History of Byzantine Style

Hello everybody i know i have not posted anything in awhile so today I'm going to be talking about the Byzantine Empire and their contributions to art history.  This time period was largely known for their Great Basilicas or Churchs as we would call them.  Their traditions ending up lastly well of a 1000 years and many of their building are still looked upon with great beauty today.

Hagia Sophia is a massive Basilicas in turkey that was built between 532-537 A.D.  The name Hagia Sophia means "Church of Holy Wisdom".  This church is very well known not only for its beauty and might but because of the architectural advancements this building project gave to the world.  In order to solve their problem of putting a dome on a square they invented devices called triangular pendentives that were able to hold the weight of the dome without it collapsing in on itself.  Currently the basilica has four towers placed around it called minarets that were added in 1453 by the Muslims.

Hagia Sophia

Saint Mark's Cathedral is known as the grandest church of the 2nd Golden Age.  It was built for St. Mark in Venice in the year 828 A.D.  The church has been rebuilt multiple times since the original construction of it due to fires and other reasons.  Four Greek bronze horses can be found above the doorway to this basilicas.

St. Mark's Cathdral

Saint Basil's Cathedral is located in Moscow Russia.  This building was greatly influenced by the Byzantine style of architecture.  It is world renown for its multi-colored towers and its onion shaped domes called kokoshnikis.  It was constructed between 1555 and 1560 by Ivan the terrible.

St. Basil"s Cathedral

Alhambre is a palace in Spain is known for its beautiful gardens.  It was built with Byzantine style which has lasted hundreds of years.  It was originally built as a fortress and has been repaired and renovated many times due to wars and weather.

Alhambre palace over Granada Spain

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is another Byzantine style building.  It was built in Jerusalem as a Moslem mosque and it still currently is.  It has a wood dome which is covered in gold leaf and use to be covered in mosaics but now is covered in tiles.

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem

Byzantine Paintings have a very specific style that identifies them as so.  They painted on wood panels with egg tempra which is a type of paint that uses egg whites as the binder.  They also used lots of bright colors, gold leaf, and they elongated everything about people their faces, fingers and bodies.  Lastly they painted babies just like miniature adults.  The Byzantines were more interested in beauty than they were in realism. 

Byzantine style painting of Mary and Baby Jesus

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and i will be back soon with more art history.