Byzantine Art and Architecture

CONSTANTINE: 306-337 CE

The End of the Roman Era

161 CE: Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus become the first co-Emperors; Roman power already beginning to wane

293 CE: Diocletian establishes Tetrarchy, splitting Roman Empire among four rulers

305 CE: Diocletian retires; soon after tetarchy collapses and civil war ensues

324 CE: Constantine I, son of former Tetrarch Constantius, becomes sole Roman Emperor; initiates massive regime changes, including moving the capital to “Constantinople” and establishing Christianity as official religion of the Empire.

Constantine, Basilica Nova, Rome, Italy, circa 315-330 CE.

From the Fall of Rome

337 CE: Emperor Constantine dies, proclaiming on his deathbed that Christianity was to become the official religion of the Empire

7th century BCE: City of Byzantium (present-day Istanbul) founded as a Greek colony

326 CE: Constantine selects Byzantium as his Empire’s new eastern capital; rebuilds the city over six years, consecrating it as “Constantinople” in 330

Constantine, Basilica Nova, Rome, Italy, c. 315-330 CE.

Catacomb of Saints Peter and Marcellinus, early 4th century.

CATACOMB(S): subterranean network of rock-cut galleries and chambers designed as cemeteries for the burial of the dead

BYZANTINE ART “Byzantine Art” refers to the art of the eastern Roman Empire (centered in Constantinople), a period launched with the reign of Justinian I (527-565).

It is a period characterized architecturally by the exploration of the Central Plan Church with simple exterior architecture juxtaposed with lavish interiors filled with colorful mosaics. Figural depictions abandon naturalism of Roman art and

focus on imagery of religious lessons or important figures of the Christian church.

Southern Façade, Hagia Sophia, 523-537.

Transfiguration of Christ, Church of Virgin, Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount Sinai, c. 548-565.

MOSAIC: patterns or pictures made by embedding small pieces (tesserae) of stone or glass in cement on surfaces such as walls and floors

Interior, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 526-547.

Emperor Justinian and His Attendants, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, circa 547.

Empress Theodora and Her Attendants, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, circa

547.

KEY FEATURES OF BYZANTINE ART:•Extensive use of mosaic and emphasis on richness of color and decoration•Abstracted figures as symoblic representations•Flat compositions (no illusion of depth)

ICONOCLASM: “image breaking”

Page from the Chludov Psalter, 9th century.

Byzantine Iconoclasm (726-843)

•Contributed to split between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches•Resulted in new imagery of Christ Pantocrator (Ruler of the Universe)

Interior, Cathedral of Saint Mark, Venice, begun 1063.

Christ Pantocrator, Central Dome, Church of the Dormition, Daphni, Greece, c. 1080-1100.

Funerary Chapel, Church of the Monastery of Christ in Chora, Istanbul, Turkey, c. 1315-21.

Anastasis, Funerary Chapel, Church of the Monastery of Christ in Chora, Istanbul, Turkey, c. 1315-21.