Everyone needs a dose of medieval art now and then!

[darkelf105]

I love medieval art. I really, really do.  But sometimes, the weird and fanciful and pretty turns truly frightening. I will show you. But I will also show some of my favorite things!

Here's an image of the Trinity depicted as a Throne of Mercy. It's Gothic and it's hella cool. God's face is a flower/quatrefoil. It's really, actaully very pretty (except for the Jews being crushed at the bottom and portrayed as unable to see God/divinity, that's not so pretty.)



Here's an image of the Spitzer Cross. It's absolutely stunning and is just as beautiful in person (it's at the Cleveland art museum and I did a research paper on it). If you have a chance to see Limoges enamels, medieval or otherwise, in person, do so! They are tremendously beautiful.

 I wish I could find a bigger picture, so you could see just how luminous the colors are and understand just why enamels came to be as valued as real gold and jewels in the Middle Ages, also champleve for the win. They believe that this is a processional cross. I believe plaques from the obverse side are located in the Metropolitan Museum of art.

But then you get images like this:


 I, just, can't even look at this. It's Gothic, so there's just enough realism in it to make me squirm. The proportions are all wrong and I just cannot look at Christ's face. It's like an image from Silent Hill. I feel like if I just look at it long enough and keep hold of my sanity, all the bad proportions and weird Gollum face will go away and it will make visual sense instead of just raising my heckles.  I realize that this image doesn't quite have the same impact that it does when it has been enlarged to fill a theater screen and you must stare at it for fifteen minutes while your art prof giggle maniacally about wounds and the Arma Christi, but still. It creeps me out, soooooo much.

But, it can get worse, so much worse.

 That's a picture of Catherine of Sienna self-flagellating herself. I think that's all I need to say.

But, let's end with one that's weird, and really kinda fun.

 That's Mary and Jesus BEAMING a vision of the truth of Transubstantiation into, I think, St. Bridget's, head. Hee.