Byzantium 324-1453

1. Byzantium 324-1453 Constantine established the new capital, a “New Rome,” at Constantinople which was formerly called Byzantium. Theodosius I split the kingdom between his two sons. The Eastern Empire maintained its capital as Constantinople. The Western Empire collapsed into warring kingdoms. The Eastern Empire, with its official Orthodox Christian religion, served as a barrier preventing the spread of Islam throughout Europe.

2. Early Byzantine Delicate carvings and repoussé (a relief formed by hammering a metal sheet from the back) were popular for diptychs. Diptych can refer to a two part folding altarpiece or a folding writing tablet. This carving of Michael the Archangel adapts a classical personification of Victory into a new Christian meaning. The artist is also abandoning naturalistic representation in favor of the spiritual.

3. Emperor Justinian proclaimed Orthodox Christianity as the only lawful religion. All other religious beliefs were declared heresy. The image of the triumphant emperor astride a horse over defeated barbarians is Roman iconography but the top shows the clear Christian influence. The emperor receives his strength and power from God.

4. The Hagia Sophia Justinian was an ambitious builder. The most impressive of his projects was the Hagia Sophia, an architectural marvel with a signature “floating” dome. The arched windows that form the dome’s base bathe the space in a halo of light.

5. Byzantine Mosaic Ravenna, an Italian city south of Venice, became the Eastern Empire’s foothold in the west. Under Justinian, Ravenna became an extension of Constantinople’s art and culture.

6. San Vitale is unique in that is it centrally planned with a domed over clerestory. The plain exterior belies the dazzling mosaic clad walls and vaults of the interior.

7. The San Vitale mosaics reveal the new Byzantine style. The position of the figures is formulaic and related to rank. The figures are weightless, still, and presented in frontal view. Artists wanted to show the human figure as tall, angular, and elegant. The theological basis of this art is that the divine is invisible and that the purpose of religious art was to stimulate spiritual seeing. It disparages the material world and material values.

8. In this mosaic from the apse of a monastery at Mt. Sinai, Jesus sits in a mandorla, an almost shaped aureole of light. The scene is not the natural world, but the spiritual. There is no space or movement, enabling the devout to contemplate the eternal world of religious truth.

9. Iconoclasm Defeats at the hands of the Sasanians later the Arabs caused a shocking loss in territory and power. This ends the early Byzantine and begins the medieval era of Byzantine history. These losses prompted emperor Leo III to believe the empire was being punished for idolatry. This began the rise of iconoclasm, or the shunning of religious imagery. This led artists not only to stop producing religious imagery, but to the destruction of many priceless works.

10. Empress Theodora repealed iconoclasm in 837, making iconoclasm heresy. Artists once again had plentiful commissions. The Byzantine emperors undertook the costly task of refurbishing the churches the iconoclasts defaced.

11. This image of Christ is from the dome of a monastic Church at Daphni, near Athens. It portrays Christ as Pantokrator, fearsome judge of all humankind.

12. This mosaic shows the Crucifixion of Jesus. He is flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John. The skull represents Golgotha, the place of the skulls. Jesus bows his head in obvious suffering, but bears his burdens with grace, piety, and dignity.

13. The demand for icon paintings exploded after the repeal of iconoclasm. This Virgin Mary, the Virgin of Compassion, presses her cheek tenderly to her son. A deep pathos infuses the image as Mary contemplates her son’s fate.

14. Late Byzantine 1261-1453 In 1204, Latin Crusaders sacked Constantinople, bringing an end to the Middle Byzantine era. In 1261 the city was retaken and remained in Byzantine hands until falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. This period is characterized by kingdoms rising and falling in a time of great chaos. One constant is the production of religious artwork.

15. Like the Egyptians, Byzantine artists drew from a set list of visual conventions. Though art in the late Byzantine did show more naturalism, these artists did not believe that systematic observation of the physical world should be the source of representations of the eternal. This consistent vision of the spiritual world is what unites Byzantine art.

16. With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Russia became Byzantium’s heir, defending Orthodox Christianity against Islam. Russia saw themselves as establishing a Third Rome, and their kingdom was a continuation of the Roman Empire. The word tsar is derived from Caesar.

18. Pagan to Christian Traditions Two groups: Easter and Christmas Each group with create a poster detailing how the Christian religion adapted pagan rituals and symbols. The tone of the piece is information, avoid bias when researching and writing. The poster should include the following: • Basic information on the holiday, its purpose, basic iconography, etc. • 5 symbols that have been adapted, with information about pagan roots of that symbol and what it symbolized in its original context. • Drawings of the original symbol and (if significantly different) the Christian adaptation • Citations