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The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

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The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

Content

Page

1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 3

2 ROMANITAS ET CHRISTIANITAS ....................................................................... 4

2.1 Christianity in the Byzantine Empire ................................................................... 4
2.2 Periods of Byzantine history .................................................................................. 4

3 BYZANTINE ART ........................................................................................................ 5

3.1 Architecture ............................................................................................................ 5
3.2 Painting .................................................................................................................... 7
3.3 Icons ......................................................................................................................... 8
3.4 Mosaics .................................................................................................................... 9
3.5 Sculpture ................................................................................................................. 9

4 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 10

Literature ............................................................................................................................ 11

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

1 INTRODUCTION
Nature from the first breathed into our hearts an unconquerable passion
for whatever is great and more divine than ourselves. (Myskja, 2002: 51)

The Byzantine Empire in the 4th century

This work has a look on the Byzantine art on aspect of its sublimity. Byzantine art refers to
the art of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was founded in 395 when the Roman
Empire was permanently divided. It centered around its capital Constantinople and lasted for
more than 1000 years, leaving behind a rich heritage of impressive monuments, bright
mosaics and expressive frescoes that reflect the radiance of a great culture.
The word sublimity derives from the Latin sublimis which means looking up from. In
contrary to the term beautiful it includes holiness, unattainability and immeasurability.
Longinus, a Greek teacher of rhetoric who may have lived in the first or third century,
described that our soul is uplifted by the true sublime and that sublimity is the echo of a
great soul.
When the Church became the biggest power in the Byzantine Empire the need for an arts
concept arose. Byzantine art is closely related to Early Christian art before the separation of
the Orthodox Church, therefore we cannot clearly differentiate. A Byzantine artist was in fact
a theologian as much as he was an artist. His art presupposed an attitude of prayer and
meditation. On the following pages aesthetic aspects of Byzantine architecture, paintings and
mosaics are described in order to uncover how sublimity was transported within the religious
artworks.

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

2 ROMANITAS ET CHRISTIANITAS
2.1 CHRISTIANITY IN THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Byzantine art strongly developed with the establishment of Christianity. The foundation of
Constantinople by Constantine was actually a new foundation of the Eastern Roman Empire
as a Christian state. The imperial Byzantine Church became to be known as the Eastern
Orthodox Church. Christians believed in the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit
sharing the one divine nature. Through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit men come to know
God and are called to worship Him. The so-called icons images of Christ, the Virgin or a
saint were made to function as objects of adoration in order to bring the believer closer to
the mystical being of God.
State and Church Romanitas et Christianitas were closely connected, together they
formed the pillars of the religious-political vision of the Byzantine Empire. The emperor was
regarded as the Gods representative on earth; he himself had a strong religious belief.
The holy service in which these hands have been employed has originated in pure and
genuine faith towards God. (Odahl 2004: 1)
2.2 PERIODS OF BYZANTINE HISTORY
The history of the Byzantine Empire is classified in periods. Some emperors had especially
remarkable influence on the development of Byzantine art.
The first period is the Early Byzantic period, in which art was mainly shaped by emperor
Constantine who for example initiated the construction of the Hagia Sophia. Strong role
played in this period the Edict of Milan that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman
Empire and led to the development of a monumental Christian art. The following period is the
Justinian period (527565), named by Justinian I who imposed his religious views on all his
subjects by law and under whose reign a number of churches was built. He had great
influence on the development of art and under his rule Constantinople became the center of
art. That is why this period is also called Golden Age. The name of the Macedonian Dynasty
from 843 to 1025 is given by the emperor Basil I who was called the Macedonian. It was the
period of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. The Komnenoi from the Comnenian Dynasty (1081
1185) strongly supported the Byzantine artists to move into direction of greater humanism
and emotion and had therefore as well a great influence on the development of arts. The
Palaeologan Age (12041261) was a last Golden Age of Byzantine art with increasing
cultural exchange between Byzantine and Italian artists.

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

3 BYZANTINE ART
3.1 ARCHITECTURE
The building of Christian churches started in 311 with emperor Constantine whose mother
initiated the construction of a basilica out of a royal hall. In these churches Christians praised
God and learned what Christ taught. In the west the basilicas were further on the main
Christian churches, where in the Orthodox regions the central-plan churches with dome
became dominant. The main difference between the both styles was the shape of the plan.
Where the basilica plan had the shape of a Latin Cross, the central-plan church was based on a
Greek Cross.
A basilica consisted of a large central hall called ship with narrower, lower side-aisles or
wings on the longer sides, divided from the main hall by rows of decorated columns. The
nave pointed east facing Jerusalem, so that the rising sun shined on the altar. The part where
the altar stood came to be known as choir. Stokstad describes the Basilica of St. John
Lateran with the following words:
The ciborium and altar provided the focal point of the church. The basilica,
entered now from the narrow gable end, was a vast rectangular space divided by four
rows of columns into a wide nave flanked by double side aisles. The colonnade and
entablature accentuated the longitudinal focus of the nave, directing the viewers eye to
the sanctuary, a ceremonial path illuminated by clerestory windows at the end of the
nave. The triumphal arch signified the triumph of Christ about to take place symbolically
at the altar. The arch marked a dividing line between the worldly nave and aisles and the
sanctified space in the apse. although inspired by the pomp of the imperial court, the
magnificence of the church was justified as an attempt to re-create on earth the splendor
of the House of the Lord in Paradise. (Stokstad, 2004: 42)
The decoration of the church was too marvelous for words. The interior was covered all
over with gold, jewels, silk and mosaics. The candles, tapers and lamps were uncountable.

Basilica of St. John Lateran

Isometric reconstruction

Basilica of St. John Lateran

Ceiling

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

The influence of domed Roman buildings like the

Pantheon led the Byzantine architects to the incorporation
of the dome into Christian architecture. Especially in the
first so-called Golden Age of Byzantine architecture the
central-plan churches with disembodied, high reaching
interior space were constructed. The way of constructing
a pendentive dome made it possible to build higher with
less weight, giving the impression of the firmament. The
dome replaced the ship of the basilica and was
surrounded by an arcade. One of the most beautiful
central-plan churches was the Church of Sta. Costanza in
Rome.

Sta. Constanza

Numerous theories have been advanced as to why

circular constructions should have appeared so early on,
in such different places, independently of each other.
Many of these theories enter somewhat deep waters: the
need for a sense of security, fulfilled by the cave-like, egglike or womb-like circle. (Pothorn, 1979: 23)

Regarding the advantages of both basilica and central-plan church the architects later
combined the two styles. The result was the characteristic Byzantine Greek-cross-plan church
with a square central mass and four arms of equal length. The finest example of such a
combination and one of the most famous buildings of all times is the Hagia Sophia (meaning
holy wisdom).
Rising above this into the
immeasurable air is a helmet
rounded on all sides like a sphere
and, radiant as the heavens, it
bestrides the roof of the church.
(Mango, 1972: 83)
Besides a central dome that was more
immense than anything seen before,
multiple smaller domes were added.
Inside the rows of windows, the open
room and sail like niches gave the
impression of lightness. The interior
was covered with golden shimmering
mosaics, ornamental details and fine
decorated capitals.

Hagia Sophia
Arch

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

3.2 PAINTING
The fast development of architecture had revolutionary influence on Early Christian painting.
Virtuous artists were needed to paint the huge walls of the new built churches and to decorate
them with immense mosaics.
Painting can do for the illiterate what writing does for those who can read.
(Gombrich, 1972: 95)
The question whether to
transport the bibles content
through illustrations was the
reason for a strong dispute
that finally concluded in
Pope Gregory the Greats
argument that for illiterates
the pictures were most
helpful. The stories were

Fresco of the Anastasis

Chora Church

then told in pictures that

were kept as simple and clear
as possible, leaving out all
unnecessary details,
transporting only the main
message.

The discoveries of the Greek artists who precisely looked at the reality of the subject were
used but not further developed. The Byzantine artists knew about perspective and
foreshortening but considered it as less important. Most important was the transportation of
the divine message, pictures were rather symbolic. Characteristic for the illustration of the
human figures were the over-length and slimness of the body with small feet, the slender
almond-shaped face with large starring dark eyes under arched eye brows, a small mouth and
a long, slim and little curved nose. They wear glorious robes and hardly moved.
Although copying and adapting to ever-new context the standing, sitting and slightly moving
figures of the Greek and Roman artists, the Christian artists gave them a totally new soul, a
spiritual beauty.
Time and terrestrial space are replaced by eternal being under the golden transparency
of the sky, the solemn frontal portraits seem to belong to a heavenly, not to a secular
court. (Janson, 1962: 218)

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

3.3 ICONS
Besides the religious art as decoration in churches
there was the genre called icon an image of
Christ, the Virgin or a saint, used as an object of
veneration in Orthodox churches and private
homes. This art spread together with the
Orthodox Religion, icons became an integral part
of the faith. People believed that the first pictures
of Christ and the Virgin had come to earth by the
will of God and that they were holy. Further
images were inspired by those first pictures and
had to follow strict rules. Artists again and again
copied prototypes.
The probably most famous icon is the Madonna
in Sta. Francesca Romana in Rome. With its
strictness of geometric forms and its smooth
shading the picture has a special power that
makes understand that people considered it
divine. A later example of a Byzantine icon is the
Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne,
showing the Madonna in graceful attitude with a
soft melancholic face expression, halo and a

Madonna
St. Francesca Romana

brightly shining robe the throne from

exceptional perspective everything as if
reflecting from the golden heavenly background.
In the 8th century religious icons were banned by
Leo III who criticized that they were worshipped
as idols. This dispute is known as the Iconoclast
controversy. During that period the focus of
drawing moved to non religious subjects. Here
the artists were again influenced by the classic
art. The pathos and the emotional expression
were then integrated into later Christian art. The
drawings now called more to the feelings of the
beholder, Christ showing an expression of
sorrow, melancholia and compassion.

Madonna and Child on a

Curved Throne

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

Mosaic of the Koimesis in the Naos

Christ as the Good Shepherd

3.4 MOSAICS
Entering the church, one leaves the world of everyday life behind and immerses into a
realm of light and color, in which precious marble and
shining mosaics bring to mind the glory of God.
(Janson, 1962: 201)
Instead of marble the Christian artists used glass for their
mosaics. This material offered a richness of color including
gold. The tiny pieces of glass worked like mirrors giving
the impression of a sparkling immaterial film. This medium
perfectly symbolized the might of God and His religion.
3.5 SCULPTURE
Early Christians agreed that there should be no statues in
the House of God. They intended to make a clear
differentiation between the new faith and the old believes.
They wanted to clarify the nature of the Almighty and
Invisible God. No more life-size sculptures of a human
body were created. Only small flat reliefs decorated the
churches showing scenes from the bible and little plastics
out of ivory and metal were made.

Harbaville Triptychon

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

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4 CONCLUSION
The Byzantine artist was facing an immense challenge: to open to the Christian believer a
door to the Divine. To make him understand the Holy Word and feel the Omnipotence of the
Invisible God. He succeeded by re-creating on earth the splendor of the House of the Lord
in Paradise he built into the sky reaching domes that from inside gave the impression of
the firmament. He directed the churches to the east where the sun arises, to Jerusalem as
direction for prayer. His paintings uplifted the soul with a golden heavenly background,
showing tall figures of holy majesty in graceful attitude. His mosaics reflected divine
radiance. By studying the spiritual intensity of Byzantine artists work, one was able to gain
the awe of mystery of the Glory of God.
Where in the West the Byzantine style was replaced by the Romanic and eventually by the
Gothic architecture, in the East it had an important influence on Islamic architecture. After the
fall of the Byzantine Empire the Byzantine architecture was still exercised in Orthodox
countries and developed further to national forms.

Deesis Mosaic
Hagia Sophia

The Byzantine Empire and the Aesthetics of the Sublime

Literatur

Gombrich, E. H. (1972) The Story of Art. Phaidon Press Limited.

Mango, Cyril A. (1972) The art of the Byzantine Empire, 3121453. Prentice-Hall.
Myskja, Bjrn K. (2002) The sublime in Kant and Beckett. Walter de Gruyter.
Odahl, Charles Matson (2004) Constantine and the Christian Empire. Routledge.
Pothorn, Herbert (1979) Architectural Styles. New York.
Stokstad, Marilyn (2004) Medieval Art. Boulder.
German literature:
Janson, Horst W. (1962) DuMonts Kunstgeschichte unserer Welt. DuMont Schauberg.

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