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Byzantine Art

1 Chapter 3.2 Art of the Middle Ages PART 3 HISTORY AND CONTEXT . Emperor Justinian great patron of the arts

 Funded Hagia Sophia, Constantinople . made from glass tesserae

 In Byzantine churches to reflect light . Icons-venerated, believed to possess powers of healing

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6c9adXfvSM

 Intro to Medieval Art

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Byzantine Terms Art and Architecture

• Good Shepherd imagery: blended depictions of a Christ- like figure that merged pagan figural styles with Early Christian meaning. • Iconoclasm: literally translates as “image breaking”; a period of the destruction of religious imagery for fear of idolatry. • Mandorla: an almond-shaped enclosure encircling depictions of Christ. • Mosaic: patterns or pictures made by embedding small pieces (tesserae) of stone or glass in cement on surfaces such as walls and floors. • Orants: figural depictions of worshippers, denoted by their raised, outstretched arms.

3 Samuel anoints David, detail of the mural paintings in the syna-gogue, Syria, ca. 245–256. Tempera on plaster, 47 high. Early Jewish murals often told a narrative 4 Catacomb of Commodilla, Via Ostiense, , , ca. 370–385 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXRAU23X9Zs Catacomb tour 5

Christ seated, from, Italy, ca. 350–375. Marble, 2’ 41/2” high. Museo Nazionale Romano–Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome.

A blending of Greco-Roman style and what will be Early Christian style artwork. The result is a strange amalgam: realistic and ideal, but somehow “wrong”. The legs seem too short and the fabric looks less skillfully handled.

6 Suicide of Judas and of Christ, plaque from a box, ca. 420. Ivory, 3” X 3 7/8”. British Museum, London.

7 Early Religious Architecture

• The plan’ and ‘central plan’ developments of early architecture.

8 Chapter 2.10 Architecture PART 2 MEDIA AND PROCESSES

Roman Catholic floor plan-Basilica plan Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Exterior of Santa (looking west), Rome, Italy, 422-432 The basilica plan sprang from transforming the existing Greco-Roman temples to satisfy the liturgical needs of Christianity. This early church, lit by natural light (clerestory windows) still sports a collonade of Corinthian columns inside. Note how severe the exterior is here compared to the interior. 10 Interior of , Rome, Italy, 422–432. 11 New Aesthetics and Media

• Understand the new aesthetic informing the art and how it is different from the art of the classical period. • Understand the different media and forms used to create early Christian art, particularly illuminated manuscripts. • READ PAGE 254 IN GARDNERS. IT IS KEY.

12 Chapter 3.2 Art of the Middle Ages PART 3 HISTORYSome AND CONTEXT stylistic characteristics of art from the Middle Ages:

. Expresses spiritual concerns over humanist ones . Made to support religion and pilgrimages-funds so they were centered around location of relics and important sites . Richly decorated manuscripts . Fantastical animal-like forms, elongated and twisted figures, use of line, very flat, shape oriented, denying the physical body, richly decorated . Grand-scale cathedrals . Marks the transition from the pagan polytheistic religions to three large monotheistic religions:

 Judaism Christianity Islam • Does not show Allah in art, and rarely shows human figures Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

The Parting of Abraham and Lot, , Rome, Italy, 432–440. Mosaic, 3’ 4” high. 14 Christ as the Good Shepherd, mosaic of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, ca. 425.

15 The ca. 565

http://www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1679589 Intro with Youtubes on Theodora and Greek Fire 16 Figure 9-13 Justinian, Bishop Maximianus, and attendants, mosaic on the north wall of the apse, San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, ca. 547. 17 Figure 9-14 Theodora and attendants, mosaic on the south wall of the apse, San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, ca. 547.

18 Justinian as world conqueror (Barberini Ivory), mid-sixth century. Ivory, 1’ 1 1/2” X 10 1/2”. Louvre, Paris.

19 Hagia Sophia-535 CE.

20 Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. Plan of Hagia Sophia. 532–37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-mWZ3cxbz4&feature=youtu.be Hagia Sophia Tour Dome on pendentives (left) and on squinches (right). Squinch-a straight or arched structure across an interior angle of a square tower to carry a superstructure such as a dome. Pendentive - a curved triangle of vaulting formed by the intersection of a dome with its supporting arches. 22 Saint Apollinaris amid sheep, apse mosaic, Sant’Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, ca. 533-549. Iconoclasm refers to two periods when the use of religious images/icons were opposed by religious authorities within the Byzantine Church. The "First Iconoclasm“ lasted between about 726 - 787. The "Second Iconoclasm" between 814 - 842. Iconoclasm constituted a ban on religious images and was accompanied by destruction of images and persecution of supporters venerating these images. The Roman of the West supported of the use of images throughout the period, widening the gulf between the Eastern and Western traditions, facilitating the reduction or removal of Byzantine political control over parts of Italy. 23

Virgin and Child between Saints Theodore and George, icon, sixth or early seventh century. Encaustic on wood, 2’ 3” X 1’ 7 3/8”. Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt.

24 Christ blessing, icon, Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt, sixth century. Encaustic on wood, 2’ 9” X 1’ 6”.

25 Christ as Pantokrator, dome mosaic in the Church of the Dormition, Daphni, Greece, ca. 1090–1100. Pantokrator – “All-mighty” or all powerful, Christ is depicted with the in one arm and a raised hand. There is an authoritative tone, a judgment here as in all “pantokrator images” of Christ. Rather a stern portrayal

26 Byzantium in the West Basilica of Saint Mark’s Venice, Italy, begun 1063. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE1f8kkx5jE St Marks tour St Mark Basilica began in 828, burned down twice, then began again for the last time in 978 until it was finally consecrated around 1647-1650

27 Byzantine Luxury

Luxury materials like gold and ivory are used to portray hieratic formality and solemnity in art.

Throne of Maximianus, ca. 546–556. Ivory & wood Ravenna. 28 Christ enthroned with saints (Harbaville Triptych), ca. 950. Ivory, central panel 9 1/2” X 5 1/2”. Louvre, Paris. 29 Two saints, mosaic of the dome, Hagios Georgios (Church of Saint George), Thessaloniki, Greece, ca. 390–450.

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