The City of Constantinople (Istanbul) Heart of the Byzantine Empire
Constantinople a splendid and wealthy city in the Middle Ages, a few precious objects preserved in western church treasuries.
-Enamel Icons of St. Michael, one dated late 10th early 11th century, the other late 11th, early 12th, both taken to Venice after the Fourth Crusade and still in the Treasury of San Marco, Venice.
-Chalice of Romanos incorporates an ancient sardonyx cup ornamented with 10th century enamels and made into a chalice for the Eucharist, 10th century, in San Marco
-Reliquary of the True Cross, c. 963, taken by the western crusaders in 1204, now in Germany, Limbourg an der Lahn
-Incense burner in the Shape of a Domed Building, 12th century, in San Marco
-Textile Fragment from the Reliquary of Saint Germanus, St. Germain, Auxerre.
The Byzantine Emperors called themselves emperor of the Romans until the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. Imperial images demonstrate that the authority of the Emperor derives from Christ.
-Barberini Diptych image of the 6th century emperor, Justinian
-Christ Crowning the Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos
The formidable land walls of Constantinople built under Theodosius II preserved
a continuous tradition of classical learning that was passed on to medieval
western Europe, Islamic scientists and Renaissance humanists.
-Illustrations from a 5th century manuscript of the Iliad.In the sixth century, Justinian attempted to re-establish the power of the Roman Empire. He reconquered lands in Italy and North Africa that had been lost, codified Roman law and built the church of Hagia Sophia to replace the earlier church that had been burned during the Nika riots.
-Views of the Hagia Sophia and the church of San Vitale in Ravenna with portraits of Justinian and Theodora.Images of holy figures painted on wood, made of mosaic or enamelwork were central in Byzantine worship and continue in the liturgy of the Orthodox Church. Heir to both the Greco-Roman world of images and the Judaeo-Christian suspicion of them, the Byzantines developed a complex theology of religious images. After a period of Iconoclasm in the 8th and 9th centuries, images were triumphantly restored and became central to orthodox belief.
-Theodore Psalter with a marginal illustration of the Iconoclast Council of 814, 11th centuryThe icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, was popularly believed to have been painted by the Evangelist Luke. It was kept in the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople and carried up onto the walls to protect the city during sieges
-Icon of the Theotokos Hodegetria Between the Empress Theodora, and the Emperor Michael, 14th century illustrates the restoration of icons, Triumph of Orthodoxy.
-Two sided Icon of the Suffering Christ and the Virgin Hodegetria, late 12th century
A famous icon of Christ was place over a Chalke (Bronze) Gate of the Imperial Palace. It was forcibly removed when Iconoclasm began and restored to mark the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
-Ivory showing a procession bringing relics to the Great Palace at Constantinople. The icon of the Chalke Christ is depicted over the door.-Mosaics from the Apse of Hagia Sophia, Virgin and Child and Archangel, 867, These mosaics were set up not too long after the end of Iconoclasm and were the subject of a famous homily (sermon) by the Patriarch Photios.
-Christ Icon from Mt. Sinai, 7th century, probably based on the Chalke Christ
-Coin of Justinian II with image of Christ on the Obverse (Front)
-Monastery of St. Symeon Stylites (The Column Sitter), Kalat Seman, Syria, 5th Century-Monastery of St. Catherine, Mt. Sinai, Sinai Desert, Egypt.
-Monasteries of Dionysiou and the Great Lavra on Mt. Athos
-Monasteries at Meteora, Thessaly, Greece.
Late Byzantine Art influenced art in Italy, Eastern Europe and Russia
-The Church of Christ of Chora (Karije
Djami), 1316-21 with its mosaics and frescoes
-The frescoes of the Anastasis (Resurrection) and Last Judgement
-Compare the frescoes of the Arena Chapel, Padua by Giotto, 1304-6
-Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Church of St. Pantaleimon, Nerezi, Macedonia
-Compared to Giotto's Lamentation
-Kahn Madonna (National Gallery,
Washington) by a Byzantine Painter working in Italy, c. 1280
-Mellon Madonna (National Gallery, Washington) by an Italian Painter working
in the Byzantine style, c. 1280
-Compare the Virgin and Child from Duccio's Maesta Altarpiece for Siena Cathedral,
1311.
Influence of Byzantine Art in Russia
-Church of Hagia Sophia, Kiev, 11th
century
-Cathedral of the Assumption, Moscow Kremlin, 15th century
Images of the Old Testament Trinity (Abraham and the Three Angels)
-Byzantine, 15th century
-Theophanes the Greek, The Church of the Transfiguration, Novgorod, 1378
-Andrei Rublev, 1411
Images of the Transfiguration
-Byzantine Manuscript, 1370-75
-Theophanes the Greek, 14th century
Early icons by Domenikos Theotokopoulos,
a Greek trained as an icon painter on the island of Cyprus (later nicknamed
El Greco-the Greek
St. Luke Painting the Virgin, 1560-7
The Dormition of the Virgin, before 1567
The Resurrection of Christ, c. 1600
The sumptuousness of Byzantine art has influenced modern painters and poets
Keats, "Sailing
to Byzantium"
Paintings by Gustav Klimt, " The Kiss," "Fulfilment," detail of rosebush, c.
1910