ABSTRACT
North of Rome, in Tuscany, the Roman and Early Christian heritage of Italy also determined the special character of Romanesque art, in spite of the very different history and atmosphere of the emerging commercial cities. But whereas the Ottonian artist worked with a loose, open composition and an illusionistic rendering of forms, the Romanesque sculptor created an intricately balanced and compressed composition. Restoration of the sculpture has revealed traces of the original brilliant colors, which would have increased the visual impact of the sculpture. Few westerners had the technical skill to make mosaics regardless of the ideals of the rulers and patrons. Paintings replaced mosaics in the apses and on the walls of churches, and Catalan paintings now stand among the prime examples of Romanesque art. However, through imaginative intellectualization of organic forms, the Romanesque artist created new images of human beings and the world they inhabit.
