Byzantine art, architecture, paintings, and other visual arts produced in the
Middle Ages in the Byzantine Empire (centred at Constantinople)
and in various areas that came under its influence.
Where did Byzantine style of art develop?
The Byzantine style of art originated in
the ancient Byzantineempire
, which is dated between 285, the year that the Roman empire was split into the East and the West Roman Empire, and 1453, when it was conquered by the Turkish.
Why was Byzantine art created?
Byzantine Christian art had the
triple purpose of beautifying a building
, instructing the illiterate on matters vital for the welfare of their soul, and encouraging the faithful that they were on the correct path to salvation. For this reason, the interiors of Byzantine churches were covered with paintings and mosaics.
Where does Byzantine architecture came from?
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of
the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire
. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.
Where is Byzantine located?
Byzantium. The term “Byzantine” derives from Byzantium, an ancient Greek colony founded by a man named Byzas. Located
on the European side of the Bosporus
(the strait linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean), the site of Byzantium was ideally located to serve as a transit and trade point between Europe and Asia.
What language did the Byzantines speak?
Byzantine Greek language, an archaic style of Greek that served as the language of administration and of most writing during the period of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Empire until the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453.
How did Byzantine art start?
Byzantine art originated and evolved from
the Christianized Greek culture of the Eastern Roman Empire
; content from both Christianity and classical Greek mythology were artistically expressed through Hellenistic modes of style and iconography.
When did Byzantine art really start?
The pictorial and architectural styles that characterized Byzantine art, first codified in
the 6th century
, persisted with remarkable homogeneity within the empire until its final dissolution with the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453.
What is the religion of the Byzantine Empire?
The Empire gave rise to
the Eastern Orthodox Church
.
Byzantium was almost always a Christian empire, but over the centuries its Greek-speaking church developed distinct liturgical differences from the Catholic, Latin-speaking church in the West.
What was the Byzantine Empire’s most famous form of artwork?
Mosaic art
flourished in the Byzantine Empire from the sixth to the fifteenth centuries. Whereas in Antiquity , walls were usually decorated with less-expensive painted scenes, the Byzantine aesthetic favored the more sumptuous, glittering effect of mosaic decoration.
What is the most famous Byzantine church?
The largest, most important and still most famous Byzantine church, or indeed any building, is
the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople
, dedicated to the holy wisdom (hagia sophia) of God.
Who created Byzantine architecture?
Byzantine architecture is a style of building that flourished under the rule of
Roman Emperor Justinian
between A.D. 527 and 565. In addition to extensive use of interior mosaics, its defining characteristic is a heightened dome, the result of the latest sixth-century engineering techniques.
What is Byzantine principle?
Byzantine architects were eclectic, at first drawing heavily on Roman temple features. Their combination of the basilica and symmetrical central
-plan
(circular or polygonal) religious structures resulted in the characteristic Byzantine Greek-cross-plan church, with a square central mass and four arms of equal length.
What is Byzantium called today?
Constantinople: Formerly Byzantium, the capital of the Byzantine Empire as established by its first emperor, Constantine the Great. (Today the city is known as
Istanbul
.)
What race were the Byzantines?
During the Byzantine period, peoples
of Greek ethnicity
and identity were the majority occupying the urban centres of the Empire. We can look to cities such as Alexandria, Antioch, Thessalonica and, of course, Constantinople as the largest concentrations of Greek population and identity.
Are there any Byzantines left?
Some families gained relatively widespread recognition, such as the Angelo Flavio Comneno, supposed descendants of the Angelos dynasty.
Some “Byzantine” claimants are still active today
, despite the lack of formal Byzantine succession laws making finding a ‘legitimate’ heir impossible.
