Byzantine Art

Early Byzantine 500-726 (Iconoclastic Controversy)Iconoclastic Controversy 726-843

Middle/High Byzantine 843-1200 (Medieval Crusades)Late Byzantine 1200-1453 (Ottoman Conquest)

Main Ideas of Byzantine Art• Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire – lasted nearly 1000

years beyond the Western Roman Empire• Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) was the seat of the Eastern

Roman Empire once established by Constantine – very affluent from trade

• Byzantine Empire assisted in the spread of the orthodox Christian religion throughout eastern Europe

• Can be broken into two artistic traditions: classical Roman and hieratic medieval (sometimes both styles are used in one artwork)

• Patronage: church and state (one in the same)• Byzantine Empire known for: mosaics, icons, manuscript illumination• Architectural innovations: pendentives and squinches• Greek-speaking culture

Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus, HAGIA SOPHIA, Istanbul, 535.Combination of central and axial plans (see next slide); dome supported by pendentives with windows at base of dome; interior had huge mosaics of gold; minarets added in Islamic period (started as church, then turned into mosque); patrons were Emperor Justinian and EmpressTheodora

Early Byzantine

Groundplan of Hagia Sophia

Windows at base of dome

Pendentive

Apse

Flat wall

Tiny people

Four medallions added in Islamic period

Interior of Hagia

Sophia

San Vitale, Ravenna, 530. Eight-sided church, large windows let in light;

Monastary Churches, Hosios Loukas, Greece, 10th-11th CenturiesSquinches support a dome with windows; decorative stonework forms interplay of horizontal and vertical elements, holes in window areas create a mysterious feeling; sparkling mosaics inside; delicate arches inside

The squinch who stole wall space…

Interior, St. Mark’s Cathedral, 11th Century, Venice, Italy5 domes placed in a cross pattern; very spot on the walls is covered in mosaics of gold with weightless (no groundline) figures; less open than Hagia Sophia (more compartmentalized); prominent iconostasis separates apse from nave; relics of St. Mark inside church

Middle (high)

Byzantine

St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow, 1555. Commissioned by Ivan the Terrible,

Late Byzantine

Archangel Michael, icon, 10th-11th century, silver gilt with enamel, 19 x 14”. Designed to be handled as a reminder of faith.

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Theodora and Attendants, mosaic from San Vitale, Ravenna, 547.Wife of Justinian (they were also the patrons of the Hagia Sophia); flattened and weightless figures; three magi on her robe (which is purple…why?).

Manuscript Illumination

David Composing the Psalms (from the Paris Psalter), tempura on vellum, 950. Classical style, muscular bodies contrast with stiff drapery; balanced color and composition; curvilinear

Andrei Rublev, Old Testament Trinity, tempura on wood, 1410, Moscow. Old testament angels compare to the holy trinity. Mirror image poses, faces not individualized, gold spaceless background

Saint Michael the Archangel, 6th century, ivory, British Museum, London. One side of diptych, Roman hairstyle, classical drapery; folds in robe; notice the wings; imperial imagery (orb & sceptor; odd placement of feet; body beneath drapery

Classical or medieval style?

Harbaville Triptyich, ivory, 950, Louvre.Heads are individualized; hieretic composition; angels in medallions; crisp and delicate carving; labeled with names (very medieval); some hands covered as sign of respect