BYZANTINE ART (c. 500 AD - 1200 AD)

by Jo Colley 06:24 0 comments

Byzantine Art was initiated by the continuation of the eroded Roman Empire in the Middle Ages. Predominantly Greek speaking, the empire was founded by Byzantium, the capital of which Empire was Constantinople. Out surviving the fall of the Roman Empire until the take over form the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The art of the Byzantine period was defined primarily by highly religious imagery and themes and showed a major departure from the similarities which likened Ancient Greek and Roman Art. The region of this empire was parted by the Mediterranean Sea and encompassed parts of modern Bulgaria, Macedonia, Spain, Italy, the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Not wavering from it's classical ancestry, the Byzantines considered themselves to be Romans, but this was largely a new aesthetic.

One of the biggest departures from the classical arts of Rome and Greece is the abandonment of the realist or naturalistic approach in favour of a more stylized and symbolic representation of an often religious theme. The format and materials used for Byzantine art were very characterized by it's beginnings with the use of mosaic tiles as decoration for churches and domes.

Emperor Justinian I and his Retinue, c. 547 AD.

Emperor Justinian I and his Retinue (c. 547 AD) created by mosaic is a Byzantine depiction of the religious, political and military leader of the region and his contemporaries, it displays features prominent throughout the Byzantine period of art as it's stylisation is dominated by a flat and planar perspective with distinct intricate patterning with neutral and blue tones. It focuses on a tapestry like narrative of a deeply religious theme.

Another important part of how the art of the Byzantines became widespread and important to the public as it furthered ideas visited by the Near Eastern period at which time religion and worship was vital to humankind. After the birth of Orthodox Christianity, icons, idols and portable products of religious art were used as a tool to increase the worldwide influence of the faith. An example of this is the painting from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt portraying the Virgin and Child from the Monastery of St Catherine as shown below.

Virgin and Child Panel painting, Byzantine Empire, 6th Century.

 In the Virgin and Child panel painting from the Byzantine Empire in the 6th Century, we can identify the infiltration of the Byzantine Doctrine of Christianity has embedded itself into the early art of Western Civilisation. This is important to understand how with the migration patterns of people shape the spread and influence of art even before modern society began. Themed such as the blue robes and the child on the Virgin's lap have been repeated time and time again in art for Centuries after this point and far reaching beyond the influence of the Empire itself. 

To conclude on the Byzantine Empire and its themes of art, it is essential to understand the religious undertones and meaning behind every icon and painting as it creates a narrative from which the religion of today stems from, particularly the depiction and interest surrounding the Virgin Mary. Byzantine decoration and architecture can even be identified in the modern world despite the 1453 conquest of the region by the future Ottoman era, establishing a new period and style of art making.