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Early Christian and

Byzantine ArchitectureArchitectural History

ACT 322Doris Kemp


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Topics

Byzantine Architecture

The Ideal Byzantine Church

Central Plan Domes

Lighting and Decoration

Hagia Sophia Other Justinian Structures


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In the years around 500 A.D. the Western

Empire laid in ruins

Rome had been sacked twice and Italy was in the

hands of the Ostrogoths

The Eastern Empire lived on

Constantinople was the capitol of the Eastern

Empire Had been built on the Hellenic city of Byzantium (modern

day Istanbul, Turkey)


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A formal shift from early Christian to Byzantine

architecture can be seen in the early sixth

century A.D.

Timber-roofed Latin basilican churches gave way to

domed, central-plan structures in the Eastern

Empire


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Byzantine Architecture:

Ideal Byzantine Church

No two Byzantine churches were identical

Features of the ideal Byzantine church:

Central plan Pendentive dome

String focus on structure, lighting, and elaborate

decoration


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Domes

Central core of the church formed an integral part of

a larger structure that included supporting structure

and vaulting as well

The dome complimented the spatial core of the

church

Domes were generally placed over cylinders, as atthe Pantheon


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Domes

Occasionally, domes were placed over polygons or

even squares

Created certain structural problems

Pendentive

Provided a way to set a circle (dome) atop a square

A Roman invention, though rarely used

Byzantines used pendentives very often

Domes were used to invoke powerful images of the

Christian heaven


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Photo: Sullivan


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Lighting and DecorationArticulation was very important in Byzantine

architecture

No visible surfaces were left in a natural stateAll was dissolved in color and light:

Glowing marble pavements

Richly veined marble walls

Extensive mosaic cycles Rich patterns of light created by glass and structural

features


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Photo: Sullivan


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Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Symbolizes the ideal Byzantine church

Built as the new Cathedral of Constantinople by the

Emperor Justinian in 532537 A.D.

Intended to be the keystone of Justinians massive

architectural campaign


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Hagia Sophia

Photo: Sullivan


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Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Justinian believed that only natural scientists and

philosophers would be able to create the structure he

had seen in his dreams

Designed by two men:

Anthemius of Tralles

Natural scientist

Mathematician

Isidorus of Miletus

Professor of stereometry and physics at Constantinople


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Hagia Sophia

Photo: Sullivan


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Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Built in an amazing five years

Its first dome was destroyed by an earthquake and

rebuilt in 563 A.D.

Was converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Turks


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Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Has some structural problems

Main piers are of excellent solidarity, built of massive

ashlar masonry Rest of the building, however, was built of brick in thick

mortar beds

The dome generates tremendous pressure

Corners are supported by pendentives but the sides have littlesupport


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Hagia Sophia

Photo: Sullivan


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Hagia Sophia

Photo: Sullivan


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Other Justinian Structures

No other Byzantine churches approach even

half the scale of Hagia Sophia

Two churches bear a resemblance to Hagia

Sophia

SS. Sergious and Bacchus

S. Vitale


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SS. Sergius and Bacchus

Located in Constantinople

Built as a palace chapel between 527 and 536

Many historians believe it was an experimental

version of the Hagia Sophia


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Photo: Sullivan


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S. Vitale

Located in Ravenna, Italy

Very precise and strict double-shell form that

featured a dome

Featured mosaics of Justinian and his queen,

Theodora, and their court


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Photo: Sullivan


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Church of St. John the Evangelist

Built at his tomb in the Hellenistic city of Ephesus on the

coast of Asia Minor

c. 548 A.D.

Photo: Sullivan
http://www.tylersterritory.com/travel/europe/turkey/ephesus/church-04.html


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S. Marco

Located in Venice, Italy

Although built in the

Romanesque Period (c.10631094), it is

considered more

Byzantine in style than

Romanesque

Photo: Sullivan


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References

Sullivan, Mary; http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/

http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wdpt1.html

Trachtenburg/Hyman; Architecture: From Prehistory to

Postmodernity

Wodehouse/Moffett; A History of Western Architecture


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Early Christian and

Byzantine ArchitectureArchitectural History

ACT 322Doris Kemp

early christian2

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