BYZANTINE
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Constantine I founded a “New
Rome” in the East in 324 A.D.
Greek city of Byzantium was the
site and he changed the name to
Constantinople
The Empire became a Christian
state.
Constantine recognized
Christianity at the beginning of the
4th century and made it the lawful
religion.
Hagia Sophia
• Hagia Sophia is the most
important monument of
the Byzantine era.
• Dome 180 feet from
ground level
• 270 feet long and 240
feet wide
• The first dome collapsed
in 558 and was replaced
• The minarets were added
by the Ottoman Turks
after the fall of
Constantinople in 1453
• Icon – a portrait or image;
especially in Byzantine art, a
panel with a painting of sacred
personages that are objects of
veneration. In the visual arts,
a painting, a piece of sculpture;
or even a building regarded as
an object of veneration.
• Reliquary – a container for
keeping relics.
• Mosaic – Patterns or
pictures made by
embedding small
pieces of stone or
glass in cement on
surfaces such as
walls and floors; also,
the technique of
making such works.
ISLAMIC ART
The Blue Mosque – Istanbul, Turkey
Minaret – a distinctive feature of mosque
architecture, a needle-like tower from
Which the faithful are called to worship.
Interior of Blue Mosque
Arabesque – “Arab-like.” A flowing,
Intricate pattern derived from stylized
Organic motifs, usually floral; generally,
An Islamic decorative motif.
ROMANESQUE
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ROMAN CATHOLIC faith was
firmly established
1050-1200 Europe had a feudal
system
Built churches and borrowed
elements from Roman architecture
Layout was called a cruciform –
symbolizing the body of Christ on
the cross
Plan of St. Sernin, Toulouse, France
GOTHIC ART
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Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris France
Begun - 1163
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Term “Gothic” was used by Giorgio
Vasari, “the father of art history” as
ridicule
Said art and architecture was
“monstrous and barbarous” invented
by the Goths (French)
13th and 14th centuries, style was all
the rage in most of Europe
1st appeared in northern France
around 1140
Towering cathedrals and decorative
style
Cathedral was begun in 1163. Nave
and flying buttresses ca. 1180-1200.
Remodeled after 1225.
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
Builders of the Cathedral were allowed
to add personal touches.
Victor Hugo saw this image and was
Inspired to write the classic novel
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” in
1831
Photo courtesy of Lori Deal-Flynn
Chimera: a monster of Greek
invention with a head and body
of a lion and the tail of a serpent.
a second head, that of a goat, grows
out of one side of the body
This is part of the top of Notre-Dame.
A chimera is used as a down spout
for water from the roof. Could
also have been used as a down
spout for hot oil if needed for
defenses.
Examples of chimera, saints,
and gargoyles at the top
of the tower.
Notre-Dame Cathedral's
“Rose Window”
STAINED GLASS
• Rose Window of
Chartres Cathedral,
ca. 1220
• Were a gift of Queen
of France, Blanche of
Castile
• The whole wall is
glass due to the
external support of
the flying-buttresses