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The most powerful periods of the Byzantium Empire were
years that were stagnant in terms of advancement of
thought, but were highly active in terms of religion. It
should not be forgotten, however, that it was this highly
detailed embroidery of the Middle Ages that was to pave
the way for the Renaissance. The struggle between two
very great religions, Islam and Christianity, was to lead
to the development of Islamic civilization on the one
hand, and Byzantine civilization on the other. Byzantine
art was a synthesis of the Christian art forms of the
Middle Ages, their own art forms which had existed in the
pre-Christian early period, and all of the arts that had
been gleaned from the territories and countries which
were under the rule of the Empire. Elements of Anatolian,
Iranian, Italian, Egyptian, Syrian, Balkan, and North
African cultural forms could all be found within this
aggregate. The principal element within this synthesis
was, however, the Anatolian.
Byzantine arts in their earliest periods were closely related
to the changes which had occurred in the Roman Empire.
Because the Byzantine Empire did not have its own unique
beginning as a civilization, this early transitional
period is referred to as the period of "Early Christian
Art." Following this early period, the art forms of the
Byzantine can be classified as having three distinct
stages. The first stage is called the "Early" or the
"First Byzantine" stage. This period began in the fifth
century and continued on until 726. Byzantine art
produced its first original and important pieces during
this period. This was the period of time in which the
Emperor Justine played such an important role and this
period is termed the "Justinian Period." Certain internal
struggles began to appear near the close of the seventh
century. People began to rise up against the restraints
placed upon them by the church and the monasteries. The
period of Iconoclasm began at the beginning of the 8th
century as a reaction to church pressures. As this
reaction grew, many religious paintings were destroyed
and such paintings were forbidden. Many monasteries were
closed and the nuns and priests of these orders were
forced into the street to live as common citizens.
Painting became a secular art as non-religious subjects
were chosen. The Middle Stage of Byzantine art began in
842 when the church regained much of its power. This
period lasted for almost four hundred years. Byzantine
art matured during this period and developed its own
unique characteristics. It also assimilated elements of
Islamic civilization.
The rulers of this period came from the line of the
Macedonians and the Kommenos. While the Seljuk Empire was
being established in Anatolia, the Byzantines were in the
midst of an internal power struggle. Another period of
Crusades had again begun. As a result of all these
various pressures, much of the Empire was divided into
small principalities, and in its last century there was
almost no attention paid to the arts. New art forms began
to make their appearance in the Mora and Epiros Despots
who had broken off from the Empire and in the government
of Trabzon.
Generally speaking , Byzantine art forms are composed of two
main elements. lts primary characteristic is that fmds
its source in religion. The second chief characteristic
is that it developed as an aristocratic art form among
the royal circle.
There are very unique examples of Byzantine architecture
found in its capitol city of Constantinople and in other
cities in Anatolia. The advancement of sculpture went
hand-in-hand with the advancement of architecture.
Besides architecture and sculpture, there are many
excellent examples of painting, handicrafts, gold
enameled work, and pottery which were left to us by the
Byzantines.
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