Byzantine art facts for kids

Icon of Christ in the Hagia Sophia

Byzantine art means the Christian Greek art of the Eastern Roman Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. (The Roman Empire during this period is known as the Byzantine Empire.)

But the term can also be for other the art of countries who shared their culture with the Byzantine Empire. This can include Bulgaria, Serbia, and Rus. The Republic of Venice and Kingdom of Sicily, can also be included even though they were part of western European culture. Art produced by Balkan and Anatolian Christians who lived in the Ottoman Empire is often called "post-Byzantine." Certain traditions that began in the Byzantine Empire, particularly icon painting and church architecture, are still current in Greece, Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries.

Related pages

• Icon
• Basilica
• Tempera
• Mosaic
• List of Renaissance artists

Images for kids

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  Icon of the enthroned Virgin and Child with saints and angels, 6th century, Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai

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  The Arab Saint Arethas depicted in traditional Byzantine style (10th century)

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  Frescoes in Nerezi near Skopje (1164), with their unique blend of high tragedy, gentle humanity, and homespun realism, anticipate the approach of Giotto and other proto-Renaissance Italian artists.

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  Interior of the Rotunda of St. George, Thessaloniki, with remnants of the mosaics

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  Leaf from an ivory diptych of Areobindus Dagalaiphus Areobindus, consul in Constantinople, 506. Areobindus is shown above, presiding over the games in the Hippodrome, depicted beneath (Musée national du Moyen Âge)

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  The St. George Rotunda in Sofia, built in the 4th century, and some remains of Serdica can be seen in the foreground

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  Miniatures of the 6th-century Rabula Gospel (a Byzantine Syriac Gospel) display the more abstract and symbolic nature of Byzantine art

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  Mosaic from San Vitale in Ravenna, showing the Emperor Justinian and Bishop Maximian, surrounded by clerics and soldiers.

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  Archangel ivory of the early 6th century from Constantinople

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  Nave of Basilica of Saint Sofia

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  Mosaic from the church of Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki, late 7th or early 8th century, showing St. Demetrios with the bishop and the eparch

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  Helios in his chariot, surrounded by symbols of the months and of the zodiac. From Vat. Gr. 1291, the "Handy Tables" of Ptolemy, produced during the reign of Constantine V

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  Mosaics of Nea Moni of Chios (11th century)

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  An example of Macedonian-era ivorywork from Constantinople: the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, now in the Bode Museum, Berlin

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  Mosaic of Daphni Monastery (ca. 1100)

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  The Annunciation from Ohrid, one of the most admired icons of the Paleologan mannerism, bears comparison with the finest contemporary works by Italian artists

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  St Mark's Basilica in Venice, where imported Byzantine mosaicists were succeeded by Italians they had trained

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  Modern Orthodox mural from Israel using a depiction of the Nativity of Christ little changed in over a millennium

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  Interior view with the frescoes dating back to 1259, Boyana Church in Sofia, UNESCO World Heritage List landmark.

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  Between 900 and 1100, Musée national du Moyen Âge

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  With images of Cupids (10th century), Walters Art Museum

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  10th-11th century, Petit Palais

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  11th-12th century, Museo Nazionale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna (Arezzo)

See also

In Spanish: Arte bizantino para niños