The Aesthetic Purpose of Byzantine Architecture and Other Essays
Author: C. de Soissons
Publisher:
Published: 1814*
Total Pages: 206
ISBN-13:
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Hagia Sophia and the Byzantine Aesthetic Experience
Author: Nadine Schibille
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-04-22
Total Pages: 321
ISBN-13: 1317124154
DOWNLOAD EBOOKParamount in the shaping of early Byzantine identity was the construction of the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (532-537 CE). This book examines the edifice from the perspective of aesthetics to define the concept of beauty and the meaning of art in early Byzantium. Byzantine aesthetic thought is re-evaluated against late antique Neoplatonism and the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius that offer fundamental paradigms for the late antique attitude towards art and beauty. These metaphysical concepts of aesthetics are ultimately grounded in experiences of sensation and perception, and reflect the ways in which the world and reality were perceived and grasped, signifying the cultural identity of early Byzantium. There are different types of aesthetic data, those present in the aesthetic object and those found in aesthetic responses to the object. This study looks at the aesthetic data embodied in the sixth-century architectural structure and interior decoration of Hagia Sophia as well as in literary responses (ekphrasis) to the building. The purpose of the Byzantine ekphrasis was to convey by verbal means the same effects that the artefact itself would have caused. A literary analysis of these rhetorical descriptions recaptures the Byzantine perception and expectations, and at the same time reveals the cognitive processes triggered by the Great Church. The central aesthetic feature that emerges from sixth-century ekphraseis of Hagia Sophia is that of light. Light is described as the decisive element in the experience of the sacred space and light is simultaneously associated with the notion of wisdom. It is argued that the concepts of light and wisdom are interwoven programmatic elements that underlie the unique architecture and non-figurative decoration of Hagia Sophia. A similar concern for the phenomenon of light and its epistemological dimension is reflected in other contemporary monuments, testifying to the pervasiveness of these aesthetic values in early Byzantium.
Architecture of the Sacred
Author: Bonna D. Wescoat
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2014-10-13
Total Pages: 467
ISBN-13: 110737829X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn this book, a distinguished team of authors explores the way space, place, architecture, and ritual interact to construct sacred experience in the historical cultures of the eastern Mediterranean. Essays address fundamental issues and features that enable buildings to perform as spiritually transformative spaces in ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, early Christian, and Byzantine civilizations. Collectively they demonstrate the multiple ways in which works of architecture and their settings were active agents in the ritual process. Architecture did not merely host events; rather, it magnified and elevated them, interacting with rituals facilitating the construction of ceremony. This book examines comparatively the ways in which ideas and situations generated by the interaction of place, built environment, ritual action, and memory contributed to the cultural formulation of the sacred experience in different religious faiths.
The Aesthetic Purpose of Byzantine Architecture, and Other Essays
Author: Count De Soissons
Publisher: Legare Street Press
Published: 2023-07-18
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781019880814
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA classic work of art criticism from one of the leading authorities on Byzantine art and architecture. This collection of essays offers a penetrating analysis of the aesthetic purpose of Byzantine architecture, as well as insightful commentary on topics ranging from medieval art to the philosophy of aesthetics. With a foreword by renowned art historian Ernst Kitzinger, this book is an essential resource for anyone interested in the history and theory of art. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Approaches to Byzantine Architecture and Its Decoration
Author: Mark Joseph Johnson
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 334
ISBN-13: 9781409427407
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe fourteen essays in this collection demonstrate a wide variety of approaches to the study of Byzantine architecture, a reflection of both newer trends and traditional scholarship in the field. Three papers examine Early Christian monuments, two of which expand the inquiry into their architectural afterlives. Others discuss later monuments in Byzantine territory and monuments in territories related to Byzantium such as Serbia, Armenia, and Norman Italy. No Orthodox Church being complete without interior decoration, two papers discuss issues connected to frescoes in late medieval Balkan churches. Finally, one study investigates the continued influence of Byzantine palace architecture long after the fall of Constantinople.
The South African Bookman
Author:
Publisher:
Published: 1913
Total Pages: 532
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Aesthetic Purpose of Byzantine Architecture
Author: Count De Soissons
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Published: 2017-10-11
Total Pages: 214
ISBN-13: 9780266156789
DOWNLOAD EBOOKExcerpt from The Aesthetic Purpose of Byzantine Architecture: And Other Essays The Opening essay on Byzantine Architecture breathes that generous appreciation Of the value Of the Eastern Empire to civilization and Christen dom which the world is at last learning to recog nize. The incomparable majesty Of Santa Sophia, again, has never inspired a more full-throated paean. Byzantine art was the mingling Of East and West, the marriage of colour and form, and its glowing rays are traced Westwards to the shrines Of Venice and Monreale. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Art and Architecture
Author: Ellen C. Schwartz
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2021-11-19
Total Pages: 665
ISBN-13: 0197572200
DOWNLOAD EBOOKByzantine art has been an underappreciated field, often treated as an adjunct to the arts of the medieval West, if considered at all. In illustrating the richness and diversity of art in the Byzantine world, this handbook will help establish the subject as a distinct field worthy of serious inquiry. Essays consider Byzantine art as art made in the eastern Mediterranean world, including the Balkans, Russia, the Near East and north Africa, between the years 330 and 1453. Much of this art was made for religious purposes, created to enhance and beautify the Orthodox liturgy and worship space, as well as to serve in a royal or domestic context. Discussions in this volume will consider both aspects of this artistic creation, across a wide swath of geography and a long span of time. The volume marries older, object-based considerations of themes and monuments which form the backbone of art history, to considerations drawing on many different methodologies-sociology, semiotics, anthropology, archaeology, reception theory, deconstruction theory, and so on-in an up-to-date synthesis of scholarship on Byzantine art and architecture. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Art and Architecture is a comprehensive overview of a particularly rich field of study, offering a window into the world of this fascinating and beautiful period of art.
