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The golden age of this first Byzantine period agrees with the reign of Justine
emperor (527 to the 565), prolific constructor and patron of the arts. In the
first Byzantine period two types of churches can be distinguished: the basilica,
composed by three longitudinal ships of different height and cover with a wood
ceiling from two waters, and the church of plant centralized organized around a
covered section by a cupola of stony material. The second model predominated
until the end of the Byzantine Empire. The culminating example of the
centralized typology is the church of Santa Sophia in Constantinople, concluded
year 537 according to the project of Isidoro de Mileto and Artemio de Tralles.
The outside, of austere aspect due to the decoration absence, is formed in
agreement to a pyramidal hierarchy, but the greater artistic interest, like in
all the churches Byzantines, is concentrated in the near space. The immense
central cupola, that rises 56 meters on the ground, seems to float on a light
ring that penetrates by the bays that surround their base. In order to
facilitate the transit towards the square plant four spherical triangles were
arranged, calls pechinas that run between the edge of the cupola and the pillars
of four enormous arcs that sustain it. The church maintains a subtle
longitudinal axis, conformed by two semi cupolas that they flank to the central
cupola and by the lateral galleries that mask the enormous abutments that
sustain the weight of the structure. This way a space of magical appearance was
obtained, dispersed in the edges by means of exedras, niches and arcades and
dominated by the material quality of the light. This effect reinforced with the
decoration of overwhelming mosaics and marble coatings.
The iconoclastic period. Although the religious art closely was bound to the
Church of East, certain parts in their sine were against to any representation
of scenes or sacred personages. This position took in the beginning of
iconoclast in year 726, when emperor Leon III ordered the destruction by all the
empire not only of the icons, but also of all the religious representations
where it appeared the human figure. The Byzantine territory of Italy resisted
solely to this new norm. Nevertheless, the decorative arts prospered during the
period iconoclast. Some ideas of their character were shaped in the work of the
mosaiquist, like the decoration with scrolls of acanto of the cupola of the Rock
in Jerusalem (685-705), the charming landscapes of trees of the Great Mosque of
Damascus (706-715) or the geometric reasons for mihrab of the mosque of Cordova.
The oldest Byzantines weave examples of silk, some with reasons inspired by the
designs for the old Persia, are dated in the period iconoclast. In the churches
of the West these weaves, concerned of east were used, like curtains of the
shrine and shrouds of saints and governors. The average Byzantine period: the
macedónic Renaissance the prohibition to carry out figurative representations
was cancelled year 843 finally, with the arrival of the new Macedonian dynasty
(867-1056), that inaugurated one second golden age of the well-known Byzantine
art like the average Byzantine period. During this period of the macedónic
Renaissance the art experienced a resurgence of the classic traditions. This
fact can be verified in the few minidisk manuscripts that have been conserved of
centuries IX and X. The miniatures to whole page are based on the Hellenistic
style of the Greek art (Art and architecture of Greece see) developed during the
delayed period. The average Byzantine period was a little while of architectonic
consolidation, in contrast to the carried out experiments at the time of
Justine. |
