Emerging Naturalism

For decades specialists in the history of Romanesque art questioned the usefulness of traditional stylistic terminology. It has been regarded as being of limited relevance insofar as it fails to reflect the complexity and plurality of the times and events that it refers to. Neither is it useful for alluding to the functional, formal or iconographic specificities circumscribed within a given time period because, in reality, the visual features and statements under scrutiny flourished across two or more stylistic periods. Despite these deficiencies and limitations, we still have no better way of referring to the art of the period other than a lengthy phrase which is often made yet more cumbersome by the addition of a geographical or political term. Of the various media that were used for and made possible these artistic innovations, particular attention has been paid to stained glass, miniatures or enamel. Nevertheless, monumental sculpture underwent certain developments that were comparable to the aforementioned media but also other changes that were completely distinct from them. As a result, because late Romanesque sculpture covers a period extending from 1150 to 1220, it is still impossible to state with any certainty what this complex network represented. We propose a panoramic scientific analysis of a singular artistic landscape, focused on the intersections and challenges posed by this central issue in medieval European artistic production. To narrow down this field of study, this book will focus preferentially on the innovations and solutions adopted in the cathedral workshops of Atlantic, Continental and Mediterranean Europe.