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Byzantine Art: Early Christian
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In the 8th–9th century, after the defeat of the iconoclasts, the second Golden Age of Byzantine art began. It lasted through the reign of the Macedonian and Comnenian dynasties (869–1204). During this period Kyivan Rus’ actively entered the orbit of Byzantine culture and in 988 adopted Christianity through Byzantium (see Christianization of Ukraine). However, Byzantine influence on Ukrainian territory began much earlier and was concentrated on the northern shores of the Black Sea (see Ancient states on the northern Black Sea coast). In the 6th century Byzantine influence spread to Taurica (see Tavriia), where the city of Kerch in the Crimea was restored. At this time basilican and cruciform churches similar to those in Ravenna were built in Chersonese Taurica.
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Byzantine art is thoroughly in the service of theology. Through the abstractions and symbols of shapes and colors a sacred reality becomes visible. for in making itself manifest the sacred limits and 'historicises' itself...the sacred accepted self-limitation."(Altizer, p.59) The importance here lies in the Incarnation of Christ in a particular place and at a specific historical time. As Thomas Altizer elaborates: "This revolutionary transformation of the archaic religion was grounded in a new theophany, a new manifestation of the sacred as a personal God who ceaselessly intervenes in history, who reveals his will through events." (Altizer, p.60) The God of Christianity is a personal God who can be directly accessible and His presence can be directly experienced in the Church. (Meyendorff, p. 13). Although one may know that God exists, not much about His nature can be known by human comprehension, rather one may contemplate theological truths such as the central concept, the Trinity.
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Byzantine art never entirely lost its Hellenistic heritage but continued to draw upon it as a source of inspiration and renewal. In this process... the Classical idiom was drastically modified in order to express the transcendental character of the Orthodox faith. Early Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries had simply taken over the style and forms of Classical paganism. The most typical form of Classical art was the free-standing statue, which emphasized a tangible physical presence. With the triumph of Christianity, artists sought to evoke the spiritual character of sacred figures rather than their bodily substance. Painters and mosaicists often avoided any modelling of the figures in order to eliminate any suggestion of a tangible human form, and the production of statuary was almost completely abandoned after the 5th century.
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Many Byzantine works of art were produced to serve the imperial court or the imperial religion, which was Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Most Byzantine artists worked as servants of the court or belonged to religious orders, and they often remained anonymous. These artists followed strong conventions that restricted both the content and the form of their work. For example, in Byzantine paintings, tradition often determined the choice of the subject and the arrangement of the figures within the picture. In general, the figures in Byzantine painting appear flat and somewhat abstract to modern viewers.
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Byzantine art grew from the art of Ancient Greece, and at least before 1453 never lost sight of its classical heritage, but was distinguished from it in a number of ways. The most profound of these was that the humanist ethic of Ancient Greek art was enhanced by the Christian ethic. If the purpose of classical art was the glorification of man, the purpose of Byzantine art was the glorification of God, and particularly of his son, Jesus. But because Jesus was of course human, the Byzantine artistic tradition can be argued to have continued this rich humanist heritage.
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Professor Britt is a specialist in Late Antique and Byzantine art and archaeology. Her research interests lie in the early Byzantine provinces of the Near East. She has been involved in archaeological excavations in Turkey, Greece, and Israel. She has begun preparations for the future excavation of a Nabataean and Byzantine site in the Negev Desert of Israel. Her research has been supported by the J. William Fulbright and Samuel H. Kress foundations. Karen has two publications in press with the Israel Antiquities Authority and is currently at work on a book which considers the nature of the interaction with ecclesiastical space among the Byzantine faithful as evidenced through architectural decoration, particularly mosaics.
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