Dariela Flores
Dec. 6, 2015
Essay 1
One of the themes of Byzantine art was to portray abstraction, representation and spirituality in mosaics and icons. For example the “Emperor Justinian and His Attendants” from San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy ca. 547 CE. In Medieval art books were created to make “material the word of God” and support the spread of Christianity. An example of this being the Chi Rho Iota page, from the book of Kells ca. 800. Probably from Iona, Scotland, Tempera on Vellum. These two artworks both serve as a symbolic function, both portraying in a way the name of Christ. The mosaic depicts Justinian as Christ’s representative on Earth. In the mosaic of “Justinian and His Attendants” the emperor is distinguished by his purple robe and a halo. He is surrounded by 12 companions, the royal comparable to the 12 apostles. The spot of the figures are important as well, they show a form of superiority and ranks. Emperor Justinian is at the
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Peter’s from Rome, Italy ca 400 CE while similar were from different cultures. Some of the purposes of Early Christian Art were to portray new types of “spaces, modified from Roman building types (evolution of the basilica) and its architecture focused on interior spaces and symbolism.” In the Byzantine Art “differences between the longitudinal-axis of the basilica based church and the domed central-plan church” are presented.
During Early Christian Art evolution of the basilica happened. Old Saint Peter’s Basilica was the greatest Constantinian church. It stood directly over the grave of St. Peter, Old St. Peter served as a building who housed the remains of a holy person. Old St. Peter gave importance to the altar zone with additional function as a martyrium or building who housed the remains of a holy person. Hagia Sophia has the longitudinal axis of an early Christian basilica but the feature of the nave is a huge, square space with an enormous dome above
The mosaic in the apse of San Vitale in Ravenna depicts a younger version of Christ. This is iconologically significant because it shows a beardless Christ, signifying that he may be from the Mediterranean. His halo contains the Cross and he is wearing a purple robe. It is rather two-dimensional, because the draperies do not convey a sense of organic bodily movement. The figures are also mostly displayed in a frontal view. The globe on which Jesus sits also does not seem to be supporting him very well, adding to the two-dimensional feel. The work was done in 547 A.D.
The Hagia Sophia is a stunning, spherical-shaped building made of marble and gold (Doc. 4). Justinian built the Hagia Sophia, which means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek, after a church of the same name was destroyed in riots in Constantinople (outside information). Procopius, Justinian’s court historian, described the church as “suspended from heaven by the fabled golden chain” (Doc. 4). Undoubtedly, visitors to the Hagia Sophia are left breathless by its beauty (outside information). Other churches that Justinian built include the Church of St. Salvator in Chora and the Church of the Apostles (Doc. 5). Justinian’s churches were beautiful; however, they were created to be more than just a display. The churches caused people to feel a connection with God, which helped unify the empire under a single faith. The bonding of the Romans under one faith helped strengthen the entire empire. Moreover, the abundance of churches in Constantinople helped make the city the center of religious power (Doc. 5). Evidence of Justinian’s legacy can be found when one realizes that the Byzantine Empire’s revived culture influenced Orthodox Christianity, a major branch of modern
“The Passions of Christ: A Journey Through Byzantine Art.” Kypros-Net: “The World of Cyprus”. 18 Oct. 2004 <http://kypros.org/Byzantine/>.
As early as 526-530 the church of SS. Cosma e Damiano was converted from what had been the offices and audience hall of the city prefect (Krautheimer 71). This building of state was placed in the Roman Forum and had been completed by none other than Constantine...
The depiction of Madonna and Christ is among the most ancient and common in Christian iconography and has an extensive number of variations because apart from its symbolic religious functions, it allows one to interpret the link between mother and child in many aspects. (8)
The Hagia Sophia was constructed first and it was meant as the main church of the Byzantine Empire. It is said that they built the Hagia Sophia in only 5 years, while it took nearly a century for the Notre Dame cathedral to be completed. While it did have what some would consider an extremely short construction time, they did have many issues with the dome. It nearly collapsed more than a few times. Once the builders and architects figured a plan to keep it stable, one on looker said, ”it is as if the Dome is suspended from Heaven itself”. The Dome of the rock was constructed for Christians, Jews, and Muslims but was to attract new followers to Malik’s Islamic brotherhood. The project for the construction had many issues, not only with the Dome itself, but also with revolts that would postpone construction for years. Once completed, many followers believed that Jerusalem was the third holiest place in the world due to Muhammed’s journey to Heaven in order to talk to God. The art within the Hagia Sophia was beautiful Mosaics and paintings of the Virgin Mary with Jesus. These were meant to represent how holy the building was. When the Muslims claimed the Hagia Sophia they did not want to destroy it due to beliefs so they renovated the building. They did this by breaking down images of humans and animals due to their belief that no images of figures
The Basilica of St. Denis was originally built in 500-599 AD, but was later reconstructed by Abbot Suger in c.1135-1144. Although its original architect is unknown, it is most famous for its reconstruction that was overseen by Abbot Suger (Panofsky). This basilica is also well known for its representation of Europe’s architectural shift from the Romanesque style to Gothic. The Gothic style brought new designs and was dubbed the “transformat...
Architecture is one important aspect of Byzantine culture. One of the most famous Byzantine architectural achievements is the Hagia Sophia, which is located in modern-day Istanbul. The basic design of the cathedral has a dome over a square base, which required a new innovation. At the time, it was kn...
1432.) is a magnificent work of Christian art. The painting of the Lord is covered with symbolism from top to bottom. The background has Christian’s symbols of wine and pelicans which relates to blood of Christ. The Lord wore clothing such as the headgear that represents the trinity, and sash that reveals the Sabbath. The phrases in the painting that reveal about eternal life and power of the Lord. Finally the painting has symbols of power: the large amount of gold presented in the painting and the crown below his feet. The painting is rich with symbolism, and the work of art need to be carefully overserve to see the full
Thesis: Both St. John the Baptist Cathedral and Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres are constructed in French Gothic style which means that architecturally they have many similarities. However, the 700 year gap between their construction offers St. John the Baptist more flexibility in design and style. Still, their likeness and variations extend far beyond the realm of their design.
The artists of the Baroque had a remarkably different style than artists of the Renaissance due to their different approach to form, space, and composition. This extreme differentiation in style resulted in a very different treatment of narrative. Perhaps this drastic stylistic difference between the Renaissance and Baroque in their treatment of form, space, and composition and how these characteristics effect the narrative of a painting cannot be seen more than in comparing Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter from the Early Renaissance to Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul from the Baroque.Perugino was one of the greatest masters of the Early Renaissance whose style ischaracterized by the Renaissance ideals of purity, simplicity, and exceptional symmetry of composition. His approach to form in Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St.Peter was very linear. He outlined all the figures with a black line giving them a sense of stability, permanence, and power in their environment, but restricting the figures’ sense of movement. In fact, the figures seem to not move at all, but rather are merely locked at a specific moment in time by their rigid outline. Perugino’s approach to the figures’themselves is extremely humanistic and classical. He shines light on the figures in a clear, even way, keeping with the rational and uncluttered meaning of the work. His figures are all locked in a contrapposto pose engaging in intellectual conversation with their neighbor, giving a strong sense of classical rationality. The figures are repeated over and over such as this to convey a rational response and to show the viewer clarity. Perugino’s approach to space was also very rational and simple. He organizes space along three simple planes: foreground, middle ground, and background. Christ and Saint Peter occupy the center foreground and solemn choruses of saints and citizens occupy the rest of the foreground. The middle distance is filled with miscellaneous figures, which complement the front group, emphasizing its density and order, by their scattered arrangement. Buildings from the Renaissance and triumphal arches from Roman antiquity occupy the background, reinforcing the overall classical message to the
Not only is the Pantheon one of the most amazing architectural structures of the Roman Empire, but it is also one of the most intriguing. It was built during the early second century under the rule of Emperor Hadrian to replace a temple built in 27 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa which had burned down in 80 A.D. Like the temple it replaced, the Pantheon was a dedication to the Roman gods. An intriguing fact about the Pantheon is that it was one of the first buildings where the focus is on the interior rather than the exterior. On the outside, the cella appears in the shape of a ...
In the Florence Cathedral, Florence, Italy, there is a cathedral church whose octagonal dome, built without the aid of scaffolding, was considered the greatest engineering feat of the early Renaissance. Dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, Our Lady of the Flower, it is also known as the Duomo, after the Italian word for cathedral. Created by many great Early Modern artists, this piece of architecture is a perfect example the Renaissance style. We can come to a better understanding of why this is so by exploring what the characteristics of the Renaissance “style”. To understand the properties of the Florence Cathedral that fit the Early Modern style, I will begin with a description and its history. The cathedral's architectural style, although greatly influenced by French Gothic elements remained distinctively Florentine, especially the geometric patterns of red, green, and white marble on the building's exterior. Construction of the cathedral began in 1294 on the site of a Christian church founded in the 6th or 7th century and continued until 1436. Several celebrated Italian architects were involved in the project, including Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Orcagna, and, most notably, Filippo Brunelleschi, who was responsible for designing and building the dome. The cathedral's exterior is ornamented with sculpture and mosaics by Italian artists Donatello, Nanni di Banco, and Domenico Ghirlandaio, among others. The building's stained-glass windows are the work of the Italian architect and artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, and the interior is decorated with sculpture and fresco paintings by several Renaissance masters. Construction of the campanile (bell tower), situated to the right of the entrance to the Duomo, was begun by Giotto and completed according to his plans in 1359, after his death. Nearly 278 ft high, the campanile is embellished with red, green, and white marble panels of relief sculpture by Italian artists Andrea Pisano and Luca della Robbia, and niches with sculpted figures by Donatello and other masters. Facing the cathedral and campanile is a smaller, octagonal structure, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, noted for its gilt-bronze doors, elaborately worked in high relief by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti. With that background information about the cathedral, one question comes to mind: what is it that makes the Renaissance style distinct? Renaissa...
Byzantine art had many basic characteristics. The first was expressionistic using color and emotion. Many of the are lacked depth in a two dimensional fashion. The art was symbolic in nature, decorative, detailed. The figures are stiff and ...
The introduction of Christianity as a major religion followed the pattern of other ancient religions. Many of the great works of art were done for religious purposes. Some of the most famous artworks in history are religious. Just a few that come immediately to mind are The Last Supper, the ceiling of the Cysteine Chapel, and the Statue of David. Even during the period known as the Dark Ages art was inspired by religion. True, the art was generally dark and full of death and demons, but the art was based upon religious themes, mostly from the book of Revelations. As with the art that preceded it, the religious art of Christianity is full of symbolism. For example, a painting where the man is standing with two fingers upraised on his right hand is generally a religious leader such as a pope or Jesu...