User:Amandadee.art/sandbox

Archbishop Gero, inspired by similar crosses in Constantinople, commissioned the Gero Cross in 1000 AD. Originally, it stood in Cologne's cathedral, directly behind Gero's grave. This cathedral only underwent minor changes until the 13th century. Cologne Cathedral is a very popular destination for religious pilgrimages not only for the Gero Cross, but also for the Magi reliquary and the Madonna of Milan, both of which are located in the same cathedral .Cologne became one of the most important churches in Europe for religious pilgrimages, therefore it was decided that the cathedral needed a different architectonic form. The old building was taken down piece by piece before the new building could be put up in 1248. In 1322, the Gero cross was placed in the new building where it remains today. The Gero Cross is important to medieval art for the unique way it depicts Christ. The shape of the Gero Cross is traditional to Carolingian religious art, however, this piece puts extra emphasis on the suffering of Jesus Christ's crucifixion with the slumped head, lifeless body, and closed eyes. This is a very unique aspect to this cross, as other depictions are idealized and do not show Christ as vulnerable and disfigured. This was a major influence on later crosses, especially in 11th century Germany where you see more crosses that follow this rounded, natural style. It is the first monumental depiction of the crucified Christ on the Cross and the first monumental sculpture dating from this period. The Gero Cross was also important for its huge size, standing over six feet tall, it was one of the largest crosses of its time. It also shows a great deal of Byzantium influence, most likely stemming from Otto II's marriage to a Byzantine princess, creating a cultural link between the Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine Empire. In 1904, a new layer of paint was added to the cross by W. Batzem. This, along with several other layers of paint below it, concealed many of the original details from the piece. However, modern day x-ray technology has determined that the eyes on the original layer of paint were indeed closed. This is unique because the artist did not depict Christ as idealized and overcoming death, but vulnerable and humanized. This is most likely because of a change in Christian teaching in the late tenth century that put salvation through Christ's death at the heart of Christian doctrine. The beam and the corpus are original, however, the gold sun and the marble altar it stands in were donated in 1683 by Canon Heinrich Mering.

Amandadee.art (talk) 03:23, 6 October 2015 (UTC)