Mosan art

Last updated
Maastricht, Basilica of Our Lady. East choir with carved capitals (12th century) MaastrichtOLV11.jpg
Maastricht, Basilica of Our Lady. East choir with carved capitals (12th century)
Curtius Museum, Liege. Pierre Boudon or Apollo relief (12th century) Ecole mosane - Tympan d'Apollon.jpg
Curtius Museum, Liège. Pierre Boudon or Apollo relief (12th century)
Liege, St Bartholomew's Church. Baptismal font by Renier de Huy (detail) Renier de Huy JPG01.jpg
Liège, St Bartholomew's Church. Baptismal font by Renier de Huy (detail)
Sint Odilienberg. Basilica of Saint Wiro, Plechelmus and Otgerus Sint Odilienberg Basilika2.JPG
Sint Odiliënberg. Basilica of Saint Wiro, Plechelmus and Otgerus

Mosan art is a regional style of art from the valley of the Meuse in present-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Although in a broader sense the term applies to art from this region from all periods, it generally refers to Romanesque art, with Mosan Romanesque architecture, stone carving, metalwork, enamelling and manuscript illumination reaching a high level of development during the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

Contents

The Meuse river valley lay in the heart of the earlier Carolingian Empire and therefore the style draws largely from the heritage of the Carolingian art tradition. Thus, Mosan art contains strong classical elements, which separates it from the international Romanesque style seen elsewhere during the period, for example in France, [1] Germany [2] Spain and Italy. However, it shares with mainstream Romanesque art elements such as the treatment of space. Although the iconography of 11th- and 12th-century Meuse valley art largely draws on Biblical inspiration, some of the elaborately carved capitals in the two main churches in Maastricht depict scenes from many aspects of daily life, as well as images from an intriguing world of fantasy.

Geographical spread

The Mosan region was formed largely by the boundary of the Bishopric of Liège, which had strong political links to the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as to the bishops of Cologne. The region's main artistic centres were the cities of Liège, Huy, Dinant, Namur, Tongeren, Maastricht, Roermond and Aachen, as well as a number of important monasteries: Sint-Truiden, Aldeneik, Herkenrode, Averbode, Munsterbilzen, Susteren, Sint Odiliënberg, Rolduc, Burtscheid, Kornelimünster, Stavelot, Nivelles, Aulne, Floreffe, Flône, Celles, Gembloux and Lobbes. Mosan art at its peak had a strong influence on bordering regions, notably on Rhineland art (Cologne, Bonn).

Highlights of Mosan art

Mosan Romanesque art has been described by art historians as the first golden age of Netherlandish art (before early Netherlandish painting and Dutch Golden Age painting). Usually the term Mosan art does not include Medieval literature although Heinrich von Veldeke may be considered the first poet writing in Middle Dutch (as well as Middle High German).

Architecture

Mosan architecture can be seen as a distinctive branch in Romanesque architecture, a regional style that produced imposing churches in Aachen, Liège and Maastricht, as well as monasteries in rural areas. The fully developed Mosan style of the 12th century is a comprise between the older Meuse valley traditions and foreign influences, mainly coming from the Rhineland and Italy. An outstanding factor in Mosan architecture is the closed west front (westwerk). Unfortunately, some of the largest churches, notably Liège cathedral, and the Stavelot and Sint-Truiden abbeys, were destroyed.

Stone carving

Mosan stone carving reached a peak in the 12th century in Maastricht, Liège and Nivelles. Maastricht 'metsen' (stone carvers) worked on capitals and reliefs as far afield as Utrecht, Bonn and Eisenach.

Metalwork

Metalwork has been considered the high art of the 12th and early 13th-century Meuse region, culminating in the work of Nicholas of Verdun, which is of exceptionally high quality. The Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral, the Anno Shrine in Siegburg and the Shrine of Our Lady in Tournai are among his best work. Other important metalworkers were Renier de Huy and Hugo d'Oignies.

Painting, illumination and other works of art

Very little has come to us from what must have been an impressive body of Mosan murals. Wolfram von Eschenbach, in his Parzival expressed his high regard for Maastricht (and Cologne) painters (Parzival, 158, 13-16). Book illumination, like the rest of the arts, was at its zenith in the second half of the 12th century. The principal centres were the abbey of Saint Laurent in Liège and the abbeys of Stavelot and Lobbes. Another highly developed art was vitreous enameling.

See also

Notes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maastricht</span> City and municipality in Limburg, Netherlands

Maastricht is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the Meuse, at the point where the Jeker joins it. Mount Saint Peter (Sint-Pietersberg) is largely situated within the city's municipal borders. Maastricht is adjacent to the border with Belgium and is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, an international metropolis with a population of about 3.9 million, which includes the nearby German and Belgian cities of Aachen, Liège, and Hasselt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Servatius of Tongeren</span> Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

Saint Servatius was bishop of Tongeren. Servatius is patron saint of the city of Maastricht and the towns of Schijndel and Grimbergen. He is one of the Ice Saints. His feast day is May 13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolingian architecture</span> Architectural period of the Carolingian Empire

Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian dynasty dominated west European politics. It was a conscious attempt to emulate Roman architecture and to that end it borrowed heavily from Early Christian and Byzantine architecture, though there are nonetheless innovations of its own, resulting in a unique character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of Saint Servatius</span> Roman Catholic church in Maastricht, Netherlands

The Basilica of Saint Servatius is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Servatius, in the city of Maastricht, the Netherlands. The architecturally hybrid but mainly Romanesque church is situated next to the Gothic church of Saint John, backing onto the town's main square, Vrijthof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegiate Church of St. Bartholomew</span> Roman Catholic church in Liège, Belgium

The Collegiate Church of St. Bartholomew is a Roman Catholic collegiate church in Liège, Belgium. Founded outside the city walls, it was built in coal sandstone, starting in the late 11th century and lasting until the late 12th century. It underwent, like most ancient religious buildings, modifications through the centuries. Nevertheless, the Meuse Romanesque—Ottonian architecture character of its architecture remained deeply rooted. The 18th century saw the addition of two more aisles, the opening of a neoclassical portal in the walls of the westwork, and the French Baroque redecoration of the interior. The interior of the western section has recently been restored back to the original style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian pilgrimage</span>

Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative and to sites associated with later saints or miracles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monulph</span>

Monulph was a sixth-century bishop of Tongeren and Maastricht, and is revered as a Roman Catholic saint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Liège</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Belgium

The Diocese of Liège is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was erected in the 4th century and presently covers the same territory as Belgium's Liège Province, but it was historically much larger. Currently, the diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. Its cathedra is found within St. Paul's Cathedral in the episcopal see of Liège.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude, Nivelles</span> Church in Walloon Brabant, Belgium

The Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude is a Roman Catholic collegiate church in Nivelles, Walloon Brabant, Belgium, which was built in the 11th century. It is dedicated to Saint Gertude, the patron saint of cats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Saint Anne, Aldeneik</span>

The Church of Saint Anne is a partly Romanesque, partly Gothic church in Aldeneik, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy</span> Ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire

The Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, also Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, sometimes known with its German name Stablo, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Princely power was exercised by the Benedictine abbot of the imperial double monastery of Stavelot and Malmedy, founded in 651. Along with the Duchy of Bouillon and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, it was one of only three principalities of the Southern Netherlands that were never part of the Spanish Netherlands, later the Austrian Netherlands, which after 1500 were assigned to the Burgundian Circle while the principalities were assigned to the Lower Rhenish Imperial Circle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Lambert's Cathedral, Liège</span> Belgian cathedral destroyed in 1794

St. Lambert's Cathedral was the cathedral of Liège, Belgium, until 1794, when its destruction began. This enormous Gothic cathedral, dedicated to Saint Lambert of Maastricht, occupied the site of the present Place Saint-Lambert in the centre of Liège.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of Our Lady, Maastricht</span> Roman Catholic church in Maastricht, Netherlands

The Basilica of Our Lady is a Romanesque church in the historic center of Maastricht, Netherlands. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption and is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Diocese of Roermond. The church is often referred to as the Star of the Sea, after the church's main devotion, Our Lady, Star of the Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius</span>

The Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius is a museum of religious art and artifacts inside the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht, Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doppelkirche Schwarzrheindorf</span>

The Doppelkirche Schwarzrheindorf is a Romanesque church in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The church was once part of a Benedictine nunnery located at Schwarzrheindorf, now part of Bonn. The "double church" has an upper church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a lower church dedicated to Pope Clement I. The church is famous for its fine 12th-century frescos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trier Cathedral Treasury</span> Museum of Christian art, museum of medieval art in Cathedral of Trier, Mustorstraße

The Trier Cathedral Treasury is a museum of Christian art and medieval art in Trier, Germany. The museum is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier and is located inside the Cathedral of Trier. It contains some of the church's most valuable relics, reliquaries, liturgical vessels, ivories, manuscripts and other artistic objects. The history of the Trier church treasure goes back at least 800 years. In spite of heavy losses during the period of the Coalition Wars, it is one of the richest cathedral treasuries in Germany. With the cathedral it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilgrimage of the Relics, Maastricht</span> Catholic event in the Netherlands

The Pilgrimage of the Relics or Maastricht Septennial Pilgrimage is a seven-yearly Catholic event in the Dutch city of Maastricht. Originating in the Middle Ages, it developed from a pilgrimage to the grave of Saint Servatius into the present-day religious, historical, cultural and commercial enterprise. Highlights in the programme are the displaying or unveiling of the relics in the main churches and secondly, the processions with the town's main relics. The next pilgrimage will take place in 2025.

Nithard was bishop of Liège, in the Low Countries, from 1038 to 1042.

References