ROMANESQUE ART. The term Romanesque is used in ' widely varying senses by different authorities. In general, it denotes the art and culture of Europe exclusive of the eastern empire and Russia, from the time of the fall of Rome (476) down to the development of Gothic art which occurred at various dates in different countries, but entirely between I ioo and 13oo; in portions of Italy art remained dominantly Romanesque well into the 14th century. The attempt is sometimes made to limit the use of the word to the era following the Carolingian empire (800 987) ; this, however, causes undue difficulties of chronology and complexities in the identification of much work, so that the broader sense is both more true and more simple.
The dominant element in all Romanesque art is the attempt, increasingly successful with the passage of time, of peoples originally barbaric, brought gradually into touch with the ruins of a magnificent culture, and at the same time under the inclusive and unifying influence of an enthusiastic Christianity, to develop, for themselves, art forms which they could, with their own skill, create and which would satisfy their own emotional demands, so different both from those of the Roman empire and those of the cultivated and Christianized earlier Roman provinces. At first, this attempt was most evidently influenced by Roman art forms and produced caricatures of them; only in such long Christianized provinces as Gaul did some traces of the traditional, technical skill persist through the much troubled pre-Carolingian times. As time went on, however, not only did the fast growing skill of the former barbarians and the conquered peoples under them lead to an increasing freedom from the Roman models, but other influences crept in. Thus, by the beginning of the 12th century, there is evident in all Romanesque work throughout Europe a combination of differing tendencies and traditions whose varying proportions in different localities gave rise to the indi vidual characteristics of different schools of art. These commingled influences may be briefly listed. The first, and still the most important, is Roman art ; the fact that Rome was the centre of the Christian church at the time added to its power. The second element was Byzantine, for in Constantinople, throughout the dark ages, the manufacture of all sorts of objects of great beauty continued unabated; with the growing culture of the west, Byzantine and Syrian artists and craftsmen were in great demand and apparently large numbers of them were at work, at least in France. The third element is that which comes directly from the
near east, especially Persia and Mesopotamia, through the medium of textiles which were among the most prized church decorations of the time and whose ornamental forms were copied alike in stone carvings and on manuscripts. The last element, which is the most difficult to analyze and evaluate, is the influence of the northern background of Lombard, Goth, Teuton and Celt. The intense vigour of Romanesque art, however crude, is evidence of the power of this influence ; to it are also probably due the obvious love of beasts and some of the grotesque element.
This young and vigorous art found expression in many fields. In architecture new forms were developed which eventually gave birth to the Gothic style. (See BYZANTINE and ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE.) The sculpture of the period is so largely archi tectural that separate treatment of it can only consider part of its purpose and effect. Up to the 12th century it is crude but tre mendously alive. Unable to render the polished graciousness of classic forms, the early sculptor turned first to shallow imitations of Byzantine ornaments, and later naïve interpretations in stone of manuscript decorations and miniatures. Only in Italy, where some remnants of earlier skill seem to have persisted, there developed in the latter part of the 11th century any adequate sculptural technique. In Tuscany this seems to have been largely based on classic tradition, but in Lombardy there appears a mixture of Byzantine elements absorbed from Venetia and more vivid and naturalistic elements, at times strongly impregnated with grotesque feeling. more like the Romanesque across the Alps. Meanwhile, farther north, sculptural technique was rudi mentary. Anglo-Saxon sculpture consisted of hardly more than scratchings on stone, and the earliest Norman work, both in France and England, is hardly more advanced. In Scandinavia and countries in which a Scandinavian culture was imposed upon a Celtic background, as in Ireland, the Scottish islands and western England, a much greater skill appears ; traditional Scandinavian and Celtic forms, such as the intricate interlaces, frequently based on dragon or snake forms, and much simplified human figures, often themselves worked into geometrical forms, are carved with brilliant decorative effect ; the old Norse, pagan shapes merging with the new Christian symbolism, as in the famous stone crosses of England and Ireland.