Chapter 6: Etruscan and Roman Art

- Decorated with “triumphal insignia” o Visually linked with old Roman virtues of strength, courage, piety

- Recounts Constantine’s victory over Maxelius (co-ruler) in definitive battle that declared him sole ruler of Western Roman Empire

- Associates/connects him visually with predecessors Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius political authority & legitimacy of power

- 2-D hierarchal approach emphasis on power and his seeing himself as having elevated status

Chapter 7: Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine Art

- Monothestic: believed in same God of Abraham - “Religions of the book”

o Jewish: Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) o Christian: Old + New Testament o Muslim: Qur’an

- Jews and Christians: narrative and iconic imagery - Muslims: words rather than figural images

Early Jewish Art

- Canaan settlement began 2nd M BCE - King Solomon built First Temple in Jerusalem 10th C BCE to house Ark of the

Covenant - Neo-Babylonians destroyed it, Titus destroyed the Second Temple (70 CE) - Jews gathered in synagogues to study the Torah (in private homes) - Architecture and ornaments reflect late Roman but incorporates specifically Jewish

Torah niches - Paintings and mosaics often decorated walls and floors

Early Christianity

- Jesus born some time between 8-4th C BCE, crucified at age 33

o He was Jewish - Belief that one god manifested in 3 persons:

o Trinity of Creator-Father (God) o Son (Jesus Christ) o Holy Spirit

- 12 apostles carried on his work after his death - Constantine permitted freedom of religion in 313 - 4th C: Christianity becomes official religion of empire - Christ preached simple religion of poverty: life everlasting - Used to meet in private home before recognition - In catacombs: Good Sheppard depicted in simple art form - Constantine had vision of cross/angel before his battle and became sympathetic to

the religion - More people attracted to the cult and more money to builders to build grand

churches/shrines - Constantine ordered monumental basilica of where St. Peter believed to be buried

o St. Peter: leader of apostles; Christ’s right-hand man, precursor of popes - Old St. Peter’s replaced during the Renaissance and became pope’s church (Vatican)

o Signify his authority over all Christendom OLD ST. PETER’S BASILICA (320-333)

- Secular admin building instead of looking to ancient Greek/Roman temples (due to pagan association)

- Longitudinal plan o Atrium nave & 2 double aisles apse w/ transept

Transept allowed pilgrims to be closer to St. Peter - Event today, many churches are basilican - Was splendidly and luxuriously decorated - Constantine turns religion of poverty into majestic/luxurious recognized one - Remained largest Christian church until 11th C

RAVENNA MAUSOLEUM

- Decorated much like Old St. Peter’s (luxuriously) - Note that Christianity adopts imagery of Roman empire

MOSAIC OF GOOD SHEPPARD at Galla Placidia, Ravenna

- Very unlike catacomb depiction o Wears imperial robs and has halo

- By this time, debate over essence of Christ: divine or human? 2nd style of building: Centralized buildings (round/polygonal)

- Altar at the centre, ambulatory surrounds - CHURCH OF COSTANZA (daughter of Constantinople)

o When Constantinople emerged as capital of Roman Empire Early Byzantine Art (476-726)

- 476: WRE fell to Ostrogoths; ERE flourished - Byzantine political power, wealth, culture peaked in 6th C under Justinian I

o Reconquered Italy, Sicily, established Ravenna as capital (Italian peninsula) - Justinian picked up where Constantine left off

CHURCH OF HAGIA SOPHIA (523-537) in Constantinople

- Embodies both imperial power and Christian glory - Hybrid of longitudinal and central planning - Flanking conches (semi-domes) connect narthex and apse - Four pendentives (triangular curving wall sections)

o Allow raised/circular base - One of the boldest architectural experiments in history - Ottoman Turks added 4 towers (see Ch. 8 Ottoman Empire) - Dome much thinner, lighter, has floating/levitating feel - Later turned into a mosque (thus, writing on the walls)

o But once covered in expensive mosaics - Reference to Parthenon: Justinian wanted to rival it; “better” it

CHURCH OF SAN VITALE (520-548) in Ravenna

- San Vitale: Major site for Roman admin o Direct route to Constantinople

- Commissioned by Bishop Ecclesius - 547: martyrium for Early Christian martyr - Dome-covered octagon surrounded by eight radiating exedrae (semi-circular

niches) complex, interpenetrating interior space - Marble veneer and coloured glass and gold mosaics - Ravenna preserved because it was sufficiently outside of Iconoclasm boarders

JUSTINIAN AND HIS ATTENDANTS in Church of San Vitale

THEODORA AND HER ATTENDANTS

- Justinian holds paten—plate used to hold Eucharistic bread - Theodora holds chalice for Eucharistic wine

- Emulate Bishop Ecclesius and Magi (story of gifts on Theodora’s robe) - Flat and 3D; abstract and representational - Signify their omnipresent existence and power/rule

Illuminated Manuscripts

- Usually made for imperial patrons - Conventionally combines multiple events into one page - Lifelike poses and rounded full-bodied figures conform to conventions of Roman

painting Icons and Iconoclasm (726-843)

- Byzantine: icons accepted as aid to prayer VIRGIN CHILD WITH SAINTS AND ANGELS (6th C) Mt. Sinai, Egypt

- Christ and virgin lifelike but Theodore and George have tense faces frozen in frontal

stares 726: emperors ordered destruction of religious imagery iconoclasm

- Church and monasteries growing influence and economic power (equivalent to empire) + weakening Byzantine empire

- Prohibition of imagery removing power from monasteries (producer) - 843: triumph of iconophiles - Note that iconoclasm not restricted to Byzantine history

o Protestant reformers of 16th C Europe o 2001: Taliban rulers of Afghanistan dynamited 6th C Buddha statues

- CRUCIFIXION AND ICONOCLASTS (mid 9th C): links iconoclasts with those that crucified Christ

Middle Byzantine Art

- Christian crusaders from West occupied Constantinople in 1204 - 1054 schism divided Christianity into two:

o Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe

o Eastern Orthodox Church in Byzantine centered in Constantinople - Little mid-B art survives - MONASTRY OF HOSIOS LOUKAS (early 11th C) - Venice: link between Western Europe and Eastern Empire, holds many treasures of

late Byzantine art - Venetian architects looked to Byzantine churches for inspiration (HOLY APOSTLES

in Constantinople) - THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. MARK’S (1063) Venice

o Complex space in which each dome attended to; unlike Hagia Sophia Late Byzantine Art (1261-1453)

- Preferred intricate compartmentalization - Crusades expelled from city in 1261; 14-15th C blossomed then was conquered by

Ottoman Turks (1453) - Monastery of Christ in Chora, Constantinople

o THE INFANT VIRGIN MARY CARESSED BY HER PARENTS (1315-1321) Detailed “human” interaction brought to the sacred narrative

o ANASTASIS Float airborne while Satan lies helpless

- THREE ANGELS VISITING ABRAHAM (1410-1425) Russia o Late B artists relied on mathematical/geometric conventions to create

ideals - B tradition continues in Easter and Orthodox Church until today - B Empire ended in 1453 (Ottoman Turk invasion) - Leadership of Orthodox shifted to Russia “3rd Rome”

Chapter 8: Islamic Art

- Islam originated in Arabia (7th C); Muhammad succeeded by Caliphs; then Umayyad Dynasty

o Muhammad was a merchant that lived in Meca and Medena; died ~632 o Muhammad did not proclaim himself a divinity vs. JC did

- Advocates direct access to god vs. Christianity where there are only rituals - Muslims discouraged human representation especially in religious contexts - Thus, rich vocabulary of ornament, complex geometric designs and scrolling vines

arabesques - Highly controlled patterns, pure abstraction, organic form and script

Art During Early Caliphates

- Umayyads enthusiastic builders of shrines, mosques, and palaces - DOME OF THE ROCK (691) Jerusalem, Israel

o Centralized octagonal plan Early Christian and Byzantine martyria (note Ravenna)

o Manifestation of Islam’s view of itself as completing and superseding prophesies of Judaism and Christianity

o Focal point: light falling on precious rock; envisioning of Muhammad’s ascent - Public worship in mosques, not shrines

o Oriented in direction of Mecca o Mihrab niche identifies qibla wall long tradition of niches in holy places

(Roman, Christian) o Maqusura enclosure for dignitaries o Minbar stands by mihrab as platform for prayer leader symbol of his

authority - THE GREAT MOSQUE OF KAIROUAN (836-875) Kairouan, Unisia

o Longitudinal plan o Huge minaret (tower from which criers call faithful to prayer) rise at one

end of courtyard become standard mosque feature powerful sign of Islam’s presence

- Abbasids overthrew Umayyads, ruled 750-1258 but Islam control over western lands

o Cordoba became international center & surpassed Christian European cities economically and in science, literature, philosophy

GREAT MOSQUE OF CORDOBA, PRAYER HALL (785) Cordoba, Spain

- Appropriating site of Christian church; recycled from ruins of Classical building

(Cordoba used to be wealthy Roman Empire province) note Roman aqueducts - Horseshoe arches known from ancient Roman times came to be associated

with Western Islamic architecture o Polylobed/decorated arches

- Inspired by Roman and Byzantine buildings; alternation of white stone/red brick voussoirs (distinctive)

o Mihrab dome by Byzantine from Constantinople Interconnectedness of Medieval Med through trade, diplomacy, competition Calligraphy

- Arabic (language of Qur’an) powerful unifying force one of glories of Islamic art - Kufic: earliest formal script

o Parchment in books and documents, walls of buildings, metalwork, textiles, glass, ceramics (19th-12th C)

o Popular sayings and folk wisdom Later Islamic Art The Saljuqs in Persia

- 11th C: independent regional rulers - Saljuq Dynasty replaced caliphates; proved enlightened patron of the arts - Built on grand scale: mosques, madrasas (schools), palaces, hostels, caravanserais - Adopted Persian iwan (vaulted open room)

o QIBLA IWAN (11th-18th C) - Tile work one of glories of Islamic art

o TILE OF MOSAIC MIHRAB (1354) Organic and geometric forms contrast with sinuous irregularity of

inscriptions White against turquoise, cobalt blue with accents of dark yellow and

green characteristic of Persian tile work The Nasrids in Spain

- COURT OF THE LIONS (1354-1391) Granada, Spain o Combined fortress and royal residences with small town; paradise o MUQARNAS DOME

Honeycombed dome spotlighted with splashes of light Luxury Arts

- Enameled glass vessels prized luxury object - Metalworkers inherited techniques of Roman, Byzantine, and Sassanian Persian - Witness to sophistication and wealth of its owners - PEN BOX (1210-1211) - Since Middle Ages, carpets best known to Europe

o MEDALLION RUG, VARIANT STAR USHAK STYLE (16th C) Quatrefoil medallions by repeat bold blue stars and vine-scrolls

“infinite arabesque” characteristic of Ushak carpets - Herat: great royal centres of book production, school of painting and calligraphy

(early 15th C) o CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHI’D VISIT TO A TURKISH BATH (1494) by leader

Kamal al-Din Bihzad (one of greatest Persian painters) Asymmetrical composition depends on balanced placement of colours

and architectural ornaments The Ottoman Empire

- Early 14th C: Ottoman Turks replaced Saljuqs, bringing Byzantine/Roman Empire to and end

- Church of Hagia Sophia became mosque o Mosaics destroyed or plastered over with huge calligraphic disks

- Inspired by great Byzantine structures, starting building plan not seen since Roman Empire

o Platform of city’s edge mosque of Sultan Selim dominates skyline - Put calligraphy to political use: imperial ciphers—tugras

o ILLUMINATED TUGRA OF SULTAN SULEYMAN I Symbolizing authority of sultan

Modern Islam

- 12th C: dissolution of great Islamic empires, smaller nation-states - International movement swept away visible cultural distinctions - ISLAMIC MOSQUE AND CULTURAL CENTER (1984-1992)

o Sought to reconcile modernity with cultural identity o Clean modern lines but reference to

Interlacing ribs of mihrab of Cordoba Great-domed spans of Siman’s prayer all Palm-tree trunks that supported roofs of Mosque of Prophet in

Medina