Editing Sculpture (section)

=====Romanesque=====
{{main|Romanesque art}}
[[File:Braunschweiger Löwe, original in the Dankwarderode Castle - Braunschweig, Germany - DSC04562.JPG|thumb|''[[Brunswick Lion]]'', 1166, the first large hollow casting of a figure since antiquity, 1.78 metres tall and 2.79 metres long]]
[[Image:Cologne Cathedral Shrine of Magi.jpg|thumb|''[[Shrine of the Three Kings]]'' in [[Cologne Cathedral]]]]
Beginning in roughly 1000 A.D., there was a rebirth of artistic production in all Europe, led by general economic growth in production and commerce, and the new style of [[Romanesque art]] was the first medieval style to be used in the whole of Western Europe. The new cathedrals and pilgrim's churches were increasingly decorated with architectural stone reliefs, and new focuses for sculpture developed, such as the [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]] over church doors in the 12th century, and the inhabited [[Capital (architecture)#Romanesque and Gothic capitals|capital]] with figures and often narrative scenes. Outstanding abbey churches with sculpture include in France [[Abbey of la Madaleine, Vézelay|Vézelay]] and [[Moissac Abbey|Moissac]] and in Spain [[Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos|Silos]].<ref>Calkins, 79–80, 90–102.</ref>

Romanesque art was characterised by a very vigorous style in both sculpture and painting. The capitals of columns were never more exciting than in this period, when they were often carved with complete scenes with several figures.<ref>Calkins, 107–14.</ref>  The large wooden [[crucifix]] was a German innovation right at the start of the period, as were free-standing statues of the enthroned Madonna, but the [[high relief]] was above all the sculptural mode of the period. Compositions usually had little depth, and needed to be flexible to squeeze themselves into the shapes of capitals, and church typanums; the tension between a tightly enclosing frame, from which the composition sometimes escapes, is a recurrent theme in Romanesque art. Figures still often varied in size in relation to their importance portraiture hardly existed.

Objects in precious materials such as ivory and metal had a very high status in the period, much more so than monumental sculpture — we know the names of more makers of these than painters, illuminators or architect-masons. Metalwork, including decoration in [[Vitreous enamel|enamel]], became very sophisticated, and many spectacular shrines made to hold relics have survived, of which the best known is the [[Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral]] by [[Nicholas of Verdun]]. The bronze [[Gloucester candlestick]] and the [[Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège|brass font of 1108–17 now in Liège]] are superb examples, very different in style, of metal casting, the former highly intricate and energetic, drawing on manuscript painting, while the font shows the Mosan style at its most classical and majestic. The bronze doors, a triumphal column and other fittings at [[St. Mary's Cathedral, Hildesheim|Hildesheim Cathedral]], the [[Gniezno Doors]], and the doors of the [[Basilica di San Zeno]] in [[Verona]] are other substantial survivals. The [[aquamanile]], a container for water to wash with, appears to have been introduced to Europe in the 11th century, and often took fantastic [[zoomorphic]] forms; surviving examples are mostly in brass. Many wax impressions from impressive seals survive on charters and documents, although Romanesque coins are generally not of great aesthetic interest.<ref>Calkins, 115–32.</ref>

The [[Cloisters Cross]] is an unusually large [[ivory]] [[crucifix]], with complex carving including many figures of [[prophet]]s and others, which has been attributed to one of the relatively few artists whose name is known, [[Master Hugo]], who also illuminated manuscripts. Like many pieces it was originally partly coloured. The [[Lewis chessmen]] are well-preserved examples of small ivories, of which many pieces or fragments remain from [[crozier]]s, plaques, [[pectoral cross]]es and similar objects.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="170px">
File:Renier de Huy JPG0.jpg|[[Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège]], ''[[Baptism of Jesus|Baptism of Christ]]'', 1107–1118
File:02 Basilique Ste-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay - Tympan.jpg|The tympanum of [[Vézelay Abbey]], [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]], France, 1130s
File:Cathedral of Ourense (Spain).jpg|''Facade,'' Cathedral of [[Ourense]] 1160, Spain
File:Apóstoles del Pórtico de la Gloria.jpg|''Pórtico da Gloria'', [[Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], Spain, {{Circa|12th}}–13th centuries
</gallery>