Late Antique and Byzantine Style

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Late Antique and Byzantine Style
"If Rome can perish, what can be safe."
Christian scholar Jerome (ca. 347420 A.D.)
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• Rome - political and economic breakdown of the
  empire
• Constantine - Byzantium (Constantinople)
• End of Western Roman Empire (4th 5th century)
• 378 beginning of barbarian invasions
• sacking of Rome
• The German Odovacer becomes the first
  barbarian king of Italy
• Eastern Roman Empire (4th 15th cent.)

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Late antiquity Byzantine period 3th cent.
15th cent
EARLY CHRISTIAN 3th to 6th cent. BYZANTINE
6th and 7th cent. MEDIEVAL 8th to 15th cent.
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Roman Emperors 1st century v. 6th century
Vespasian
Justinian
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Christianity images
Image controversy (Old Testament) West v.
East (iconoclasts) end of focus on
surface / naturalism / realism / depth /mass/
volume/ Movement towards clarity, flatness,
rigidity symbolism, significance, pedagogy
Iconoclasts, Chludov Psalter, c. 850-75.
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House church in Dura Europos, Syria 2nd - 3rd
cent.
Before Christianity was made official
Reconstructed at Yale
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Dura Europos house church murals
Good Shepherd
Healing of the Paralytic Oldest depiction of
Christ known
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Jewish art
House synagogue in Dura Europos,
Syria discovered in the 1920s
3rd century
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Frontal Stylized non-naturalistic
The finding of baby Moses Detail of a wall
painting from synagogue in Dura-Europos, Syria,
244-245 (copy in tempera and plaster)
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Synagogue of Dura Europus, 3rd century, Syria
Moses giving Water to 12 tribes
Moses the Red Sea
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Roman catacombs
burial niches or loculi
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60 and 90 miles of galleries
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Jewish Art in Catacombs Villa Torlonia, dated
from 50 BCE to 400 CE
Menorahs Ark of the Covenant 3rd century
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After official recognition
Saints Pietro Marcellino catacombs, Rome early
4th cent.
Jonah and Jesus typology
Good Shepherd, Orants and Story of Jonah
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The cubiculum of the Good Shepherd n the
Catacomb of Domatilla
Via Latina, Cubiculum E
the Winged victory, the gorgon, Tellus
Christian and secular art
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MISC Good Shepherds From Roman catacombs 3rd
4th centuries
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Catacombs, Rome, 3rd century
Salvation Themes
Orant pose of Prayer
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Early Christian Symbols ICTHIS Jesus Christ Gods
Son Savior anchorhope Greek
monograph of Christ (Chi-Rho) flanked by the
Alpha and the Omega within the victor's garland
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Sarcophagus, S.Maria Antiqua 4th century
Jonah, Muse Christian Reading, good
Shepherd, John the Baptist
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typology
The problem of sculpture
Transept of Old Saint Peter's, 359, marble
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Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, from transept of
Old Saint Peter's, 359, marble
Leaving the Canon
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Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, from transept of
Old Saint Peter's, 359, marble
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Rare Crucifixion 5th cent.
Relief panel, c. 420 - 430 3 x 5 Ivory
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Christ as Apollo Mausoleum of the Julii, mosaic,
Rome, 3rd century
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After Christianity became official
churches Basilica plan (churches) and central
plan (baptisteries and mausoleums)
longitudinal
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Basilica plan (west) v. Central Plan (east)
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Churches
Old St. Peters Basilica, Rome begun 319-329
martyrium
Atrium added later 4th cent.
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Old St. Peters (reconstruction)
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16-17th centuries
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San Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome b. 385 Restored
after fire - 1823
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Church of Santa Costanza, Rome, c. 338 - 50
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Santa Costanza, Rome, c. 338 - 50
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c. 338 - 50
Clerestory windows
barrel-vaulted ambulatory
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Harvesting of Grapes, mosaic in the ambulatory
vault, Church of Santa Costanza
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UNESCO World Heritage List, 1996 (mosaics)
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia,
Ravenna,
Italy Byzantine mausoleum
c. 425-30 CE
Cruciform plan with tower
Blind arcading
Early Byzantine mosaics
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Fuses the longitudinal plan with the central plan
(Greek cross) domed/vaulted crossing
Brick exterior Interior marble and mosaic
barrel vaulted arms housing sarcophagi lunette
mosaic of the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence. c. 425
426
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Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, lunette
mosaic STILL Illusionism - shadows, tonality of
forms, spatial depth
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Good shepherd, lunette over the entrance,
mausoleum of Galla Placidia, c. 425 426
STILL - shadows, tonality of forms, spatial depth
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Galla Placidia, c. 425 430
stylized poses and gestures hieratic gaze
(frozen gaze contemplating infinity) luminous
shimmer of the gold backgrounds
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5th 6th cent. Eastern Empire flourished
Capital Constantinople Control of land and
sea routes between Europe and Asia Patronage
artistic center Greek scholarship and
philosophy mixed with cultures within the empire
to form the Byzantine culture (Syria, Palestine,
Egypt, Persia and Greece) 6th cent. Emperor
Justinian and Empress Theodora Recovery of
northern Africa, Sicily, much Italy and part of
Spain, and the Balkans negotiations at Persian
border Ravenna administrative capital of
Byzantine Italy Justinian Code (Roman Law
compilation written in Latin) foundation of
legal systems in Europe Christendom divided
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Byzantine 6th cent. 7th cent.
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Byzantine art phases 1st golden age -
6th cent. (Justinian) till 8th cent.
(iconoclasts) 2nd golden age - 867
(Macedonian dynasty) till 1204 (Crusaders occupy
Constantinople) 3rd golden age - 14th, 15th
cent. (until Ottoman Turk invasion of
Constantinople in 1453)
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Constantinople Constantine - Justinian
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We, too, permit material adornment in the
sanctuaries, not because God considers gold and
silver . to be precious and holy, but because we
allow every order of the faithful to be guided
in a suitable manner and to be led up to the
Godhead, inasmuch as some men are guided .
from the abundant light of the sanctuaries to
the intelligible and immaterial light.
Hypathius of Ephesus (mid-6th century)
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Church of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Istanbul,
Turkey 532- 537 Anthemius (geometry and
optics) Isidorus (physics, vaulting)
6th century
Cathedral Mosque (1453 - minarets) Museum (1935)
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basilica plan
Central plan with conches Naos galleries
260 x 270 feet dome - 210 feet from the
floor diameter 110 feet nave - 135 feet
wide aisles - 62 feet wide

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40 dome windows Neoplatonic theories Meditation
All interior surfaces are sheathed with
polychrome green and white marbles, purple
porphyry and gold mosaics encrusted upon the
brick
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Pendentives with seraphims
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Exedrae with 2 Arabic calligraphy roundels or
medallions
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The Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy
530-547
Central plan octagonal church
http//www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/ravenna-s
an-vitale-pictures/index.htm
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The Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547CE
8 two-story exedrae, 8 piers Aisles and gallery
access through arches
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Conch in the sanctuary apse (mosaic showing
Christ Enthroned, flanked by Saint Vitalis and
Bishop Ecclesius)
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Interlaced carving marble column capitals
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Justinian and his Retinue, 546-548, mosaic, north
wall of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna,
530-547CE
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Fluted shell canopy
Theodora and her retinue, 546-547, mosaic, south
wall of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna,
530-547CE
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Apse mosaic, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna,
530-547CE
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Apse mosaic, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna,
530-547CE
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St Catherine's Monastery, Sinai, Egypt c. 548/65
blue mandorla

Apse conch mosaic The Transfiguration (with
Moses and Elijah, Peter, John and James)
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Greek blessing gesture of Christ
Russian blessing gesture of Christ
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Icons eikon Aids to prayer/meditation Healing
and intercession
Dichotomy physical v. spiritual
Christ the Pantocrator
icon, St. Catherines Monastery Sinai, Egypt,
c. 6th or 7th century encaustic on panel
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St Peter, icon, St.
Catherines Monastery Sinai, Egypt, c. 6th or
7th century encaustic on panel
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St Catherine's Monastery, Sinai.
The Theotokos and Child, with saints and angels
icon, 6th cent. Encaustic on wooden
panel (realism/hieratic)
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Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Felix and
Augustus 528 Fresco Comodilla catacomb, Rome
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Manuscript illumination
Rebecca at the Well Page from the Book of
Genesis (known as The Vienna Genesis) Early 6th
century Tempera, gold, and silver paint on dyed
purple-dyed vellum 13 ½ X 9?" Probably from
Syria or Palestine Imperial patron
Codex Greek Continuous narration
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Codex (rotulus influence)
Realism/non-realism
Nahor
Eliezer (Abraham/Isaac)
Rebekah and Abraham's Servant, p 13, Vienna
Genesis, 6th cent.
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Joseph interpreting dreams in Prison, The Vienna
Genesis Early 6th cent. Illuminated manuscript
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Joseph and Potiphars Wife Vienna Genesis Early
6th cent. Illuminated manuscript
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The Crucifixion and Resurrection 586 13½ X 10½"
Page from the Rabbula Gospels, from Beth Zagba,
Syria
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The Ascension 586 13½ X 10½ Page from the
Rabbula Gospels, from Beth Zagba, Syria
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Illumination
Christ Heals Two Blind Men, folio 29r, Sinope
Gospels, 6th cent.
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Archangel Michael, Panel of a diptych Early 6th
cent. ivory, 17 x 15
Probably from the court workshop at Constantinople
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End of 1st golden age - 6th cent.
(Justinian) till 8th cent. (iconoclasts) 2nd
golden age - 867 (Macedonian dynasty) till
1204 (Crusaders
occupy Constantinople) 3rd golden age - 14th,
15th cent. (until
Ottoman Turk invasion of Constantinople in 1453)
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Second half of the 10th century David the
Psalmist Paint and gold on vellum sheet size 14 X
10½" Page from the Paris Psalter
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Mid-11th century Harbaville Triptych Ivory
closed 11 X 9½" open 11 X 19"
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Virgin of Vladimir Icon made in
Constantinople now in Moscow
tempera on panel, 31 h. 11-12th century faces,
with later restorations
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Monastery of Hosios Loukas, Greece
Central Domed Space and Apse (the Naos),
Katholikon Early 11th cent. and later
Virgin and Child Enthroned Katholikon Hosios
Loukas, Greece c. 1020 Apse mosaic
The Crucifixion, Narthex mosaic
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Pantokrator, Abbey Church of Monreale, Palermo,
Italy before 1183, mosaic
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Christ Pantokrator mosaic Church of the
Dormition Daphni, Greece ca. 1080-1100
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squinch
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San Marco, Venice, 1063-1600
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Funerary Chapel, Church of the Monastery of
Christ
c. 131021
Chora, Constantinople (Present-day Kariye
Mazesi, Istanbul, Turkey)
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Anastasis fresco
Church of the Monastery of Christ Chora,
Turkey ca. 1315-1321
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