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