arts lesson 3

Question 1

They used vibrant colors and represented figures
● The figures have large eyes, similar to Christian images
● Often portrayed religious stories as they were created to
teach religious lessons

Answer 1

BYZANTINE PAINTINGS & MOSAIC

Question 2

The downfall of Roman Empire began when the German
Visigoths defeated Rome in 410 CE
● The center of Byzantine art was in Constantinople (Istanbul)
● Artist in this period concentrated on painting icons and
decorating churches with mosaics and frescoes as a response
to the needs of the orthodox church.

Answer 2

BYZANTINE ART

Question 3

They don’t have permanent place to worship until
Constantine legalized Christianity.
● Impressive religious were constructed across the empire,
especially in Rome, Constantinople, Ravenna and Milan
● They adopted the Basilican form from Hellenistic and Roman
period.

Answer 3

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

Question 4

Christians were bound by the authority of the Bible and other
sacred texts.
● Illuminations are illustrations, borders or initials that
decorate a written text. ( manuscripts adorned with gold or
silver)
● Vienna Genesis - the foremost of these manuscripts from the
first half of century

Answer 4

ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS

Question 5

Emperor Constantine built churches across the empire active
way of spreading Christianity
● Exteriors of churches were plain but the interiors were full of
colorful mosaics
● These mosaics were filled with symbols and narratives from
Bible.
● They used colored glass to create vibrant images, they also
used gold backgrounds to achieve otherworldly and
transcendent effects

Answer 5

EARLY CHRISTIAN MOSAIC

Question 6

Grand Stone caskets or sachorpagi were the earliest example
of Christian sculpture
● Christians abandoned cremation (inhuman)
● Sculptures where not prioritized in this period
● Early Christians viewed pagan sculptures of god as idolatry,
which is forbidden in bible.
● They created bas relief (low relief) sculpture depicting
Christian allegories and biblical scenes
● They make sure sculptures where not objects of adoration
but just decorations

Answer 6

EARLY CHRISTIAN SCULPTURE

Question 7

Early Christian art followed the style of classical Roman art
● Simplified and more abstract artistic expression
● Aimed to express spiritual feeling rather than depict physical
beauty
● “windows of their soul”

Answer 7

EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

Question 8

Their architecture was inspired by the design and technical
achievement of ancient Greek and Romans
● Early Byzantine structures featured large vaults and domes
● Hagia Sophia (Church of Wisdom) designed by Isidorus of
Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The crowning glory of
Byzantine structure

Answer 8

BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE

Question 9

Byzantine sculptures were a major cause of political and
religious conflict
● Iconoclasts condemned images and sculptures that portrayed
religious figures because the believe that such works were used
by the devil to lure Christian back to paganism.
● Many sculptors were persecuted and hunted
● Religious sculptures were only allowed provided that the figures
were not accurately depicted

Answer 9

BYZANTINE SCULPTURE

Question 10

Romanesque art flourished in the Western part of the Roman
Empire
● Their art can be described as a combination of Roman,
Byzantine and other style.
● One of the key players in Romanesque style was their Church.

Answer 10

ROMANESQUE ART

Question 11

Romanesque paintings contains large unbroken stretches of
wall space, giving painters excellent canvas for their works.
● Uses bold and vibrant colors
● Apse of Sant Climent de Taull painted by the master of Taull
● Master Taull is considered of the greatest mural painters of
the 12th century in Catalonia, Spain
● It is now housed at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in
Barcelona, Spain

Answer 11

ROMANESQUE PAINTINGS

Question 12

The Romanesque period in art was succeeded by the Gothic
period.
● It initially thrived in the Ile de France from the middle of the
12th Century to the middle of 12th century before spreading
throughout the northern parts of Europe.

Answer 12

GOTHIC ART

Question 13

Giorgio Varsari, a Florentine historiographer, first used the
term Gothic to refer to the architecture of the Nordic Tribes
that besieged the Roman Empire.
● Gothic architects came up with new structural designs that
greatly transformed medieval architecture

Answer 13

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

Question 14

Stone figures of the Holy family and saints were the earliest
types of Gothic sculptures.
● To decorate parts of religious buildings, especially cathedrals
● Sculptures in the late Gothic period became more lifelike,
relaxed and naturalistic

Answer 14

GOTHIC SCULPTURE

Question 15

A more transcendent style
● Paintings in this period became more non-religious
● Paintings became popular than illuminated

Answer 15

GOTHIC PAINTINGS

Question 16

Used to make the architecture lighter and brighter inside
● Stained glass windows were also used to tell biblical stories
● Not all people during this period were literate
● This art form offered Christians who could not read an
extraordinary glimpse of scenes from Bible.

Answer 16

STAINED GLASS