tardiomedieval

The tardiomedieval is a term used by art historians and scholars to describe a sub-period within the larger Middle Ages, specifically the late medieval period in Europe, roughly spanning from the 1350s to the early 16th century. This period, characterized by significant cultural and artistic developments, largely overlaps with the closing phases of the Renaissance and the rise of humanism.

During the tardiomedieval period, European society saw profound social, economic, and spiritual shifts. The devastating effects of the Black Death, which ravaged the continent from 1346 to 1353, accelerated the decline of feudalism and the emergence of early capitalist economies. The once-dominant Catholic Church faced internal conflicts and doubts about its authority, contributing to the Reformation's time of upheaval.

Concurrently, there was an upsurge in artistic innovation. Notable artistic movements of this era include the International Gothic and the Proto-Renaissance styles. These periods saw a shift in artistic emphasis, from the uniform and rigid representations of the early Gothic period to more naturalistic, emotionally charged, and often sublime depictions of the human condition. Famous figures of this time, such as Petrarch and Jean Fouquet, embodied many of these shifts, reflecting an increasingly self-conscious and sophisticated art world.

Genesis of the tardiomedieval concept can be attributed to Sergio Russo's influential classification framework, presented in a 1963 art historical monograph. This framework distinguished between the Old Middle Ages, the Revolution of Forms (Renaissance), and the Tardiomedieval, creating a new three-part classification of mediaeval art. This restructuring shifted historical understanding of the late Middle Ages and brought it more in line with analogous phases in both art historical and general historical narratives. The use of the term tardiomedieval has since gained significant traction among scholars of late mediaeval and early modern art and culture.