Medieval AP Classroom

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

The Catacomb of Priscilla was designed by its original founders to provide a

• burial place for members of the early Christian Community

• refuge for early Christian families at times of religious persecution

• secret location to baptize early Christian converts

• place of worship for large congregations of early Christinas

Early Christians would probably have recognized the figures with raised arms shown between the lunettes of the fresco as representing

• angels guarding the chapel

• apostles preachign the Gospel

• martyrs who died by crucifixion

• believers in the act of prayer

While different theories exist about why no Christian art older than the earliest paintings from catacombs seems to have survived, some scholars theorize that early Christians

• avoided making religious images to distinguish themselves from members of other religions

• had no time for image making since they were continually persecuted by Roman authorities

• created religious art that was almost undistinguishable from other religious art of the time

• only started making images once the literacy rate among the population began declining

The cross-carpet page of the Lindisfarne Gospels demonstrates both continuity and change through the use of

• indigenous styles to express new religious meaning

• religious imagery in a secular manuscript to appeal to a wider audience

• classical references to serve a propagandistic purpose

• cloisonne enamel in lavish manuscript production to increase its worth

Scholars think that early medieval fibulae, such as the Merovingian looped fibulae, served as

• magical objects meant to protect the wearer

• ancestral insignia worn to honor the dead

• religious objects used in funerary rituals

• status symbols owned to enhance prestige

Original viewers of the interior of Hagia Sophia were described as reacting with

• fear at its vulnerability to earthquakes

• disgust at its lavish display of opulence

• awe that its dome seemingly hovered on a cushion of light

• pride that all of its spaces were open to the entire populace

Originally Hagia Sophia may have lacked figural imagery either because the builders feared making graven images or because

• they desired to focus the attention of visitors on the architecture and surface decoration

• they ran out of money to finish their planned program of decoration

• Emperor Justinian wanted to outshine all other aspects of the building when he appeared

• Christians had not yet developed a tradition of figural imagery for church decoration

After the original dome of Hagia Sophia collapsed in 558 C.E., its architects responded by

• removing many of the building's original windows

• using lighter materials in the reconstructed dome

• decreasing the height of the dome and adding columns

• increasing the height of the dome and adding buttresses

Byzantine churches built after Hagia Sophia often imitated its

• use of concrete poured into molds

• use of a dome resting on pendentives

• extensive program of narrative frescoes

• rectilinear basilica format and windows