1000 Masterpieces of Decorative Art. Victoria Charles

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      Besides the Celtic monuments to which we have already referred (menhirs, dolmens, etc.) there is very little that is original in the style of the Gaulish period and from the Roman invasion onwards, any traces of the romantic, which were, in any case, more a result of the rudimentary nature of life at the time than of a feeling for art, are swallowed up by the culture of the victorious Romans. The bathhouses, theatres, and arenas are all attributed indiscriminately to the Gauls and the Romans, and Gaulish furniture is so similar to the furniture used in Rome as to be indistinguishable from it. Frankish style is similarly insignificant. The Franks were busy fighting and a more civilised period only begins to flourish when peace returns. The evidence of this civilisation is to be found in the Christian monasteries built beside the tombs of the saints. Clovis’ reign was of no artistic importance but Dagobert had an abbey built at Saint-Denis and left us an armchair which bears his name, although there is very little to distinguish it from a curule chair! At the same time, gold and silver works with a peculiarly Byzantine flavour have been found dating from Charlemagne’s reign onwards. It seems that chests attributed to the Carolingian period decorated with ivory plaques showing mythical animals and using inlaid ivory and marquetry with different coloured woods inspired the arrangements used by Italian ivory craftsmen. What we shall witness next is the arrival in the West of a new art under the auspices of new religious aspirations.

      The catacombs where the early Christians took refuge from the persecution of the Roman Emperors were to be the birthplace of this Christian art, which would evolve little by little away from the old thinking. Hot wax paintings, richly-sculpted sarcophagi and a wealth of tools, receptacles and so on bear witness to the momentum of this new world view, which would be marked by a use of allegory and symbolism borrowed, in particular, from Pagan thought. However, one distinguishes in the rough execution of their work, which was of a much poorer quality than that of Rome’s public buildings and imperial palaces, a thrust which was moving gradually away from those roots. When the vast Roman Empire tired of creating martyrs and inventing new forms of torture while its enemies expressed their faith through images of peace, happiness, unity, and hope, accepted the new faith, the images created in the catacombs began to decorate the walls of churches and basilicas. These images did not take on an identity entirely of their own until after the advent of Constantine when Christian art could safely develop inside these religious buildings.

      At this point painting (sculpture was rather rare, found in the form of low reliefs on sarcophagi and was very similar in its themes to decorative painting) began to depict historical subjects, including Christ, the Virgin, the Apostles, Abraham and Moses, Jonah and Daniel, just as the artists of antiquity had depicted Perseus, Hercules and Theseus. It was not until basilicas had finally replaced profane buildings that Christians used images to celebrate their religion, through representations of their martyr’s victory. Justinian, who had recourse to the Greek artists who imported a style of architecture which paid homage to Constantinople into the West, established the Byzantine style.

      The Byzantine style is essentially an eastern style. It speaks of India, Persia, and Syria – of Asia, in fact, and celebrates the wealth of detail and the magnificence of their decoration. Although the profusion of decoration found in the Byzantine style is less than tasteful, it has great character. In painting, figures stand out against a golden background and mosaic work has never been more widely used than it was during this period. Rich fabrics from Asia were also typical. These were painted or embroidered, covered with gold or silver leaf, precious stones, cabochons and large pieces of chased metal. Favourite motifs were flowers, animals, and ‘episodes from the life of Christ’. There might be up to six hundred figures on a tunic or cloak. Beds, seating, chests, vessels, and so on were made of delicately worked ebony, ivory, gold, silver, and bronze. This emphasis on luxury, seductive as it is, corrupted their taste and reflects the unusually free and pleasure-seeking manners of Byzantium. It was a time when wealth was a gateway to immorality and Byzantine art benefitted from the resulting splendour and pomp.

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