Divine Medieval

The Medieval era in Europe spans from the fall of the Roman Empire (476 A.D.) to the start of the Renaissance (the early 1500s). It is difficult to make broad claims about this 1,000 year period covering more than an entire continent, but Medieval art is generally recognized for its figures’ elongated proportions; flat, gold backgrounds; and religious iconography. For many reasons, Medieval artists eschewed the naturalism found in Greco-Roman sculptures and Renaissance paintings. Artists strove to emphasize that their subjects belonged to a spiritual realm—not the earthly world of the viewers.

Dive deeper into the disproportionate style of Medieval works in our article “Middle Age Misconceptions: What We Get Wrong About Medieval Art” at https://my.meural.com/editorial/8.