Evelyn Barge
A&E Editor
Psychologists frequently study the impact of violence in the arts on its viewers. In modern society, such violence is considered an unnecessary, negative part of life.
But a new exhibit at The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles reveals that violence has often been documented in the arts, especially during times when violence played an integral role in society and daily life.
“Images of Violence in the Medieval World,” which opened at the Getty Center in December, examines violent culture that existed during the medieval period and its influence on daily life.
“Violence was an unfortunate reality of medieval society,” said Cynthia Colburn, visiting lecturer of art history and humanities in the Fine Arts Division. “Wars were all too common, whether holy wars fought by crusaders, battles over territory or peasant revolts against feudal lords.”
Because violence was so prevalent in medieval society, it often shows up as a theme in artwork from the time period.
“Violence is quite common as a theme in medieval art,” Colburn said.
The Getty exhibit, which features a collection of rare illuminated manuscripts dealing with the pervasive culture of violence, explores three specific areas of the medieval era: the dangers of daily life, Christian sufferings and the art of war.
“Invasions and the Crusades were all dangers for the ordinary individual,” Emilie Fitzhugh, adjunct professor of art history, said. “The periods of invasions resulted in little monumental art, and that’s why the majority of the art from the exhibit revolves around illuminated manuscripts, which would have been created by scribes in monastic scriptoriums or by royal scribes.”
Colburn said illuminated manuscripts, like those in the exhibit, played an extremely important role during the medieval period.
“They were generally accessible only to the nobility and clergy, as they were extremely expensive to make,” Fitzhugh said.
Illuminated manuscripts were the primary form of recording historical and literary events during the medieval era, a time when literacy was a skill held only by an elite upper class.
The Getty exhibit houses 16 of these rare, gold-leafed texts that illustrate the invasive role violence played in the lives of people during this time.
Themes of warfare and religion run throughout the exhibit, pointing to the major concerns that reigned in medieval times.
“Violence often has a role in art, particularly in times of war as victories are celebrated and defeats mourned,” Fitzhugh said. “Images of violence in the medieval world typically revolved around religion or war.”
Colburn said religious images in art during the medieval era were often frightening and violent warnings of hell and the last judgment.
“These images served a didactic purpose to warn Christians of the dangers that awaited them if they lived an immoral life,” she said.
The exhibit at the Getty displays a number of works that fit into this category of religious imagery.
An illustration from the French text “The Visions of the Knight Tondal,” attributed to Flemish painter Simon Marmion, shows the torment of unchaste priests and nuns in hell. Another work by an unknown artist entitled “The Lamb Defeating the Ten Kings” illustrates a Latin commentary on the apocalypse.
In addition to warning about the threat of eternal punishment, many of the pieces in the exhibit also deal with the suffering and martyrdom of Christian figures to serve as inspiration for other believers.
“Images of Christ’s suffering and the suffering of Christian martyrs were common in the medieval period,” Colburn said. “These images served to inspire devotion. When depicted in personal prayer books, such as a book of hours, the owner would meditate on these images.”
One such work included in the Getty exhibit is a brutal depiction of Christ’s beating. Entitled “The Flagellation,” the work by Flemish artist Simon Bening accompanies text from a German prayer book.
But violence during the medieval era was not restricted to religious imagery and warfare.
The simple rigors of daily life could also be quite dangerous, especially when individuals from fragmented societies clashed.
“There was a decline in central government in western Europe,” Fitzhugh said. “Many people were forced to rely on more severe tactics of survival such as robbery, plundering and basically taking what they wanted and needed by force.”
Such images are also presented in the Getty exhibit. One manuscript, “Feudal Customs of Aragon,” is illustrated with the image of a creditor and debtor locked in an equestrian duel.
Another image by an unknown artist portrays a bloody massacre of feuding family members.
While the images found in the exhibit may seem brutal, Fitzhugh said it is important to consider them in their cultural context.
“From a 21st century perspective, certain images may appear barbaric, violent, perhaps inhumane,” she said. “When placed in the appropriate cultural context, we can learn more of the intention, perhaps illustrating a legend or story or serving as a warning for the afterlife or an exaggerated view of past events.
“Some may have been a mere catharsis for the anxiety people felt,” Fitzhugh added.
And while violence does play a prominent role in the arts today, Fitzhugh said there is a major distinction between the presence of violence in modern versus medieval art.
“Today, images of violence are more typically created as a means of entertainment, such as the rampant violence of movies and video games or social commentary rather than a documentation of earlier events or influence for the minds of the faithful,” she said.
Fitzhugh added that images of violence have been present in the arts for centuries before the medieval era.
“It is really up to the viewer how they will let this section of history affect them,” she said.
“Images of Violence in the Medieval World” runs at the Getty Center through March 13.
Admission to the Getty is free, and parking costs $7.
For more information, visit www.getty.edu.
02-03-2005
