Angels, as well as some depictions of the Holy Trinity, have wings because they are messengers. Figures have consistent facial appearances, hold attributes personal to them, and use a few conventional poses. Color plays an important role, as well. Gold represents the radiance of Heaven. Red signifies divine life, while blue is the color of human life. White is the Uncreated Light of God, only used for scenes depicting the resurrection and transfiguration of Christ.
In icons of Jesus and Mary, Jesus wears a red undergarment with a blue outer garment God as Human , and Mary wears a blue undergarment with a red outer garment humanity granted divine gifts. Thus, the doctrine of deification is conveyed by icons. Most icons incorporate some calligraphic text naming the person or event depicted. Because letters also carry symbolic significance, writing is often presented in a stylized manner.
Russian icon depicting the Holy Trinity : Christ, seated in the middle, wears a blue garment over a red one to symbolize his status as God made human. All three figures wear wings to signify their roles as messengers. The gold background places their location in Heaven. Early Byzantine icons were painted in encaustic on wooden panel and, like Egyptian funerary portraits produced in the same media , they appeared very lifelike. Nilus of Sinai, in his fifth-century Letter to Heliodorus Silentiarius, recounts a miracle in which St.
Plato of Ankyra appeared to a Christian in a dream. The Saint was recognized because the young man had often seen his portrait. This recognition of a religious apparition from its likeness to an image was also a characteristic of pagan, pious accounts of appearances of gods to humans and was a common theme in hagiography.
During this period, the church began to discourage all non-religious human images, with the Emperor and donor figures counting as religious. By the second half of the sixth century, there were isolated cases of direct veneration of the icons themselves, as opposed to the figures represented on them, due to continued claims of icon-associated miracles.
This perceived misuse, in part, justified the banning and destruction of icons in the eighth century. Icon of St. Peter : This icon of St. Peter, produced in encaustic, bears lifelike qualities that eventually vanished from icons in favor of more stylized imagery.
This icon is from St. Sinai, circa sixth century. Documentation exists to prove the use of icons as early as the fourth century. However, there are no surviving examples produced before the sixth century, primarily due to the period of Iconoclasm that ended the Early Byzantine period.
The surviving evidence of the earliest depictions of Christ, Mary, and the saints therefore comes from wall paintings, mosaics , and some carvings. Because Augustine of Hippo — CE argued that no one knew the appearance of Jesus or that of Mary, the earliest depictions of Jesus were generic, rather than portrait images, and generally represented him as a beardless young man. Such an example can be seen in a mosaic in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, which houses the remains of the daughter of Theodosius I.
Christ as the Good Shepherd : This mosaic from the mid-fifth century is an example of a generic beardless Christ, as he might have appeared in contemporaneous icons. From the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy, circa Mosaic art flourished in the Byzantine Empire from the sixth to the fifteenth centuries. Whereas in Antiquity , walls were usually decorated with less-expensive painted scenes, the Byzantine aesthetic favored the more sumptuous, glittering effect of mosaic decoration.
Some of the finest surviving Byzantine mosaics are preserved in the Middle East and in the Italian city of Ravenna. Mosaics were not a Byzantine invention. In fact, some of the most famous surviving mosaics are from ancient Greece and Rome. The artists of the Early Byzantine period expanded upon precedent by celebrating the possibilities of the mosaic technique. They began to use it on wall surfaces as a type of painting technique in stone. Unlike traditional wall paintings, however, mosaics could create a glittering, shimmering effect that lent itself to a heightened sense of spirituality.
The imagery befit the Byzantine culture that emphasized the authority of one, true religion. The mosaic technique was more expensive than traditional wall painting, but its effects were so desirable as to make it worth the cost. Further, technological advances lighter-weight tesserae and a new cement recipe made wall mosaics easier than they had been in the preceding centuries, when floor mosaics were favored.
The mosaic technique involved fitting together small pieces of stone and glass tesserae. When set together, the tesserae create a paint-like effect in which different colors meld into one another to create shadows and a sense of depth. Moreover, Byzantine artists often placed gold backing behind the clear glass tesserae, such that the mosaics would appear to emit a mysterious light of their own. This play of light added a sense of drama and spiritualism to the images that suited the symbolism and magic inherent in the Byzantine religious ceremony.
Most often, however, mosaic decoration in the classical world was reserved for floor surfaces. Byzantine churches continued this tradition in locations such as Mount Nebo in Jordan, a medieval pilgrimage site where Moses is believed to have died. The Church of Saints Lot and Procopius founded CE has a richly tiled floor that depicts activities like grape harvesting.
Seemingly mundane, the grape harvest could be symbolic of the wine component of the Eucharist. The mosaic is located in the baptistery, where infants were initiated into the Christian faith and, according to biblical teachings, be cleansed of Original Sin.
Thus, a symbolic depiction of the next sacrament in the religion would help to underscore the theme of salvation. Another Mount Nebo floor mosaic c. The first two registers are hunting scenes in which the men hunt big cats and wild boars with the help of domesticated dogs.
On the bottom two registers, the animals appear more domesticated, peacefully eating fruit from trees as a shepherd observes them at the left; they wear leashes pulled by their human masters. Among the domesticated animals are a camel and what appear to be a zebra and an emu. As in the Church of Saints Lot and Procopius, this mosaic likely has a religious message beneath its seemingly mundane subject matter.
Important Justinian-era mosaics c. In the apse is a depiction of the Transfiguration on a golden background, that denotes the otherworldliness of the event. Christ, standing in the center as the focal point, is crowned with a halo and surrounded by a mandorla as his awestruck apostles observe the event. The apse is surrounded with bands containing the medallions of Biblical apostles and prophets, and two contemporary figures who are identified as Abbot Longinos and John the Deacon.
Inside the Arian Baptistery in Ravenna are four niches and a dome with mosaics that depict the baptism of Jesus by Saint John the Baptist. Although the mosaics were produced before Justinian I annexed Italy to the Byzantine Empire, their overall design is very similar to those produced under Byzantine rule.
Jesus is shown as a beardless, half-submerged youth in the Jordan River. John the Baptist, wearing a leopard skin, stands on the right, while the personification of the Jordan River stands to the left. Above, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove sprays holy water from its beak.
Below, a procession of the Apostles, led in separate directions by Saint Peter and Saint Paul circle the dome, meeting at a throne with a bejeweled crucifix resting on a purple cushion. Baptism of Jesus : Located in the Arian Baptistery, Ravenna, Italy, and created in the late fifth to the early sixth century.
It took the artists several years to complete these mosaics, as can be clearly seen from the different colors of the stones used to depict the grass at the feet of the apostles. The designs are quite simple, but the use of a gold background should be noted, as it was typically used in this era to infuse these simple scenes with an ethereal glow. While the exterior is plain, the interior is extensively decorated in elaborate mosaics.
These mosaics create a truly spiritual space—a world removed from the ordinary. The vaulting is covered with floral motifs possibly symbolic of the Garden of Eden and the stars that stand out against a blue background seem to sparkle with their own mystical light. Ceiling mosaic at the mausoleum of Galla Placidia : The Byzantines used mosaics more creatively and liberally than other cultures in the classical world.
Mosaics cover the walls of the vault , the lunettes , and the bell tower. The iconographic themes developed in the decorations represent the victory of eternal life over death. The inside contains two famous mosaic lunettes, and the rest of the interior is filled with mosaics of Christian symbols.
Symbols of the four evangelists float among the clouds. The other four apostles appear in the barrel vaults of the transepts. An internal view of the mausoleum of Galla Placidia : This early Byzantine structures demonstrates the intricate use of mosaics in Byzantine design.
They were displayed in both churches and private homes and were meant not only as representations of the figures pictured, but as the very essence and presence of the person depicted. In the seventh century, people began to believe that the icons were windows through which the supplicant could communicate with the saint.
Chludov Psalter — Byzantine Art. Sculpture survived only minimally, and then mostly in reliquaries and small, carved items. However, graceful silver vessels, carved ivory, and beautiful glass works of art were created during this time. Artisans created a painted image on glass and then covered and sealed it with another clear piece of glass on top for use as adornment.
Similar in colors and style to the icons were the illuminated monastic manuscripts. The monastic tradition began during this era as did the replacement of the scroll with the codex. Illuminated manuscripts were carefully decorated and illustrated copies of the Christian Bible and religious texts. Other religious art forms were present early in the period in the form of elaborate mosaics and frescoes upon the walls of churches.
The images formed a scene in which it started at the top of the dome with The Creator, The Coronation of the Virgin Mary possibly in one of the half domes, and the angels surrounding the circumference above the congregation below.
Pectoral Cross — Byzantine Art. Because realism had taken the backseat of importance to symbolism and religious priority, the paintings and mosaics had a standard set of features on figures, a two-dimensional look, and many details were brought down to a level of mere lines, curves, and swirls.
Two periods of iconoclasm, which is the destruction and forbiddance of icons for religious and political reasons, took place in the eighth and ninth centuries. While other structures, particularly his Chrysotriklinos , the imperial palace reception room, were equally influential, that building, like other early structures in Constantinople, was later destroyed. As a result, the best examples of Early Byzantine innovation can be seen in Ravenna, Italy.
In , Maximianus completed the construction of San Vitale, a central-plan church using a Greek cross within a square that became a model for subsequent architecture. The shallow dome, placed upon a drum, used terra cotta forms for the first time as construction material, while the interior's exquisite mosaics and sacred objects, including the Throne of Maximianan mid th century defined the Byzantine style. Having survived almost intact since its consecration, the interior of the Church of San Vitale created an effect of intricate splendor, with every inch richly decorated.
Large mosaics depicting the Emperor and Empress established Byzantine composition and figurative techniques, as the realistic depictions of classical art were abandoned in favor of an emphasis upon iconographic formality. The tall, thin, and motionless figures with almond shaped faces and wide eyes, posed frontally, against a gold background became the instantly recognizable definition of Byzantine art. Early Byzantine artists pioneered icon painting, small panels depicting Christ, the Madonna, and other religious figures.
Objects of both personal and public veneration, they developed from classical Greek and Roman portrait panels and were informed by the Christian tradition of Acheiropoieta.
Acheiropoieta , meaning, "made without hands," was an image believed to have been miraculously created. According to tradition, St. Luke the Evangelist, one of the original twelve apostles, painted the image of the Madonna and Child Jesus when they miraculously appeared to him. The Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria in Constantinople was built to house a now-lost icon believed to be St.
Luke's painting. As art historian Robin Cormack noted, it became "perhaps the most prominent cult object in Byzantium. Acheiropoieta were often credited with contemporary miracles. The Image of Edessa was believed to have come to the divine aid of the city of Edessa in its defense against the Persians.
The central image of Christ's head, known as the Mandylion in the Byzantine tradition, recalled the image of Christ's face imprinted on a cloth while he walked to the place of his crucifixion. Worshippers believed they were in the presence of the divine, as art historian Elena Boerck wrote, "Icons, unlike idols, have their own agency.
They're interactive images, in which the divine is present. By the 8 th century, the Byzantine Empire was under pressure and often at war, and in this tense climate the controversy over the spiritual validity of icons erupted.
Motivated by the belief that recent events, including military defeats and a volcanic eruption in the Aegean Sea in , were God's punishment for what he called, "a craft of idolatry," the Emperor Leo III officially prohibited religious images in and launched a movement called Iconoclasm, meaning "breaking of icons. The Iconoclasts felt that no icon could portray both Christ's divine and human nature, and to convey only one aspect of Christ was a heresy.
Those who supported icons argued that, unlike idols which depicted a false god, the images simply depicted the incarnate Christ and that the images derived their authority from Acheiropoieta. By inserting himself into the debate, the Emperor substituted imperial decree for religious authority, undercutting the influence and power of the church. Subsequently, the state violently supressed monastic clergy and destroyed icons. The era came to an end with a change in imperial power. Following the death of her husband, the Emperor Theophilus, in , the Empress Theodora took the throne and, as she was passionately devoted to the veneration of icons, summoned a council that restored icon worship and deposed the iconoclastic clergy.
The occasion was celebrated at the Feast of Orthodoxy in , and icons were carried in triumphal procession back to the various churches from which they had been taken. Nonetheless, the Iconoclastic Controversy had a notable impact on the later development of art, as the councils that restored the worship of icons also formulated a codified system of symbols and iconographic types that were also followed in mosaics and fresco painting.
The Middle Byzantine era is often called the Macedonian Renaissance, as Basil I the Macedonian, crowned in , reopened the universities and promoted literature and art, renewing an interest in classical Greek scholarship and aesthetics. Greek was established as the official language of the Empire, and libraries and scholars compiled extensive collections of classical texts. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Photios was not only the leading theologian but has been described by the historian Adrian Forescue as "the greatest scholar of his time.
The result was, as Janson and Janson wrote, "an almost antiquarian enthusiasm for the traditions of classical art," displayed in works like the illuminated manuscript, the Paris Psalter c.
Throughout Europe, Byzantine culture and art was seen as the height of aesthetic refinement, and, as a result, many rulers, even those politically antagonistic to the Empire, employed Byzantine artists. In Sicily, which had been conquered by the Normans, Roger II, the first Norman King, recruited Byzantine artists and, as a result, the Norman architecture that developed in Sicily and Great Britain, following the Norman Conquest in , profoundly influenced Gothic architecture. Hundreds of Byzantine artists were also employed at the Basilica of San Marco in Venice when construction began in He employed artists from Constantinople at the St.
Sophia's Cathedral he built in Kiev in Notable examples of Macedonian Renaissance art were also created in Greece, while the influx of Byzantine artists influenced art throughout Western Europe as shown by the Italian artist Berlinghiero of Lucca's Hodegetria c. Famed for its wealth and artistic treasures, Constantinople was cruelly sacked and the Empire conquered in by the Crusade Army and Venetian forces under the Fourth Crusade.
The brutal attack upon a Christian city and its inhabitants was unprecedented, and historians view it as a turning point in medieval history, creating a lasting schism between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, severely weakening the Byzantine Empire and contributing to its later demise when conquered by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Many notable artworks and sacred objects were looted, destroyed, or lost.
Some works, like the Roman bronze works of the Hippodrome, were carried off to Venice where they are still on display, while other works, including sacred objects and altars as well as classical bronze statues, were melted down, and the Library of Constantinople was destroyed. Though the Latins were driven out by , Byzantium never recovered its former glory or power. Following the Latin Conquest, the Late Byzantine era began to renovate and restore Orthodox churches. However, as the Conquest had decimated the economy and left much of the city in ruins, artists employed more economical materials, and miniature mosaic icons became popular.
In icon painting, the suffering of the population during the Conquest led to an emphasis upon images of compassion, as shown in sufferings of Christ. Artistic vitality shifted to Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece, where regional variations of icon painting developed. Byzantine art also influenced contemporaneous art in the West, particularly the Sienese School of Painting and the International Gothic Style, as well as painters like Duccio in his Stroganoff Madonna Known for its central plan buildings with domed roofs, Byzantine architecture employed a number of innovations, including the squinch and the pendentive.
The squinch used an arch at the corners to transform a square base into an octagonal shape, while the pendentive employed a corner triangular support that curved up into the dome.
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