Essay on Arts in the Time of the Byzantine

In this passage, King’s presentation of logos is genius. He effectively shows the clergymen two sides of the community, the one of complacency and the other of hatred and cynicism. In this excerpt he does not attempt

Foster’s primary assertion in the chapter is that certain traits possessed by characters of a text qualify them to be considered as Christ figures. While characters do not have to possess every trait to be considered a representation of Christ, they must show some similarity (129). These similarities may be succinct, such as walking on water, or they may be less obvious, such as bearing scars on the hands or the side (126). This list also includes features such as “very forgiving,” “last seen in the company of thieves,” and “in agony” (126).

-Since images of Christ change over time, Christianity is a continuous adjustment to its images

Christ does not cease working in us until he has changed us into Christ’s own image. Our goal is to be shaped into the entire form of the incarnate, the crucified, and the risen one.

Byzantine art served as a source of inspiration for a long time for many artists in the most diverse way, in terms of both formal style and subject manner. The main subject of Romanesque painting, the depiction of Christ in Majesty has Byzantine origin. The fresco in Formis probably painted by a master from Constantinople follows Byzantine traditions” (Krén, Marx,

The image of the man on the shroud bears a striking resemblance to the historical descriptions of Jesus. Not only that, but all the wounds align precisely with the

Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire (330-1453 AD). It was famous for many reasons, including beautiful art and architecture, being a vital trade location, a strong economy, and its unique location. Many groups of people had long tried, unsuccessfully, to conquer the city, but in 1453 AD, the city finally fell to the Ottomans and became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Constantinople’s geographic location was its most valuable feature. This is due to the city’s geography offering it natural protection and connecting it to the rest of the world, allowing for a strong economy and cultural and religious influences, making it a vital target to the Ottomans as a capital for their powerful empire.

The Byzantine Empire, or the eastern Roman Empire, was formed in the year 330 after Roman Emperor Constantine I moved the seat of the Roman government to the city of Constantinople. It was designated a second Rome, and had the advantage of being located on an Asian-Eurpoean trade route and on the Bosporus Strait, which made it incredibly hard to sack or besiege, since water surrounded half of the city. Constantinople was also free from any corruption and political assassination, which made governing easier to do and to manage as well. When the western Roman Empire collapsed in the year 476, the eastern half remained intact, and it remained relatively stable until Emperor Justinian came to power. Emperor Justinian was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in the mid sixth century, from 527 to 565, and headed his empire’s notable renovatio imperii, or “restoration of the Empire” during that time. Justinian devoted his reign to reclaim the lost western half of the Roman Empire, and recreate it through military conquest and social reform. The military conquest was to expand the Byzantine Empire so it reached the farthest extent of the Roman Empire, which was around the early second century, while the social reform was to recreate the Roman law that once applied during the height of the Roman Empire. So, these questions must be posed: How did Emperor Justinian attempt to reform and recreate the Roman Empire, and what did he do to restore it? Were his legislative and social reforms

Over time, conventions in the recording of history change, always shaped by their surrounding sociocultural context. Today, a significant part of a historian’s work is the ability to remain unbiased, always careful to acknowledge personal background. Considering contemporary norms, it’s surprising to read such a heavily biased account of history; Vasari fully embraces his ideology of what art is supposed to be, arguing that artistic perfection is defined as indistinguishable imitation of nature. Throughout these prefaces Vasari demonstrates his hatred for Byzantine art, describing it as a period of “artistic decay,” and references the abandonment of stylised “Byzantine absurdities” found in Gothic art (88). For Vasari, anything which is not naturalistic is dismissed as poor art, no matter what the social context and aim of the original

Ancient Egypt is an ancient civilization which achieved many advancements in technology, and culture. The location of Ancient Egypt was in North Africa, in the Mediterranean area and the climate was hot and dry. Ancient Egypt had started in North Africa because of the Nile River, which provided a water source to the people, and the region also contained fertile soil which provided farmers an advantage in agriculture. The government type of Ancient Egypt is a Monarchy, and the government leader was a Pharaoh, the Pharaoh had control over the country, and was able to control aspects of the country, such as appointing representatives which controlled areas of Ancient Egypt. The religion practiced by Ancient Egypt was polytheism, which means that

Due to Byzantine control over countries that were Christian and Islamic, symbols from both religions became focuses of art and were able to join together to produce new art forms and innovations throughout the early

El Greco's artistic formation in Rome and Venice, reflects the influence of roman mannerist designs (e.g Michaelangelo's masterfully polished drawings) and that of the Venetian school of painting with its emphasis in the richness and variety of colors, the use of pigments to achieve the impression of depth and brightness,

The Byzantine Empire had many advances in art, specifically images dedicated to the Christian religion. Within the Byzantine empire there was a lot of time and dedication to making art dedicated solely on the christian religion. Some of the first pieces of art done in this time was mosaics in churches depicting god or other idles of the christian religion .

In the art world, the medieval periods were traditionally though to be the unproductive phase of Europe between the decline of Rome and the Renaissance. Our modern feelings toward medieval art are far more appreciative. The main intent of Medieval art was to express Christianity which was also a common bond between a wide spread and diverse Europe. For this reason most of the art found from medieval times originated in monasteries and churches. European art during the Middle Ages can be divided into four periods. These four periods include Celto-Germanic art which ranged from 400 to 800 A.D. and was important in metal work. Carolingian art ranged from 750 to 987 A.D. overlapping 50 years of the Celto-Germanic period. The

St. John of Damascus further argued that God's revelation in the Old Testament was made manifest only by word whereas in the New Testament it was made manifest both by word and by image: the Invisible became visible, the non-representable became represent and that God not only addressed man by word and through prophets but also showed Himself in the person of the incarnate Word. Thus the distinctive trait of the New Testament is the direct connection between the word and the image (Ouspensky, 1992:46-47). On the other hand, Dr. Cavarnos argues that holy icons serve to help believers to be transformed and sanctified and to lift them up to the prototypes which they symbolize, to a higher level of thought and feeling (1992:1). History shows that the subject of iconography precipitated the longest-running and most violent of the theological debates to shake the internal life of the Orthodox Church: the so-called iconoclastic controversy which produced many martyrs and confessors like St. John of Damascus during the reign of Constantine V (741-755) and St. Theodore the Studite during the reign of Leo V (813-820) as well as the Seventh Ecumenical Council held