Why Medieval Art is so Ugly

Why?

1. Beauty did not equate good art.

In the modern world good art is seen as beautiful or realistic; that wasn't the case for most of history. People did not care if art was beautiful or realistic. They weren't trying to make carbon copies of reality to hang on their walls.

Sometimes beauty was seen as a negative trait. Humans were viewed as cursed according to Medieval philosophy. To be beautiful was a mockery to our earthly state. They wanted to pious, devout, and loyal - beauty was not the ultimate goal.

Interesting, in a world that now worships beauty like it's the most important thing...

Will the real Sir Shade please rise?

2. Realism was not a priority.

Many of the artists could paint more realistic if they wanted to, but they did not care. The art wasn't about recreating the real, but telling a story. They used symbols and stylized art to express the story, not relying on realism.

Interesting table...IKEA, perhaps?

3. New was not better, and old was not popular.

Today and during times like the Renaissance, new and fresh was the best thing ever, so was relearning the ways people did things in ancient times. During the Renaissance, people wanted to learn from "the masters" and make romantic, realistic or ideal forms, and use new techniques. During the Medieval Era, they did not care! The old ways of the Roman and Greek empires were seen as "pagan" and "bad". The Medieval artist did want to recreate what the old school artists did as they just wanted to get the job done and focus on what they thought was important.

I'm not lost! We're not asking for directions!

4. Making the likeness of something living was considered sinful.

Again, religion was the strongest influence. Creating a graven image was a challenge against God, so even their statues and stone art on walls were more two-dimensional than three-dimensional. Paintings and drawing were not too realistic, as the individuals did not matter - myths, displays of wealth, piety, and duty were preferred.

6. They had limited materials.

Medieval artist did not have oil paints, acrylic paints, or even watercolor. They used things like eggs to keep their pigments together. Most paintings were fresco, which is not ideal for fine details. They worked with what they had, as we all do. I'm sure that if they had some more modern resources, their work would have been the same, just on a grander scale. Or maybe I'm wrong?

7. Babies looked like old men because of how they viewed the infant Christ.

Medieval artists took concepts, such as "little man", literally.Thus, the most common theme for painting a baby and mother, was Mary and Christ with the baby Jesus depicted as a tiny old man. That's why there's ugly babies in Medieval art.

ugly man baby art

Why do you think Medieval artist made such funny looking art? Or do you like Medieval art?

Can you read historians and art fans discussing the subject here: AskHistorians - Reddit - Ugly Art

Further funnies: Two Medieval Monks Invent Bestiaries

Things They Don't Tell You About Being an Artist

These are things I wish someone told me years ago!

You are Allowed to Say No

If you don't feel comfortable, prepared, or available enough to accept that commission or request... You don't have to accept it. It's okay to say "no". If you're worried about how the person will react, don't be. Just give an honest and professional decline response, like "My schedule is full" or "Flower portraits in fingerpaints aren't my speciality, but I know Person McArtist over here (link) does those very well." People have been upset by my declines before but my career didn't fail and people didn't stop asking!  

You Don't Have to be Good at Everything

Most artists specialize. In school teachers tend to make you learn several, or dozens, of styles and mediums because that's their job. You have to explore different things to learn what you're good at and master the medium you like, after that you are allowed to narrow your thing to one medium or style. You can't be everything to everyone, just like you can't be every artist to everyone. I've tried...it's hard, tiring, draining, and it crushed my creativity. 

If You have a Niche it's OK to Explore

If you've narrowed your field, you're allowed to venture out of it. I took a theatre and stagecraft class in college to push my boundaries. It was so scary for an introvert to walk onto a stage among experienced people. I had no idea what I was doing, but I'm so glad I did it! I learned new skills, a new field, and met interesting people. Sometimes it's good to take a break from the usual and try something new. Draw a different subject, paint with different colors, or try something completely different like I did.

Self Discipline and Practice are important

If you want to improve or upgrade your creative game, you have to practice. We've all heard this 1 million times since we were children. Practice! The key to practice is setting a time everyday or every other day, to create. That's discipline. You will not improve very fast if you don't make practice a priority. If you practice just whenever you feel like it or every few months, your body will have to re-adjust every time. It will feel rusty. But if you make practice a daily habit, then your muscles and brain will have a better time getting things done. It's very similiar to exercise. If you practice often enough, eventually you'll be able to do more difficult exercise. If you only exercise once every few weeks or months, every time is going to hurt and be intense. 

Schedule your art practice as a discipline. (Self-discipline is dedication to do something, even when you're not in the mood.)

You don't have to be a Pro

Maybe you feel pressure to make art as a professional? Or perhaps when you make something you feel pressure for the end result to be product worthy. Art doesn't need to be a job. You are allowed to make art for fun, for feelings, for boredom, for yourself...just because. The world isn't expecting you to make a masterpiece. If someone is putting pressure on you to make professional art, tell them to go do it! If you're having a hard time with this, use the author's technique of picking a person...one person whose opinion matters to you and usually, if not always, loves your art.

Make art for your cat or dog. I'm sure they'll think is awesome! The point is...when the prehistoric artists of the caveman days were painting the walls with handprints...they didn't think, "Will this be worthy of a gallery show? Perhaps the clay paint is too harsh for subject?" No, they didn't think about that. They just made art!

If You are a Pro, People are Buying Your Work not just Work

This is something I repeat for myself! When someone wants to buy an artwork, they are buying it because of who made it. This means they want you to put your heart into it and they'll love it. Maybe they like the colors you use, or your technique, or maybe it's your style...whatever the reason, just be true to yourself. Sure, there are people who will want a specific thing, that is when communication is important. Remember the first thing I said? You can say "no". But if you're stuck because you don't know what they'll like, make it the way you always have - they based their decision off your previous work.

There are No Rules

Some members of the art world will try to tell you there are rules. They will say how to do something or that there's a true artist way of doing something. They are wrong. Sure there are guidelines, tricks, and aspects of art that people have learned over the years, so they pass them down...but they are called the elements of design or the principles of art not "the rules". They're great when you are stuck or need help improving a composition...other than that do whatever you want. You want to glue cheap yarn to a plastic cup and spray paint the whole thing gold? Then do it.

Are there things you wish you knew sooner about being an artist? What are some things you learned the hard way? Add them to the comments - aspiring minds want to know!

Failure as Success

I'm sure the troupe is nothing new to you. I have failed more times than I've succeeded.

This past week I completed a journal. It took just over a year, which means that I wrote more often than not. That is a small success. I paused to reflect on how far I've come, what all I've accomplished, my failures, and my goals. I had a sad bit before the weekend started because the old perfectionist came out, criticizing me. Thanks to other artists sharing their journeys, I was able to see my inner critic for what it is, something that gets too much stage time in my life.

I'll save you from the boring, personal bits, but I've come to realize that I had a bad relationship with the Perfectionist. It's time to put it in a lesser role and give the adventurer the limelight.

The odd exercise that helped me the most this past week was "re-inventing yourself as the hero of a story". Writing yourself as a hero character or an alter ego, of sorts. It felt weird, but then I read my mini story. My current issues became so clear!

My other "I" was a post-apocalypse heroine standing at the end of a failed mission. She has crossed thousands of miles, faced many dangers, and risked her life for others...only to reach her destination and be let down. Her allies weren't allies, her goal was unattainable, and most of what she knew was a lie. Thanks to the end-of-the-world, her old life didn't exist, so she couldn't go back. The future was scary and unknown. What motivated her through the past was not real, so she needs a new mission. She was so focused on survival that she didn't consider she'd survive.

Kind of like craving ice cream, only to find out the store that took you five hours through a snowstorm to get it is out of ice cream. Now what?

I've been rebuilding a new life for a couple years now, but the journey isn't over. It's affected me as an artist. It's affected me as a person. There was still a demon clinging to my life force. It was the perfectionist.

Seeking perfection isn't wrong. Being motivated to do your best can be a wonderful thing. Hell, my pursuit to be better in all areas of life is what made me who I am today. The struggle is when a virtue becomes a vice.

It is time to rearrange my priorities, redefine my goals, and look at the world a bit different.

Three special guys saying yes.

Start with the Facts

Signs your inner perfectionist is turning into a demon:

1. You do something fun or you're having a good time when it says, "Yeah, but..."
2. You're too scared to try anything because you're afraid of failure.
3. You're certain something bad will happen, so you don't do something.

From now on, I will not see failures as a reflection of my character or even my skill, but as a lesson. Failure means you're trying, and that's what matters. I'm going to do stuff even if I'm afraid of failing. Perfection isn't even definable, much less achievable.

Look at all your failures...you're still here. So you tried something and it didn't work out...

If you are reading this and you're dead, please email me.

Look at life like an adventure. We expect crazy things to happen on adventures, right? You can't fail an adventure, no matter what the perfectionist says.

We control very little - most things are completely out of our control.

Fact: Life is something to experience, not control.

Next Chapter

Over the next couple months I'll be revamping this blog a bit and launching my newest project. It's a secret right now, but it'll be public soon enough! This blog will still be my personal/professional artist blog - I'll be posting about art in relation to history, psychology, science, and just art in general. I am planning on making a psychology blog and lifestyle blog at some point. 

I finally have paint again! So I can paint! So I can finish my commission and art projects and finally make that silly video! 

Let's agree to not be perfect. I lost my footing for a bit, but I'm back in the game. I'm still on an adventure, so people can either join me or get out of the way.

Words from Famous People to Inspire You

“If you focus on the risks, they'll multiply in your mind and eventually paralyze you. You want to focus on the task, instead, on doing what needs to be done.”

― Barry Eisler

“Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It's your masterpiece after all.”

― Nathan W. Morris

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

― Winston S. Churchill

“Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.”

― Salvador Dalí

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

― Samuel Beckett

“Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.”

― Thomas A. Edison

“It's failure that gives you the proper perspective on success.”

― Ellen DeGeneres, Seriously... I'm Kidding

FIN