Medieval art

Lore & Background

Medieval art in Europe emerged from the artistic traditions of the Roman Empire and the iconographic practices of the early Christian church, blended with the vigorous decorative culture of Northern European "barbarian" peoples. This interplay between classical, early Christian, and Northern elements defines much of the period’s visual character. A continuous tradition of realistic depiction survived in Byzantine art, while in the West such realism appeared intermittently, often combining with new expressionist possibilities and energetic decorative motifs from the North. The art was produced across a vast scope of time and place—over 1,000 years across Europe, and at times in Western Asia and Northern Africa. Major styles include Early Christian, Migration Period, Byzantine, Insular, Pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, and Gothic art, with distinct regional variations such as Anglo-Saxon or Viking art. Works survive in many media: sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, and mosaics have higher survival rates than frescoes, textiles, or works in precious metals. In the early Middle Ages, so-called minor arts like metalwork, ivory carving, vitreous enamel, and embroidery were often more highly valued than painting or monumental sculpture. The period ended with the Renaissance’s self-conscious recovery of classical skills, after which medieval art was disparaged for centuries until a 19th-century revival recognized its enormous achievement.

Reader's Guide

The history of medieval art can be seen as the interplay between classical, early Christian and 'barbarian' art. Apart from the formal aspects of classicism, a continuous tradition of realistic depiction survived in Byzantine art throughout the period, while in the West it appears intermittently, combining and sometimes competing with new expressionist possibilities developed in Western Europe and the Northern legacy of energetic decorative elements. The period ended with the self-perceived Renaissance recovery of the skills and values of classical art, and the artistic legacy of the Middle Ages was then disparaged for some centuries. Since a revival of interest and understanding in the 19th century, it has been seen as a period of enormous achievement that underlies the development of later Western art.

Did You Know?

• The even more expensive pigment ultramarine, made from ground lapis lazuli obtainable only from Afghanistan, was used lavishly in the Gothic period.
• Many of the longest running scholarly disputes over the date and origin of individual works relate to secular pieces, because they are so much rarer.