Literature, arts and humanities - Essay Example

45). Other art classification includes the Gothic art as well as Byzantine art. The medieval art in Europe was influenced by the heritage of the Roman Empire and other iconographic traditions. It was produced in many media and remains in large numbers including sculpture, illuminated manuscript and stained glass. Other artwork in the era includes metalwork and mosaics which has a higher survival rate compared to other arts that were developed before the era. In fact, the art was maintained over the years because of the base and the material used in the process.

The source of the art was mixed and included the vigorous barbarian artistic culture of the northern Europe (Johnson, 2005, p. 36). The medieval art is marked with the elements of classical, early Christian and barbarian art. The formal aspects of the art are borrowed from the classical art approach while the continuous depiction of realism in the art is an indication of the survival through the Byzantine art. It also combines the energetic decorative element especially when evaluating the Western Europe medieval art.

The period ended with the renaissance recovery of the skills and the maintenance of the values of the classical art. the impression left by the surviving art of the Medieval era is always believe to be religious but the truth is that the early medieval art was rare and contained costly objects attached to it. The middle ages lacked the concept of preserving the older works for their artistic merit but focused on the retention of the art based on their association with a saint or a founding figure.

The medieval art was characterized by the religious subject matter. Most of the art focused on the religious figures and illustrated the impact of religion on art. The important figures in the art were displayed in large fonts and size while the non-important items were displayed in small sizes (Kessler, 2004, p. 23). In addition, the images appeared stiff with