Byzantine art c. 330 – 1453

To speak of “Byzantine Art” is a bit problematic, since the Byzantine empire and its art spanned more than a millennium and penetrated geographic regions far from its capital in Constantinople. Thus, Byzantine art includes work created from the fourth century to the fifteenth century and encompassing parts of the Italian peninsula, the eastern edge of the Slavic world, the Middle East, and North Africa. So what is Byzantine art, and what do we mean when we use this term?

Detail of the Lamentation at Nerezi (photo: byzantologist, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) — You've heard of Byzantium's golden mosaics, but what about its dramatic frescoes?

Byzantine frescoes at Saint Panteleimon, Nerezi

Byzantine panel with archangel, ivory leaf from diptych (detail) — His body swells beneath the cloth, but his feet hardly touch the ground. This awkward angel is part pagan, part Christian.

Ivory Panel with Archangel

Nativity of Christ miniature in the Menologion of Basil II, c. 1000 (The Vatican Library, photo: Wikimedia Commons) — The stories behind the art—a quick guide for understanding Byzantium's most common images.

The lives of Christ and the Virgin ...

Isidore of Miletus & Anthemius of Tralles for Emperor Justinian, Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), 532-37 (photo: © Robert G. Ousterhout) — Constantine renamed the new capital of the Roman Empire “Constantinople” and the Byzantine Empire was born—or was it?

About the chronological periods of the Byzantine ...

Transfiguration Apse mosaic, 6th century, the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine, Sinai, Egypt (Photo: Europa Nostra, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) — Travel to the Sinai desert and discover the treasures of one of the world's oldest Christian monasteries

Art and architecture of Saint Catherine’s Monastery ...

Tekfursaray, north façade of the main palace block before restoration, c. 1261–91, Constantinople (Istanbul) (photo: © Robert Ousterhout) — Fortified hilltop cites, palaces, and more.

Late Byzantine secular architecture and urban planning

Interior of the Chora parekklesion, Constantinople (photo: Evan Freeman, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) — Don't skip the final chapter: many of Byzantium’s most beautiful churches date from the last days of the empire.

Late Byzantine church architecture

Church of the Paregoretissa, 1282-89, enlarged 1294-96, Arta (photo: Albert Gößwein, CC BY-NC 2.0) — In 1204 the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople and occupied parts of the Byzantine Empire, but the Byzantines kept on building.

Byzantine architecture and the Fourth Crusade

Remains of a rock-cut courtyard dwelling at Çanlı Kilise, Cappadocia, flourished 10th-11th centuries (photo: Evan Freeman, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) — Byzantium was more than just churches; exlpore homes, cities, and fortifications from the Middle Byzantine era.

Middle Byzantine secular architecture and urban planning

Studenica Monastery, founded 1190, Serbia (photo: BLAGO, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) — How did Byzantine architecture differ throughout the empire and beyond its borders?

Regional variations in Middle Byzantine architecture

Myrelaion church (Bodrum Mosque), c. 920, Constantinople (Istanbul) (photo: © Robert Ousterhout) — Explore groundbreaking new architecture like the cross-in-square church.

Middle Byzantine church architecture

H. Eirene, Constantinople — Learn how territorial losses and the Iconoclastic Controversy impacted Byzantine architecture.

Byzantine architecture during Iconoclasm

These glittering mosaics offered Byzantine worshippers a vision of God in the heavens, sacred history, and the saints.

Mosaics and microcosm: the monasteries of Hosios ...

Isidore of Miletus & Anthemius of Tralles for Emperor Justinian, Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), 532-37 (photo: © Robert G. Ousterhout) — The reign of emperor Justinian (527 - 565) saw dramatic new developments in Byzantine architecture.

Innovative architecture in the age of Justinian

Santa Sabina, Rome, 522-532 (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) — Basilicas and new architectural forms appeared following the reign of emperor Constantine.

Early Byzantine architecture after Constantine

Crypt of the Popes, Catacombs of Callixtus, Rome, 3rd century (photo: Dnalor 01, CC BY-SA 3.0) — House churches, catacombs, basilicas - explore the origins of Byzantine architecture

The origins of Byzantine architecture

Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello, founded 639, reconstructed 864 and 1008 — fresco, mosaic, and marble threatened by a rising sea and the salt it leaves behind

Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello

A church painted inside and out, at the crossroads of the (Eastern) late Byzantine and the (Western) late Medieval worlds.

Church of St. Nicholas, Balinesti

Thumbnail. Fragment of a Floor Mosaic with a Personification of Ktisis, 500–550 C.E. (with modern restoration), marble and glass, 151.1 x 199.7 x 2.5 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) — This Byzantine mosaic shows the personification of the act of generous giving — Ktisis

Byzantine Mosaic of a Personification, Ktisis

Thumbnail. Marble Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll, late 4th–early 5th century C.E., pentelic marble, 53 x 27.5 x 22.2 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection) — An Early Byzantine sculpture of a woman with a scroll at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Woman with Scroll