Why were early Medieval painters so shit?

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They weren't interested in realism. They just wanted to have fun drawing snails, killer rabbits and the like.

What is there not to like?

>>2637039
Dedicated craftsmen virtually vanished as a profession with the fall of the Roman Empire in the West.

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>>2637039
Depend where. The East was generally more aesthetically pleasing than the west.
12th Century fresco here.

>>2637039
read the story of art by Gombrich

>>2637056
I will not read about the Middle Ages in a book written by a Jew.

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>>2637039
Why are modern and contemporary painters so shit?

>>2637100
fucking hell, my sides

>>2637039
most of what is called "medieval art" is manuscript decoration.

>>2638450
>this
Its pretty hard to do realism when you are decorating a giant M and maybe have 1/6th of a page to wrk with.

>>2637056
This, I'm rereading that book right now and while I'm skeptical of a few things and think that historical context is sometimes left out in favor of artistic interpretation, I believe that you won't find a better introductory work on the matter. Chapters 5,6 and 8 specifically give you a good overview of OP's question. Nevertheless, loss of skill when compared to Hellenic painters is undeniable.