Byzanttn Art


 Byzanttn Art
The Byzantine artistic tradition was. ln the words of s ot one scholar, ctmonumental, lcaletdoscoptc, constantly open to fashion, , energlzll\g rgazang and far-reaching (Beckwith). Byzantine art can be thought of broadly as the art of Constantinople (whose ancient name, before Constantine renamed lt after htmself, was Byzantlon) and the regions under ats iinfluence. In. this chapter, we focus on Byzantine art' s hree ‘ goldene ” The Early Byzantine period, most closely associated 、with thereign of Emperor Justlruan I (527-65), dates from the fifth century until 726, the onset of the iconoclastic controversy that led to the destruction of rehgtous images (see ‘clconoclasm"). The Middle Byzantine period began ln 843, when Empress Theodora (c,810-  62) reinstated the veneration of Christian Crusaders from the We: lcons, and lasted until1204,wh en st occupied Constantinople. The Late Byzantine period began with the resto. ration of Byzantine rule in 1261 and ended, in Constantinople and its realm , 、n,nth the empire's fall to Ottoman Turks in l 453. However, Late Byzantine art continued to flounsh tnto the eighteenth century ln Ukraine, Russia. , and much of southeastern Europe. Russia succeeded Constantinople as the “third Rome" and the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church after the empire s collapseDuring the fifth and sixth centuries, while  invasions and religiouscontroversy wracked the Italian peninsula, the E astern Empire tern Eprospered Constantinople remained secure behind massive walls defended by the imperial army and navy. Its control of land and sea routes between E:trope and Asia made many of its people wealthy. The patronage of the affluent citizenry; as well as that of the imperial family; made the city an artistic center. Greek literature, science and philosophy continued to be taught in its schools. Influences from the regions under the empire's control Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Persia, and Greece gradually combined to create a distinctive Byzantine culture.