Late Antique Art Notes
Early Christian, Byzantine and Islamic Art
Discovering Art History chapter 7.1-7.3, pages. 204-221
Early Christian Art - 200 - 550 CE
Christian art practiced in hiding
Constantine’s influence and support, (“tolerated” 311 CE “Edict of Milan” 313 CE)
Roman artistic influence remains, fading
Realism replaced by symbolism
Early Christian Vocabulary
Apse Basilica Catacomb Clerestory Diptych Lunette Nave Transept –
Catacombs
Early Christian Architecture to Know
St. Apollinare in Classe,
Old Saint Peter’s Basilica,
533-549, Ravenna, Italy. c. 320, Rome, Italy.
(p209)
Early Christian Painting and Mosaic to Know
Good Shepherd, 4th c., fresco,
Good Shepherd, 425,
Catacombs of Saints Peter and mosaic, Mausoleum of
Marcellino, Rome, Italy.(p208) Galla Placidia, Ravenna,
Italy.
The Good Shepherd,
3rd c. marble,
Lateran Museum,
Rome, Italy. (p204,
210)
Early Christian Sculpture to Know
Chalice of Antioch,
Sarcophagus of Junius
350-500, silver and
Bassus, 359, marble,
gilt, 7 ½” high,
Treasury Museum of
Cloisters Collection,
Saint Peter’s Basilica,
the Met, NYC. (p210)
Vatican, Italy. (p211)
The Archangel
Michael, 5th c.,
ivory, 16 ½” high,
British Museum,
London, England.
(p206-207)
Byzantine Art - 500-1453
Remains of eastern Roman empire, but Christian
Focus on small details and works
Classical and hieratic styles
Pendentive and squinch in massive architecture
Byzantine Vocabulary
Cathedral Codex Icon Mosaic Pantocrator Pendentive Squinch Tessera Triptych -
Anthehmius of Tralles &
Isidorus of Miletus, Hagia
Sophia, 532-537, Istanbul,
Turkey. (p214)
Byzantine Architecture to Know
Basilica di San Marco, 1063,
Barma & Postnik, Saint
Venice, Italy. (p216)
Basil’s Cathedral, 1555 1561, Moscow, Russia
(p216)
Byzantine Painting & Mosaic to Know
Justinian and Attendants, c,
Theodora and Attendants, c.
Christ Between the Virgin
547, mosaic, San Vitale,
547, mosaic, San Vitale,
and St. John the Baptist,
Ravenna, Italy. (p204, 213)
Ravenna, Italy. (p213)
(Deesis Mosaic) 1261,
mosaic, Hagia Sophia,
Istanbul, Turkey. (p215)
Byzantine Sculpture to Know
Harbaville Triptych, c. 950,
ivory, Louvre, Paris, France.
(p217)
Islamic Art - 650 - present
Art was abstract or non-objective/ belief that only Allah is creator of living things
Calligraphy and textiles = art form
Arabesques and tessellations = common art motifs
Islamic Vocabulary
Arabesque Calligraphy Mihrab Minaret Mosque Tessellation -
Dome of the Rock, 687-691,
Jerusalem, Israel. (p220)
Islamic Architecture to Know
Great Mosque, 700-900,
The Alhambra, 1354-1391,
Cordoba, Spain.
Granada, Spain. (p204)
(p218, 219)
Islamic Manuscript Painting to Know
Laila and Majnun at School: Page from the Khamsa of Nizami
(Quintet of Nizami), 835 /1431–32 CE. Artist: possibly Mir
Khalil; calligrapher: Ja'far, from Herat, present-day
Afghanistan, Ink, opaque watercolors, and gold on paper
12.37 x 9 in. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. (p221)