A church painted inside and out, at the crossroads of the (Eastern) late Byzantine and the (Western) late Medieval worlds.
Constantinople and the East
This Byzantine mosaic shows the personification of the act of generous giving — Ktisis
Byzantine Mosaic of a Personification, Ktisis
An Early Byzantine sculpture of a woman with a scroll at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Woman with Scroll
A panel with a Griffin (a lion and an eagle — the king of birds and the king of animals — combined).
Byzantine Griffin Panel
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
This energetic image of military victory captures a moment of transition between classical and Byzantine art.
The Emperor Triumphant (Barberini Ivory)
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 ...
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
After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, the sultan repurposed this church, adding slender “pencil” minarets.
Hagia Sophia as a mosque
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
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
Large and lavish, the images in this manuscript revived the classical style for medieval church use.
The Paris Psalter
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 ...
The golden dome of this vast building appears suspended from heaven. It has withstood quakes, conquest, and crusades.