Evul Mediu by Adrian Mociulschi: A monumental cultural history of the medieval period

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The Middle Ages spans ten centuries, from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries. It encompasses a myriad of diverse cultural legacies, ranging from the collapse of the Roman Empire, to the rise of Christianity and birth and expansion of the Islamic Empire, to the invasions of the Vikins, Magyars and Saracens. Understandably, its art history is equally diverse, including the periods referred to as Early Christian art, Byzantine art, Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture.

The medieval heritage left us the awe-inspiring basilicas of early Christianity; some of the most spectacular cathedrals in the world during the Gothic period; magical illuminated manuscripts; luminous mosaic and stained glass windows (vitrailles); frescoes and tapestries that recorded the annals of history and celebrated the exploits of war.  It is incredible that this vast and culturally rich period is often dismissively described as “the dark ages,” obliterated, as it were, from the annals of history. Often regarded by Enlightenment philosophes as a period of cultural regress–a time of oppressive religion and superstition–this caricature of the Middle Ages continued into the modern period as is still sometimes taught in history and art history courses today.

lansare Evul Mediu/Editura Curtea Veche

Adrian Leonard Mociulschi‘s monumental cultural history, Evul Mediu: Arhitectura si Muzica (The Middle Ages: Architecture and Music), published by Editura Curtea Veche in 2011, rehabilitates this period, revealing in exquisite prose and clear writing some of its richest artistic legacies. To depict the cultural richness and diversity of the Middle Ages, it takes a special kind of study: a hybrid and multidisciplinary book.

The author first specifies what his book is not (p. 10). First of all, it is not a metahistory (or “studiu asupra istoriei”). In other words, it is not an updated history. Nor is it a work of art history. Evul Mediu is also not a philosophical essay, despite its philosophical undertones. Finally, it’s not a pamphlet that makes a polemical argument about the medieval period. But in some ways, it’s not any of these things separately because it is all of them together–art history; cogent argument about the richness of medieval art, music and architecture and a nuanced philosophical exploration of the epistemology of art and what it teaches us about the past as well as about ourselves today. The totality of this book is therefore far greater than the sum of its parts. Evul Mediu is not easy to categorize because its project is so ambitious that it spans not only many centuries, but also several fields–art, architecture, religion and music, as the title suggests–as well as several genres of writing and traditions in historiography and art criticism.

As vast and ambitious as Fernand Braudel‘s histoire de longue durée (and reminiscent of the tradition of French historiography of the Annales School) yet written as clearly, for a general audience not just for specialists, as E. H. Gombrich‘s The Story of Art, Adrian Mociulschi’s Evul Mediu is a book that makes an important contribution to all the domains it touches–history, art history, philosophy and criticism–by restoring for its readers the richness, diversity, nuances and–above all–the splendor of the Middle Ages.

medieval illuminated manuscript

Adrian Mociulschi is well-aware that history is not just a recording of the events of the past, but a preservation and recreation of that past–and of its relevance–for each generation of new readers; for the present. Historiography is therefore, as the author explains, a creative and a philosophical exercise: “The past is not only what was, but also the awareness of the passage of time, belonging to memory. Which is to say, it constitues an experience that has to do with the subjectivity of our perception” . (“Trecutul nu este doar ceea ce a fost, ci este constiinta scurgerii vremii, apartinand memoriei. Ceea ce este, constitutie o experienta raportata la subiectivitatea propriei noastre perceptii” (Evul Mediu, pp. 9-10).

To be aware of the cultural legacies of the medieval past implies simultaneously to appreciate that history for what it was–so different from our cultures and experiences today–and to become better aware of the roads that made us who we are today. It is, for Mociulschi, therefore both an epistemological journey (learning about the past and how it shaped our present societies) and an ontological discovery (seeing what constitutes us as human beings, which can’t be studied apart from our histories). To offer just one out of the many examples in this beautiful book, Mociulschi asserts: “Bizantine art, having as its final goal the sacred rather than the esthetic (even if it expresses itself through esthetic forms), is inscribed in the religious dimension and, through it, reveals itself as a door towards the transcendent. Religious icons were viewed as windows to eternity; churches symbolized the (central) place of God in the midst of the Christian community; religious writing constituted veritable philosophical and theological treatises”. (“Arta Bizantina, avand drept cauza finala sacrul si nu esteticul (chiar daca se exprima prin forme estetice), este inscrisa in dimensunea religioasa si, prin aceasta, se descopera ca o poarta catre transcendent. Icoanele erau privite ca ferestre catre eternitate, bisericile simbolizau locul prezentei lui Dumnezeu in mijlocul comunitatii crestine, scrierile patristice constituiau veritabile tratate de filosofie si teologie” (Evul Mediu, 35).

It takes Adrian Mociulschi’s double expertise in music (The Academy of Music in Bucharest, 1998) and theology (The Catholic Theological Institute in Bucharest, 2005) and deep knowledge of the history of art–not to speak of his exquisite, poetic and philosophical writing style–to engage readers in a history of the Middle Ages where the sense of wonder and appreciation of  this period’s many cultural splendors shine through on every page.

Review translated into Romanian, on Agentia de Carte:

http://www.agentiadecarte.ro/2012/09/“evul-mediu-de-adrian-mociulschi-o-istorie-culturala-monumentala”/

Claudia Moscovici, postromanticism.com

http://www.amazon.com/Romanticism-Postromanticism-Claudia-Moscovici/dp/0739116754

Renewing Impressionism: The Paintings of Pierre van Dijk

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aesthetic philosophy, aesthetics, April in Paris, art blog, art criticism, art history, Chris van Dijk, Claudia Moscovici, contemporary art, contemporary Impressionism, Degas, fine art, fineartebooks, fineartebooks.com, Gallerie Pierre, Impressionism, Impressionist art, modern art, Monet, painting, Pierre C.A. van Dijk, post-Impressionism, Postimpressionism, Renewing Impressionism: The Paintings of Pierre van Dijk, Renoir, Romanticism and Postromanticism, The Paintings of Pierre van Dijk, Van Gogh, why is Impressionism popular

April in Paris

The Impressionist movement knows no rival in the history of art. It’s still enormously popular today. We find Impressionist artwork not only in museums and galleries, but also in calendars, reproductions, posters, memo pads. Visually pleasing yet also stimulating–after all, the viewer is far from passive, since his or her eyes creates the visual impression of the painting from afar–Impressionism combines radical innovations with a reassuring resemblance (of the objects painted to their real-life counterparts), or verisimilitude. In other words, it offers the best of both worlds.

It is therefore not surprising that Impressionism has such a wide appeal, not only historically–in terms of the achievements and innovations of the key Impressionist painters–but also in terms of contemporary art. One of the leading contemporary post-Impressionist is Pierre C.A. van Dijk. Popular with viewers and galleries alike, his paintings are exhibited worldwide. As Chris van Dijk, his brother, business manager and the owner of the Gallerie Pierre in Paris states, more than 100,000 people visit Chris van Dijk’s exhibitions a year in exhibits in France, Switzerland, Holland and other countries.

Pierre van Dijk combines Impressionist and post-Impressionist elements. His paintings are often “plein air” paintings, as for the classic Impressionists. The Impressionists considered that the best forum to observe and represent nature would be in the open air—which is why their works were called plein airpaintings–where the play of light and shadows would be most natural, striking and intense, rather than under the dim and artificial lighting of the studio.

The students in the academies and the official Salon conveyed the three-dimensionality of forms by means of the subtle shading which was first perfected by the Renaissance masters. The Impressionists, on the other hand, evoked a sense of three-dimensionality by representing the dramatic contrasts of color which can be best observed in vibrant sunlight. In seeking to capture visually the play of light and shadow—and its transformations—the Impressionists used rapid brushstrokes to produce paintings that looked rushed and unfinished as opposed to the well-rounded, glossy and polished forms and subtle shadings respected by the Beaux-Arts system. Similarly, rather than depicting a posed or characteristic angle of the objects painted, Manet and the Impressionists showed objects from uncharacteristic, and often, truncated perspectives. This truncation of subjects and objects, which is especially obvious in the paintings of Renoir and Degas, openly acknowledges the incompleteness of our field of vision and powers of representation.

Pierre van Dijk‘s paintings show the nuances and hues of color as people, nature and objects are depicted in natural sunlight. His strokes vary and have enormous range: sometimes they’re as delicate as pointilist dots, at other times broad strokes reminiscent of Van Gogh’s post-Impressionism. This range of strokes, so evident in the painting April in Paris (at the top of the page), lends not only verisimilitude to his artwork, but also transmits mood and focus. Notice the broad, blurry strokes of the background and the sharply delineated and much finer brushstrokes of the woman in the foreground.  Pensive, patient, elegant and beautiful, she’s revealed only by a truncated perspective–characteristic of Degas’ paintings–rather than featured centrally like in an official portrait. It’s as if she were caught unaware by the painter’s masterful style in a photograph, or a  movie still-shot. Everything about this painting suggests narrative–even drama–and invites questions: who is she? who is she waiting for? why? what is her mood and what is she thinking about?

In the hands of talented contemporary painters, Impressionism, I believe, will continue to be a very popular art movement. Few styles combine as harmoniously  innovation and accessibility, features which are evident in the beautiful post-Impressionist paintings of Pierre van Dijk. You can view samples of the artist’s work on his website, below.

http://www.artpierre.com/

Claudia Moscovici, postromanticism.com

http://www.amazon.com/Romanticism-Postromanticism-Claudia-Moscovici/dp/0739116754