HISTORY OF ARCHITECTUREHISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

EARLY EARLY

CHRISTIAN CHRISTIAN

ANDANDANDAND

BYZANTINEBYZANTINE

ARCHITECTUREARCHITECTUREARCHITECTUREARCHITECTUREARCHITECTUREARCHITECTUREARCHITECTUREARCHITECTURE

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF

EARLY CHRISTIAN

ARCHITECTURE

• “Early Christian” is the term that applies to the art and architecture of the Roman Catholic Church from the 3rd to the 5th century of the Christian era.

• Politically it is called as Christian Architecture in the Late Roman Empire.

• The Roman Empire rose in the sixth century BC, to its division into eastern and western components beginning in the fourth century AD, and its “fall” in 476,

EVOLUTION OF CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

•EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE BEFORE 313 AD (BEFORE THE 3RD

CENT)

•EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE AFTER THE 3RD CENTURY UNTIL THE 5TH CENTURY (THE BASILICA THE 5TH CENTURY (THE BASILICA ARCHITECTURE)

•CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE FROM THE 4TH CENTURY (BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE)

ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE GOTHIC ARCHITECTURERENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Before Christianity, there were Paganism.

The early history of Christianity is a story

of struggles beginning with persecution,

tolerance and finally acceptance.

BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY

IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

The period of Persecution 34 A.D. to 313

A.D.

Period of Recognition: Edict of Milan in

313 A.D. beginning the reign of Emperor

Constantine

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

BEFORE 313 AD

The early Christians tried to congregate

discreetly, usually meeting in:

• one another’s houses (House Church) or

in the catacombs• in the catacombs

Example of the House Church is located in

Dura Europus, a place on the upper

Euphrates

River.

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE – house

church

Christian house-church, Dura Europos, Syria, 230 AD

THE CATACOMBS

•Are underground burial chambers

for Christians.

•It is more expensive to bury on

the ground than to dig

underground and the Roman underground and the Roman

forbade the burial of Christians

above ground.

•Besides the Roman practised

cremation.

•Later became place of gathering

for ritual purposes.

Construction began in the 2nd cent.

Emperor Constantine accepted Christian officially as religion for the empire in 380 AD

but the development of early Christian Architecture began immediately after the Edict of Milan when Constantine assigned architects

CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

AFTER 313 AD/BASILICA

ARHITECTURE

of Milan when Constantine assigned architects to create places of worship for Christians as a sign of his generosity and gratitude

Also termed as Basilica Architecture

Two main building types :

1) the Basilica – church/place of worship2) the Martyrium – resting place for Christians

EARLY CHRISTIAN

ARCHITECTURE

Is essentially “Architecture for the

House of Worship”

Precedents used:Precedents used:

Greek temple

Roman public building (the

Basilica)

Private Roman house

CHURTH

E

BASILIC

A CH

THE BASILICA CHURCH

Typical Plan of Basilica

1. Nave (congregation hall)

2. Aisles

3. Apses (space for Bishop & clergy)

4. Entrances

• the roof above the center Nave was higher the roof above the side Aisles.

• Clerestory window was put in place to allow light into the interior of the Nave

APSE

A semicircular projection from a wall with a

vaulted ceiling.

The Altar was placed in it.

To frame the apse and separated it from the

main building, they built a great arch, which is

called ‘triumphal arch’.

EXAMPLES OF THE BASILICAN

CHURCH

(326 AD)(1) OLD SAINT PETER, SAN PIETRO, ROME Built by Emperor Constantine to house the

shrine of St. Peter.The architect was Zenobius. This church doubles as a congregational place This church doubles as a congregational place

and a martyrium.

It became a ruin, and was finally torn down in 1506 to make way for the present Saint Peter by Pope Julius.

The Old St. Peter’s plan has the same

characteristic of a typical basilica but had an

additional space for crowds to gather near the

shrine

This space is called the Transept and is a

transverse from the apse (40,000 people)

The apse had a special vaulted ceiling called

the triumphal arch

OLD SAINT PETEROLD SAINT PETER

The nave is 200 ft long

2) SAINT APOLLINAIRE IN CLASSE, RAVENNA, ITALY (530-540 AD)

This church has 2 unique features:1) It has rooms either side of the apse2) It also possessed a Bell tower or Campanile.

INTERIOR OF THE CHURCHES

It has colourful paintings and carving, and the emission of light from the clerestory windows.

the clerestory were put so high that they give no views of the outside world, except the sky.

Church interiors were richly decorated unlike the exterior

The use of light from practicality turned spiritual as it symbolisestranscendence/enlightenment

Rich materials: marbles, mosaics (small cubes of stones or glass), gold and silver linings, timber carvings.

Colourful glass were later used for windows (stained glass)

Interior of Santa Sabina, Rome

ST APOLLINAIREST APOLLINAIRE

( INTERIOR( INTERIOR

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BASILICA

1. Have large space for congregation (the Nave)

2. Light is entered from the clerestory window above instead of the side walls windows. Skillful use of light for enlightenment

3. A space for the bishop and clergy (the Apses) at the end of the nave

4. The nave later terminated at the transept, a gathering space for the altar transept, a gathering space for the altar at the apse

5. An atrium or open courtyard at the entrance to the building usually with a fountain for purification

6. Simple unadorned exterior7. Tall central nave is flanked by aisles (one

or two rows) on the sides. Nave is taller than the aisles.

8. Richly decorated interiors – use of mosaics, marbles, fresco, gold and silver linings, stones and brick with timber roof; carvings of Christian themes

THE MARTYRIUM/

MAUSOLEA

Is a memorial burial place for

Christians.

It is a centralized planned

building based on a circle, building based on a circle,

polygon or octagonal.

It is usually connected to an

apse or narthex as this spaces

becomes a space for

congregation to honour the

dead.

INTRODUCTION TO

BYZANTINE

Civil war led to the division of the Roman Empire into two by the year 500: the eastern and western empire

“Byzantine” refers to the eastern part of the Roman Empire that established its own identity, separate from the west.

Byzantine era is considered the 3rd phase of the Greek culture. The first being the Classical age and the 2nd, the Hellenistic age.

The Byzantine religious architecture reflect the political difference between the eastern and western components of the Roman Empire.

POLITICAL SITUATION

In the west, the emperors began to lose his power with internal conflict and German invasion.

The Pope and the Roman Catholic Church assumed greater control.

In the east, however, the emperor remained in control of both the church and the state—a condition often described by the historical control of both the church and the state—a condition often described by the historical term as “caesaropapism” or “divine kingship”

Constantine established the eastern empire when he left Rome in 330 AD and established a new capitol at the Greek city of Byzantium.

The Byzantium city was renamed Constantinople (now Istanbul)

The eastern empire capital was Constantinople

The western empire capital was Rome

The Eastern empire, called the Byzantine empire, was strongly Christian.

Because of its prosperity and strength under Emperor Constantine and later Justinian, Constantine and later Justinian, was able to build richer, structurally more complex buildings.

Byzantine architectureChurch – the Byzantine dome and the use of bricks and mortar

The Eastern Roman Empire / Byzantine Empire

c 476

Blue indicates the conquest of Justinian I.

The Eastern Roman Empire / Byzantine Empire

c 717

BYZANTINE CHURCH

Characteristics:

centralised plan, with the central dome as its main feature (depict the unison of emperor and religion)

has many smaller domes around the main domedome

Does not have long nave and aisles (plan almost a square)

It has no transept

BYZANTINE CHURCH

Some of the most important

Byzantine churches are in Italy, in

or near Venice

Greatest development under

Emperor Justinian (527-565 –the Emperor Justinian (527-565 –the

6th cent).

The adoption of the centralized

plan different from the western

style church plan /basilica church

THE BYZANTINE DOMEThe Byzantine dome is different from the Roman’s dome as it rests on a square plan or hexagon.The dome rest on four arches supported by four huge piers called the Pendentive (curved triangle spanning between arches).

pendentivependentive

Form originated from Aegean and Syrian architecture

EXAMPLES OF BYZANTINE EXAMPLES OF BYZANTINE

ARCHITECTUREARCHITECTURE

Santa Sophia means “divine wisdom”.Considered the greatest monument of

Byzantine architecture

Built by Emperor Justinian on a site of a ruined Basilican church of the same name.

It was designed by two experts in physics and

SANTA SOPHIA (HAGIA SOPHIA),

CONSTANTINOPLE (532-537 AD)

It was designed by two experts in physics and mathematics (engineers): Isodore of Miletus and Athemios of Tralles.

It was a dedication to Christ. The church also known as Megale Ecclesia

(Great Church).

Now it is called Hagia Sophia.So the Hagia Sophia became the model for the

Byzantine church because it was an architectural style that fit with the type of worship the Orthodox church wanted to emphasize

The Hagia Sophia has a fusion of two domes:A central dome double-shell domes

The main body of the church is enclosed within a rectangle almost 70m (230’) wide and 75m (245’) long, with a projecting apse at the east end and double narthexes preceded by an Atrium at the west end.Atrium at the west end.

In the center, a square with 4 sides measures exactly 100 feet. (31.2m)Four great piers stand at the corners of the square.

The 4 piers linked by semi-circular arches which in turn support a hemispherical dome.

This longitudinal section of the church shows

how the half-domes of the apse flow outward

from the central dome, both to carve out the

liturgical space and support the main dome.

Architecturally, Santa Sophia represented a complete departure from the Basilica type of church.

Its concept based on the circular shaped, represent the all powerful union of emperor and priesthood at the focal point with the common people hidden in the semi darkness about the circumference.

View of the entrance. Note the visual effect of

the building's recession toward the dome.the building's recession toward the dome.

(2) SAN VITALE, RAVENNA, ITALY (548 AD)

It was built by Emperor Justinian to celebrate the recapture of Ravenna (Western empire).

It was financed by a wealthy banker, It was financed by a wealthy banker, Julianus.

It was the emperor’s church in the western empire, just as the Santa Sophia was in the eastern Empire.

The Eastern Roman Empire / Byzantine Empire

c 520

San Vitale was built in honor of Saint Vitalis.

Considered the greatest western building of

the 6th-century

its design echoes - with variations - the

Constantinople church of St. Sergius &

Bacchus.

San Vitale , Ravenna, Italy, 548 AD

•The church was built on the basis of a

centralized plan composed of 2 co-centric

octagons surrounded by aisles and vaulted

galleries.

•The dimension of the inner octagon is 54’ 9”

and is enclosed by an outer octagon 115’.

•The sanctuary open directly from one of the

inner octagon and there are 7 arches

enclosing the remaining.

•The 7 arches are placed on a half circle

carrying the galleries (Mantroneum) on top.

SAN VITALE, RAVENNA, ITALY

Mosaic line the vault of the sanctuary. The column capitals are elaborately curved. The eight piers of the inner octagon support

the dome top.

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