone, marble,
and white French stone
Nave roofed but not vaulted
Heralds the renaissance style in decorative scheme
Gothic perpendicular style became England’s national
style

10. Church of the Holy Cross
14th century, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. Stone. Begun by Henry Parler.
• Henry Parler was an architect who started
construction of the church
• First grand hall church in Southern Germany
• Henry Parler’s son, Peter, designed the choir
– Triple aisled form, enlarged by a ring of deep chapels
between buttresses of the choir
– Unity of the entire space enhanced by a complex net
vault- web of ribs created by eliminating transverse ribs
and ridge ribs
• Particularly outstanding are the two choir portals
with their wealth of stone carvings
– Sumptuously furnished choir portals depicting the
Passion of Christ (north side) and the World Court
(south side)
• Like other structures during this time, this church
demonstrates how architects are able to still follow
the Gothic style, while also deviating into their own
styles at the same time. Hence many new features
appeared in churches, such as the net vault in this
particular church.
• Similar to Exeter Cathedral in terms of innovative
stylistic approaches, particularly on the ceiling

11. Saint Luke
Paint and gold on panel
Made in 1360-1364
Made by Master Theodoric, head of the
Brotherhood of St. Luke
In the Holy Cross Chapel near Prague
Done in Theodoric’s “Beautiful Style” of
painting/drawing saints large to emphasize
their size and power
Large hands and heads and soft drapery
are characteristics of this style
The ox in the upper corner is the symbol
for St. Luke

12. Saint Luke Cont.
It is thought that the painting is a self
portrait of St. Luke, since it’s
uncharacteristic that the Saint looks out
at the viewer.
Compared to other 14th and 15th
century paintings, this one features a
heavier body, which is new, but a familiar
and fairly simplistic figure.
Culturally, this painting was the usual
biblical piece, commissioned to be put in
the then newly built Holy Cross Chapel.

13. Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle
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The Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle is an ivory
sculpture probably created in the 1260s
• represents the pinnacle of Gothic art, and the late
medieval ideal of beauty
The piece is 41 cm tall (16 inches)
History: After a relative shortage of ivory in Europe during the
11th and 12th centuries, the material once again became in
abundance with new trade opening up on the Atlantic ports,
particularly those of Normandy. The ivory workshops of Paris
were the most admired ones, and the Virgin and Child must have
originated from one of these.
It is known to have been in the possession of the Sainte-Chapelle
by the late 1270s
Now one can visit this piece in the Louve in Paris
The Virgin Mary is portrayed as a young and slender woman; in
appearance representative of the aristocracy of the age. Her hip
is slightly protruded – giving the figure an S-shape
• On her left arm she is resting the baby Jesus. Her robe,
with a belt, is almost entirely covered by a coat, all of which
is finely decorated with gold
• I like this piece because of how of grand it seems decpite
the size. The medium of ivory and gold serve to show the
importance of the piece.