100 Paintings from Medieval Illuminated Books

Medieval art in the Western world covers a wide range of time and space for more than 1000 years of art in Europe and sometimes the Middle East and North Africa as it encompasses major art movements and periods, national and regional art, genres of literature, revival and regeneration, artistic crafts and artists themselves.

Art historians have attempted to classify medieval art into major periods and styles where they encountered some difficulty. The generally accepted classification includes the later stages of Christian art, the art of the Migration period, the Byzantine art, the Jazrian art, the pre-Romantic art, the Romantic art, the Gothic art, as well as many other periods within these major styles. In addition, each region, often during its transformation into a nation or culture, had its own distinct artistic style, such as Anglo-Saxon art or Scandinavian art.

Medieval art in Europe grew under the influence of the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and the pictorial traditions of the early Christian church. These sources have been mixed with the “barbarian” artistic culture of northern Europe to produce a wonderful artistic legacy. In fact, the history of medieval art can be considered as the history of the interaction between the classical elements of early Christian art and the “Berbers”. Aside from the classical formal aspects there was a continuing tradition of the realistic image of objects that survived in Byzantine art during the period while this appears in the West intermittently, merging and sometimes competing with the new expressive possibilities developed in Western Europe and the northern heritage of vital decorative elements. The period ended with a revival of the self-awareness of the skills and values of classical art as the artistic legacy of the Middle Ages for a few centuries was underestimated. Since the revival of interest and understanding in the nineteenth century emerged an era of colossal accomplishments that was the reason behind the subsequent development of Western art.