A striking feature of illuminated manuscripts is their ornate patterns. Explore how simple patterns can be manipulated in order to create a dynamic work of art. Then analyze the specific use of pattern in early medieval manuscripts. What sort of patterns prevailed in these illuminations? How did they compare with contemporary Islamic designs? Art>Elements of Art>Texture>Pattern>Check http://www.mhhe.com/ArtStudio/1/3/3/1.html
One of the most impressive surviving examples of northern European early medieval art is metalwork such as that of the objects found in the ship burial at Sutton Hoo. Explore the modern processes by which metal jewelry such as that found at Sutton Hoo is made. Which aspects of these processes would have been available to northern Europeans in the early Middle Ages? What does the skill and investment that early medieval metalwork would have required suggest about its importance in northern European society? Art>Art Techniques>Other>Jewelry http://www.mhhe.com/ArtStudio/2/5/2.html
One method by which architects work is the additive process. Explore the additive process, then analyze the structure of Charlemagne’s palace chapel at Aachen. What are its most important features? What additive features does it exhibit? How do its elements compare with those of the Great Mosque at Córdoba? Architecture>Elements of Architecture>Form>Additive Forms http://www.mhhe.com/ArtStudio/4/1/5.html
