Mosaics in Early Byzantine Era

In Ravenna, Italy mostly the mosaics are based on the described scenes in The Bible. I like the Christ as Good Shepherd, mosaic it’s in Ravenna, Italy in the interior entrance wall of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. It has Jesus seating in the middle where he is surround with his flock and the landscape around him is very nice to see. I like this piece because to me it’s a very powerful and has a meaningful symbolization to the piece. It’s very important to preserve this types of piece that are very ancient for future generation because they will get to see the different kinds of design and ideas that back then did. It helps understand what happen during the time periods and what were some of their customs or religions that they had.

Putting art on the floor sounds like a strange idea, but that is exactly what the ancient Greeks did when they built houses and temples thousands of years ago. The artists perfected an art form known as mosaic that is very popular even today.

From a style perspective, both the art of the Late Antique/Early Christian period in Rome and art from the Byzantine were very distinct in details and styles. The Roman empire and the Byzantine empire were both impacted by Christianity, which is their main religion. Roman art was mainly influenced by the Greeks, Egyptian, and Etruscan art, which can be seen in the history of Roman art. Unlike, the Byzantine favoriting glitter mosaic painting in the interior of a building, mosaic were very popular and hold a religious value towards the empire. The mosaic depicting "Christ as the Good Shepherd" from the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna with the other mosaics from San Vitale in Ravenna are excellent examples of the difference and similarities between Roman and Byzantine art. These images can also explain the representation of the natural world, difference in the art styles, and use of mosaics in church.

Mosaic is the fine art of crafting photos, illustrations, or patterns by forming together little colored fragments of hard material – tesserae – such as stone, tile, or glass. The first known samples of mosaics were found in Mesopotamia during the third millennium BCE. Opus tessellatum – uniform sized tesserae – is a frequently mosaic technique used in the fabrication of Hellenistic, Roman, early Christian, and Byzantine art. This technique usually made the decorative borders around central figural sections – emblemata – executed in opus vermiculatum, a mosaic method using finer tesserae ("opus tessellatum").

terms. Byzantine visual art began with (decorations made of many colored pieces of glass, stone, etc.) decorating the walls and domes

The golden age of Early Byzantine art began with the reign of Justinian in 537. However, many important Byzantine pieces survived from the century prior Justinian’s rule. Especially pieces such as: ivories and illuminated manuscripts.

First lets just start off to say that most of the art in the Byzantine era is religious. Everything from the buildings to the art work held some kind of religious meaning to it. When Constantine took over he was determined to make Byzantium a Christian power house. After he passed the Edict of Milan, the art work really started to flow. People wanted to show how beautiful Christanity is, and capture some of the mystical and magical things that happened.”Byzantine art extends from the founding of Constantinople in A.D. 330 until the Turks captured the city in 1453(Rowland)”.

Byzantine art grew from the art of Ancient Greece but with some significant differences. Since the main purpose of Byzantine art was the glorification of God and his son, Jesus,

Byzantine art was almost entirely about religious expression with most of what was produced being controlled tightly by church theology. This control is one reason why most works are uniform and anonymous and not varied by personal expression. The church had a large power in what was produced for the public eye. The art and architecture reflects differences between the Roman Catholic religion which develops in the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern

The modern mosaic differs greatly from the medium’s ancient form. Once composed of uniform pebbles in unstructured compositions, it wasn’t until the 8th century BCE when the Greeks began developing mosaics to form decorative and artistic designs. Using the small pebble technique the ancient Greeks used strategic placement of the varying shades and colors to create geometric patterns and detailed scenes including depictions of a variety of flora and fauna. As the practice of art developed in the Greek empire the development of the tesserae technique by 200 BCE began to generate more complex and detailed mosaic pieces, which more closely imitated paintings. Tesserae is the use of small pieces of glass, stone, tile, or other materials to create a unified image in a mosaic. The techniques of the Greeks to use in mosaics soon began to spread to through Italy but especially hit in Rome. An Important preserved mosaic from this period that makes use of the tesserae technique is The Alexander Mosaic. The Alexander Mosaic utilizes the minuscule pieces of material to create highly detailed complex portraits in a emotive and action filled composition.

There is a mosaic located in the San Vitale church located in Ravenna. This mosaic depicts Justinian and a court of clergymen in the chancel of the church. In this art there are many symbols. According to Khan Academy in this mosaic Justinian is seen in

Among all the pretty, flowery, intricate designs, architecture and mosaics was one piece that is unique to the era. Christ as the Good Shepherd (11-16) is a mosaic in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, in Ravenna, Italy. Created in 425, this piece reflects the verses in John 10:14 and 21:15-17. The Shepherd knows his sheep, and the sheep know their leader. The good Shepherd also loves, feeds, and watches his sheep. This mosaic is also very detailed in relation to border designs. Round flowers of white, blue and green hover above the mosaic, while the piece itself is bordered with small gold and blue waves. Christ as the Good Shepherd pictures the security and attention God always has for his people.

Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture most often has a large dome near the center before the apse. This dome is usually decorated in mosaics and usually depicts Christ and His apostles. The domes are usually paired with squinches that are also decorated with scenes of the Bible or of Saints. This is very prominent in the Hosios Loukas Katholikon. This building also has marbled columns and piers joined by arches, helping make the small space look bigger. The Katholikon and the Church of the Pammakaristos, another Byzantine building in Istanbul, both have vaulted ceilings adorned with beautiful mosaics also containing religious themes. The apses of the Byzantine period are a main feature of the churches and accent the large center domes. The windows are most often small but offer enough light for the artistry of the interior to

Byzantine architecture is directly related to imperial traditions, to the Christian life and culture of the Romans. A typical feature of Byzantium is the diverse ethnic composition that includes Greeks, Thracians, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, Jews, Avars, Slavs and many others. This diversity of peoples and cultures influences the overall development of Byzantine architecture. Christianity is an important element shaping the overall appearance of the Byzantine culture.

Embroidery and other surface embellishments are a key part of fashion that have appeared consistently throughout history. The use of these techniques puts so much expression and individuality into clothing, and by looking back into history we can tell a lot about a culture just by looking at the details they chose to include in their fashion. The Byzantine Empire is a perfect example of this, because they made many advancements in surface decoration. Not only were the surface decorations on Byzantine clothing beautifully made, they also held great cultural significance. In this paper I will discuss how embroidery, printing, and beading played an important role in Byzantine society and how those elements have been brought into contemporary fashion.