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?

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

Panel with a Griffin, 1250–1300, made in Greece or the Balkans (possibly), marble, 59.7 x 52.1 x 6.5 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) — A panel with a Griffin (a lion and an eagle — the king of birds and the king of animals — combined).

Byzantine Griffin Panel

Byzantine chalice (The Attarouthi Treasure — Chalice, Silver and gilded silver, 500–650 C.E., The Metropolitan Museum of Art) — A sumptuous silver and gold chalice starring a youthful Christ, a saint slaying a dragon (could it be George?), and more.

A chalice from the Attarouthi Treasure

Modern copies of the Horses of San Marco on the exterior of the Basilica of San Marco, Venice — To the victor go the spoils? These sculptures were taken by the Byzantines, the Venetians, and Napoleon.

Plunder, War, and the Horses of San ...

This energetic image of military victory captures a moment of transition between classical and Byzantine art.

The Emperor Triumphant (Barberini Ivory)

Tesserae video still — A mosaic is made up of hundreds or even thousands of individual tiles, called tesserae.

Ancient and Byzantine mosaic materials

Deësis, c. 1261, mosaic, Hagia Sophia, detail — When the most important church in the East became a mosque, this mosaic was covered but three faces survived.

Deësis (Christ with the Virgin Mary and ...

Theotokos mosaic, 867, apse, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (detail) — The size and solidity of this Virgin and Christ reaffirmed the power of images in the wake of Byzantine iconoclasm.

Theotokos mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

The Hagia Sophia as a mosque — After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, the sultan repurposed this church, adding slender “pencil” minarets.

Hagia Sophia as a mosque

Pendentive, Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice, begun 1063, Middle Byzantine — In this jewel box of a Byzantine church, the solid walls of a Greek-cross plan dissolve into golden light.

Saint Mark’s Basilica, Venice

Sant'Apollinare in Classe (apse) — Here Christ, represented by the cross, reveals his divine nature to the Apostles—and to the 6th-century worshiper.

Sant’Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna (Italy)

Created at the end of the Byzantine Empire, this image looks back to the achievements of an earlier empress.

Icon with the Triumph of Orthodoxy

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

San Vitale — Gold, glass, and marble dazzle the eye in this 6th-century church. High above us, Emperor Justinian presides.

San Vitale and the Justinian Mosaic

David Composing the Psalms, from the Paris Psalter, c. 900 C.E. 14-1/8 x 10-1/4" / 36 x 26 cm (Bibliothèque nationale de France) detail — Large and lavish, the images in this manuscript revived the classical style for medieval church use.

The Paris Psalter

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George, sixth or early seventh century, encaustic on wood, 2' 3" x 1' 7 3/8" (St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai, Egypt) — Preserved in a desert monastery, this wax-on-wood icon leads the viewer upward and inward to the spiritual realm.

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore ...

Hagia Sophia — The golden dome of this vast building appears suspended from heaven. It has withstood quakes, conquest, and crusades.

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul