Byzantine Art
Byzantine Art
Early Christianity initially objected to representational art in general and to images of the Deity in particular.[1] However, the depiction of images of gods was practised in non-Christian religions and such an established tradition was gradually taken over by Christian believers. Icons carrying images of Christ, Maria and the Apostles for private veneration began to find their way into the houses of believers and despite objections of idolatry by the early church, images of saints and martyrs soon followed. Mention of icons and wall paintings dates from the fourth century and some time later wall paintings and icons appeared in the sanctuary of the churches. Clearly by then they were considered to be a proper expression of the Christian religion.
The first Christian images that appeared in the catacombs of Rome and Naples and on sarcophagi probably date from about the year 200. Appropriately for a place of Christian burial, they represent signs of hope for the expected resurrection and the return of Christ. Popular images were Noah in the ark, Daniel in the lion’s den, the three men in the fiery furnace and the story of Jonah. Nevertheless, classical images such as certain scenes of the labours of Hercules, which also depict the theme of salvation, remained popular most probably for non-Christians.[2] Early illustrations of Christ as a young man usually show him without a beard but, particularly in pictures of the Passion he becomes a man with a beard. Good examples of this transition are to be seen in the mausoleums, baptisteries and churches in Ravenna, particularly in certain mosaics in the Basilica Apollinare Nuovo.
The fragments of paintings preserved in the few churches which can be dated to the early centuries of Christianity in Macedonia, in particular those found in the Baptistery of Stobi, show figures with large eyes and intelligent faces, features which are typical of the Hellenistic style of portrait depiction at the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth century. Between the fourth and sixth centuries the ancient Hellenistic tradition influenced by hieratic Oriental motifs evolved into the new Byzantine art form.
Under Basil the Great of Caesarea (circa 329-379), one of the most prominent theologians of the early Byzantine Church, there arose a growing appreciation of classical art as art, rather than as cult. Having studied the classics in Constantinople and Athens in the 340s, he fell in love with the ancient authors and believed a good Christian could read them without subscribing to paganism. Basil’s appreciative eclecticism defines the Byzantine attitude toward Hellenistic art. Authentic classical figures appear everywhere in Byzantine art, whether the subject be sacred or secular, and excerpts from classical stories are frequent.[3]
A good example is the Greek god Hermes, who is often depicted bringing the soul of the deceased to Hades in the form of a sheep on his shoulders. He was used by Christians as the representation of Christ as the Good Shepherd and the practice continued for many years. Moreover, it became the practice to depict Christ as a lamb, mainly based on words in the Revelation. A Council held in 692 ordered that henceforth Christ should be given only a human representation.[4]
A further development in early Byzantine art occurred during the reign of Emperor Justinian I (527-565) and continued until the outbreak of Iconoclasm. The works of art made in that period can be characterised by a representative composition and frontality. In images of Christ or Maria sitting on a throne, the Christian way of thinking was patterned on the court rituals. Just as the emperor, his consort, and his court were painted as seated on regal thrones, so too were Christ and Maria painted upon jewelled thrones, surrounded by angels. Iconoclasm brought to an abrupt end early Byzantine art as it had developed until that time.
After 843 a revival, a new flourishing can be distinguished. This is usually referred to as the middle Byzantine style or Macedonian Renaissance. This style also found acceptance in areas outside the empire such as in Russia, where artists from Constantinople assisted in the mosaic decorations of the Ayia Sophia at Kiev in 1108, or in Sicily where artists from Byzantium decorated the churches erected in the Byzantine style by the Norman kings. The Macedonian Renaissance arose during the time of Emperor Basil I (867-886) who was born in Northwest Thracia in 827, and became emperor by murdering his predecessor Michael III. He was the founder of the Macedonian dynasty which lasted until 1056. His reign was the beginning of a new Byzantine period of prosperity, during which, by an autonomic church policy, the Slavic world came part of the Byzantine Christian culture. Of great influence during his reign was the Byzantine theologian and patriarch of Constantinople, Photius (820-891). Although Basil I removed him from office on political grounds in 858, Photius retained the confidence of the emperor, who entrusted him with the education of his children and later in 877 reinstated him as patriarch of Constantinople. Photius was an eminent and influential scholar who studied both old Christian and antique manuscripts. He was the inspirational power behind the revival of the study of classical authors and the soul of the Greek Byzantine renaissance of the ninth century. In his book Muriobiblion he discussed and described 280 works of ancient authors, the works of several of whom have been lost and are unknown in our time.
Leo VI (866-912), surnamed the Wise, was the son of Basil I and during his reign he faced many difficulties in his foreign policy. He became renowned for his literacy activities, thanks to his education by Patriarch Photis. His son Constantine VII Porphyrogenetus (913-959), which means born in purple as an indication of his imperial birth, later became very influential. During his reign an unparalleled cultural activity developed at the court, with the aim to safeguard the scholarly inheritance of the past and promote the early Byzantine period for the future.
The Macedonian Renaissance was a movement back to the ancient world, in fact a looking-back at the classical culture. Examples can be found in the decorations of manuscripts made in that period, as well as in the wall paintings. The works are characterised by a startling realism in the depiction of human faces, bodies that are clearly visible under their clothing, folds/pleats in clothing, clear plasticity and liveliness, a natural depiction of figures, and also an illusionistic depiction of distance.
In the third quarter of the eleventh century, a short period can be noticed during which the figures are small, thin and usually linear. This is a kind of dematerialisation of Christian art emphasising the spirit rather than the body.
After the Macedonian Dynasty we see in the eleventh century the arrival from Asia Minor of a new line of emperors, the Comnenen Dynasty after its first Emperor Alexus I Comnenus (1081 – 1118). The dynasty ruled until Constantinople and the greater part of the empire were conquered by the Crusaders in 1204. A few changes in the style of painting icons and wall paintings can be distinguished during this period. More movement can be seen in drapery, particularly in the lower part of the garment, which sometimes reaches the point of exaggeration, for example as can be seen in the Church Sveti Djordje at Kurbinovo.
After the liberation of Constantinople in 1261 from Latin subjugation by Michael VIII Paleologos (1261 – 1282), a new artistic style arose. The majority of the churches, at any rate those after 1260, contain wall paintings which have been painted in what is called the Paleologen-style, which lasted until the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. Even though the style received its name from the founder of the Paleologen Dynasty, it is generally accepted that the first church painted in this style is the Church of the Holy Trinity at Sopoćani[5] located near the source of the River Raška in the region of Ras, which was at that time the centre of the Serbian Medieval State. The church was founded by King Stefan Uroš I (1243-1276). The exact date of its beginning has not been recorded, but taking into consideration some known facts about royal persons depicted in the church, the date of the paintings may be determined to be the year 1265.
Here is a style that is a continuation of the Hellenistic examples. It is characterised by an emphasis on the use of lines and a natural and lively grouping of the figures. There is a tendency towards mannerism. It expresses more tenderness and sometimes emotion in the faces. The figures are usually long with clothes covering their bodies in such a way that it reveals their imperfections. There is more architectural fantasy, with here and there some landscapes. In large scenes there is an increase in the number of people.
After the decline and fall of Byzantium the style continued in the Balkans, in Russia, on Cyprus and Crete. Frequently this style showed local influences, especially in the Russian countries.
Regarding the use of perspective, Byzantine art frequently retained a kind of receding ground plane. Terrain and vegetation were rendered in pictorial rather than draftsmanlike fashion. Artists tended to harden into strips the streaks of light and grooves of shade that served for the depiction of drapery, but never went so far as to transform these strips into graphic lines. Notably, they continued to use foreshortening and overlapping – the former mostly in landscapes – to indicate recession in depth.[6]
Although this work is concerned primarily with wall paintings, it is perhaps useful to say a little about icons which form a different but essential subject of veneration.
As we have seen the veneration of icons had already begun in the Early Christian Church despite theological objections which meant it took some time for the church to finally accept the image as an essential component of the new faith.[7]
Icons originated in Egypt, which, after the death of Alexander the Great, was ruled by the Macedonian general Ptolemaeus and his successors from 323 B.C. – 30 A.D. There was thus a rich Macedonian/Greek upper layer of society while the native Egyptian population held subordinate positions in social and economic life. The Ptolomaeans took the place of the pharaohs and lived as such.
In this mixed society Egyptian funerary traditions were adapted by the rich Macedonian/Greek upper class. It also became common use to have one’s portrait painted on a thin wooden panel. Papyrus has been found with the words: “I have sent you my eikon”. But the main purpose of the portrait was to be placed over the face of the dead body after mummification. A large number of these portraits have been found, well preserved in the dry sand where the mummies were buried. Most portraits are painted in the encaustic technique, a technique in which the pigments are mixed with hot wax. They are generally known as Fayum portraits, after the name of one of the places where they were found.[8]
With the transition from pagan to Christian art in the Roman world Fayum portraits and the first Christian icons must have existed side-by-side until the final disappearance of mummy portraits. The technique of painting can be considered as a combination of Egyptian art of painting combined with Hellenistic traditions, resulting in very fine natural portraits.
It was relatively easy for the early Christians to switch from worship of painted portraits of gods and emperors to the worship of painted portraits of divine personages, such as Christ, the Virgin Mary, apostles and martyrs. The new icons were a way of bringing religion into their home.[9] It should be realised that the images on the icons are all made by painters who had never seen any of the personages concerned. But soon the image of a divine person or specific saint was given a definite emanation, in order to prevent any confusion over who is who. The freedom of the artist was restricted to representing the particular face.
The earliest surviving icons date from the sixth century. They are to be found in the Saint Catharine Monastery in the Sinai, which, having been part of Islamic territory since 640, escaped the iconoclast actions of the Byzantine emperors. The style of painting of icons developed in principle along the same lines as described above.
Weitzmann, Kurt et al, The Icon, London, 1982, p. 3 ↑
For depictions see: Bourquet, R.P. Pierre du, Art Paléochrétien, Lausanne, 1970 ; Ferrua, Antonio, The Unknown Catacomb, a Unique discovery of Early Christian Art,New Lanark, Scotland, 1991; Portella, Ivana Della, Subterranean Rome, Cologne, 1999; Rutgers, L.V., Subterranean Rome, In Search of the Roots of Christianity in the Catacombs of the Eternal City, Leuven, 2000 ↑
Mathews, Thomas F., The Art of Byzantium, London, 1998, p. 26 ↑
Vryonis, p. 75 ↑
Kandić, Olivera, Milošević and Desanka, Sopoćani Monastery, Belgrade, 1986 ↑
Panofsky, Erwin, Early Netherlands Painting, New York, 1971, p. 13 op.cit. ↑
Galavaris, George in Sinaï, Treasures of the Monastery of Saint Catharine, p. 91 ↑
Dioxadis, Euphrosine, The Mysterious Fayum Portraits from Ancient Egypt, London, 1995; Walker, Susan and Bierbrier, Morris, Ancient faces, Mummy portraits from Roman Egypt, London, 1997 ↑
Doxiades, p. 90 ↑