Byzantines and their Art
What was the capital of the Byzantine Empire?
Constantinople
What is Hagia Sophia?
A place of worship that shows centuries of art from both the Christian and Islam perspective. It's not only a place with art, but was built to BE art.
What religion spread through the Roman Empire?
Christianity
Mosque
Islamic building of worship
What did a Coat-of-Arms signify?
It was a crest that showed allegiance to groups. These became popular as kings and city-states were in power instead of countries.
How did art change after the Roman Empire fell? Must mention at least 2 things for credit!
*Lost perspective (things were flat, front-facing, formal)
*Iconography and focus on religious art
*More focus on showing artwork within architecture
*Much more lavish (gold, ivory, expensive materials)
How did the builders/architects make the dome on the Hagia Sophia?
They added windows lining the bottom of the dome. This made it appear as part of the heavens when looking on the ground.
Islam had a type of writing, or script, that was heavily featured in architecture and artworks. What is it called?
Calligraphy
Minarets
Pillars showing the prayer directions
What invention came from the end of the Middle Ages?
What did it do?
The printing press; it was used to mass produce books.
What were some of the trades of this time? Double points if you can name 4+.
Ceramics, fishing, silk production, leatherwork, weaving
Construction on Hagia Sophia started in...
The 6th century, in the early 500s.
What were the three major religions of this era called?
The Abrahamic religions
Illuminated Manuscript
(looking for direct wording from Monday)
Lit up writing
A page with elaborate designs in ink, gold, and silver. Handmade by monks and later trained artists.
Why was the Byzantine Era referred to as the "Dark Ages" or "Medieval"? This is directly from yesterday's Schoology post!
Hint: Medieval mean primitive.
It was in the middle of the Roman Empire (one of the most significant eras of all of human history) and the Renaissance (another one of the most significant eras of all of human history). It still had plenty of human achievement, just not near as much.
How did its location change its purpose?
It was in the middle of Islam and Christian cultures, so those who had more influence/power in the area had power over the building. Since power changed often, the church interior/purpose changed often.
The Abrahamic religions included...
Christianity, Islam, Judaism
Iconography
Religious imagery like saints, halos, or any holy figure
What 3 things were added to Hagia Sophia when is was converted to a mosque?
Straight from our notes on last Thursday, but it has been a minute. The 3 are the minarets for prayer, calligraphy disks (which you can see in the VR link from Thursday if you are curious), and new art on top of the older Christian art.
Who paid for most of the art during this time? Why?
The Church (as an institution, not just 1 specific church) because they wanted to have documentation of their stories. Having pictures helped those who could not read (which was over 90% of the total population) learn about the Bible
Aniconic
Non-figural designs
A part of Islam did not believe in depicting people (especially religious ones) because the power to create people was for their god, not artists.