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  3. Art of the middle Ages In the art of the Middle ages, we never encounter the personality of the artist as an individual; rather

Art of the middle Ages In the art of the Middle ages, we never encounter the personality of the artist as an individual; rather

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问题 Art of the middle Ages
In the art of the Middle ages, we never encounter the personality of the artist as an individual; rather it is diffused (普及的) through the artistic genius of centuries embodied (具体表达) in the rules of religious art. Art of the middle Ages is first a sacred(神的，宗教的) script, the symbols and meanings of which were well settled. The circular halo placed vertically (神学,神性). By bare feet, we recognize God, the angels, Jesus Christ and the apostles (使徒), but, for an artist to have depicted the Virgin Mary with bare feet would have been tantamount (等价的) to heresy (异教). Several concentric, wavy lines represent the sky, while parallel lines water or the sea. A tree, which is to say a single stalk with two or three stylised leaves, informs us that the scene is laid on earth. A tower with a window indicates a village, and, should an angel be watching from the battlements, that city is thereby identified as Jerusalem. Saint Peter is always depicted with curly hair, a short beard, and a tonsure, while Saint Paul has always a bald head and a long beard.
A second characteristic of this iconography is obedience (服从，顺从) to a sacred mathematic. "The Divine Wisdom," wrote Saint Augustine, "reveals itself everywhere in numbers," a doctrine attributable to the neo-Platonists who revived the genius of Pythagoras. Twelve is the master number of the Church and is the product of three, the number of the Trinity, and fours, the number of material elements. The number seven, the most mysterious of all numbers, is the sum of four and three. There are the seven ages of man, seven virtues, seven planets. In the final analysis, the seven-tone scale of Gregorian music is the sensible embodiment of the order of the universe. Numbers also require a symmetry. At Charters, a stained glass window shows the four prophets, Isaac, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah, carrying on their shoulders the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
A third characteristic of this art is to be a symbolic language, showing us one thing and inviting us to see another. In this respect, the artist was called upon to imitate God, who had hidden a profound meaning behind the literal and wished nature itself to be a moral lesson to man. Thus, every painting is an allegory. In a scene of the final judgment, we see the foolish virgins at the left hand of Jesus and the wise at his right, and we understand that this symbolizes those who are lost and those who are saved. Even seemingly insignificant details carry hidden meaning: The lion in a stained glass window is the figure of the Resurrection.
These, then, are the defining characteristics of the art of the Middle Ages, a system within which even the most mediocre talent was elevated by the genius of the centuries. The artists of the early Renaissance broke with tradition at their own peril. When they are not outstanding, they are scarcely able to avoid insignificance and banality in their religious works, and, even when they are great, they are no more than the equals of the old masters who passively followed the sacred rules.
选项 A、explain why artists of the Middle Ages followed the rules of a sacred script
B、discuss some of the important features of the art of the Middle Ages
C、contrast the art of the Middle Ages with that of the Renaissance
D、explain why the Middle Ages had a passion for order and numbers
答案B
解析 文章讲述中世纪宗教艺术的一些突出特点：the sacred script, the sacred mathematics, and sacred symbolic language。作者着重探讨中世纪的艺术形式，而非中世纪之前的任何艺术形式。至于诸如毕达哥拉斯观点复兴等说法，未见作者详述，不能算为文章大意。
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