BYZANTINE ART

               HAGIA SOPHIA     

     

                                        

Artist Name : Isidore of Miletus , Anthemius of Tralles

Artwork Name: Hagia Sophia

Location :  Istanbul (historically Constantinople), Turkey

The Hagia Sophia, whose name means “holy wisdom,” is a domed monument originally built as a cathedral in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the sixth century A.D. It contains two floors centered on a giant nave that has a great dome ceiling, along with smaller domes, towering above. “Hagia Sophia’s dimensions are formidable for any structure not built of steel,”.

According ,  Helen Gardner and Fred Kleiner in their book "Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History." “In plan it is about 270 feet [82 meters] long and 240 feet [73 meters] wide. The dome is 108 feet [33 meters] in diameter and its crown rises some 180 feet [55 meters] above the pavement.”

In its 1,400 year life-span it has served as a cathedral, mosque and now a museum. When it was first constructed, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This state, officially Christian, originally formed the eastern half of the Roman Empire and carried on after the fall of Rome.

Born out of riots

• The story of the construction of the Hagia Sophia began in A.D. 532 when the Nika Riots, a great revolt, hit Constantinople. At the time Emperor Justinian I had been ruler of the empire for five years and had become unpopular. It started in the hippodrome among two chariot racing factions called the blue and green with the riot spreading throughout the city the rioters chanting “Nika,” which means “victory,” and attempting to throw out Justinian by besieging him in his palace.

Interior of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. The crown of the dome rises 180 feet (55 meters) above the floor.

                                         

Sunlight coming in through the windows of the Hagia Sophia "seemed to dissolve the solidity of the walls and created an ambience of ineffable mystery.
The dome rests not on a drum but on pendentives, spherical triangles that arise from four huge piers that carry the weight of the cupola. The pendentives made it possible to place the dome over a square compartment. Beneath the dome are 40 windows with sunlight coming through.

“The sunlight emanating from the windows surrounding its lofty cupola, suffusing the interior and irradiating its gold mosaics, seemed to dissolve the solidity of the walls and created an ambience of ineffable mystery,” she writes. “On the completion of Hagia Sophia, Justinian is said to have remarked, ‘Solomon.

Decorations and iconoclasm

The decorations within the Hagia Sophia at the time of construction were probably very simple, images of crosses for instances. Over time this changed to include a variety of ornate mosaics.

“There are a number of mosaics that have been added over the centuries, imperial portraits, images of the imperial family, images of Christ and different emperors, those have been added since Justinian’s day,” said Godson in the documentary.

During the eighth and ninth centuries A.D., there was a period of iconoclasm in the Byzantine Empire that resulted in some of the mosaics being destroyed.

Conversion to mosque

The Byzantine Empire had been in decline for centuries and by 1453 the Hagia Sophia had fallen into disrepair, notes researcher Elisabeth Piltz in a 2005 British Archaeological Reports series book. Nevertheless, the Christian cathedral made a strong impression on the new Ottoman rulers and they decided to convert it into a mosque.

“What a dome, that vies in rank with the nine spheres of heaven! In this work a perfect master has displayed the whole of the architectural science,” wrote Ottoman historian Tursun Beg during the 15th century (translation from Piltz’s book).

Outside the church, four minarets would eventually be added, Kleiner writes (in a 2010 edition of his book) that these “four slender pencil-shaped minarets” are more than 200 feet (60 meters) tall and are “among the tallest ever constructed.”

The style of the Hagia Sophia, in particular its dome, would go on to influence Ottoman architecture, most notably in the development of the Blue Mosque, built in Istanbul during the 17th century. 

Present-day museum

In 1934, the government of Turkey secularized the Hagia Sophia and turned it into a museum. The Turkish Council of Ministers stated that due “to its historical significance, the conversion of the (Hagia Sophia) mosque, a unique architectural monument of art located in Istanbul, into a museum will please the entire Eastern world and its conversion to a museum will cause humanity to gain a new institution of knowledge.


References 

Helen C. Evans, Ph.D., "Byzantium Revisited: The Mosaics of Hagia Sophia in the Twentieth Century," Fourth Annual Pallas Lecture (University of Michigan, 2006).https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art.../early.../hagia-sophia-istanbul.

Magdalino, Paul, et al. "Istanbul: Buildings, Hagia Sophia" in Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. http://www.oxfordartonline.com. accessed 28 February 2010. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia.

The History of Hagia Sophia ; the Church of Holy Wisdom, Website by Pallasart Web Design-AnAustinWebDesign Company. https://www.pallasweb.com/deesis/hagiasophia.html

ROMAN ART

        PANTHEON  

                

Built  Name :  Trajan, Hadrian

Artwork Name : Pantheon 

Location : Region IX Circus Flaminius

The Pantheon is the best preserved building from ancient Rome and was completed in (c.125 CE)  in the reign of Hadrian. Its magnificent dome is a lasting testimony to the genius of Roman architects and as the building stands virtually intact it offers a unique opportunity for the modern visitor to step back 2,000 years and experience the glory that was Rome.  

FUNCTION & DEDICATION

The Pantheon was built on the exact site of two earlier Pantheon buildings, one commissioned by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (27-25 BCE) and the second by Domitian. The first was destroyed by fire in 80 CE and the second was struck by lightning in 110 CE and again burned down. The third Pantheon was probably begun in the reign of Trajan (98-117 CE) but not finally finished until around 125 CE when Hadrian was emperor.

Following Hadrian’s usual practice of dedicating rebuilt buildings and monuments in honour of the original dedicator, the Pantheon is dedicated to Marcus Agrippa and the prominent inscription on the porch façade reads:  M. Agrippa L.F. Cos Tertium Fecit (Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, three-time consul, made this).

Below the main inscription is a smaller one indicating the restorations carried out by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 202 CE .

                                           

EXTERIOR

• The whole building stands on a 1.3 m high base which originally extended a further 7 metres in front of the colonnade. Steps in Numidian yellow marble extended from the outer ends of this base. 

• The building consists of two principal parts .The porch, which is very Classical Greek in presentation, and the circular main building which is much more Roman in style and reminiscent of the architecture of the large Roman baths. The circular building is built with brick and concrete but was originally faced with white marble stucco to match the porch in appearance. 

The porch measures 33.1 x 13.6 m and presents a front colonnade of eight Corinthian columns 11.8 m high. The monolithic column shafts are in Mons Claudianus and Aswan grey granite with the bases and capitals in white Pentelic marble. The pediment above the columns is now empty but drill holes suggest there was originally an emblem of some sort, possibly an eagle or wreath which would have been in gilded bronze and symbolised Jupiter. 

                                  

INTERIOR

• The Pantheon may well be the first building from Classical architecture where the interior is deliberately made to outshine the exterior. The circular part of the building or rotunda was entranced via two bronze doors measuring 12 x 7.5 m (those of today are ancient but not original). The rotunda measures 43.2 m in diameter which is exactly the maximum height of the dome, itself a perfect hemisphere.

•  At the very top of the dome is an opening to the sky (oculus) which is 8.8 m in diameter and has a decorative bronze sheet frieze. The dome is made from a light tufa and scoria (a type of pumice) mix of concrete (caementa) and its interior is further lightened by five rings of 28 coffers which reduce in size as they rise towards the centre of the dome. These may have been originally covered in bronze sheets.

The wall of the rotunda is 6 metres thick and has seven alcoves which are alternatively semi-circular  and rectangular . 

In my conclude , The Pantheon show was for centuries a source of materials for new buildings and other purposes including the making of cannons and weapons. In addition to the loss of original finishing, sculpture, and all of its bronze elements, many other changes were made to the building from the fourth century to today.

References 

Paul Godfrey and David Hemsoll. “The Pantheon: Temple or Rotunda?” in Pagan Gods and Shrines of the Roman Empire, edited by Martin Henig and Anthony King (Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1986), pp. 195-209. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/.../the-pantheon.

Cartwright, M. (2013, June 12). Pantheon. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Pantheon/

NORTHERN BUDDHIST ART

THE SILK ROAD 

Artwork Name : The Silk Road

Location :  Central Asia

The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to Central Asia, China and ultimately Korea and Japan started in the 1st century CE with a semi-legendary account of an embassy sent to the West by the Chinese Emperor Ming (58-75 AD). 

However, extensive contacts started in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of the Tarim Basin, with the missionary efforts of a great number of Central Asian Buddhist monks to Chinese lands. 

Central Asian missionary efforts along the Silk Road were accompanied by a flux of artistic influences, visible in the development of Serindian art from the 2nd through the 11th century AD in the Tarim Basin, modern Xinjiang. Serindian art often derives from the Greco-Buddhist art of the Gandhara district of what is now Pakistan, combining Indian, Greek and Roman influences. 

The art of the northern route was also highly influenced by the development of Mahāyāna Buddhism, an inclusive branch of Buddhism characterized by the adoption of new texts, in addition to the traditional āgamas, and a shift in the understanding of Buddhism. 

Term of The Silk Road

• Mahāyāna goes beyond the traditional Early Buddhist ideal of the release from suffering (duḥkha) of arhats, and emphasizes the bodhisattva path. The Mahāyāna sutras elevate the Buddha to a transcendent and infinite being, and feature a pantheon of bodhisattvas  

• Northern Buddhist art thus tends to be characterized by a very rich and syncretic Buddhist pantheon, with a multitude of images of the various buddhas, bodhisattvas, and heavenly beings (devas).

                                     
Northern  Wei  Dynasties

 A Chinese Northern Wei Buddha Maitreya, 443 AD. In the 5th to 6th centuries, the Northern Dynasties, developed rather symbolic and abstract modes representation, with schematic lines. Their style is also said to be solemn and majestic. The lack of corporeality of this art, and its distance from the original Buddhist 

objective of expressing the pure ideal of enlightenment in an accessible and realistic manner, progressively led to a change towards more naturalism and realism, leading to the expression of Tang Buddhist art.

Tang Dynasty

Following a transition under the Sui Dynasty, Buddhist sculpture of the Tang evolved towards a markedly life-like expression. Because of the dynasty’s open to foreign influences, and renewed exchanges with Indian culture due to the numerous travels of Chinese Buddhist monks to India, Tang dynasty Buddhist sculpture assumed a rather classical form, inspired by the Indian art of the Gupta period.

During that time, the Tang capital of Chang'an (today's Xi'an) became an important center for Buddhism. From there Buddhism spread to Korea, and Japanese embassies of Kentoshi helped it gain a foothold in Japan.

In my conclusion, Celebrating the cultural heritage of the countries along the Silk Route, this text explores the ancient trade route between Europe and the Far East, more specifically between Rome and the old Chinese capital of Xian


References 

Jerry H.Bentley. Old World Encounters: Cross-cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-modern Times. Oxford–NY: Oxford University Press, 1993

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_transmission_of_art

Buddhism along the Silk Road: 5th–8th Century ; At The Met Fifth Avenue : JUNE 2, 2012–FEBRUARY 10, 2013. www.metmuseum.org

PREHISTORIC & ANCIENT ART

VENUS OF WILLENDORF

                                                     LEOLITHIC  SCULPTURE

 

Artist Name : Joseph Szombathy

Artwork Name : Venus of Willendorf,

Location : Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna

The figure is believed to have been carved during the European Upper Paleolithic, or "Old Stone Age", a period of prehistory starting around 30,000 BCE. A wide variety of dates have been proposed. Following a revised analysis of the historiography of the site where the statuette was discovered, carried out in 1990, the figure was estimated to have been carved between 24,000 and 22,000 BCE. More recent estimates push the date back slightly to between about 28,000 and 25,000 BCE.

Interpretation and purpose

• Similar sculptures, first discovered in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, are traditionally referred to in archaeology as "Venus figurines", due to the widely-held belief that depictions of nude women with exaggerated sexual features represented an early fertility fetish, perhaps a mother goddess. 

• The reference to Venus is metaphorical, since the figurines predate the mythological figure of Venus by many thousands of years. Some scholars reject this terminology, instead referring to the statuette as the "Woman of" or "Woman from Willendorf".

• The purpose of the carving is the subject of much speculation. Like other similar sculptures, it probably never had feet, and would not have stood on its own, although it might have been pegged into soft ground. Parts of the body associated with fertility and childbearing have been emphasized, leading researchers to believe that the Venus of Willendorf may have been used as a fertility fetish.

The figure has no visible face, her head being covered with circular horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited hair, or perhaps a type of headdress  

                      

                        Greek Vase-Painting

                          

Useful for scholars

Pottery is virtually indestructible. Though it may break into smaller pieces (called sherds), these would have to be manually ground into dust in order to be removed from the archaeological record. 

• As such there is an abundance of material for study, and this is exceptionally useful for modern scholars. In addition to being an excellent tool for dating, pottery enables researchers to locate ancient sites, reconstruct the nature of a site, and point to evidence of trade between groups of people. Moreover, individual pots and their painted decoration can be studied in detail to answer questions about religion, daily life, and society.

                

Made of terracotta (fired clay), ancient Greek pots and cups, or “vases” as they are normally called, were fashioned into a variety of shapes and sizes (see above), and very often a vessel’s form correlates with its intended function. For example, the krater was used to mix water and wine during a Greek symposion (an all-male drinking party). 

It allows an individual to pour liquids into its wide opening, stir the contents in its deep bowl, and easily access the mixture with a separate ladle or small jug. Or, the vase known as a hydria was used for collecting, carrying, and pouring water. 


References 

Venus of Willendorf : Kathleen Kuiper  Article History ; “Nude Woman”, “Woman of Willendorf”. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Venus-of-Willendorf

Antl-Weiser, Walpurga. "The anthropomorphic figurines from Willendorf" (PDF). Niederösterreichischen Landesmuseum. Retrieved 24 December 2012. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Willendorf

Tattersall, Ian. Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory. Gerland Publishing: (New York & London, 1988). www.thenagain.info/WebChron/World/Willendorf.html