330 AD to 1453 AD
Module Three – Review
Art 1010 TICE
Wasatch High School
 Sarcophagus
of Junius Bassus
 The Court of Justinian
 Hagia Sophia
 Stavelot Triptych
 Rottgen Pieta
 Giotto's Lamentation from the Arena Chapel
 Shiva from the Chola Dynasty

Emperor Theodosius I divided the Roman Empire between his two sons. The
eastern half became the Byzantine Empire and the western half, sometimes
known as Latin Christendom, devolved into many small countries. The split
continued along linguistic, religious, and artistic lines. Greek became the
dominant language of the Byzantine Empire and the people practiced Orthodox
Christianity. Latin was the unifying language of the West and the people
practiced Catholic Christianity.

Early Christians were uncomfortable with realistic representations of God,
people, and nature. They felt that realistic representations of people and the
natural would lead to the worship of images. Early Christian artists moved away
from naturalistic representation to counter this fear.

The Byzantine Empire strictly governed the kinds of images that could be
produced in the empire. Like the early Christians before them, the empire was
concerned about the worship of images and that God might punish the empire
for improper use of images. This fear turned into a period of violent clashes
between those who rejected and supported the use of religious images known as
Iconoclasm. After Iconoclasm, religious councils governed the production of
images within the empire. Artists were only allowed to represent certain
subjects in art and they had to represent them in a traditional way.

Artists in the West were not restricted in the kinds of images they could make.
They were free to experiment with style, subject matter and media.
 Byzantine
art is the artistic products of the
Eastern Roman, or Byzantine Empire as well
as the nations and states that inherited
culturally from the empire.
 Many Eastern European states, as well as
some Muslim, and eastern Mediterranean,
preserved many aspects of the empire’s
culture and art for centuries afterward.
 Early Byzantine Period: Christianity replaced
the gods of antiquity as the official religion.
 Constantine
was well known for being the
first Roman Emperor to convert to
Christianity.
 Constantine the Great transferred the
ancient imperial capital from Rome to the
city of Byzantion (major intersection of the
east-west trade).
 The Emperor renamed the ancient port city
Constantinople (The city of Constantine) in
his honor, also called “New Rome” owing to
the city’s new status as political capital of
the Roman Empire.
The Hagia Sophia was built for the first time by
the emperor Constantine the Great (306-337),
but not finished until the end of the reign of his
son Constantine II, in 360.
 In June 20, 404, Hagia Sophia burned down. The
rebuilding of the church was left to Theodosius.
 The church had been burned down again,
pillaged and destroyed.
 Justinian finally rebuilt the church in (Circa
537). It is one of the greatest surviving examples
of Byzantine architecture
 It’s interior is decorated with mosaics and
marble pillars and coverings of great artistic
value.
 It remained the largest cathedral for 1,000 years
after it was built.

 It
is a marble Early Christian sarcophagus
used for his burial who died in 359.
 It has been described as the single most
famous piece of early Christian relief
sculpture.
 Junius Bassus was a senator who was in
charge of the government of the capital.
The carvings are in high
relief on three sides of the
sarcophagus, allowing for its
placement against a wall
The column and many parts
of the figures are carved
completely in the round.
 is
a church in Ravenna, Italy, and one of the
most important examples of early Christian
Byzantine art and architecture in Western
Europe.
 All the mosaics are executed in the
Hellenistic-Roman tradition: lively and
imaginative, with rich colors and a certain
perspective.
 The church was begun in 527, and completed
in 546.
 Figures
are abstract, removed from reality,
almost look like symbols.
 They could all be in a spiritual heavenly
realm, feet look like they are floating.
 The halo around his head gives him the same
aspect as Christ. Justinian himself stands in
the middle, with soldiers on his right and
clergy on his left, emphasizing that Justinian
is the leader of both church and state of his
empire
 The
resolution of the Iconoclastic
controversy in favor of the use of icons
ushered in a second flowering of the empire
(843-1204)
 Art and architecture flourished during this
period, owing to the empire’s growing wealth
and broad base of affluent patrons.


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
Icons are sacred images representing the saints, Christ,
and the Virgin, as well as narrative scenes such as Christ’s
crucifixion.
In the early 8th century there erupted a intense
controversy in the Orthodox Church over the use of icons
in worship and prayer. Those opposed to icons were called
iconoclasts. Some people were offended by the kissing of
images and the offering of incense and lighting of candles
before them. The iconoclasts claimed that icons were
being worshipped.
Iconoclasm literally means “image breaking” and refers to
a recurring historical impulse to break or destroy images
for religious or political purposes.
Many monks, nuns, lay people and priests died defending
the images of Constantinople, which were torn down by
mobs supported by Imperial troops.

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The Stavelot Triptych is Medieval and a portable altar in
gold and enamel intended to protect, honor and display
pieces of the True Cross.
As well as the masterful goldsmith's work and beauty of
the Stavelot Triptych, it remains instructive as a
demonstration of the diverging Eastern and Western
Christian artistic traditions.
Images and ideas are expressed very differently. Eastern
Byzantine artists use static, figures frozen in place,
silently adoring Christ and the cross. In contrast, the
Western artists use narrative storytelling with animated
figures acting out dramatic visions, battles and miracles.
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This is an example of the great art of painting, introducing
the technique of drawing accurately from life, which had
been neglected for more than two hundred years.
This fresco cycle depicts the life of the Virgin and the life
of Christ. It is regarded as one of the supreme
masterpieces of the Early Renaissance.
Giotto's figures are not stylized or elongated and do not
follow set Byzantine models. They are solidly threedimensional, have faces and gestures that are based on
close observation, and are clothed not in swirling
formalized drapery, but in garments that hang naturally
and have form and weight

The sculpture is usually made in bronze, with Shiva dancing in an
circle of flames, lifting his left leg (or in rare cases, the right leg)
and balancing over a demon or dwarf who symbolizes ignorance.
It is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as
a symbol of Indian culture

This image is of his rhythmic play which is the source of all
movement within the universe. This is represented by the
circular frame surrounding the Lord.

The purpose of his dance is to release the souls of all men from
the snare of illusion.

The place of the dance, which is portrayed as the center of the
universe, is actually within the heart.

Dancing is seen as an art in which the artist creates are one and
the same, thought to evoke the oneness of God and creation.