In the second half of the 11th century in many parts of Europe new energies and new initiatives are apparent in painting, sculpture, and architecture. It is impossible to categorize these changes fully or to reduce them to a common denominator, but in many places there was a tendency toward greater schematization and bold configurations in design, in which strong and abstract structures of line and colour predominate. The surfaces of clothed bodies are enlivened by intricate schemes of folds and pleats and highlights in regular patterns of reiterated parallel and converging lines. These developments are partly explained by the ...(100 of 73439 words)