Romanesque

Period: from the 10^th to 12^th centuries.

The term Romanesque categorizes the art and architecture of the medieval period. This was the time of the development of Christianity, of the first great abbeys and elaborately decorated cloisters ; a period when merchants, nobles, artisans and peasants traveled across the continent and the Mediterranean for business, war and religious pilgrimages, spreading their experience and knowledge.

This created a pan-European style characterized by a use of round lines and arches with highly stylized representations of man, the use of floral and animal symbols and abstract forms. At the time, France was divided into dukedoms and princedoms and the monastic orders were the backbone of the society and culture. The Romanesque style is therefore full of simplicity, equilibrium and stability; it brings clarity and silence to a room and inspires the mystical.