Art as We Know It - Essay Example

The art period chosen for this essay is that of Medieval Art. This form of art has encompassed a diverse set of times and places where more than 10 decades of art history is scattered within the continents of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Medieval Art has entailed within itself the art movements and periods, the basis for national and local level art, different genres, the artists’ crafts, varied revivals as well as the artists related with the Medieval Art period itself.

There is a significant basis for Medieval Art to be classified in terms of the art movements and periods. These include Early Christian Art, Romanesque Art, Islamic Art, Byzantine Art, Migration Period Art, Pre-Romanesque Art, Celtic Art, and Gothic Art to name a few. With that, there is a strong enough relational basis for the respective artistic styles and when looked at in an individual fashion, they all form up as the sub-parts of the Medieval Art period. These could comprise Anglo-Saxon Art and Viking Art.

On a different tangent, the Medieval Art period includes a number of significant mediums, where the emphasis is more towards the fields of sculpture, mosaics, and manuscripts to name a few. Also with that, the basis was strong in terms of the genres of art which involved the Crusade Art, also known as animal style. One should understand that the Medieval Art period actually grew out of the Roman Empire and the legacy attached to it. The linkage is strong in terms of its basis with the Christian church for this matter. The history of the Medieval Art period thus makes count for the historical interplay which was present between the significant elements of classical, earliest Christian times as well as that from the pagan art, another school of artistic design.

The different genres within the Medieval Art period entailed the classification by culture and region. In terms of the same, there was a long list of art within this Medieval Art period, a few of which are Coptic Art, Old Russian Art, Serbian Art, Cypriot Art, Romanian Art, Bosnian Art, and Kyiv Rus Art to name a few. Islamic Art includes the basis of Abbasid Art, Hafsid Art, Mecca Art, Persian Art, Umayyad Art, and others. Then there is a separate basis for the Jewish Art within the Medieval Art period. Moving towards Western Europe, one finds that the classification is pretty strong within the Medieval Art period where there is Lombard Art, Pictish Art, Roman Art, Anglo-Saxon Art, Flemish Art, Mosan Art, Spanish Art, Viking Art, and many other artistic bases.

When one discusses about the segmentation through the different types coming under the Medieval Art period – there is the talk of the Ceramic Art which within it has the Mosaic Art which has Tessera within it, then there is Pottery as well taking care of Lusterware. The Glass Art comprises Stained Glass and Heraldry. The manuscript takes care of the Bookbinding, Calligraphy, and Illuminated Manuscripts. The Prints comprises Engraving, Metal Cut, and Wood Cut while Metal Work is a separate field within the types of the Medieval Art period. Sculpture governs the Silversmith and Goldsmith while Niello, also a subpart of the Sculpture type discovers within it Jewelry and Relics. Painting has looked at the Iconography or Icon for short, Fresco and Panel Painting within it. Lastly, Textiles comprise Carpet, Dye, Medieval Clothing, Silk, and Weaving. Tapestry is a subform of Weaving so to speak within the Medieval Art period.

The artists from the Medieval Art period include Jost Amman who was a Swiss artist. He did most of his engravings on wood primarily. His drawings have been recollected in the Berlin collection of engravings. Jost executed a number of different woodcut illustrations for the Bible which was published at Frankfurt. Other artists from the Medieval Art period included Florentine architect and sculptor, Bartolomeo Ammanati who was a disciple of Bandinelli and Jacopo Sansovino. Ammanati imitated the artistic styles which were put forward by Michelangelo. Amongst his most renowned works include his designs for the buildings in Rome, Lucca, and Florence. The other artists hailed from the Animal Style, Medieval Antiquarian, Spolia, Apocalypse Art, Allegory Art, Death Art, Koran Art, Plateresque Art, Synagogue Art, and Unicom to name a few. These artists made significant contributions to the whole of the Medieval Art period and it is because of the artists from this era that Medieval Art is indeed renowned and still attributed for recognition and favor to this day.