century. Crowned at Aachen, Otto and his successors of the same name thus
succeeded Charlemagne in place as in power. These kings gave their name to
the Ottonian period of the 10th and early 11th centuries.
Artistically, the Ottonian period further developed the expressive style of
the Carolingians, often in a narrative direction. Perhaps the chief monument
of this style is the extraordinary set of bronze doors from the monastery at
Hildesheim in northern Germany. The bronze doors (completed in 1015,
Abbey Church of St. Michael, Hildesheim) are among the most memorable of
the many sets of bronze doors throughout the history of art, and they represent
a remarkable technical achievement—they were cast in a single piece, for
the ¿ rst time since antiquity. The single panel representing Adam and Eve
Reproached by the Lord demonstrates the anonymous artist’s achievement.
Here are Adam and Eve, after the Fall, accused, found guilty, and about to
be cast out of paradise. Note the angle of God’s body, the gathering of force,
the hand pointing like a cobra; the great, empty gap; and Adam, shrinking,
recoiling, shamed, but pointing past the rather barren tree to Eve, shifting
the blame. She bends over still more, covers herself, and points down at the
demon at her feet, who, unyielding, À ames up at her.
Moving to the end of the 11th century, away from the Ottonian Empire,
we encounter one of the masterpieces of narrative art, an enthralling
embroidered history of the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in
- Though called the Bayeux Tapestry, it is, in fact, an embroidery, nearly
225 feet long by about 20 inches high, that reads like a continuous cartoon
strip. But it is narrative art of the highest order, proof that seemingly naïve
art is often the subtlest, as well as the clearest, the most moving, the most
delightful, and the most memorable art. The tapestry was begun just after the
Battle of Hastings (October 14, 1066) and completed in time for exhibition
in the nave of Bayeux Cathedral in Normandy when it was consecrated
in 1077. It was subsequently stretched around the nave on feast days and
special occasions.
The tapestry was probably commissioned by Bishop Odon, half-brother of
William, duke of Normandy, who accompanied him during the conquest
and who rebuilt the Cathedral of Bayeux. It is a statement about the need
to respect an oath. Harold the Saxon had sworn an oath over sacred relics