Rome in the East:

The Art of Byzantium

ART ID 111 | Study of Ancient Arts
Slide concept by William V. Ganis, PhD NYIT Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology

With modifications by Arch. Edeliza V. Macalandag, UAP

Byzantine Art (527-726)

- the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. - also used to refer to the art of Eastern Orthodox states which were contemporary with the Byzantine Empire and were culturally influenced by it, without actually being part of it (the "Byzantine commonwealth"), such as Bulgaria, Serbia, or Rus and also for the art of the Republic of Venice and Kingdom of Sicily, which had close ties to the Byzantine Empire despite being in other respects part of western European culture.
Art produced by Eastern Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire is often called "post-Byzantine." Certain artistic traditions that originated in the Byzantine Empire, particularly in regard to icon painting and church architecture, are maintained in Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day.

Byzantine Empire
- the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople. - Known simply as the "Roman Empire") or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, it was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State and maintained Roman state traditions.
Byzantium is today distinguished from ancient Rome proper insofar as it was oriented towards Greek culture, characterised by Christianity rather than Roman paganism and was predominantly Greek-speaking rather than Latin-speaking.

Byzantine Empire
- In 324, Constantine I founded the city Constantinople on the site of the ancient city of Byzantium to serve as the new capital of the Roman Empire. - After the collapse of the empire in the west in the 5th century, Constantinople and the eastern portion of the empire continued to flourish artistically for another thousand years, until the 15th century when it was finally defeated and occupied by the Ottoman Turks.
Church and state united: Under the rule of Justinian, Orthodox Christianity became Constantinople's only lawful religion. The Byzantine emperors were believed to be the earthly vicars of Jesus Christ, whose imperial will was God's will.

Byzantine Empire
Art historians divide the history of Byzantine art into the three periods of its greatest glory:

The Golden Age of Justinian A distinctive Byzantine style emerged during the reign of Justinian in the sixth century.

1. Early Byzantine 2. Middle Byzantine 3. Late Byzantine

Justinian as world conqueror (Barberini Ivory)

mid-6th century ivory 1 ft. 1 1/2 in. x 10 1/2 in.

Justinian as world conqueror (Barberini Ivory)

mid-6th century ivory 1 ft. 1 1/2 in. x 10 1/2 in.

Saint Michael the Archangel

early-6th century ivory 1 ft. 5 in. x 5 1/2 in.

Anthemius of Tralles & Isidorus of Miletus Hagia Sophia Constantinpole, (Istanbul), Turkey | 532-537

The domed church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is one of the supreme accomplishments of world architecture.

Anthemius of Tralles & Isidorus of Miletus Hagia Sophia Constantinpole, (Istanbul), Turkey | 532-537

Anthemius of Tralles & Isidorus of Miletus Hagia Sophia Constantinpole, (Istanbul), Turkey | 532-537

Anthemius of Tralles & Isidorus of Miletus Hagia Sophia Constantinpole, (Istanbul), Turkey | 532-537

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child enthroned Apse mosaic, Hagia Sophia

867 | mosaic

San Vitale | Ravenna, Italy | 526-547

San Vitale Ravenna, Italy

526-547

San Vitale | Ravenna, Italy | 526-547

Apse Mosaic San Vitale | Ravenna, Italy | 526-547

Justinian, Bishop Maximianus and attendants north wall apse mosaic, San Vitale | Ravenna, Italy | ca. 547 | mosaic

Theodora and attendants south wall apse mosaic, San Vitale| Ravenna, Italy | ca. 547 | mosaic

Abraham and the Three Angels (Philoxeneos), and the Sacrifice of Isaac north lunette mosaic, San Vitale| Ravenna, Italy | ca. 547 | mosaic

Sacrifice of Abel, Sacrifice of Melchisedech north lunette mosaic, San Vitale| Ravenna, Italy | ca. 547 | mosaic

SantApollinare in Classe Ravenna, Italy | 533-549

SantApollinare in Classe Ravenna, Italy | 533-549

Saint Apollinaris amid sheep SantApollinare in Classe Ravenna, Italy

533-549 mosaic

Transfiguration of Jesus apse mosaic, Church of the Virgin Monastery of Saint Catherine Mount Sinai, Egypt
ca. 565 mosaic

Transfiguration of Jesus apse mosaic, Church of the Virgin | Monastery of Saint Catherine Mount Sinai, Egypt | ca. 565 | mosaic

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George, icon
6th or early 7th century encaustic on wood 2 ft. 3 in. x 1 ft. 7 3/8 in.

Anicia Juliana Between Magnanimity and Prudence folio 6 of the Vienna Dioskorides from Honoratai near Constantinople (Istanbul)
ca. 512 tempera on parchment 1 ft. 3 in. x 1 ft. 11 in.

Ascension of Christ Rabbula Gospels

From Zagba, Syria 586 tempera on vellum 1 ft. 1 in. x 10 1/2 in.

Katholikon and Church of the Theotokos Hosios Loukas, Greece | Katholikon early 11th century, Church of the Theotokos, 10th century

Apse of the Katholikon Hosios Loukas, Greece

11th century | mosaic

Dome of the Katholikon Hosios Loukas, Greece

11th century fresco

Dome of the Katholikon Hosios Loukas, Greece

11th century | fresco

Nativity of Christ Katholikon Hosios Loukas, Greece

11th century mosaic

Baptism of Christ Katholikon Hosios Loukas, Greece

11th century mosaic

Pantocrator dome mosaic in the Church of the Dormition Daphni, Greece

ca. 1090-1100 mosaic

Crucifixion in the Church of the Dormition Daphni, Greece

ca. 1090-1100 mosaic

Saint Marks Cathedral Venice, Italy

begun 1063

Saint Marks Cathedral Venice, Italy | begun 1063

interior of Saint Marks Cathedral Venice, Italy | ca. 1180 | mosaic

Anastasis From west vault of Saint Marks Cathedral Venice, Italy

ca. 1180 mosaic

Pala dOro from Saint Marks Cathedral Venice, Italy

ca. 1105 gold cloisonn with precious stones

Archangel | Pala dOro from Saint Marks Cathedral Venice, Italy | ca. 1105 | gold cloisonn with precious stones

Apse Cathedral at Monreale Monreale, Sicily, Italy

ca. 1180-1190 mosaic

Pantocrator Cathedral at Monreale Monreale, Sicily, Italy

ca. 1180-1190 mosaic

Theotokos and Child, angels and saints Cathedral at Monreale Monreale, Sicily, Italy
ca. 1180-1190 | mosaic

Hodegetria, icon (front)

ca. 1150-1200 tempera on wood

Hodegetria, icon (back)

ca. 1150-1200 tempera on wood

Hodegetria, icon | ca. 1150-1200 | tempera on wood

Christ enthroned with Saints (Harbaville Triptych)

ca. 950 | ivory | 9 1/2 in. x 5 1/2 in. high

David composing the Psalms Paris Psalter

ca. 950-970 tempera on vellum 14 1/8 in. x 10 1/4 in.

Israelites Flight from Egypt Paris Psalter

ca. 950-970 tempera on vellum 14 1/8 in. x 10 1/4 in.

Anastasis (Ressurection) apse fresco in parekklision of the Church of Christ in Chora Constantinpole, (Istanbul), Turkey | ca. 1310-1320 | fresco

Christ as Savior of Souls, icon

early 14th century tempera, linen and silver on wood 3 ft. 1/4 in. x 2 ft. 2 1/2 in.

Annunciation, reverse of 2-sided icon

early 14th century tempera and linen on wood 3 ft. 1/4 in. x 2 ft. 2 3/2 in.

Annunciation, obverse of 2-sided icon

early 14th century tempera, linen and silver on wood 3 ft. 1/4 in. x 2 ft. 2 3/2 in.

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child, icon

Late 11th to early 12th century tempera on wood 2 ft. 6 1/2 in. x 1 ft. 9 in.

Andrei Rublyev Three Angels, icon

ca. 1410 tempera on wood 4 ft. 8 in. x 3 ft. 9 in.

Iconostasis

A wall of icons between the sanctuary and the knavea in an Eastern Orthodox church

The Byzantine Aesthetic

- Themes: - Religious - Imperial - Partly a result of the pious and autocratic nature of Byzantine society, and partly a result of its economic structure: the wealth of the empire was concentrated in the hands of the church and the imperial office, which therefore had the greatest opportunity to undertake monumental artistic commissions. - Mosaics were more central to Byzantine culture than to that of Western Europe. Byzantine church interiors were generally covered with golden mosaics. Mosaic art flourished in the Byzantine Empire from the 6th to the 15th centuries.

The Byzantine Aesthetic

- The most salient feature of this new aesthetic was its abstract, or anti-naturalistic character. If classical art was marked by the attempt to create representations that mimicked reality as closely as possible, Byzantine art seems to have abandoned this attempt in favor of a more symbolic approach. - Minor or luxury arts (i.e. ivories, steatites, enamels, jewelry, metalwork, ceramics, etc.) were produced in large number throughout the Byzantine era. Many of these were also religious in nature, although a large number of objects with secular or non-representational decoration were produced: for example, ivories representing themes from classical mythology, and ceramics decorated with figures that may derive from the Akritic epics.

The Byzantine Aesthetic

IMPORTANT GENRES Icon an image of Christ, the Virgin, or a saint, used as an object of veneration in Orthodox churches and private homes alike. most ommonly illustrated texts were religious, both scripture itself (particularly the Psalms) and devotional or theological texts (such as the Ladder of Divine Ascent of John Climacus or the homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus) secular texts were also illuminated: important examples include the Alexander Romance and the history of John Skylitzes.
*An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders (marginalia) and miniature illustrations. In the most strict definition of the term, an illuminated manuscript only refers to manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, but in both common usage and modern scholarship, the term is now used to refer to any decorated or illustrated manuscript from the Western traditions.

Illumination of manuscripts* -

The Byzantine Aesthetic

IMPORTANT GENRES Acheiropoieta (Byzantine Greek: , "made without hand"; singular acheiropoieton) also called Icons Made Without Hands (and variants) are a particular kind of icon which are alleged to have come into existence miraculously, not created by a human painter. Invariably these are images of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. The most notable examples are, in the Eastern church the Image of Edessa or Mandylion, and in the West, the Veil of Veronica and the Shroud of Turin.
Such images functioned as powerful relics as well as icons, and their images were naturally seen as especially authoritative as to the true appearance of the subject. Like icons believed to be painted from the live subject, they therefore acted as important references for other images in the tradition. They therefore were copied on an enormous scale, and the belief that such images existed, and authenticated certain facial types, played an important role in the conservatism of the Byzantine tradition.

The Byzantine Iconoclasm

HIGHLIGHTS Encompasses two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when Emperors, backed by imperially-appointed leaders and councils of the Orthodox Church imposed a ban on religious images or icons. The "First Iconoclasm", as it is sometimes called, lasted between about 730 and 787, when a change on the throne reversed the ban. The "Second Iconoclasm" was between 814 and 842. Iconoclasm has generally been motivated by an Old Covenant interpretation of the Ten Commandments, which forbid the making and worshipping of "graven images", see also Biblical law in Christianity.
Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking", is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives. People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a term that has come to be applied figuratively to any person who breaks or disdains established dogmata or conventions.

Sources http://www.wadsworth.com/art_d/templates/student_resources/015505 0907_kleiner/studyguide/ch12/ch12_1.html http://websites.swlearning.com/cgiwadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=0155 050907&discipline_number=436 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_art Art Through the Ages, 12th/11th ed., Gardner