byzantine empire

Byzantine Art, Architecture and Culture

• Capital of Eastern Roman Empire moved to Constantinople (330 AD)– More advantageous trade route between Asia and

Europe– Other factors: Situated; port; forests; water;

agricultural land• Rome falls to the Goths in 476 AD • Reached its highest expression of power in early

6th (500s) century when Justinian took the throne• Longest-lasting empire just short of Egyptian• Exerted strong cultural influence over Christian

world

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire with Time

ARCHITECTURE

Byzantine Architecture

• Most famous church : Hagia Sophia– Name means “Holy Wisdom”

• Church is the culminating example of Byzantine architecture known as arcuate domicile

• Built between 532-537 AD• Was once the largest church in the world

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

• Bricks alternated with mortar were not properly/evenly balanced for weight– Destroyed twice– Damage/Collapse occurred during two

earthquakes– Rebuilt by Justinian I

• Arches buckled and buttresses were erected• New research suggests actually survived b/o

these features: windows, pendentives, mortar/brick ratio; mortar itself flexible and self-sealing.

Stone remains of the basilica ordered by Theodosius II, showing the Lamb of God

Marble blocks from the second church

Hagia Sophia

• Long plan + Dome (Holy Sepulcher)• Emphasis is placed on the elevated central

pavilion –ie, the dome– Image of heaven– Tall, open spaces– Need for light

• Pavilion is a large dome with two half domes flocking the east and west sides

• Took five years to finish

A section of the original architecture of Hagia Sophia

Ground-plan of the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

• In order to create a transcendental environment, dome could not be heavy as seen in typical barrel vault techniques

• Architects Anthemius and Isidore created and used pendentives

• Triangular masonry devices that carried the weight of the dome on massive piers

Inside Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

• Shows elements of old basilica styles – Columned side aisles – Gallery for female worship

• Overwhelming visual impression from dome

Need for light

• Light = symbol of divine wisdom, illumination• Forty windows make the dome appear to be

floating• Light refracted off the rich mosaics and

colored marbled interior• Nave= oval• 184’ high

Ravenna: Mausoleums•Built between 425 and 433 BC.•The mausoleums were covered with mosaics.•Brilliance of the colors, which mask the architecture and create an illusionistic effect.•Notable - Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and Mausoleum of Theodoric

Ravenna : Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Inside Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Mausoleum of Theodoric

Mosaics

Mosaics

• Mosaics are icons– A window into the world of the sacred

• One stands before the icon and speaks through its image to the reality beyond– (Justinian had several mosaics of himself created;

thought he represented Christ on Earth)

• Religious figures always surrounded by halo of light.

The Deësis mosaic with Christ as ruler from the Hagia Sophia

Some Other Examples of Mosaics

Justinian and Theodora

Emperor Justinian and AttendantsTile Mosaic (540 – 547 AD)

Theodora

Christ the Good Shepherd

St Lawrence

Concentric Circles

Sant Apollinare / Nuovo

Christ the Sustainer

Icons

• Often painted on wood• Used in the home as

well as in churches

Controversy Surrounding Icons• Many people believed them to be idol worship.• These people became known as iconoclasts.• Byzantine Emperor banned them for a time.• Patriarch of Rome not recognized as main Christian

authority by the Byzantines.• Patriarch of Rome declared all opposition to icons a

heresy.• Heresy – anything attacking the basic principles of the

church.• Heresy was punishable by excommunication• Excommunication – being kicked out of the church.

Split in the Christian Church

• 1054 AD Christian Church split into two parts.• Western Church – Roman Catholic Church• Led by the Pope, in Rome• Eastern Church – Eastern Orthodox Church• Led by the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Split in the Christian Church

Byzantine Sculptures

• The most prominent works of sculpture are manufactured Byzantine capitals ornamental plant and animal motifs.

• But the major works of sculpture is the small Byzantine works, pamphlets and carved boxes in ivory.

Archangel Ivory•The Archangel ivory is the largest surviving Byzantine ivory panel, now in the British Museum. Dated to the early 6th century, it depicts an archangel holding a sceptre and imperial orb.•The archangel is usually identified as Michael, and the panel is assumed to have formed the right part of a diptych, with the lost left half possibly depicting Emperor Justinian (reigned 527–565).

Archangel Ivory

Barberini Ivory

•The Barberini ivory is one fifth of a Byzantine ivory imperial diptych dating from Late Antiquity, now in the Louvre, Paris, France. It is carved in the classical style known as late Theodosian, representing the emperor as triumphant victor.

Barberini Ivory

Consular Diptych

•In Late Antiquity a consular diptych was a particular type of diptych (a pair of linked panels, generally in ivory, wood or metal and decorated with rich sculpted decoration) which could function as a writing tablet but was also intended as a deluxe commemorative object, commissioned by a consul ordinarius and then distributed to reward those who had supported his candidature as rewards and to mark his entry to that post.

Consular Diptych

Imperial Diptych

•In Late Antiquity, an imperial diptych is a theoretical type of ivory diptych, made up of two leaves of five panels each and each with a central panel representing the emperor or empress.

Imperial Diptych

Byzantine Literature

• Four different cultural elements are to be reckoned with: – The Greek – The Christian – The Roman– The Oriental

Byzantine Literature

• GenresHistorians and AnnalistsEncyclopedists and EssayistsSecular PoetryEcclesiastical and Theological LiteraturePopular Poetry

Historians and Annalists

• Jurists - Procopius, Agathias, Evagrius, Michael Attaliates.

• Statesmen - Joannes Cinnamus, Nicetas Acominatus, Georgius Pachymeres, Laonicus Chalcondyles.

• Generals and diplomats - Nicephorus Bryennius, George Acropolites, Georgius Phrantzes.

• crowned heads - Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Anna Comnena, John VI Cantacuzene.

Historians and Annalists

• Jurists - Procopius, Agathias, Evagrius, Michael Attaliates.

• Statesmen - Joannes Cinnamus, Nicetas Acominatus, Georgius Pachymeres, Laonicus Chalcondyles.

• Generals and diplomats - Nicephorus Bryennius, George Acropolites, Georgius Phrantzes.

• crowned heads - Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Anna Comnena, John VI Cantacuzene.

An image and text from John Skylitzes 'Chronicle' A work of 11th Century Byzantine Historical scholar.

Encyclopedists and Essayists

• Patriarch Photios, Michael Psellos, and Michael Choniates are regarded as the greatest Encyclopedists of Byzantium

A page from a 16th-century edition of the vast Byzantine Encyclopaedia, the Suda

Secular poetry

• They wrote romances, panegyrics, epigrams, satires, and didactic and hortatory poetry.

• The only genuine heroic epic of the Byzantines is the Digenis Acritas.

Byzantine Music

• Byzantine music is the music of the Byzantine Empire composed to Greek texts as ceremonial, festival, or church music.

• Byzantine music is closely related to the ancient Greek system.

• It remains the oldest genre of extant music, of which the manner of performance and the names of the composers, and sometimes the particulars of each musical work's circumstances, are known.

Byzantine Music

• The identification of "Byzantine music" with "Eastern Christian liturgical chant" is a misconception due to historical cultural reasons. Its main cause is the leading role of the Church as bearer of learning and official culture in the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), a phenomenon that was not always that extreme but that was exacerbated towards the end of the empire's reign (14th century onwards) as great secular scholars migrated away from a declining Constantinople to rising western cities, bringing with them much of the learning that would spur the development of the European Renaissance.

Byzantine music notation style in a 1823 "Book of Hymns at the Lord's Resurrection"

Dance

• Antiquity was originally held to have some kind of educational value, as evidenced in Plato's dialogues on this point in The Laws. However, as Greek culture gradually conquered Rome, dancing lost most of its educational value and was simply used as a method of entertainment, this coincided with the perception that being a dancer was not a particularly admirable job to have, and that its performers were generally of low social status.

Popular Dances of That Period

• Syrtos (literally "dragged dance")• Geranos ("circle dance")• Mantilia ("kerchiefs")• Saximos• Pyrrichios ("war dance")• Kordakas ("indecent dance")

Musical Instruments• Byzantine instruments included the:• Guitar• Single, double, or multiple flute• Sistrum ("tambourine, instrument with

bells")• Timpani ("drum")• Psaltirio ("psalter")• Lyre• Keras ("horn (musical)")• Kanonaki

Byzantine Musicians

Byzantine Economy

• The Byzantine economy was among the most advanced in Europe and the Mediterranean for many centuries. Europe, in particular, was unable to match Byzantine economic strength until late in the Middle Ages. Constantinople was a prime hub in a trading network that at various times extended across nearly all of Eurasia and North Africa, in particular being the primary western terminus of the famous silk road.

Byzantine Economy contd.

• One of the economic foundations of the empire was trade. Textiles must have been by far the most important item of export; silks were certainly imported into Egypt, and appeared also in Bulgaria, and the West. The state strictly controlled both the internal and the international trade, and retained the monopoly of issuing coinage. The government exercised formal control over interest rates, and set the parameters for the activity of the guilds and corporations, in which it had a special interest.

The Persistence of Byzantine Culture

Byzantine and Russia• Sense of Stability due to Russian

Orthodox (and Greek Orthodox) churches– Russian emissaries brought back Byzantine

style of art– Impact of services in Hagia Sophia and the

building itself– Russian Onion-dome churches - Byzantine

influence– Schools of icon painting in Russia

Byzantine and Italy• Most dominant influence in Ravenna

under Justinian• Byzantine artists active in Italy after

iconoclastic controversy• Influences create own movement

known as Italo-Byzantine by the end of the 13th century

Stability in Art• Art connected to theological doctrine

and liturgical practice– Infuse work with spirituality

• Icon painting considered a holy occupation – New Orthodox church• Commission monk or icon painter

• Greece– Movement to purge icon painting of

Western Influence

Carry on Greek tradition• During Middle Ages (next unit) Greek

learning becomes “lost”• Greek learning gained through Arabic

sources– Aristotle (12th and 13th centuries)– Greek language not readily known 15th

century• Greek scholars move westward after fall

of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453

Thank you

Presented By – Joyita Dey Batch 2 ( FP)