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Kanczes 1
Rachel Kanczes
Mrs. Horvath
AP World History- 3
26 March 2015
yzantine and !sla"ic Art
#he yzantine $"%ire &as constr'cted (ro" the r'ins o( the
colla%sed Ro"an $"%ire
&hich allo&ed (or a ne& c'lt're and sense o(
creativity to ta)e o((. yzantine $"%ire c'lt're
&as ins%ired lar*ely +y the %revio'sly colla%sed Ro"an
$"%ire, +'t their art in(l'ence &as a
&hole di((erent story. yzantine art &as &idely
in(l'enced +y !sla"ic arts the"es and *enres
and o(ten hel%ed %eo%le e %ress individ'ality and their a"o'nt
o( %o&er. #he t&o re*ions
+asically co"+ined their styles to create one (or" o( art and
the t&o re*ions &ere de%endent on
each other (or ideas and the"es. Artists &ere o(ten ins%ired
+y !sla"ic %atterns and sha%es
&hich led the" to the creation o( +ea'ti('l "osaics. Mosaics
o(ten de%icted s'+ ects li)e
h'ntin*, nat're, and "ytholo*ical scenes. #hese ty%es o( "osaics
&ere o(ten (o'nd in %alaces,
ho'ses, and %'+lic +aths. Mosaics that de%icted scenes (ro" the
i+le &ere very rare in the / th
and early 5 th cent'ries, +'t +eca"e increasin*ly %o%'lar in the
late 5 th and 6 th cent'ries. Mosaics
in ch'rches and %laces o( &orshi% o(ten de%icted scenes o(
nat're and &ere very %o%'lar in the
areas o( onstantino%le and Asia Minor.
!n onstantino%le and Asia Minor, "osaics that o(ten sho&ed
+i+lical scenes +eca"e
very %o%'lar. #hey o(ten incl'ded *eo"etrical desi*ns and
incor%orated nat're into the "osaic.
ne o( the "ost %o%'lar %ieces co"%iled o( art, &orshi%, and
architect're &as the Ha*ia o%hia
in onstantino%le. #he Ha*ia o%hia &as +'ilt in 360, +'t in
/0/ &as destroyed +y riots in the
city. Aro'nd 515 $"%eror 'stinian ! de"anded that the ch'rch
&as to +e re+'ilt, and on
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Kanczes 2
4ece"+er 2 , 53 the +'ildin* &as ina'*'rated. Ha*ia o%hia
has a central do"e that has a
dia"eter o( over 101 (eet that &as held '% +y (o'r arches
and "any other se"i-do"es, &hich
&as very i"%ressive at the ti"e. !n 55 the (irst do"e
colla%sed, +'t &as re+'ild lar*er in 562.
#he "a*ni(icent ch'rch also had "any %anels o( colored "ar+le
and stone, and &as decorated
&ith a *old cross inside the lar*e do"e. #he ch'rch &as
also decorated &ith "any "osaics +y
yzantine artists. #hese "osaics +eca"e very i"%ortant at the
ti"e +eca'se it allo&ed (or the
yzantine $"%ire to e %ress reli*ion and creativity into one. !t
also allo&ed (or c'lt'ral
di(('sion to ta)e %lace +y allo&in* yzantine artists to
ado%t so"e !sla"ic techni7'es li)e 'sin*
Ara+ lan*'a*e and learnin* ho& to create te tiles, tiles,
and *lass. #he co"+ination o( these t&oc'lt'res allo&ed (or
a +ea'ti('l ty%e o( art to ta)e its (or".
#he (lo&er ! chose to create sho&s the the"es and styles
o( the "osaics in the yzantine
$"%ire. My (lo&er de%icts a dove carryin* an olive +ranch
&ith a cross +ehind it. #his scene
ill'strates one o( the "any %o%'lar +i+le stories8 9oah:s Ar).
9oah:s Ar) is one o( the (e& rare
+i+le scenes de%icted in a "osaic d'rin* this ti"e in a
syna*o*'e at Misis. #his (lo&er sho&s
ho& nat're &as o(ten sho&ed in the "osaics, ho&
color('l they co'ld +e, and ho& even
s'ddenly they co'ld sho& a +i+lical "eanin*. #he dove
sho&s nat're, the color o( the ;tiles<
sho&s creativity, and &itho't )no&in* a+o't the
+i+le story the dove co'ld +e %assed o(( as 'st
an ani"al or sy"+ol. #he (lo&er sho&s ho& t&o
re*ions &ere a+le to co"+ine and "a)e one
+ea'ti('l ty%e o( art very %o%'lar8 Mosaics. Witho't yzantine or
!sla"ic art, "osaics "i*ht not
have +eco"e as %o%'lar as they are today and &e "i*ht not
have s'ch color('l and +ea'ti('l
%ieces o( art to ad"ire and recreate.
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Kanczes 3
Wor)s ons'lted
roo)s, arah. ;!cons and !conoclas" in yzanti'".< Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History. 9e&
=or)8 #he Metro%olitan M'se'" o( Art, 2000.
http://www.metmuseum.org. We+, 2/
March 2016.
ollin*rid*e, Peter, ;R'+lev, Andrei, ..< The Oxford Companion
to Western Art. $d. H'*h
ri*stoc)e. (ord >niversity Press. Oxford Art Online. We+. 2/
March 2016.
?a+att, Annie, and harlotte A%%leyard. ; yzantine Art 'nder
!sla".< Heilbrunn Timeline of Art
History . 9e& =or)8 #he Metro%olitan M'se'" o( Art, 2000.
http://www.metmuseum.org.
We+. 2/ March 2016.M'llett, Mar*aret. ;$arly hristian and
yzantine art.< Gro e Art Online. (ord >niversity
Press. Oxford Art Online. We+. 26 March 2016.
We*ner, $""a. ;Ha*ia o%hia, 532-3 .< Heilbrunn Timeline of
Art History . 9e& =or)8 #he
Metro%olitan M'se'" o( Art, 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org. We+.
2/ March 2016.
