Romanesque sculpture

Romanesque sculpture

1. Romanesque sculptures were used as a teaching tool.

   • Most people were illiterate in the Middle Ages and so they could not read the Bible - which was not translated into their own language anyway. But churches and other buildings were decorated with sculptures that represented religious figures and scenes. In this way, illiterate Christians learned Bible narratives through sculptures.
     • Romanesque sculpture had the following characteristics:
       • • Architecture. Sculptures were added to buildings that were being built or already existed.
       • • Human representation. Figures were rigid and unrealistic. They were not done in proportion. The most important person in a scene was larger than the others.
       • • Colour. Romanesque sculptures were polychrome, and they were painted in many bright colours. However, they have lost their colour over time.

2. Types of sculptures

   • Most Romanesque sculptures were reliefs. This means that they were sculpted into different parts of the buildings.
     • • Capitals. The tops of columns were decorated with a variety of religious and daily life scenes, animals, plants, and symbols of virtues and vices.
     • • Portals. These are church entrances, usually formed by a series of round arches. Just above the door was the tympanum, where Jesus and other important figures were depicted.
     • Other sculptures were freestanding: they were not attached to a building. These sculptures were wooden ane represented Christ on the Cross or the Virgin and Child.