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Late Antique and Byzantine Art

Sandrine Le Bail AP Art History

Enduring Statement 3-1

• European medieval art is generally studiedin chronological order and divided into geographical regions, governing cultures,and identifiable styles, with associated but distinctive artistic traditions. There is significant overlap in time, geography, practice, and heritage of art created within this time frame and region. Nationalist agendas and disciplinary divisions based on the predominant language (Greek, Latin, or Arabic) and religion (Judaism, Western or Eastern Orthodox Christianity, or Islam) have caused considerable fragmentation in the study of medieval art.

Essential Knowledge 3-1a

Medieval artistic traditions include late antique, early Christian, Byzantine, Islamic, migratory, Carolingian*, Romanesque, and Gothic, named for their principal culture, religion, government, and/or artistic style. Continuities and exchanges between coexisting traditions in medieval Europe are evident in shared artistic forms, functions, and techniques. Contextual information comes primarily from literary, theological, and governmental (both secular and religious) records, which vary in quantity according to period and geographical region, and to a lesser extent from archaeological excavations.

Essential Knowledge 3-1c

• Medieval artists and architects were heavily influenced by earlier and contemporary cultures, including coexisting European cultures. Thus early medieval and Byzantine art was influenced by Roman art and by motifs and techniques brought by migratory tribes from eastern Europe, West Asia, and Scandinavia. High medieval art was influenced by Roman, Islamic, and migratory art, and European Islamic art was influenced by Roman, migratory, Byzantine, and West Asian art.

Image Set

Late Antique (3 works)48 . Catacomb of Priscilla (Greek Chapel, Orant, Good Shepherd frescos)

49. Santa Sabina. Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 422–432 C.E. Brick and stone, wooden roof.

50. Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well and Jacob Wrestling the Angel, from the Vienna Genesis. Early Byzantine Europe. Early sixth century C.E. Illuminated manuscript (pigments on vellum).

Byzantine Art (3 works)

51. San Vitale. Ravenna, Italy. Early Byzantine Europe. c. 526–547 C.E. Brick, marble, and stone veneer; mosaic.

52. Hagia Sophia. Constantinople (Istanbul). Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. 532–537 C.E. Brick and ceramic elements with stone and mosaic veneer.

54. Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George. Early Byzantine Europe. Sixth or early seventh century C.E. Encaustic on wood.

Late Antique Art

Early Christian Art

Early Jewish Art


A new religion: Christianity

Founded by Jesus Christ

New Testament

Based on the idea of Paradise

Last supper - Eucharist

Persecutions

Larger persecutions: Nero and Diocletian

The Christian Bible

• Old Testament

• New Testament :

- 4 Gospels (life of Jesus)

- Acts (works of the Apostles)

- Epistles (letters)

- Apocalypse (Revelation)

Early developments in Christianity

Underground movement

Before 313 CE

Important FactPre-Constantinian

Christ was crucified ca.33, but very little Christian art or architecture survives from the 1st

centuries of Christianity. “Early Christian art” means the earliest art of Christian content, not the art of Christians at the time of Jesus, and comes primarly from the catacombs of Rome.

Roman catacombs

65 known in Rome

For everybody

Roman Catacombs

Loculus – pl. loculiClose by slabs

Since Hadrian: only inhumation

Arcosolium . Pl. Arcosolia

Cubiculum (pl.cubicula)

Chi Ro = Early Christogram

Fish and anchor, catacomb of Priscilla, Rome 2nd-3rd century

Ichtus - Jesus Christ, son of God Saviour

Catacomb of Priscilla (Greek Chapel, Orant, Good Shepherd frescos), 200-

400 tufa and fresco, Rome, Italy

Catacomb of Priscilla

Orant, catacomb of Priscilla, Rome 2nd-3rd century

Story of Jonah

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep”

(John 10:11).

Christ Young and without beard

The Greek Chapel

Catacomb of Priscilla (Greek Chapel, Orant, Good Shepherd frescos), 200-

400 tufa and fresco, Rome, Italy

• Early Christian art appeared in the catacombs

• Influenced by contemporary Roman painting

• Use of symbols

• Representation of Old Testament episodes to symbolize the new Christian art

• 1st Representation of Christ: Good Shepherd (young and beardless)

Important facts

Early Christian artists profusely decorated the walls and ceiling of the catacombs with frescoes.

Popular themes were Christ as Good Shepherds and the salvation of Jonas.

Iconic representation: fish, monogram, anchor, alpha and omega

Early Christian ArtPaleochristian Art

From 313 CE

313 Edict of Milan =Tolerance to all religion

380 . Edict of Thessalonic:Christianity is the official religion

Constantine and Christianity

Constantine’s Edict of Milan of 313 granted Christianity legal status equal or superior to the cults of the traditional gods.

The emperor was the first great patron of Christian art and built the first churches in Rome, including Old Saint Peter’s.

Adaptation of Roman elements

• Axially planned building (basilicas)

• Centrally planned building (mainly for mausoleums and baptistery)

Basilica Ulpia, Forum of Trajan, 98-117 CE

Old Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, 333-390


transept

By Constantine on the tomb of Saint Peter

Altar

Santa Sabina. Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 422–432 C.E. Brick

and stone, wooden roof.

Apse

Nave

Aisles


and stone, wooden roof.

Coffered ceiling

Apse

Clerestory windows

Columns from Roman temples

Built by Peter of Illyria

Oldest representation of the crucifixion known


and stone, wooden roof.• Adaptation of the Roman basilica

• Built by Peter of Illyria

• Pagan architectural elements at the service of the new god

• No outside decoration, no sculptures

• Men divided from women

Santa Costanza, Roma, c.350

Centrally planned building

Mausoleum of Constantina, Constantine’s daughter


Rotunda

Narthex

Clerestory windowDome

Barrel Vaults


Vine scrolls – Sacrifice of Christ

Constantina’s sarcophagus, 340

Important Fact

• Ancient Roman basilicas were used as a model for churches.

• Ancient Roman central plan building (bath, temple…) were used as a model for mausoleums and baptisteries.

Volumen vs Codex

Volumen Codex (pl. codices)

Parchment or vellum

Vellum(calfskin)

or Parchment

Scribes and Illuminators

Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well and Jacob Wrestling the Angel, from the Vienna Genesis. Early Byzantine

Europe. Early sixth century C.E. Illuminated manuscript (pigments on vellum).

Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well

Jacob Wrestling the Angel

Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well and Jacob Wrestling the Angel, from the Vienna Genesis. Early Byzantine Europe. Early sixth century C.E. Illuminated manuscript (pigments on vellum).

• Oldest well-preserved painted manuscript containing biblical scenes

• Written in Greek with illustrations on the bottom of the page.

• Probably made in Constantinople, Syria or Palestine• Pages are fine calfskin (vellum) dyed with rich purple,

(same dye used for imperial cloth). The Greek text is in silver ink.

• Continuous narration (more than one episode of the story presented within a single frame)

• Culture of transition – Mix of Late Antique style and Medieval Style

David composing the Psalms, from the Paris Psalter, c.950-970

Psalter: a book of the psalms from the Hebrew scriptures.

Byzantine Art


Tetrarchs

330 - Foundation of Constantinople

Constantine founded Constantinople (now Istanbul) on the site of the ancient Greek city of

Byzantium in 324 and dedicated this “New Rome” to the Christian God in 330.

476 – Disparition of the Western Empire

Byzantine Architecture

Justinian (r.527-565)

• The first golden age of Byzantine art was the result of the lavish patronage of Justinian.

• Wanted to conquer lost western territories and revive elements of the classical Roman Empire

Justinian and Ravenna

The seat of Byzantine power in Italy was Ravenna, which prospered under Justinian. San Vitale is Ravenna’s greater church.Its mosaics, with their weightless, hovering, frontal figures against a gold background, reveal the new Byzantine aesthetic.

San Vitale. Ravenna, Italy. Early Byzantine Europe. c. 526–547 C.E. Brick, marble, and

stone veneer; mosaic.

Apsidial chapel

sanctuary

Centrally-planned

Narthex

ClerestoryDome

Apse mosaic, San Vitale, Ravenna, 540-547

Saint Vitale Ecclesius

Apse mosaic, San Vitale, Ravenna, 540-547

• Jesus = early Christian style (young and clean-shaven)

• Sphere = world

• 4 rivers of paradise

• Still naturalism but stiffer

• Frontality

• Golden background - spirituality

Court of Justinian, San Vitale, Ravenna, c. 547

Ara Pacis

Court of Theodora, San Vitale, Ravenna, c. 547

Characteristics

• Golden background

• Hierarchy

• No perspective

• The folds of the clothes hide the body

• Flat

• Spatial representation not realistic

• Organic body has dematerialized

• Theological basis for this approach to representation was the idea that the divine was invisible and that the purpose of religion art was to stimulate spiritual seeing

San Vitale. Ravenna, Italy. Early Byzantine Europe. c. 526–547 C.E. Brick, marble, and

stone veneer; mosaic.

• Dedicated by Bishop Maximianus in 547 in honor of Saint Vitalis

• Centrally planned church

• The apse and the choir decorations form an unified composition

• Holy ratification of the emperor Justinian’s right to rule

• Dual political and religious roles of the Byzantine emperor

Justinian and Constantinople

In Constantinople alone, Justinian built or restored more than 30 churches. The greatest was Hagia Sophia, which rivaled the architectural wonders of Old Rome.

Hagia Sophia. Constantinople (Istanbul). Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus.

532–537 C.E. Brick and ceramic elements with stone and mosaic veneer.

Hagia Sofia, Costantinople, 532-537Architects: Isodoros of Miletus and Anthemius of

Tralles

• For almost 1000 years = seat of the Orthodox patriarch of Constantine.

• Became a mosque when the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks

• Now a museum

Approximate reconstruction of how the Church appeared in the 12th century

lunette

Roman:

Pendentives

Capital

Justinian’s imperial church –Shows the power and the willingness to unit all Christian

A brilliant fusion of central and longitudinal plans, Hagia Sophia’s 180 foot-high dome rests on pendentives but seemed to contemporaries to be suspended “ by a golden chain from Heaven”

Byzantine Painting

Icons

Icon: devotional panel depicting a sacred image.

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between

Saints Theodore and George.

Early Byzantine Europe. Sixth or

early seventh century C.E. Encaustic on

wood.

Saint Theodore

Saint Gorges

Hand of godTheotokos“god bearer”

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George. Early Byzantine Europe. Sixth or early seventh century C.E. Encaustic on

wood.• Icon painting is a Byzantine tradition• Icons are small portable paintings depicting the Christ, the

Virgin or Saints• Important role in private devotion • Encaustic on wood continues the tradition of panel painting

in Egypt • Foreground figures are strictly frontal and have a solemn

demeanor • Background details are few and suppressed, compressed

and flat• Traces of Greco-Roman illusionism remain on the faces• Saints’ bodies in the new Byzantine manner

Mary

• Very strong codification

• Hieratic

• Body concealed beneath a blue robe

• Large eye

• Small mouth

• Theodokos “God Bearer”

• Throne of wisdom

Iconoclastic Controversy

(8th -9th

century)From 726 to 758

andFrom 815 to 843

Iconoclastic Controversy

• In 726, Leo III (r.717-741) enacted a ban against picturing the divine, initiating the era of iconoclasm and the destruction of countless Early Byzantine artworks.

• Empress Theodora repealed iconoclasm in 843 and in 867, Basil I dedicated a new mosaic depicting the Theotokos (Mother of God) in Hagia Sophia. It marked the triumph of the iconophiles over the iconoclasts.

Theotokos, apse mosaic, Hagia Sophia,

Constantinople, 867

Vladimir Virgin, 12th

century

TheotokosVirgin Eleusa(Tenderness)

1054 – East West Schism

West East

• Roman Catholic Church• Pope• Rome• Latin

• Eastern Orthodox Church • Patriarch of Constantinople• Constantinople• Greek

1204 – Siege of Constantinople

• In 1204, Latin crusaders sacked Constantinople, bringing to an end the Middle Byzantine era.

• In 1261, Michael VIII Palaeologus succeeded in recapturing the city. Constantinople remained in Byzantine hands until its capture by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

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