Byzantine churches and the palaces were decorated mosaics- images created on walls and vaults from small pieces of colored opaque glass - smalt. The floors of palaces and temples were also laid with mosaics made from valuable wood. The mosaic floors of the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople have survived to this day. She depicts scenes of rural life, the struggle of wild animals, and hunting.
On the walls of temples they placed frescoes- multi-color paintings on wet plaster. They depicted episodes from the life of Christ, prophets and saints. The altar was decorated icons- special paintings on Christian themes, painted on wooden boards.
Byzantine artists created their own ideal of beauty. Ancient masters were fascinated by beauty human body. The Byzantines hid it under the covers of clothes: the artist painted not the body of a person, but “the image of his soul”! Therefore on Byzantine frescoes, mosaics, icons, the main thing is the inspired faces of Christ, the Virgin Mary, holy people with very large and expressive eyes. Each image was strictly specific place inside the temple: in the dome there was an image of Christ in the form of a formidable judge, below - the disciples of Christ (apostles), on the walls and pillars - saints and prophets, on the western wall of the temple - a scene Last Judgment. One of the Byzantine authors stated: “Images are used in temples, so that those who do not know how to read, at least looking at the walls, can read what they cannot read in books.” Material from the site
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| Byzantine mosaic |
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| Book miniature |
The Byzantines decorated their books with magnificent color drawings - miniatures.
The creations created by the Byzantines delighted Europeans. Byzantine architects and painters were invited to build and paint churches in Italy and other countries. The works of Byzantine scientists and writers were translated into many languages.
Mosaic peristyle of the Great Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century.
Mosaic peristyle of the Great Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century.
Mosaic peristyle of the Great Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century.
Reminds me of the old joke “What’s there to think about - you need to shake it!”
Mosaic peristyle of the Great Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century.
Very brutal. And the blood is completely natural.
Mosaic peristyle of the Great Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century.
A boy and a rabbit (although I imagine a lamb there). Judging by the expression on the boy's face, the rabbit (aka lamb) doesn't have much time left...
Mosaic peristyle of the Great Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century.
If a lion whale and an elephant fight, who will win?
Mosaic peristyle of the Great Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century.
Very naturalistic, by the way. Even the lion's wings.
Mosaic peristyle of the Great Imperial Palace (Museum of Mosaics), 6th century.
Emperor John II Komnenos (1118-1143) and Empress Irene. The emperor has a bag of money in his hands. This is no accident. It was in this part of the Church of St. Sophia that the cash desk of the clergy of St. Sophia received their salaries.
Mosaics of St. Sophia the Wisdom.
Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh (June 11, 1042 - January 11, 1055) with Empress Zoe - also with a bag of money.
Mosaics of St. Sophia the Wisdom.
Mosaics of St. Sophia the Wisdom.
Emperor Leo VI the Wise (Philosopher) (September 19, 866 - May 11, 912) at the feet of the Savior begs forgiveness for his fourth marriage.
Mosaics of St. Sophia the Wisdom.
Deesis.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Monogram of Emperor Justinian I (527-565) and Theodora in the capital of the column.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Column capital.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Column capital.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Graffiti - Scandinavian runes of the 9th century, Viking Halvdan.
Church of St. Sophia. Details.
Graffiti: "Matthew the Galician pope."
People don't change... Graffiti "Kolya, March 30, 2011" - is also present...
Church of Our Lady of Kyriotissa (XI-XII centuries)
The frescoes are interesting because this part (the lower church) is inaccessible to tourists. It is shown only to the most advanced local historians. There is no lighting in it; until recently it was flooded.
Church of Our Lady of Kyriotissa (XI-XII centuries)
Church of Our Lady of Kyriotissa (XI-XII centuries)
Mosaic on the floor.
Church of Christ Pantocrator of the monastery in Chora (527, with alterations of the 7th, 9th centuries (?) (no archaeological evidence), 1st phase of construction - main space - 1077-1081; 2nd phase of construction - narthex and exonarthex, parekklesion on the south side - between 1315 and 1321.
In the dome and on the walls there are mosaics with the life of the Virgin Mary according to the apocryphal Proto-Gospel of James.
Church of Christ Pantocrator Monastery in Chora.
Mosaics from 1315
Church of Christ Pantocrator Monastery in Chora.
Mosaics from 1315
The pictorial origins of Byzantine art are also connected with the culture of both the East and the West. In the early Byzantine period, two trends can be distinguished related to religious painting. Firstly, the ancient tradition that came from Western classics is the painting of walls in the burial rooms of the catacombs, which certainly depicted God as a shepherd, a Shepherd. The second trend is related to eastern tradition. The decoration of the temple is an image of a cross, rich floral patterns or animal figures. Over time, detail in the image disappears human figures, they acquire the character of a sign, a symbol. Thus, the vine signifies the blood of Christ shed for the salvation of mankind; bread placed in baskets - the flesh of Christ. The bird becomes a symbol immortal soul; the wreath is a symbol of Christ's victory over death. Over time, the number of such symbols expands: bowls of water represent a baptismal font, a dove symbolizes the holy spirit, fountains and vessels with water are sources of spiritual life, a peacock, whose body, according to the ancients, was incorruptible, meant resurrection.
All these symbols become the basis of icon painting. The canon in icon painting concerns both the content of the icon, the obligatory principle of depicting Christ and the saints, and the form of depicting a person. The main emphasis is on the image of the face with big eyes, with a sad and enlightened fixed gaze. The tactility of the characters disappears; they increasingly resemble ethereal shadows. Masters consciously refuse everything that could remind them of earthly life. The icon (Greek eikon “image, image”) must be dedicated various characters Holy Scripture, the circumstances of their lives, the events of sacred history.
It was a little different secular art Byzantium. The palaces of the emperors and the houses of the nobility were richly decorated with mosaics and frescoes that decorated the floors, walls, and ceilings. They depicted scenes of rural life, hunting, and various animals familiar to antiquity. Mosaics were made from small pieces of smalt - colored glass with chipped edges that enhanced the refraction of light. Gold and silver mosaic stones were made by fusing thin sheets of precious metal between two glasses.
When preparing the surface for the mosaic, a first layer of relatively coarse-grained plaster was applied to it, and a second layer with a finer grain was applied over it. When the second layer dried, a design was scratched across it, after which that part of the surface that was immediately supposed to be covered with mosaics was covered with a layer of a special solution. Pieces of smalt were pressed into it, following the lines of the scratched pattern.
The background of the mosaic was usually filled with pieces of sparkling gold smalt, between which silver inserts were made here and there. In early mosaics the background was sometimes green or blue. Fine motifs ( biblical stories, saints, figures of emperors and their entourage, symbols, floral ornaments and curbs) were placed in the middle, in the most spectacular places.
The most striking examples of this art include the mosaics of the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, the monasteries of St. Luke in Phocis (1st half of the 11th century), Daphne near Athens (11th century), Chora in Constantinople (early 14th century), San Marco Cathedral in Venice (11th–15th centuries), as well as numerous fragments in other places.
The frescoes abounded in scenes “glorifying the victories of the emperors over the barbarians and the entertainment of the basileus.
Periodization
The Early Middle Ages in Europe is the period from the end of the 5th century. (counting from 476, when the Western Roman Empire collapsed) to the middle of the 11th century.
It was a time of deep decline European civilization compared with ancient times. It was expressed in the dominance of subsistence farming, in the decline of handicraft production and, accordingly, urban life, in the destruction ancient culture under the onslaught of the unwritten pagan world.
On political map Europe during this period was dominated by barbarian and early feudal kingdoms, and in ideology there was complete dominance of the Christian religion, which had a decisive impact on all aspects of public and personal life.
Early period.
From the end of the 4th century. The “great migration of peoples” began. Vandals, Goths, Huns and other nationalities invaded the Western Roman Empire, receiving the support of the oppressed local population. When the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, a number of short-lived states were formed on its territory. In Gaul and Western Germany - the Franks, in the north of Spain - the Visigoths, in Northern Italy- Ostrogoths, in Britain - Anglo-Saxons, mixing with the indigenous population, consisting mainly of Celts and the so-called Romans, they formed a conglomerate different nationalities, united by the concept of “Roman citizen”. Wherever the rule of Rome took deeper roots, “Romanization” captured all areas of culture: the dominant language was Latin, the dominant law was Roman law, the dominant religion is Christianity. Barbarian peoples, who created their states on the ruins of the Roman Empire, found themselves either in a Roman or in a Romanized environment.
Late period.
At the first stage late feudalism (XI-XII centuries) craft, trade, city life were poorly developed. Feudal landowners reigned supreme. The king was rather a decorative figure that completed the hierarchical pyramid, first among equals, but not the personification state power. However, from the end of the 11th century. (especially in France) royal power begins to strengthen, Second phase in the history of mature European Middle Ages(XI century) associated with further growth productive forces of feudal society. A division between city and countryside took shape, and crafts and trade developed intensively. Feudal anarchy is eliminated, royalty becomes a conscious exponent of ideas state development countries. The support of this power is the knighthood and rich townspeople. The economy and culture of feudal cities are achieving powerful development. Some of them are seeking self-government. City-states emerged in Italy and other countries (Venice, Florence).
Peculiarities of worldview
Feudal society gave birth to new culture , different from the culture of ancient slave society. Its main bearer was the church, guardian and protector of the feudal class. Medieval culture borrowed from the deceased ancient world only Christianity and a few dilapidated cities. All culture early Middle Ages received religious overtones. Ancient philosophy changed theology, mathematical and natural science disciplines declined, literature was reduced to the lives of saints, history - to monastic Chronicles . In the early Middle Ages in Europe there was a sharp predominance wooden architecture , whose monuments could not survive to this day.
For the southeastern part of Europe, which was part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) or was influenced by it, the most common form of buildings were basilicas (translated from Greek as “royal house”). Elongated buildings With a semicircular or faceted protrusion in the eastern part - an altar (apse). Ex in Ancient Rome mainly public buildings, now they have turned into basilica churches . Then buildings with centric plan - cross-domed churches. In such churches, the dome, supported by four pillars, was located on the ceiling of the naves.
In the Middle Ages, the so-called knightly tournaments became especially widespread - public competitions of a knight in the ability to wield weapons, reflecting the military profession of the feudal lord. Among the knights, war songs were created that glorified the exploits of knights. Later, cycles of war songs turned into entire poems.
The most famous of them was " Song of Roland”, which arose in Northern France in the 11th century and was finally perfected in the 12th century. Its plot was the campaigns of Charlemagne in Spain, presented in an idealized form.
Same heroic poem with features of glorification folk hero was the “Poem of Cid”, which appeared in the 12th century in Spain, which reflected the centuries-old struggle spanish peoples against the Arabs.
The third largest poem created in Germany in early XIII century, there was “The Song of the Nibelungs”, in which fairy-tale elements were intertwined with early medieval historical legends (Brunegilda, Attila, etc.) and the knightly life of later times (XII-XIII centuries).
In the 12th century they appeared, quickly becoming widespread, chivalric novels,
The most famous series of novels about the ancient British King Arthur, which was read in the castles of England and France, and the novels of Amadis of Gaul , read in Spain, France and Italy.
Great place in knightly literature occupied love lyrics. Minnesingers in Germany, Troubadours in Southern France and Trouvères in Northern France, glorifying the love of knights for their ladies were an indispensable part of the royal courts and castles of the largest feudal lords.
The Middle Ages period occupies a fairly long period of time - from V to XIV centuries., those. approximately a millennium. within medieval aesthetics and medieval consciousness it is customary to single out three large regions: Byzantium, Western European Middle Ages, Eastern European region (Ancient Rus').
The formation of Byzantine aesthetic ideas occurs at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries. In the 4th century. The Roman Empire splits into two independent parts - western and eastern. Constantine became emperor of the eastern part , it withstood subsequent storms and survived after the fall of Rome as the Roman Empire.
Initial stages development Byzantine culture are marked by the confrontation between two approaches to understanding the role artistic images V Christian culture. It's about O supporters of iconoclasm and supporters of icon veneration .
The positions of the iconoclasts were based primarily on the biblical postulates that God is Spirit and no one has seen him, and also on the instruction: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any image of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the waters under the earth.” This kind of pathos inspired, in particular, Emperor Constantine V, who belonged to the devout iconoclasts who proclaimed the only image of Christ Eucharistic bread and wine.
Among the active supporters of icon veneration was John of Damascus (675-749). Iconoclast positions remained influential for just over a hundred years. Ecumenical Council of 787, dedicated to issues veneration of icons, came to the conclusion: “...what storytelling expresses in writing, painting expresses the same thing in paint.” And if books are available to few, then “Picturesque images in the evening, and in the morning, and at noon - constantly narrate and preach to us about true events.”
By the 8th century. V Byzantine Empire There were already many picturesque images of Christ. In general, discussing artistic features Byzantine icons, one cannot fail to note them strict canonicity , which is discovered Not only in a strict color hierarchy , established at that time, but also V compositional techniques Images .
So, image of Christ was strictly regulated could only be frontal , while the image of the Mother of God and the apostles could be given in three quarters ; only depicted in profile negative images- images of Satan, hell.
Symbolism of color
Each color, along with the word, acted as an important exponent of spiritual entities and expressed a deep religious meaning.
The highest place was occupied purple is the color of divine and imperial dignity .
The next most important color is red, the color of fiery, fire (both punishing and cleansing), is the color of life-giving warmth and, therefore, a symbol of life.
White was often opposed to red as a symbol of the divine color. Christ's robes in Byzantine painting are usually white. Since antiquity, white color has had the meaning of purity and holiness, detachment from everything worldly, i.e. colored.
Then - green color , which symbolized youth, flowering.
And finally , blue and cyan were perceived in Byzantium as symbols of the transcendental world.
Frescoes and mosaics of Byzantium.
