Cathy's Art Diary

Confusing online course from the London Art History Society on Norman influence on architecture and material culture in Southern Italy. I say confusing because the history and many of the architectural terms were new to me. I think some people on the course had already done others with the speaker John McNeill so were more familiar with some of the background. It would have really helped to have a glossary of terms and an outline of the people and dates involved in the handout for reference. I know my English Norman architecture of the 11th and 12th century quite well so it might have helped me to make comparisons or say more about why they were different. McNeill had some great illustrations, I suspect many of which he had taken himself, which gave a good sense of the buildings many of which were now ruins. He made good use of floor plans but I’m afraid I did confuse them over time and they were very similar. That said I discovered some wonderful sites and have definitely added ...

Excellent online lecture from the British Museum looking at the Bayeux Tapestry. Michael Lewis and Dave Musgrove, authors of “The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry” did a wonderful double act, talking us through who might have made it, the story it tells and its legacy. They had great illustrations which showed off the details and picked some of the more unusual episodes. I did the Norman Conquest for A Level and at university and it is one of my favourite episodes in history but I learnt a lot and was particularly interested in the idea that a number of the images might have their origins in books at Canterbury Cathedral at the time. I so want to rewrite my “Were the Normans Innovators?” essay!    

Interesting online lecture from the Churches Conservation Trust looking at the development of the Crucifix in English churches in the Middle Ages. John Munns of Magdalene College, Cambridge explained that until the Reformation every parish church in England had a Crucifixion scene usually on a beam or screen in front the chancel arch. There are no complete sets surviving but he discussed the few remaining fragments and compared these to other Crucifixion images to look at how they developed from 1050 to the end of the 13th century. He talked us through the move from showing a triumphant Christ often clothed as a king to a suffering Christ with legs bent and hanging from his arms in a crown of thorns. He explained how the crown of thorns image became more popular after King Louis IX brought it from Constantinople to France. He also looked at how imagery influenced devotion and visa versa. He introduced us to this beautiful fragment from All Saint’s South Cerney, found with a pair...