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Christian Emperor Constantine conquered Rome around 500 AD and celebrated Christianity. Up until this time Early Christians were persecuted and had to use symbols to secretly express their identity. With Christianity being legal, churches sprang up and iconic paintings- used for religious reflection and communicating the gospel. For uneducated people who were illiterate this was a means for the church to share the message of salvation.
In a world heavily dependent on the visual image as a means of giving form to abstract ideas, the Christian religion could not compete without providing imagery for its more complex and difficult conception of God. The secrecy in which the early Christians were forced to worship, for fear of persecution, gave way to symbolism—images with double meanings intended to be appreciated only by the initiated.
In the apse mosaic at Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, c.549
Religious significance was depicted in height and central placement.
Illuminated manuscripts started around 400 AD
Stained glass started around 1100AD to help the illiterate meditate on the gospel at church
Religious art was, however, not limited to the monumental decoration of church interiors. One of the most important genres of Byzantine art was the icon, an image of Christ, the Virgin, or a saint, used as an object of veneration in Orthodox churches and private homes alike. Icons were more religious than aesthetic in nature: especially after the end of iconoclasm, they were understood to manifest the unique “presence” of the figure depicted by means of a “likeness” to that figure maintained through carefully maintained canons of representation.[9]The illumination of manuscripts was another major genre of Byzantine art. The most commonly illustrated texts were religious, both scripture itself (particularly the Psalms) and devotional or theological texts (such as the Ladder of Divine Ascent of John Climacus or the homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus). Secular texts were also illuminated: important examples include the Alexander Romance and the history of John Skylitzes. Two events were of fundamental importance to the development of a unique, Byzantine, art. First, the Edict of Milan, issued by the emperors Constantine I and Licinius in 313, allowed for public Christian worship, and led to the development of a monumental, Christian art. Second, the dedication of Constantinople in 330 created a great new artistic centre for the eastern half of the Empire, and a specifically Christian one. Other artistic traditions flourished in rival cities such as Alexandria, Antioch, and Rome, but it was not until all of these cities had fallen - the first two to the Arabs and Rome to the Goths - that Constantinople established its supremacy. A significant component of Justinian's project of imperial renovation was a massive building program, which was described in a book, the Buildings, written by Justinian's court historian, Procopius.[25] Justinian renovated, rebuilt, or founded anew countless churches within Constantinople, including Hagia Sophia,[26] which had been destroyed during the Nika riots, the Church of the Holy Apostles,[27] and the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus.[28] Justinian also built a number of churches and fortifications outside of the imperial capital: important examples include the Monastery of St. Catherine on the Sinai Peninsula,[29] and the Basilica of St. John in Ephesus.[30]Several major churches of this period were built in the provinces by local bishops in imitation of the new Constantinopolitan foundations. The Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, was built by Bishop Maximianus. The decoration of San Vitale includes important mosaics of Justinian and his empress, Theodora, although neither ever visited the church.[31] Also of note is the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč[32]Vienna Genesis[33]Rossano Gospels[34]Sinope Gospels[35]Vienna DioscuridesJulia Anicia[36][36] Byzantine mosaicists probably also contributed to the decoration of the early Umayyad monuments, including the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Great Mosque of Damascus.[43]
"Virgin and Child with Saints" is an icon from the Monastery of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt, 6th Century. Encaustic on wood, 27" X 18 7/8"
"The Pantocrator" is from the Royal Church at Monreale, Sicily. Mosaic, Late 12th Century
he art of those days was characterized by sorrow and yet by hope. In ecclesiastical terminology, we use the term 'bright-sadness.' This refers to a mixed emotion of joy, over the anticipated help from God and salvation, and sorrow, for the suffering of life and sin.
MOSIACS ne of 12 miniature mosaics from Diptych with Cycle of Feast Days, Byzantine (Constantinople), 1300-1350, miniature mosaic on wood panel, frame of standardized silver-gilt stampings and enamel plates, each of the 12 mosaics measures about 3 ½inches square
Icon with the Nativity, Byzantine, first quarter of the 15th Century, tempera and gold on wood, priming on textile, 25 7/8 by 25 inches,
The apparently fortuitous shape of the central rock is the vehicle used to structure and display the subsidiary scenes. It forms an unobstrusive but well-defined frontier between heaven and earth, with the angels above and mankind below. The newborn Child, lying in the area between, belongs to both worlds, both doctrinally and pictorially. The cave and the sarcophagus-like cradle make a clear allusion to the future burial of Christ. Another hint of Christ's coming Passion is given by the sword-shaped light-blue ray directed from heaven at the heart of the reclining Virgin. The circular structure of the scene is given special emphasis by the semicircle of the sky.
riptych with Virgin and Child and Saints, Nikolaos Tzafouris (act. 1489-93) or Andreas Ritzsos (1422-1492), Crete (Candia?), late 15th century, painting on wood, 9 7/8 by 17 1/8 inches,
Left is Peter and Paul embracing- union of churches gentiles and jews
Right- byzantine saints -saint stephen and st. lawrence
