U6: Hagia Sophia and San Vitale

Byzantine Empire

• Prior to fall of Western Roman Empire in ~470 CE, Roman Empire divided into Western and Eastern Empires.

• Eastern Empire expands and declines over period of centuries (400 - 1453 CE); Capital = Constantinople

• Marks beginning of Middle Ages; transitional, "silent" period between fall of Rome and Renaissance

• Latin church converted Germanic peoples to Roman Christianity, Byzantium converted Slavic peoples to Orthodox Christianity

• Roman Christianity: Christ is creation of God, therefore lesser; Orthodox Christianity: God and Christ equal in divinity

Byzantine Empire- Justinian I + Theodora

• Emperor Justinian I; sought to restablish territories of Roman Empire; declared Christianity only lawful religion

• Saw himself as defender of faith, established religious uniformity of Orthodoxy across empire.

• Married Theodora, former actress/prostitute; became his advisor

• Constantly at war during reign

• Collapse of empire in 1453 leads to exodus of scholars towards west; introduced to classical Greek studies which helps inspire Renaissance

Byzantine Empire- Ravenna

• Ravenna= former capital of western Roman Empire; capital of Ostrogothic Empire

• Greatest internal threat= Nika riots

• To suppress insurrections, Theodora convinces Justinian to stay and establish his authority.

• Conquered Ravenna to establish a seat in former western empire

• Ravenna = richest areas for 5th and 6th century mosaics in Italy

Multiple Choice

Select the capital of the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire.

• Adrianople

• Athens

• Rome

• Constantinople

San Vitale

​MEDIUM: Brick, marble, and stone veneer; moaic

LOCATION: Ravenna, Italy

CULTURE OF ORIGIN: Byzantine Europe

DATE: 526 - 547 CE

San Vitale- Plan/Structure

• Round central plan chosen for practical, religious, and political reasons

• Dome-covered inner octagon above surrounding octagon giving light

• Dedicated to San Vitalus- Roman slave and Early Christian martyr

• Stark, unadorned exterior; lavish and rich interior (symbolized the soul)

• Cross-vaulted sanctuary interrupts ambulatory.

• Unsymmetrical narthex: Could have been to force visitors to re-orient themselves: transition from material world outside to spiritual world in.

San Vitale- Interior

• Mosaic located on right side of altar

• Justinian in center holding paten (bowl for Eucharist); holding up towards Christ mosaic in apse

• Justinian dressed in purple robe with golden halo

• Flanked by clergy (religious power) and soldiers (military power)

• Feet point down, faces “cookie cutter”, bodies losing corporeality, not accurate portrayal of depth: crowded composition, shading less accurate, gold background typical of Byzantine

• Located on opposite wall of Justinian mosaic: first significant woman in a mosaic program.

• Pearled stranded crown

• Both mosaics show slow forward movement

• Richness in costumes: men in silk tunics

• No background in Justinian's; understood as procession taking place in sanctuary, making him part of every rite held in San Vitale

• Justinian and Theodora never visited; always present through image

Multiple Choice

Where is San Vitale located?

• Constantinople

• Ravenna

• Rome

• Sicily

Multiple Choice

The Byzantine mosaics of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora from the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna differ from classical Roman mosaics in that they

• focus on realism, illustrating the concern of Byzantine art for making religious subject matter more relatable

• employ diagonal lines and stacked bodies, showing the focus of early Christian art on drama and emotional impact

• portray secular leaders, demonstrating the preference of Byzantine art for historic over religious subject matter

• favor stylized figures against a gold-leaf background, reflecting the emphasis of early Christian art on spirituality

Hagia Sophia

ARCHITECTS: Anthemius and Isodorus

​MEDIUM: Brick and ceramic elements with stone and mosaic verneer

LOCATION: Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey

CULTURE OF ORIGIN: Byzantine Europe

DATE: 532 - 537 CE

Hagia Sophia- Background

• "Hagia Sophia" = "Holy Wisdom"

• Built as personal church for emperor and his court; not for public congregation

• Only emperor could enter sanctuary (church and state become one)

• 1453: Turks launched assault on Hagia Sophia; taken over by Sultan Mehmet II and converted to mosque

• Widespread panic from Christians ensues; fears that Europe would fall under Islamic control

• 1934: Turkish President aimed to westernize Turkey, turned to museum and prohibited public prayer

• Four Turkish minarets; added after Ottoman conquest

• Plain exterior; lavish interior

• Interior= 3 football fields long

• Dome 108’ diameter, crown 180’ feet above ground: first structure to achieve greater height than Pantheon

• Unifies central and basilica plans.

• Large piers (columns) and half domes help offset thrust (force) from central dome

Fill in the Blanks

• Dome rests on four pendentives (main Byzantine architectural contribution creating a dome that rests on a larger dome)

• Makes possible a round dome on a square base (rather than Pantheon where drum was used) to keep central plan

FUN FACT!

During emergency repairs on dome in 1990’s found graffiti from 10th century repairman imploring God for protection as worked on scaffolds 150 feet above floor. 

• Dome thin brick set in mortar
  Four acres of golden glass cubes

• Mihrab under apse; muezzin (man who calls Muslims to prayer) location under dome

• Main dome rests on 40 windows; gives illusion of sitting on a band of light

Multiple Choice

The patron of the building was

• Charlemagne

• Mehmet II

• Justinian

• Isodorus

Multiple Choice

An important structural innovation of the building is the use of

• Pendentive

• Groin vault

• Corbelled galleries

• Concrete construction