Intro to Byzantine Empire & Art

Intro to Byzantine Empire & Art

Porter/OASIS Art Spring 2021

Geography, Time Period & Historical Context

330 - 1453 CE: After "Fall of Rome." Split into West/East. This refers to Eastern Roman Empire, "Byzantia." It fell to the Ottoman Turks in the 1400s. Constantine was the founder and 1st to declare Roman Empire as Christian. The capitol was Constantinople, known as Istanbul today.

NOTE:CONSTANTINOPLE IS A BRIDGE BETWEEN ASIA MINOR AND EUROPE!

Hippodrome

This was the civil center of the people. It carried over from Greek and Roman tradition. Many chariot races & sports. Similar to an open air stadium. It was about 1300 feet in length and up 700 feet wide. One lap around the track would be aprox 1000 feet.

Followed tradition of Greek and Roman Amphitheaters

Looted from hippodrome. Now in Vienna.

Romulus and Remus Statue in original Hippodrome.

Watching a reconstruction of the Hippodrome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjrnvDn2tcA

For those of you who have NOT taken the Informal Art Summative from Tuesday, stay now to take.

I will call names of people who can leave. If your name is NOT called, you have to stay.

Hagia Sophia

"Holy Wisdom"

Facts

• Is in Istanbul, Turkey (formally Constantinople)

• Is 1,400 years old

• Was originally a Cathedral

• Originally constructed in wood in 360 AD

• Destroyed by Riots and rebuilt by Justininan in 537 AD

An Examplar of Byzantine Art & Architecture

The dome is 108 feet in diameter and is 180 feet above the ground.

Mosaics

Made from glass, stone, ceramic, or other material. These chips are called TESSERAE. During the Byzantine period art changed from 3D sculpture (Greek/Roman) to Mosaics. In the past, mosaics were used only on floors. During this period the Byzantines began to use as primary mode of art & iconography. The tesserae used began to include more precious stones and materials.

Hagia Sophia is covered in mosaics.

Pillars made of marble imported from around the world. Said to be an imitation of flowing water in design. Very impressive structure, especially as not made of steel.

Some of the stone was quarried as seen here. A reference book regarding marble:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marble/eeVFAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=where+is+chassambali+quarry+in+greece&printsec=frontcover

"140 monolithic columns which were brought from different places of the world. For instance; the 8 columns whose color of purple symbolize nobility of the Byzantine Empire, are from Egypt and stand under semi domes. There are also 8 green columns from Artemis Temple in Ephesus. The capitals of the columns are carved with acanthus and palm tree leaves and the monograms of the emperors (Justinian & Theodora) appear on them. None of the bowl capitals are identical" (the tops of the columns shaped like bowls). (https://hagiasophiaturkey.com/columns/

What's next?

Tour of the Hagia Sophia https://www.touristtube.com/Things-to-do-in-Istanbul/Hagia-Sophia-360 and add to Class Jamboard as exit slip: https://jamboard.google.com/d/1fkTO7l3AmbrDkdLQ8oDi-JeyBnKUCjQOBBQCR-YrI0o/edit?usp=sharing

San Vitale

https://smarthistory.org/san-vitale/ ADD NOTES TO JAMBOARD