Byzantine Art and Architecture sample essay

Byzantine Art and Architecture originated in Constantinople, the ancient Greek town of Byzantium. The period of its development lasted from the sixth to fifteenth century. The contribution of Byzantine to other countries’ art was essential. It spread to Italy, throughout the Balkans, and to Russia, where it survived for many centuries. The term Byzantine refers now to a specific style rather than a geographic place. It is not an overstatement to say that from the sixth to the thirteenth century Italy was an artistic province of Byzantium. The distinctive traits of Byzantine art can be seen in many Italian monuments of painting and mosaics.

St Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, Italy, is a classic example of Byzantine architecture.

The original church was consecrated in 832 to preserve St. Mark's remains that had been stolen by two Venetian sailors from Alexandrine monastery in Egypt in 828. St. Mark became the patron saint of Venice. But the church became the cathedral church of Venice only in 1807.

The original church was destroyed in 967 by a fire during a popular revolt against the Doge Pietro Candiano IV. But it was restored by the Doge Domenico Contarini in the eleventh century. He invited Byzantine architects who reconstructed the basilica. In 1071 the main core of the church was completed. And in the twelfth and following centuries the basilica became a splendid Byzantine monument.

The Basilica, as a whole, is built as a Greek cross (250 feet long by 220 feet wide) with the three naves in each wing, and with five domes. The building itself was copied after the old Church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople, an early Byzantine many-domed type. In Byzantine architecture, the dome supported on pendentives was popular.

The interior is decorated with marble columns, sculptures of sacred personages and 4000 square meters of mosaics on the gold background. The mosaics in the Byzantine style were executed in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by Byzantine artists who exceeded others in mosaic work, manuscript and religious icon painting. They can be characterized by rich use of gold color and simple stylized figures composed of strong lines which give a flat appearance.

Mosaics were made on the domes, half-domes, and other available surfaces of Byzantine churches in an established hierarchical order. The center of the dome shows the representation of Jesus, while other sacred personages occupy lower spaces in descending order of significance. The floor is covered with mosaics with geometrical motifs. Icons are also an important aspect of Byzantine art.

In the fourteenth century the facade received Gothic additions. And at present the basilica unites different styles in its architecture: Roman, Byzantine, Gothic and East.

Bibliography

1. Byzantine East & Latin West: Two Worlds in Middle Ages and Renaissance, Harper Torch books, New York 1966

2. Basilica di San Marco, Venice http://gallery.euroweb.hu/database/churches/marcobas.htmlOrder custom essay now!