Ap Art History Chapter 12: Byzantium

AP ART HISTORY CHAPTER 12: BYZANTIUM

Mrs. Dill, La Jolla High School

EARLY BYZANTINE ART

Give the following information about the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople:

Meaning of its name:

Patron:

Architects:

Brief description of plan and structure:

How the dome support differed from earlier domed buildings:

What was the principal light source?

What was the primary decoration in the dome?

How does a squinch differ from a pendentive? Draw sketches if you like.

Who were Justinian and Theodora and what is the subject of the mosaics in which they are represented in the apse of San Vitale (FIGS. 12-10 and 12-11)?

What does Justinian's halo signify?

What explanation is given for the curious overlapping of Justinian and Maximianus?

Explain the meaning of the following symbols from the apse mosaic of Sant' Apollinare in Classe (FIG. 12-12):

Jeweled cross

Three sheep below the cross

Twelve sheep

Compare the mosaic from Sant’Apollinare with that from the mausoleum of Galla Placidia (FIG. 11-16) and describe the stylistic changes that have occurred.

What is the subject of the apse mosaic from the monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai (FIG. 12-13)?

List three stylistic features of the mosaic.

a.

b.

c.

What was the significance of icons in Byzantine worship?

What effect did the Iconoclast controversy have on the visual arts?

MIDDLE BYZANTINE ART

Define or identify the following:

Pantokrator

Theotokos

What is significant about the including of the image of the Virgin and Child in Hagia Sophia in the 9th century (FIG. 12-19)?

List two contradictory stylistic features contained in the mosaic:

a.

b.

What Byzantine characteristics are apparent in the icon called The Vladimir Madonna (FIG. 12-29)?

a.

b.

c.

LATE BYZANTINE ART (1204-1453)

Define or identify the following:

Anastasis

Iconostasis

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (PICK ONE)

Discuss the development of pictorial form from Roman illusionism to Byzantine pattern, noting the changes that you see in the treatment of the spacial setting and the solidity of the human body. Consider the Dionysiac frieze (FIG. 10-18), The Parting of Lot and Abraham (FIG 11-14), Christ as the Good Shepherd (FIG. 11-16), The Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes (FIG. 11-18), and the mosaic of Sant' Apollinare in Classe (FIG. 12-12).

Select a Byzantine mosaic or painting from the Early, Middle and Late periods. What features do they have in common that makes them Byzantine?