Carolingian Art

732 - 900

One of the more important types of art created during this period was the illuminated manuscript. These manuscripts were picture books - literally. They told stories of the Bible through easy to understand pictures of humans who were shown in a somewhat realistic manner - some of the time. Just as an example, St Matthew - depicted by two different artists in two different ways can be found in the Coronation and Ebbo Gospels. The St. Matthew in the Coronation Gospels is an objective, clear and somewhat realistic work. The St. Matthew in the Ebbo Gospels however is a very subjective, expressionistic piece of work. Go figure.

Coronation Gospels

Ebbo Gospels

 
by Andrea Mulder-Slater