Byzantine mosaic
The mosaic Byzantines are mosaic S produced by artists of the Roman Empire of the East or Byzantine Empire. The passion of the Byzantines for the religious fact pushed them has to abundantly represent Christ, the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin. The will of magnifier the emperors and empresses makes that we arrived of the mosaics presenting of the Allégorie S, for example Justinien offering Holy-Sophie.
Examples of Byzantine mosaics
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the Christ Pantocrator in the Apse of the cathedral of Monreale
- walls covered with mosaics of the church Saint-Saver-in-Chora with Istanbul
- panels representing Justinien and its wife in the Vital San Basilica of Ravenne
Variations of style
The style of the Byzantine mosaics changes during the centuries.Under the influence of Greece and Rome antiques, the first mosaics represent reality. Although not reaching yet the sophistication of the future mosaics, those dating from the 6th century of the church San Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenne give us to see Christ represented in a realistic way, with volume and in an alive attitude. Its soft and benevolent glance is directed towards the spectator.
More tardily, under the influence of Eastern asceticism, the lines are done clearer, the representations become abstract, without volume. In the church Holy-Sophie, on the panel of Zoe dating from the 11th century, the glance of Christ is less expressive and it carries elsewhere, giving the impression of a Christ foreigner to this world.
In the last centuries of existence of the Byzantine Empire, the representations of Christ will find realism and volume; the mosaics will then reach a level of details and sophistication which inspires piety and meditation with the faithful one, as on the mosaic of Déisis with Holy-Sophie going back to 1280.
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