Byzantine Architecture Flashcards
The three historical periods of Byzantine Art and architecture
Early Byzantine,
Middle Byzantine,
Late Byzantine
Byzantium is located where?
At the intersection of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean
Local Materials for Byzantine are?
Clay for bricks,
Rubble for concrete
Byzantine architecture has flat roofs combined with domes(T or F)
True
Byzantine architecture has unbroken walls and arcade open courts(T or F)
TRUE
What established Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire
Edict of Milan
Disputes in the Church resulted in the division of the WESTERN Orthodox and Eastern Roman Catholic Churches called the GREAT SCHISM
FALSE( Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholic Churches)
What forbade statues in any form and made colored pictures flat and stylized?
Iconoclastic Movement
Means “image breaking”
Iconoclasm
Presbysters cannot marry(T or F)
False(They can get married)
The Eastern Orthodox Church has the Patriarch(True)
True
Byzantine churches are characterized by what?
Cross in square plans with central domes
The 3 basic spaces of Byzantine churches:
Narthex,
Nave,
Sanctuary
The wall of icons and religious paintings separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church
Iconostasis
A triangular curved overhanging surface that supports a circular dome over a square or a polygonal compartment.
Pendentive
The 3 types of domes
Simple dome,
Compund dome
Special dome
Type of dome where the dome and pendetive are parts of the same sphere
Simple Dome
Type of dome where the dome is constructed separately from the pendentive
Compound dome
How many types of compound domes are there?
Two
3 types of special domes
Ribbed dome,
Serrate dome with jagged edges,
Bolbous dome
A decorative art created by assembling small pieces of glass, tiles, or other materials.
Mosaic
A piece of glass, tile or other material used in a mosaic.
Tessarae
The ornament mentioned and given symbolic meaning in the Gospels. It also symbolizes Jesus.
Fish (Ikhthus)
Symbol of peace and unity
Dove
Emblem of of immortality and resurrection
Peacock
Refers to Jesus’ role as a sacrifice atoning for the sins of an in Christian theology
Lamb (Good Sheperd)
The idea of a the vital union of the believers with Christ and among each other
Grapevine
In the grapevine ornament, who is the vine and who is the branch?
Jesus as the vine,
the people as the branches
Emblem of eternity
Endless Knot
Formed by superimposing the first two letters of the word “Christ” in greek
Chi Rho
Art of painting on fresh, moist plaster with pigments dissolved in water
Fresco Painting
What are the three types of floor pavements?
Opus Alexandrinum,
Opus Sectile,
Oppus Tessellatum
Type of floor pavement that utilizes tiny, geometrically shaped pieces of colored stones and glass that are arranged in geometric patterns dotted with large disks of semiprecious stones
Opus ALEXANDRINUM
Floor pavement that is made from larger, specially cut pieces, usually tile or stone.
Opus Sectile
Floor pavement that is usually used for backgrounds consisting of tiny pieces of tesserae
Opus Tesselatum
Massive cubiform capitals that are often with dosseret block to support the voissoir of an arch
Columns
The capitals of columns were carved with what?
Incised foliage,
Animal forms
What structure was a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, which later became an Imperial Mosque, and then a museum, and now a mosque again?
Hagia Sophia
First significant
church of the middle Byzantine period in Athens.
Church of the Holy Apostles
It has 2 churches: the Theotokos (cross-in -square plan)
and the Katholikon (domed-octagon plan). The wall is faced using the
cloisonne technique where the stones are framed all around with
bricks
Monastery Church of Hosios Loukas
Three structures that dates to late 13th or
early 14th century in date, have an attenuated cross-in-square
core enveloped by a pi-shaped ambulatory.
- H. Panteleimon,
H. Aikaterini,
H. Apostoloi
Combines a basilican ground plan with a cross-in-square, fivedomed gallery, the whole enveloped by porticoes, a belfry, and
additional subsidiary spaces
Hodegetria Church
The only Serbian monastery in Greece
Hilandar Monastery, (Mt. Athos, Greece)
Meteora means what?
suspended in air
The oldest meteora monastery
Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron
The 6 Monasteries of Meteora are:
Great Meteoron
Varlaam Monastery
Rousanou Monastery
Holy Trinity Monastery
St. Stephen Monastery
St. Nicholas Anapafsas Monastery
Two churches that are most distinctive for their colorful exteriors, combining brick and stone decoration with glazed ceramic disks and rosettes.
Pantokrator Church
St. Ivan Aliturgetos
Valued for its internal decoration of frescoes, one of the most
exquisite painting masterpieces of the European art of the 13th
century
Sopoćani Monastery, (Serbia)
Tetrastyle cross-in-square church with side choruses invented by Saint Athanasios
Athonite type
Structure that has a double octagonal shell with a domed octagonal core and is one of the finest Byzantine examples in Western Europe.
Basilica di San Vitale
