Transcript Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture
Architectural History ACT 322 Doris Kemp
Topics
Byzantine Architecture The Ideal Byzantine Church Central Plan Domes Lighting and Decoration Hagia Sophia Other Justinian Structures
Byzantine Architecture
In the years around 500 A.D. the Western Empire laid in ruins Rome had been sacked twice and Italy was in the hands of the Ostrogoths The Eastern Empire lived on Constantinople was the capitol of the Eastern Empire Had been built on the Hellenic city of Byzantium (modern day Istanbul, Turkey)
Byzantine Architecture
A formal shift from early Christian to Byzantine architecture can be seen in the early sixth century A.D.
Timber-roofed Latin basilican churches gave way to domed, central-plan structures in the Eastern Empire
Byzantine Architecture: Ideal Byzantine Church
No two Byzantine churches were identical Features of the ideal Byzantine church: Central plan Pendentive dome String focus on structure, lighting, and elaborate decoration
Byzantine Architecture: Ideal Byzantine Church
Central Plan The axis descended away from visitors Leaves no possible active participation except weakly around a central axis In most Byzantine churches, the centralized building core was square
Byzantine Architecture: Ideal Byzantine Church
Domes Central core of the church formed an integral part of a larger structure that included supporting structure and vaulting as well The dome complimented the spatial core of the church Domes were generally placed over cylinders, as at the Pantheon
Byzantine Architecture: Ideal Byzantine Church
Domes Occasionally, domes were placed over polygons or even squares Created certain structural problems Pendentive Provided a way to set a circle (dome) atop a square A Roman invention, though rarely used Byzantines used pendentives very often Domes were used to invoke powerful images of the Christian heaven
Byzantine Architecture: Ideal Byzantine Church
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Ideal Byzantine Church
Lighting and Decoration Articulation was very important in Byzantine architecture No visible surfaces were left in a natural state All was dissolved in color and light: Glowing marble pavements Richly veined marble walls Extensive mosaic cycles Rich patterns of light created by glass and structural features
Byzantine Architecture: Ideal Byzantine Church
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia Symbolizes the “ideal” Byzantine church Built as the new Cathedral of Constantinople by the Emperor Justinian in 532 – 537 A.D.
Intended to be the keystone of Justinian’s massive architectural campaign
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia Justinian believed that only natural scientists and philosophers would be able to create the structure he had seen in his dreams Designed by two men: Anthemius of Tralles Natural scientist Mathematician Isidorus of Miletus Professor of stereometry and physics at Constantinople
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia Built in an amazing five years Its first dome was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt in 563 A.D.
Was converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Turks
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia Has some structural problems Main piers are of excellent solidarity, built of massive ashlar masonry Rest of the building, however, was built of brick in thick mortar beds The dome generates tremendous pressure Corners are supported by pendentives but the sides have little support
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Other Justinian Structures
No other Byzantine churches approach even half the scale of Hagia Sophia Two churches bear a resemblance to Hagia Sophia SS. Sergious and Bacchus S. Vitale
Byzantine Architecture: Other Justinian Structures
SS. Sergius and Bacchus Located in Constantinople Built as a palace chapel between 527 and 536 Many historians believe it was an experimental version of the Hagia Sophia
Byzantine Architecture: Other Justinian Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Other Justinian Structures
S. Vitale Located in Ravenna, Italy Very precise and strict double-shell form that featured a dome Featured mosaics of Justinian and his queen, Theodora, and their court
Byzantine Architecture: Other Justinian Structures
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Other Justinian Structures
Church of St. John the Evangelist Built at his tomb in the Hellenistic city of Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor c. 548 A.D.
Photo: Sullivan
Byzantine Architecture: Other Justinian Structures
S. Marco Located in Venice, Italy Although built in the Romanesque Period (c. 1063 – 1094), it is considered more Byzantine in style than Romanesque Photo: Sullivan
References
Sullivan, Mary; http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/ http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wdpt1.html
Trachtenburg/Hyman; Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity Wodehouse/Moffett; A History of Western Architecture
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture
Architectural History ACT 322 Doris Kemp