Byzantine Art

The Byzantine art is certainly distinctive then other pieces of art we have studied throughout this quarter. We continued to study this shift of art from unrealistic forms to more naturalistic people within paintings and sculptures, but in a way, we are going back to unrealistic body forms. The one trait I see different from this is the Byzantine art still carries out recognizable human form, unlike Prehistoric cave paintings where we seen elongated arms, legs, and skinny waists.

I chose to discuss the Emperor Justinian and His Attendants which lies on the North wall of the Apse on page 240. The composition of characters is of equal size, and is depicted as equal or almost the same body positions throughout the painting. Emperor Justinian can be seen centered in the middle with his soldiers to the left of us, and his clergymen on the right side. I find it interesting to find soldiers who are of little importance in terms of class to be shown next to an emperor. As it was discussed in lecture, Emperor Justinian was more about the “togetherness” and showing to all who viewed this painting, Emperor Justinian was not wanting to be depicted as in an higher class. It looks as if he wanted to be seen as equal to his men, which you really do not observe like in some cases such as the hieratic scale where a significant person would be much taller than those of lesser class. I think by keeping everyone of equal size, it symbolizes peace, which goes along with the idea of Christ. However, one element does allow the attention to focus in on Emperor Justinian. In this two-dimensional artwork, we can see that Emperor Justinian stands out more so than compared to his soldiers and clergymen, due to the dark stylized cloak, where it was not unusual for emperors and empresses to be seen in dark blue clothing. The men are standing in a very stiff and frontal manner, which is a stylized characteristic of Byzantine art. Their robes do not allow any anatomy or physical human positions to be easily recognized, instead they drape over the body where only the head, hands, and feet are showing. Again, this is showing stylization. In most art, such like Romans, we see proportional body parts, as well as the curvature of body parts under robes. In Byzantine art, this is one aspect that we do not see.  One other Byzantine characteristic to point out is the colored feet of emperors and empresses posses. Here we can see that Emperor Justinian’s feet are painted red, whereas the rest of the figure’s feet are white which is one more trait to show he is more important than the rest of the figures. The Bishop has a brown or gold portion of his robe to signify importance as well as wealth and prestige. A very distinct characteristic in defining Byzantine art is the gold background and halo around a significant character. In this artwork, a gold background can be observed, as well as a halo around Emperor Justinian so signify the spirituality and the relationship he has with Christ, who places Emperor Justinian at His right hand side. Emperor Justinian symbolizes Jesus Christ. As it was mentioned in lecture, this could be used for political propaganda. Emperor Justinian is also holding a gold bowl where it is used to hold the Eucharist, and one of the clergymen holding a holy book, also a gold color.  It was mentioned in lecture that Emperor Justinian and the Bishop had body positions that were in front of one another. We can see that the Bishops feet are in front of Emperor Justinian, but yet the Emperor Justinian’s robe is covering the Bishop on top.

There is certainly a serious theme that comes to mind, because of how serious the men are standing, and their faces are very serious as well. Facial expressions are absent, and the men and other elements are outlined in black, which helps determine whether the artwork is two-dimensional. With that in mind, I also notice that there is a colorful background that is established with vibrant patterns which allows for a somewhat dynamic view.

Such elements can be shown in another panel of the Apse, called Empress Theodora and Her Attendants, which face the panel just discussed on page 240. On this South Wall, the composition for the most part is the same except for that Empress Theodora is not centered compared to Emperor Justinian. She is off to the side where she is suppose to be depicted outside the sanctuary next to the open door. It was unusual for women to be portrayed inside the sanctuary. Empress Theodora is also shown with a gold halo around her head to signify spiritual importance, and another element that was not shown in the North wall is that she is placed under a dome like pattern, perhaps to show her purity and that she is protected. This dome shape acts like it is taking the place of the cross in terms of being protected. Empress Theodora, just like Emperor Justinian, is dressed in a robe with dark colors and gold. At the bottom of the robe, there are three men who are suppose to be the Three Wise Men, bringing offerings, which go along with that of the bowl being held of Eucharist. It also can be seen that Empress Theodora has colored feet different from that of her attendants. However, her attendants have different colored feet, which is different from that of the North wall. I would venture to guess that this is just to show different classes of figures.

One last piece of art I would like to discuss is on page 252, called the Virgin of Vladimir. It does not seem strange to see that the border is painted in a gold color, because as it has been mentioned several times, gold was a characteristic of Byzantine art. The Virgin Mary can be seen holding Jesus Christ, where Virgin Mary can be seen dressed in a dark robe with gold patterns on the hood and sleeves. We can also see that the Virgin Mary’s fingers are elongated which resembles that of a stylized artwork. She depicts a gentle and caring position holding Jesus Christ, where it is seen as she bends her head down. Compared to the North and South Wall of the Apse, I believe that this allows for a more personal commitment to be made with Jesus Christ, due to the mellow features of the faces, and gentle positions of the body. It is also obvious that the Virgin Mary has an elongated face, and this nose. The facial features are very stylized in that they are depicted to show a more spiritual peace than compared to realistic features.