From the beginning of the year 1000 sculpture, like architecture, went through a process of rebirth and renewal. The repertoire was at first influenced by popular elements and elements from the late classical era but it developed in a new way. Architecture and sculpture were, at the beginning, closely related because sculpture was used to decorate architectural structures.
The facades of Romanesque cathedrals were richly decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testament. An example of stories from the book of Genesis is on the facade of the cathedral in Modena, carved by Wiligelmo around 1106.
Generally Romanesque sculpture gave volume to bodies and shapes, which during the Byzantine period had been rigidly stylised. These new characters are then set in a background which is similar to the real world.
There were many different themes, both religious and secular: stories from the Bible, from the Gospel and the book of Genesis, scenes from everyday life, fantastic monsters and geometric decorations. The monk Bernardo of Chiaravalle strongly opposed the use of monsters from hell which were supposed to frighten the faithful. The intent of the sculpture from this period was to transmit a moral and religious message which the general, mostly very ignorant, population, would otherwise have failed to understand.
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