An Introduction to Medieval Romanesque Sculpture and Architecture

This lecture explores the art and architecture of the Romanesque period, the beginning of the High Middle Ages. We examine pilgrimage routes, relics, and reliquaries; monumental churches like Saint-Sernin; Roman engineering influences; sculpture by artists such as Gelduinus; the symbolic grotesques of Moissac; and dramatic portal imagery at Moissac, Autun, and Vézelay. Through architecture, sculpture, and goldwork, Romanesque art reflected a world shaped by faith, fear, and the promise of salvation.