Back to Byz 2

In August of last year, I did a couple of posts on Byzantine art, here & here. This is such a rich heritage in art that I decided to return to it.

This article Byzantine Art at Wikipedia provides as excellent discussion of this art in the context of its culture & the events going on in the world.

The usual dates for the Byzantine Empire are around 500AD to 1453AD when the city of Constantinople fell to the Turks.

"Byzantine art grew from the art of Ancient Greece (see Greek art), and at least before 1453 never lost sight of its classical heritage, but was distinguished from it in a number of ways. The most profound of these was that the humanist ethic of Ancient Greek art was enhanced by the Christian ethic. If the purpose of classical art was the glorification of man, the purpose of Byzantine art was the glorification of God, and particularly of his son, Jesus. But because Jesus was of course human, the Byzantine artistic tradition can be argued to have continued this rich humanist heritage.
In place of the nude, the figures of God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints and martyrs of Christian tradition were elevated, and became the dominant - indeed almost exclusive - focus of Byzantine art. One of the most important forms of Byzantine art was, and still is, the icon: an image of Christ, the Virgin (particularly the Virgin and Child), or a saint, used as an object of veneration in Orthodox churches and private homes." (Wikipedia)

"An icon (from Greek εἰκών, eikon, "image") is an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it, or by analogy, as in semiotics; in computers an icon is a symbol on the monitor used to signify a command; by extension, icon is also used, particularly in modern popular culture, in the general sense of symbol — i.e. a name, face, picture or even a person readily recognized as having some well-known significance or embodying certain qualities.
In Eastern Orthodoxy and other icon-painting Christian traditions, the icon is generally a flat panel painting depicting a holy being or object such as Jesus, Mary, saints, angels, or the cross. Icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, done in mosaic work, printed on paper or metal, etc." (Wikipedia)

Theophanes the Greek (ca 1340- ca 1410) ~ the Madonna of Don Icon

T'oros Roslin (active around 1256-1268) ~ there are seven thumbnails on this page for you to enjoy.

Andrej Rublev (ca 1360/70 - ca 1427/30) ~ Heilige Dreifaltigkeit and Himmelfahrt Christi

It amazes me that these paintings have been preserved (some better than others of course) at all over nearly eight centuries!

More next time.