ornamentation (arabesque):

Spengler contrasts ornamentation with architecture.  The latter is “extension in space”  and is the first expression of the religious Soul of the immature Culture; ornamentation is simply an accessory, article, or detail used to beautify the appearance of something to which it is added or of which it is a part.  He also refers to arabesque which is defined as a sinuous, spiralling, undulating, or serpentine line or linear motif.  He identifies arabesque ornament with Magian Culture.

 

early Christian/late Classical (ornamentation plus figure): * see Endnote<A>

By the early 3rd century Roman art had begun to turn rough and heavy; in order to produce better artistic effects it relied on the profusion of decorative elements, in the realism of representations, and in a sculptural technique that produced reliefs equivalent to paintings with heavy light and strong shadows.

Spengler sees this art as the end product of the Pseudomorphosis, the mixture of old (dead Apollonian) and new (recently born Magian) – see explanation below

 

Pseudomorphosis:

Spengler believed that one Culture could effect and distort another neighbouring Culture, deflect or retard its growth or development.  Specifically he is referring to the changes evident in an old if not dead Apollonian Civilization as an immature (Springtime) Magian Culture emerges in the early centuries of the first millennium (200 AD).

 

ornament-plus-figure mixture:

Spengler’s reference to the concrete effects of the Pseudomorphosis, in which the inherited. “alien" (meaning the older Civilization, the Hellenistic, the dead Apollonian) is mixed with the inborn "proper" (meaning the Early Magian Culture).

 

Carolingian/early Romanesque (ornamentation plus figure): * see Endnote <B>

Romanesque sculpture is highly architectonic, that is it relates directly to the architecture for which it was made.  Fleury Abbey at Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, Loiret, France was a celebrated Benedictine monastery which possesses the relics of St. Benedict of Nursia.  After the Normans burned the original monastery (dating from 640 AD) a new Romanesque basilica was built late 11t century, completed 1218.  The burial place of Philip I of France, it is famous for its tower porch of Abbot Gauzlin, which rests on 50 columns with sculptured capitals.  Here the Pseudomorphosis is reflected in the influence of the Mauro-Byzantine Culture (the alien) on the proper, Faustian Culture.  In this case

 

Mauro-Byzantine:

reference to Byzantine-Italian culture.  “Mauro” refers to the Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte, at Cesena, N Italy, built 1001-1026 AD.  Cesena was on the border of the Exarchate of Ravenna.  This Exarchate was a lordship of the Byzantine Empire in Italy (584 to 751), 1 of 2 exarchates established following the western re-conquests under Emperor Justinian, to allow the more effective administration the territory.  Cesena was given to the Papacy by the Donation of Pepin (754) by its Frankish conqueror.  It passed back and forth between the popes and the archbishops of Ravenna.  The abbey housed the remains of St. Mauro, a Benedictine monk & bishop of Cesena.  Pope John X assigned Mauro to the chair of Cesena; Mauro obtained permission to build a small hermitage & church where he isolated himself in prayer.  He was buried there in 984.  News spread that sick travellers were healed on this site & his burial place became a destination for pilgrimages.  The fame of the sanctuary grew; the monks were able to build a basilica and a monastery (the current Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte).

 

Roman portrait busts (stylized hair): * see Endnote<C>

Roman portraiture was one of the most significant periods in the development of portrait art. Originating from ancient Rome, it continued for almost five centuries. Roman portraiture is characterised by its "warts and all" realism & the desire to convey images of nature in the high quality style often seen in ancient Roman art.  Some busts even seem to show clinical signs.  Several images and statues made in marble and bronze have survived.  Roman funerary art includes many portraits such as married couple funerary reliefs, which were most often made for wealthy freedmen rather than the patrician elite.

 

acanthus-shoots:

flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean Basin and Asia.  The generic name derives from the Greek term akanthos, a plant commonly imitated in Corinthian capitals.

 

chisel-work and drill-work side by side: * see Endnote <D>

A typical sequence of carving on marble begins with working on a block with a point, to remove large quantities of stone and rough-out the basic form required.  The sculptor will then move on to a tooth chisel to create clear surfaces & give definition to the form; a flat chisel may be used to eliminate the traces of the tooth chisel.  Finally the drill is routinely employed for detailed work where depth is required.

 

sarcophagi (3rd century): * see Endnote<E>

see chapter III, page 58

 

Giotto:

some art historians feel Giotto began his artistic training within the matrix of Italo-Byzantine style & content

see page 192

 

Pisano:

Giovanni ;1250-1315, Italian sculptor, painter & architect, born in Pisa, Giovanni was the son of the famous sculptor Nicola Pisano.  He worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena & Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Roman art.  At Pisa Cathedral, he produced the statues in the 2 rows of traceried gables at the exterior of the Baptistery (1277–1284). The vivacity of these statues confirms that he had moved beyond his father’s serene style.  He was appointed chief architect of Siena Cathedral (1287-96).  The architectural design and elegant sculptures for the facade of the cathedral in Siena show his tendencies to blend Gothic art with reminders of Roman art.  His masterpiece is the new pulpit for the Cathedral of Pisa (1302-10).  Here we see a preference for animation in his characters; he moves further away from the serene style of his his father.. This pulpit shows 9 scenes from the New Testament, carved in white marble with a chiaroscuro effect. It contains even a bold, naturalistic depiction of a naked Hercules.

​

megapolitan naturalism:

aka Realism; attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality, avoiding artistic conventions, or implausible, exotic & supernatural elements; prevalent in the arts at many periods, and can be in large part a matter of technique and training, and the avoidance of stylization.  In the visual arts, it is the accurate depiction of lifeforms, perspective & the details of light and colour.  It may also be "realist" in its subject-matter, and emphasize the mundane, ugly or sordid.  Spengler is positing that this form of art is popular in the Civilization periods (Fall,, Autumn) of the great urban centres.

 

David:

(1748-1825) French painter in the Neoclassical style, the preeminent painter of the era.  In the 1780s his history painting reflected a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward classical austerity & severity & heightened feeling, harmonizing with the moral climate of the final years of the Ancien Régime.  He would become an active supporter of the French Revolution, friend of Robespierre (1758–1794), and the dictator of art under the French Republic.  Imprisoned after Robespierre's fall, he aligned himself with Napoleon, The First Consul of France.  At this point he developed his Empire style, notable for its use of warm Venetian colours.  After Napoleon's fall & the Bourbon revival, David exiled himself to Brussels, then the Netherlands.  He had a large number of pupils & strong influence in French art of the early 19th century, especially academic Salon painting.

 

Carstens:

(1754-98) Danish-German painter, committed artists of German Neoclassicism; erratic career, possessed of a difficult personality, majority of his large projects were left incomplete, or subsequently destroyed.  Much of what survives is in the form of drawings, many using a schematic, pale colouring as an accessory to the dominating figure-drawing.  These drawings were planned for large fresco commissions (that never materialized).  He would produce some fine subject and historical paintings (e.g. "Plato's Symposium" and the "Battle of Rossbach") which would make him famous.  He was appointed professor at Berlin, and in 1795 a great exhibition of his works was held in Rome in the studio of Pompeo Batoni; he died in Rome in 1798.  Most of his work was designed in pencil or chalk & watercolour and painted paintings in fresco; he rarely painted in oil.

 

Basilica of Maxentius (aka Basilica of Constantine): * see Endnote<F>

is an ancient building in the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy. It was the largest building in the Forum.  Construction began under Maxentius in 308, completed in 312 by Constantine I (following his victory at Milvian Bridge).

 

Baths:

see above page 211

 

Imperial Fora:

see Chapter I page 44 and above page 208

 

Diocletian:

Chapter II page 72, and Chapter IV page 149

 

Caliph:

the leader or steward of a caliphate, considered to be a religious successor to the prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire ummah (community).  Historically, the caliphates were polities based in Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires.  During the medieval period 3 major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258).  In the 4th major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517. During the history of Islam, a few other Muslim states, almost all hereditary monarchies, have claimed to be caliphates.

 

Arabian state:

Spengler’s term for the political form of the mature Magian culture (Islamic)

 

Diocletian’s dispensation:

Spengler is referring to the changes Diocletian made, namely his distributing Imperial power to subordinates.  Diocletian entered the army & rose to attain the offices of Governor of Mœsia, consul, and commander of the guards of the palace.  He distinguished himself in the Persian War. When the son and successor of Carus, Numerian, was murdered at Chalcedon, the army choose Diocletian.  As emperor (284-305) he made major constitutional changes in the structure of power, moving the Empire away from a centralized state towards a federal polity.  Soon after coming to power he realized the empire was too large & unwieldy, too exposed to attack to be safely ruled by a single head.  Consequently he associated Maximian with his Imperial power.  Maximian was a bold but rude soldier; Diocletian appointed him as the first Cesar and later as Augustus (286).  Power was further distributed by granting the inferior title of Cesare to 2 generals, Galerius and Constantius (292).  With regard to regions, he reserved for himself Thrace, Egypt & Asia ; while Maximian would rule in  Italy and Africa; Galerius (Cesar)  was stationed on the Danube, and Constantius (the 2nd Cesar) was in charge of Gaul, Spain & Britain.  Supreme control remained in Diocletian's hands. He undermined the authority of the Senate, assumed the diadem & introduced the servile ceremonial of the Persian court.  None of the other 3 co-rulers resided in Rome.

 

Sassanids:

see Chapter 1, page 16