Art History -Chap 7.2 - Images Parts 2/3

7-31: Church of Sant' Apollinare in Classe

Consecrated in 549 by Bishop Maximus. There is no atrium and its simple exterior reflects the interior space. There is a narthes entrance that spans the width of the ground floor, a tall nave with clerestory ends in a semi-circle apse

7-32: The transfiguration of Christ With Saint Apollinaris, First Bishop of Ravenna

Nothing interferes visually with the movement forward from the entrance to the raised sanctuary which extends from a triumphal-arch opening into the semi-circular apse. The mosaic depicts an array of men and sheep in a stylized landscape. The jeweled cross and head of Christ in the center represent the Transfiguration of Christ's divinity

7-38: Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels

Mary is viewed as the powerful, ever-forgiving intercessor, appealing to her Divine Son on behalf of repentant worshipers. She was also called the Seat of Wisdom and many images depict Mary holding Jesus on her lap in a way that suggests she represents the throne of Solomon. The men standing beside the Virgin Mary on either side are the warrior-saints Theodore and George (said to have slain dragons, representing the triumph of the church over the 'evil serpent' of paganism). The saints are the most stylized of the figures depicted.

7-39: Cathedral of Saint Mark, Venice

Saint Mark's domed compartments produce a complex space with five separate vertical axes. Marble covers the lower walls and golden mosaics glimmer above, covering the vaults, pendentives, and domes. Barrel vaults with domed intersections

7-42: Virgin of Vladimir

Distinctly humanized approach suggests the growing desire reflected in Byzantine art for a more immediate and personal religion. Paintings like this known as the Virgin of Compassion depict the Virgin and Christ Child pressing their cheeks together and gazing tenderly towards each other.

7-44: Christ Pantokrator

This bust length mosaic portray Christ carrying the bible. It fills the central dome of the Church of the Cormition. Hovers in a golden glory, combines two persons of the Trinity- Father and Son, Judge and savior.

7-52: Funerary Chapel Church of the Monastery of Christ in Chora

The funerary chapel was added by Theodore Metochites to the west side of the church. It is entirely painted with themes appropriate to such a setting, the last judgment is painted on the vault of the nave, and Anastasis, Christ's descent into limbo to rescue Adam, Eve, and other virtuous people from Satan

7.4 Jonah Swallowed and Jonah Cast Up:

-two statuettes of a group from the eastern Mediterranean, probably Asia Minor, probably 3rd cent. Marble

-Function is unknown

-Illustrate the biblical story w/ the same literalness and enthusiasm as the paintings on the catacomb ceiling

4.10 Church of Santa Sabina, Rome: 422-32

-constructed by Bishop Peter of Illyria

-most early Christian churches have been rebuilt but this one still looks as much as it did the 5th cent.

-shows basic elements of a basilica: nave w/ side aisles, lit by clerestory windows, ending in a round apse

7.11 Interior, Church of Santa Sabina

-exterior is brickwork; interior is marble veneer and fluted marble columns w/ Corinthian capitals

-columns support round arches, creating a nave arcade, in contrast to a nave colonnade

-spandrels are inlaid w/ marble images of the chalice and paten (plate that holds the bread) , the essential equipment for the Eucharistic rite that took place at the altar

-décor of the upper wall between is lost, and a paneled ceiling covers the rafter roof

-the triforium (the blind wall between the arcade and the clerestory) typically had painting or mosaics w/ scenes from the Old Testament or the Gospels

7.20 Resurrection and Angel w/ Two Marys at the Tomb:

-panel of a diptych, found in Rome, c. 400, ivory

-top register shows the moment of Christ's resurrection in both symbolic and narrative terms. As the soldiers guard his tomb sleep, the evangelists Luke (ox) and Matthew (man in the upper right) acknowledge the event from the clouds

-bottom register shows the moment when Mary, mother of the apostle James, and Mary Magdalen learn from a young man that the tomb is empty

-top panels of the carved doors of the tomb show the Raising of Lazarus, the Gospel story in which Jesus brings a man back to life to prove his divine power

-Christian theme: varied natural poses, soled modeling, architectural details of the tomb, decorative framing patterns

7.25 Transfiguration of Christ:

-mosaic in the apse, Church of the Virgin, Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt. C. 548-65

-shows the transfigured Christ in a triple blue mandorla (an almond-shaped halo that surrounds Christ's whole figure) against a golden sky that fills the half dome of the apse

-the figure of Christ emits rays of life, & the standing Old Testament prophets Moses & Elijah affirm his divinity

-apostles feel to the ground w/ fear & amazement while Christ is relaxed

-Shows Peter below, John at the left, and James at the right

-Mount tabor is represented as a narrow strip at the bottom, half green & half reflecting the golden light

-abstract contrasts w/ the continuing classical influence

7.29 Emperor Justinian and his attendants

-mosaic on north wall of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy. C. 547

-Justinian carries a large golden paten for the Host and stands next to Maximianus, who holds a golden, jewel-encrusted cross

-priestly celebrants at the right carry the Gospels, encased in a golden, jeweled book cover, symbolizing the coming of the Word, and a censer containing burning incense to purify the altar prior to the Mass

7.30 Empress Theodora and her attendants

-mosaic on south wall of the apse, Church of San Vitale. C. 547

-Theodora stands beneath a fluted shell canopy & singled out by a gold halo-like disk and elaborate crown, carries a huge golden chalice studded w/ jewels

-presents the chalice both as an offering for th Mass and as a gift of great value for Christ

-w/ it she emulates the Magi, depicted at the bottom of her purple robe, who brought valuable gifts to the infant Jesus

-courtyard fountain stand to the left of the panel and patterned draperies adorn the openings at the left and right

7.54 Barma and Postnik. Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed, Moscow. 1555-61

-Russian preference for complexity and verticality combined with Byzantine architecture in a spectacular style epitomized by the Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blassed in Moscow

-First Russian Czar, Ivan the 4th, "the Terrible", commissioned the church and the architects (Barma and Postnik)

-Instead of a central dome, the architects employed a typical Russian form called a shater

-surrounded by 8 chapels, each w/ its own dome seeming to grow budlike from the slender stalk of a very tall drum

-plan: a nine-bay, cross-in-square, or quincunx, design surrounded by four more chapels, all on a podium approached by a covered stair