Byzantine Art

Rome in the East:
The Art of Byzantium
Royal, Luxurious, Heavenly, and Spiritual

Apse mosaic at Sant-Apollinaire in Classe

In the apse mosaic at Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, c.549, the change is complete. Click on the image to see the enlarged detail. Notice the different arrangement in the human figure and sheep between this image and the Good Shepherd image in the Galla Placidia tomb. Notice, too, the gold background and the abstraction of landscape elements. See image on Page 321* in the Gardner text.


"Virgin and Child with Saints" is an icon from the Monastery of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt, 6th Century. Encaustic on wood, 27" X 18 7/8" See Page 326 in the Gardner text.	Cover of the "Reliquary of the True Cross," c.9th Century, silver gilt, cloissone enamel, and niello. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Byzantine gold pectoral (neck-ring or necklace), mid-6th Century, gold and niello. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York	Byzantine Bracelet from Constantinople, c.600-650, gold, pearls, emeralds and saphires. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Figures of Jesus and the saints become conventionalized (that is, there is a set formula for the appearance of the image) in Byzantine art. Jesus is shown holding the scriptures with one hand and the other hand is raised in blessing; his hair, beard and moustache are in the "Greek style" rather than the "Roman style" short hair and clean-shaven.


"The Pantocrator" is from the Royal Church at Monreale, Sicily. Mosaic, Late 12th Century.	"Christ Pantocrator" in the central dome, Church of the Dormition, Daphne, Greece. Mosaic, c.1090-1100. See page 310 in the textbook.

The Byzantine Empire began when the Emperor Constantine moved the headquarters of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium (present day Istanbul) which he renamed Constantinople. When Rome was sacked in the 400's, the power and wealth of the eastern empire was firmly in place. Byzantine art is more spiritual in content (figures presented as representations of the soul rather than the body) and yet more "worldly" in form with a show of gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones.


Byzantine medallion in cloissone enamel on gold, 3 1/4" diameter. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York	Archangel Michael," 10th Century, icon,silver gilt and enamel. 19" X 14". Treasury of the Cathedral of San Marco, Venice	Byzantine medallions shown once decorated a silver icon, like the one shown in the center. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

"The Virgin and Child" is another popular Byzantine subject for painted wood panel icons and mosaics. Like the image of Jesus, Mary and the Infant Jesus are also shown in an agreed-upon conventional way. Note the similarities of the pose and facial features of Mary as well as the appearance of the infant.


"The Vladimir Madonna" is a 12th Century icon, painted wood. 30 1/2" X 21" State Historical Museum, Moscow See Gardner text, Page 335.	"The Virgin" from the Deesis mosaic, c.1330. Karije Djami, Istanbul	"Madonna and Child on a curved throne" is a late 13th Century icon, tempera on wood panel, 32 1/8" X 19 3/8". National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Here's an interesting little "side trip" -- real icons and copies of the icons above were also displayed in peoples' homes, where they created a home altar. In "The Idea of the Icon," the Hispanic "Retablo"is explored and compared to the art of the Byzantine world. Click here !!

The "Icon of the Savior" to the left, a Georgian icon, has all the elements of Byzantine art: the conventionalized appearance of Jesus, the gold relief set with pearls, rubies, garnet, turquoise, amythest and bone.

See a similar icon from Macedonia on Page 337 of the Gardner text.

The Old Testament Trinity Prefiguring the Incarnation" by Andrei Rublev, c.1410, is painted on wood, 56" X 45".
This late Byzantine style can be seen in the art of the west in late Gothic and early Renaissance painting.
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

*Page numbers refer to Gardner 13th edition.
Page Updated 8/03/09

To examine Byzantine architecture, click here!