David and Goliath

Romanesque Painter, Catalan - The Fight between David and Goliath - c. 1123 - Mural, 82 x 75 cm (32.8 x 30 in) Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona (click photo for larger image)There is no question that this Romanesque “Fight Between David and Goliath” is riddled with naiveté and crudeness—as seen, for example, the exaggerated size of the hands. But the fresco represents a conscientious effort to depict the story with great accuracy, for these murals served not only to decorate the church but also to instruct the people in Biblical history. The artist clearly attempted to give the faces of David and Goliath certain individual features, introducing also such realistic details as the carrion bird beside the body, the lively drapery of the cloak and the Jewish cap on David's head. The fresco dates from a period when the fight between David and Goliath was thought of as an Old Testament manifestation of the struggle between Christ and Satan.

“Majestas Domini”

Romanesque Painter, Catalan - Majestas Domini with Evangelists and Saints (detail) - c. 1123 - Fresco - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona (click photo for larger image)This mural was removed from the wall of the church of San Clemente at Tahull. Two artists were involved in the execution of the frescoes: the Master of San Clemente, who decorated the main apse, and the Master of the Day of Judgment, who painted part of the triumphal arch, the side apses, and probably also the walls and pillars in the nave, and whose work is also found in Santa Maria de Tahull, the sister church of San Clemente. In the middle apse of San Clemente the “Majestas Domini” (Christ in Majesty), a key theme of Romanesque art, found one of its most glorious expressions. The monumental figure of Christ is surrounded by the four symbols of the Evangelists. The omnipotent ruler is surrounded by a highly charged rainbow aureole, and is seated on a second rainbow. His right hand is raised in a gesture of dominion and blessing.

French Romanesque

Noah's Ark - c. 1100 - Fresco - Abbey Church, Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe (click photo for larger image)The fresco featured here belongs to a Noah cycle related in eight episodes, in the context of an Old Testament series extending over the vault of the former Benedictine monastery church. A New testament sequence adorns the presbytery and galleries, and further frescoes are in the vestibule and the crypt. The superb series of paintings on the barrel vaulting were executed in one session by at least four artists. The remaining groups of works were apparently the responsibility of a single, leading artist in each case. Notice how the perspective seems to read up—rather than back. This is a fine example of work that isn’t concerned with formal elements such as proportion and scale—but which nevertheless is extraordinary fine art.