Sculptures, paintings, and stained glass were all different forms of art in the Middle Ages. Some questions I will be answering are, “What did they use to make these?”, “Where would you find these?”, “What did they usually represent and why were they important?”, and finally, “How influential was the Roman Catholic Church in Medieval Europe?”.
The first topic we will cover is sculptures. Sculptures were made from people carving stone. This can take a long time to do since many of them were very detailed and some used hard stone. Many sculptures could be found in places of worship, like churches. Medieval sculptures usually depicted different people, gods, goddesses, and sometimes (but not often) historical or semi-historical events. They were important because of who and what they symbolize.
Next, we will cover paintings. The paint for paintings was made using oils, eggs, and other natural materials. They painted the paintings onto canvas, wood, animal skins, and plaster. You could find them on walls, over altars, in lockets, or even to decorate manuscripts. They usually illustrated what the customer wanted rather than painting for fun, the customer would decide the size, the subject, the composition, materials, and even the cost. The painters also painted backdrops for plays and patterns for clothing. The painters rarely signed their masterpieces because they wanted people to admire their paintings, not them. Paintings were important because they could represent people of high power or possibly illustrate an important moment in history.
Now let’s talk glass, stained glass to be precise. Stained glass was made from sand and potash (aka wood ash) they would melt these into a liquid and when it cooled it would be glass, they used different metal powders to color the glass while it is still in liquid form. They could be found in cathedrals. They represented religious figures and events. They were important because they not only looked nice, but they had a role in representing religion.
Finally, it is time to answer the essential question, how influential was the Roman Catholic Church in Medieval Europe? First of all, the Roman Catholic Church influenced the themes and subjects of the Medieval Europe art. Similarly, the religions of the church influenced what was taught in school because it made it so more religious beliefs were taught or incorporated. Finally, many new holidays were made and based on the religion of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church influenced the way of life, the art, and the holidays of Medieval Europe.
Sculptures, paintings and stained glass all have a few things in common. First off, they all were almost always very detailed. Second, they often had some sort of religious meaning. Third, they were all kinds of art in Medieval Europe. Hopefully, this answered all questions and questions that weren’t even thought of.