Norman art in Sicily developed in’ island during the period of the rule of the Normans, who had replaced the Arab emirs from 1060, to make it then, from 1130, a United, passed then to the Swabian dynasty in 1198, with Federico II.
Architecture
Norman architecture represented an original style and with various modalities of different contributions; the Norman Romanesque architecture of the regions of origin of the conquerors and elements of the Arab architecture that had developed on the island during the two centuries of Arab domination and of which very few remains remain, and finally to Byzantine art.
The buildings in Sicily:
In Palermo:
the Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti (1142 – 1148)
the Church of San Cataldo (1154)
the Church of the Martorana (“Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio”, from 1143)
the Palatine Chapel (1130 – 1140) of the Palazzo dei Normanni
the residence of Maredolce
La Zisa
the castle of Cuba
the Admiral’s Bridge
the Church of Santa Cristina la Vetere
the Church of S. Giovanni dei Lebbrosi
Church of the Holy Trinity (Palermo)
Basilica of the Holy Trinity of the Chancellor
In Cefalù:
the cathedral of Cefalù (1131 – 1267)
In Monreale:
the cathedral of Monreale (begun in 1174)
In Mazara del Vallo:
Church of San Nicolò Regale
Church of the Madonna delle Giummare
Norman Arch
In Castelvetrano:
the Church of the Holy Trinity of Delia
Churches of probable Greek rite in the province of Messina and Catania, certainly influenced by the style:
Church of Saints Peter and Paul of Agrò near Casalvecchio Siculo
Church of San Pietro at Itala
Palatine Chapel of Montalbano Elicona
Cuba of Santa Domenica near Castiglione di Sicilia
In Sciacca:
Church of San Nicolò la Latina
In Caltanissetta:
Abbey of the Holy Spirit
In Catania:
Cathedral of Sant’Agata, whose original building remains mainly the presbyteral area (transept and apses)
In Messina:
Church of the Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani
In Gangi:
Torre dei Ventimiglia
In Agrigento:
Cathedral of San Gerlando
Painting and mosaics
The preserved examples of Norman painting have been attributed to local workshops that had to continue a tradition already formed in the Islamic period and influenced by the Fatimid, North African and Persian traditions. These artists are responsible for the complex decorative program of the Palatine Chapel or refined decorations as for the painted beams of the cathedral of Cefalù.
The Normans begin, starting from Roger II of Sicily, to cover the palermitan churches of Byzantine school mosaics that had the apex in the representation of Christ Pantocrator in the Palatine Chapel of Palermo and in the cathedrals of Monreale and Cafalù.
Sculpture and minor arts
The cycles of Norman Roman sculpture are impressive, such as the Easter candelabra of the Palatine Chapel and above all the Norman Roman sculptures of the cloisters of the great Norman cathedrals, in particular the cloister of Cefalù and that of Monreale. The capitals of the cloister of the cathedral of Monreale present Romanesque sculptures of Nordic origin with Scandinavian heritage but also Celtic and are considered among the greatest exponents of sculpture and of European Romanesque art.
A peculiar characteristic of the Norman sculptural and architectural art of Sicily is the baton brises zig-zag architectural sculptural elements of Anglo-Norman origin which are the main characteristic of Nordic architecture, widely used in England and Sicily.
Among the sculptural elements there are sculptures in wood, such as the wooden panels of Martorana (1140 c.), Those belonging to the doors of the Martorana house (mid- twelfth century) and the door ceiling coming from the royal palace.
To the decoration of the buildings of dynastic foundation, there are the luxury crafts, in metal, and the ivory caskets, which the local artisans continued to create for an aristocratic and court clientele and which had a flourishing export in the twelfth century. they arrived in many churches in Italy and in Europe.
In both cases the iconography of these decorative realizations derives from the production of Islamic luxury and from elaborate forms as a representation of power (hunting scenes), but also from Christian iconography.
Also for the stucco decoration panels, used in particular nodes of the constructions (niches, joints between vaults and walls and windows), according to a use attested in Muslim architecture, it is assumed a local production that continues the traditions of the emirate period. Examples are in Palermo the fragments of hurdles of windows from different buildings and the muqarnas (joints between vaults and walls with series of concave niche elements overlapping) of Cuba. Outside the walls are fragments of wall decoration of the church of San Giuliano. Caltagirone, from the first half of the twelfth century, whose decorations are inspired by the repertoire of oriental fabrics X- XI century.
A marble inlays panel of the church of San Cataldo seems to resume motifs from Islamic Spain rather than from the cosmateschi floors. Similar floors also existed in the Palatine Chapel, in the Martorana and in the cathedral of Monreale.
Fabrics
In the luxury craftsmanship there was a prominent place for the production of fabrics: one of the best known examples is the mantle of Roger II, dated from 1133 – 1134, locally produced work, perhaps in the same court, with style and iconography derived from oriental products. It is an object of debate whether the weavers were the continuators of the tradition of the previous Islamic era or were Byzantine artists called to the Palermo court after 1147. The fabrics of silk, cotton and linen produced in the Norman Sicily were considered particularly valuable and exported to North Africa, perhaps in continuation of a trade already started in the Arab era.
The hard stones
In addition to the carving of other semi-precious stones, it seems to have been present in Sicily a local production of rock crystals, in the wake of Fatimid experiences.
The ceramic
The ceramic production of the Islamic era is still little known, but it seems to be attributable to this period (X and XI century) a production of glazed ceramics (basins of western Sicily, furnace of Mazara del Vallo, furnace of Piazza Armerina) that were previously states dated in later times.
In the Norman period ceramic production continues the previous traditions, both in the forms and in the decorative motifs. The main centers were Palermo and Agrigento, which produced both common ceramics (amphoras or olle decorated by bands), and glazed ceramic, decorated with typical almond motifs, zoomachie (animal fights), isolated figures or the “lapwing”, with the reticulated body, which seems to be a local invention.
In Agrigento green monochromatic ceramic basins were produced, which are found as decoration in the contemporary churches of Pisa.
Source from Wikipedia