Byzantine Art: Architecture, Painting, Mosaics, and Sculpture
Byzantine Art
Byzantium, a Greek town that had been the head of a Roman province, suddenly rose in 330 AD, by the decision of Constantine the Great, to the rank of imperial capital under the name of Constantinople. Half a century later, Theodosius divided his kingdom between his two sons and created two independent states: the Western Empire, with Rome as its capital, and the Eastern Empire, centered in Byzantium. The fall of the Western Empire in 476 AD checked the spiritual heritage of Byzantium and Rome, increasing its importance as a political and artistic power, which would reach its apex with the glorious Justinian.
However, the geographical situation of Byzantium, at the gates of Asia, its remoteness from Latin sources, and close and continuous contact with the kingdoms of the East influenced it. So that if, on the one hand, it retained its title of daughter and continuer of classical culture, on the other hand, Byzantium offered the features of an alien monarchy, theocratic, despotic, and barbarically lavish, whose habits, tastes, and structures belonged more to Asia than to the Greco-Roman world, which is reflected in its art.
Architecture
Byzantine architecture is inspired by the architecture of the countries with which Byzantium was most in touch or were part of the same historical and cultural tradition. Thus, in their constructions, we find elements borrowed from the Romans, Greeks, Syria, or Persia, combined with others of their own invention. Among the most important are:
- The dome
- The tubes and scallops
- The vault
- The arch
- The abutments
- Columns and towers
The most important building of Byzantine architecture is the church.
Painting
Byzantine painting has two interesting patterns: the mural, for the interior decoration of the temple, and the gantry, producing small pieces of wooden boards called icons, that is, images. The first was painted in oil or tempera, and they were great compositions on religious themes, with a symbolic character that greatly appealed to the abstract nature of the Eastern mentality. In large spaces formed by vaults and domes, allegorical scenes were represented in which the Virgin or Christ entered: Resurrection, the Doomsday, the Gloria, and so on.
The Mosaic
It is not possible to speak of Byzantine mural art without referring to one of its most beautiful creations: the mosaic. The composition consisted of large scenes, usually religious, but not painted, made of small pieces of ceramic or marble of various colors (called tesserae), which were stuck to a properly prepared base on which the drawing of figures that were meant to be represented was done prior. The great diversity of colors and shades of these tiles allowed them to give figures all the purposes of painting, in regard to colors, shades, shapes, etc.
Sculpture
In the early days, Byzantine sculpture was an extension of Hellenistic art, producing portraits of great force. But after the revolution of the iconoclasts, which ended with all religious images of bulk and banned the worship of them, sculpture lost importance and was reduced to the minor arts of ivory, enamel, bronze, and gold, materials in which bas-relief was worked with great skill.