Style II B
July 18, 2018
The Anatomy of Germanic Art
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The Anatomy of Style II B
c. 550 – 650
Shapes
1. Spirals.
2. Animal-heads in profile.
3. Human-heads facing forward (inside hips).
4. Eyebrow-bow framing the eye.
5. Round Eyes.
6. Long straight or curling jaws.
7. Teeth occur.
8. Pointy chin.
9. Head-lappet
10. Almond-shaped hips.
11. Feather-like feet.
12. Curling back-toe.
Outlines
Even outlines without tapering or indents.
Flow
A preference for geometric curves.
A. S-shapes.
B. Single loops.
C. Figure-of-eights loops.
Pattern
- Tight interlace with little visible background.
- Single-stranded ribbons.
- Double-stranded ribbons.
- Triple-stranded ribbons.
- Even fabric-like interlace patterns.
Composition
- Clear and simple compositions of animal and human figures juxtaposed with geometry and occasional interlacing patterns.
- Compositions based on line-symmetrical and/or 2-fold rotational-symmetrical S-shapes (A, D).
- Triskellion or swastika compositions of 3-fold and 4-fold rotational-symmetrical animal heads (D).
Motifs
- S-shaped ribbon animals (A, D).
- Animal heads (A, C).
- Four-legged animals resembling boars and wolves (A, C, D).
- Birds of prey (A, B).
- Human faces (B, D).