
Style I
July 18, 2018
The Anatomy of Germanic Art
This article is a work in progress and will be updated.
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The Anatomy of Style I
c. 450 – 550
Shapes
1. Spirals and spiral patterns.
2. Striation/Hatching patterns.
3. Striated pellets for joints.
4. Heads in profile.
5. Heads facing forward.
6. Boat-shaped eyes.
7. Open mouth with long jaws and curling lips.
8. Short, downwards-curving mouth.
9. Crescent-shaped eyebrow-bow.
10. Almond-shaped hips.
11. Leaf-like feet with curved outlines.
12. Feet with toe-fronds.
13. Curling back-toes occur.
Outlines
Even outlines with slight tapering.
Flow
A mix of geometric and wavy curves.
A. S-shapes.
B. Single loops.
Pattern
- Very tight interlace with almost no visible background.
- Double contour occur.
- Single-stranded ribbons.
- Double-stranded ribbons.
- Multi-stranded ribbons.
- High relief.
- Ribbons are broken into panels by intersection.
- Only two line widths.
Composition
- Carpet-like distribution of motifs and shapes of equal size and equal compositional value (A, C).
- Geometric and zoomorphic framework (A).
- Compositions based on line-symmetry (A, B).
- Triskellion or swastika compositions of 3-fold and 4-fold rotational-symmetrical animal heads (D).
Motifs
- Geometric patterns (A, D).
- Four-legged animals (A, B).
- Animal Heads (A, D).
- Human figures (C).