why do people in medieval art seem so emotionless and passive?

Because medieval artists fucking sucked and people try to excuse them with 'muh stylization'.

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>>1486757
Because no one in medieval times gave a fuck.

Because the artists didn't know how to draw? When most of your culture consists of acts of chivalry (wars between lords, brave acts in battle etc.), obedience to your lord and going to church, there's really no reason to learn how to draw well

When painting and sculpture become more than branches of building construction and embellishment, and book production

>>1486757
medieval times were hard

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it takes ages to paint a painting

imagine trying to smile or frown or scream for hours on end while the artist is making strokes

>>1486820
They didn't do figure painting in the middle ages nigga.

>>1486757
Try drawing with a quill and some ink, you dumb fuck. It's just not that easy

>>1486757

Because it was an indoctrination tool by the monarchy to subdue the populace into an emotionless and passive state in order to prevent rebellion.

>>1486810
man, medieval times were scaaary

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Weird style

similar with the "archaic smile"

pic related, guys just been hit with a javelin and is bleeding to death

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>>1486757
Perspective wasn't invented yet and artists didn't dig up dead bodies to study muscles.

Art is built on the backs of the knowledge of those before them.

TL;DR they needed more Loomis

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Ive always figured it was part of some medieval sense of humor.

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>>1489319
>Perspective wasn't invented yet
>implying

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>>1486757
>man is being almost swallowed whole by large fish.
> Probably breathing profusely and becoming unconscious via loss of blood
Why doesn't he have the (intentionally)over stylized, dramatic facial expressions of muh romanticism and baroque!
kill your self.