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Course: Medieval Europe + Byzantine > Unit 7
Lesson 2: Ottonian- Ottonian art, an introduction
- Bronze doors, Saint Michael's, Hildesheim, commissioned by Bishop Bernward, 1015
- Hildesheim Doors (quiz)
- The Raising of the Widow’s Son from the Dead (Magdeburg Panel)
- Gospel Book of Otto III
- Cross of Lothair II
- Ottonian art (quiz)
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Bronze doors, Saint Michael's, Hildesheim, commissioned by Bishop Bernward, 1015
Bronze doors, 1015, commissioned by Bishop Bernward for Saint Michael's, Hildesheim (Germany).
A conversation with Dr. Nancy Ross and Jennifer Freeman.
. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.Want to join the conversation?
- At1:50, isn't Jesus lending a hand to Mary Magdalene as opposed to saying "Don't touch me?" Could someone point to the Bible verse this scene references? I'm interested in reading it because I don't understand why Jesus would be pushing Mary Magdalene away.(9 votes)
- The relevant passage is in John 20 verses 13 to 17. For the sake of brevity I will only give verse 17 here, but I suggest you read it for yourselves.
In the King James Version it runs like this: Jesus saith unto her, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God".
This may seem harsh at first, but if we look at the NIV we find it slightly different: Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
This phrase "Do not hold on to me" seems to mean "Do not keep me here, my work is not yet complete" NOT "Keep away from me"
I hope this helps you to understand this passage better.(25 votes)
- Way earlier I believe in the Ancient Greece section we learn about the "lost wax" method of sculpting bronze. I remember that the method required small holes due to spike being inserted in various places for the sake of stability and it was just overall part of the lost wax method. Do we know of small holes (that would have later been covered up and smoothed over) on these beautiful bronze doors? In other words what scientific proof is there that this used the lost wax method, because I cannot begin to fathom how difficult it would be to recreate such a method from scratch (or rediscover)!(7 votes)
- At2:25, and I can see that the weapon on the left is a spear, but what is the plunger-looking object on the right?(4 votes)
- Actually, if the two figures on the side are tormentors, then the one with the "plunger-like" shape would be offering the sponge of vinegar to Jesus on the cross. Since there is no mention of a trumpet at the crucifixion, and I can't think of an image showing such held by those committing the execution, then I would suggest that it is some form of a sponge on a rod.(5 votes)
- 1:57"Don't touch me"
975 years later
"Can't touch this"(5 votes) - Are the magi the three wise men?(2 votes)
- Yes, they were. But no one actually knows how many wise men there were.
There is more information about the wise men here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi
I hope this helps! -RandomPerson16(6 votes)
- What material are these doors made of? In this video they just mention that Bishop Bernward was inspired by monumental doors at Santa Sabina but they did not mention the material that these doors are made of.(1 vote)
- The doors are made out of bronze, a copper alloy that commonly also contains a small amount of tin. This material is referenced in the title.(5 votes)
- At1:53, the speaker says that Mary Magdalene saw Jesus in the garden, and that he said, "Don't touch me."
Why did he say that?(2 votes)- I've preached sermons on that more than once. If you're tolerant for reading a sermon, you could do worse than to read it at: https://aboksu.wordpress.com/2017/04/17/if-you-hold-at-all-hold-loose/ If, however, you don't want a sermon (and I wouldn't blame you if you don't), just give it a skip.(3 votes)
- In the video, they state that the Carolingian era was from 686 to 876 and the Ottonian era-period from 919 to 1024, but in the introduction, they gave the following dates,
c.500-800 – Early Medieval Art
c.780-900 – Carolingian Art
c.900-1000 – Ottonian Art
c.1000-1200 – Romanesque Art
c.1200-1400 – Gothic Art
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/medieval-europe/a/introduction-to-the-middle-ages
To whom should I believe? With the Ottonian period the difference is not a big deal, but I'm worried about the Carolingian period, because taking into account the dates of the video, I conclude that the reign of Charles Martel and Pepin III is considered as Carolingian but taking into account the dates of the introduction, the Carolingian era starts with Charlemagne(2 votes)- Good question—this is confusing. The dates you reference are general stylistic periods rather than historical dates such as when Charlemagne came to power.(3 votes)
- At1:23, it shows the Nativity. In what I expect to be the manger, but what looks like a sort of coffin, someone( an adult) is lying down. Jesus is in the smaller manger, so it is not him. Who is it? Mary resting? Joseph? Are there two images of jesus?(2 votes)
- It seems to me that this is the first time that we have the scenes from Genesis and the Gospels together, am I right?(2 votes)
Video transcript
SPEAKER 1: We're looking
at the Bishop Bernward doors that date from about 1015. We know that Bishop Bernward
went on a pilgrimage to Rome, and then returned
back to Hildesheim, and wanted to recreate some of
the monumental art that he saw. And specifically,
when he was in Rome, he saw the monumental
wooden doors at Santa Sabina that have scenes
from the Old and New Testament carved into them. And he felt like he
needed his own doors. SPEAKER 2: We read these
starting in the upper left hand corner, in which you
have the creation of Eve from the side of Adam. And then, below that is the
presentation of Eve to Adam. Then the temptation. Below that, is then the
accusation of Adam and Eve. And then, below
that, the expulsion. The panel below that,
interrupted by the door handles, and we see
Adam working the land on the left, Eve
nursing on the right. And a fun fact about
the Eve nursing is that this is one of maybe
only 20 images of Eve nursing. Below that, we have Cain and
Abel and their sacrifices or presentation to the Lord. Below that, in the final panel,
is the murder of Abel by Cain. SPEAKER 1: And then, instead
of going back to the top, on the right it starts
at the bottom, where we have the Annunciation,
with Mary and the angel. Then the Nativity, that's
the birth of Jesus. And then the scene that's
interrupted by the door handle here is the
adoration of the magi. We have three magi on the right
approaching Mary and Jesus on the left. Above that, we have the
presentation in the Temple. Above that, we've got Christ
being presented to either Herod or Pilate before
his crucifixion. Above that, we've got the
crucifixion of Christ. Above that, we have the
Marys at the tomb, which was the standard scene
showing the Resurrection in the early Middle Ages. And then at the very top, we
have what's called the noli me tangere. Mary Magdalene sees
Jesus in the garden, and he says, don't touch me. And so we have our scenes
from early Genesis, and then scenes from the Gospels. Now, one of the really
interesting things that happens here is that we
have all these scenes lined up next to each other. There are some visual and
also some thematic patterns that happen left to right. And the one that I think
is a really good example-- in the third panel from the
top, we've got the Temptation. Adam and Eve are about
to eat the fruit. And then on the right,
the Crucifixion. And if we look at the tree that
holds the fruit in the Adam and Eve scene, it's very
much a cruciform shaped tree, just as we have
Christ on the cross in the center of
the other image. And then we have Adam
and Eve on either side, just as we have the
tormentors on either side. And then on the far edges
of the Adam and Eve scene, we've got trees. And then, we have Mary and
John in the Crucifixion scene. So there's a similarity
of composition. And what I think that
does is bring out the thematic
connection of in Adam all men die, and
in Christ all men are made alive, which is
a really important idea for Christianity. And especially for Christianity
in the Middle Ages. SPEAKER 2: Absolutely. This is a very long, old
tradition in Christianity to compare Christ
as the new Adam, and then Mary, the new Eve. And you have traditions
that the cross was made from the wood of
the tree in the garden. SPEAKER 1:So this an
Ottonian work of art. And Ottonians were
kind of, hangers on to the Carolingian Renaissance. They saw themselves
as being inheritors of the Carolingian Empire. In my mind, they are not so
much looking back so diligently to the classical models. But there is
definitely the flavor of some of that Carolingian
Renaissance here. These are cast in solid bronze. And it's very much
thought that the lost wax method was used here. That Bishop Bernward had his
artists recreate or rediscover the lost wax method, so
that these doors could be cast in two single
pieces, as opposed to being hammered from the
inside with the repousse. SPEAKER 2: And that is
very much in keeping with that Carolingian and the
inherited idea of looking back to classical and ancient
models and reclaiming them and reviving them. SPEAKER 1: Right. So we have the ancient
method used here in the Ottonian period.