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BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE (500- 1453 AD)

LECTURE-9
LOCATION
Location
BACKGROUND
Byzantine Architecture

 Founded in 660 BC as a greek colony.


 330 AD became capital of Roman Empire.
 364 AD slit into two eastern and western Empire (Emperor
Theodosius)
 By the end of the 5th century AD, Rome had completely declined
 Its influence was significantly reduced and the Impetus for
architectural innovation shifted to the Byzantine Empire
 This shift also marks the movement from early Christian civilization
to the Byzantine civilization
 Under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527-565), the Byzantine
style of architecture evolved
 His interest in church building led to the discovery of the pendentive
and the evolution of the Byzantine style
 Finally captured by ottoman turks in 1453
BACKGROUND
Byzantine Architecture

 Although it is impossible to identify two similar Byzantine churches,


it is still possible to identify the basic characteristics of an ideal
Byzantine church
 The attributes of the ideal church included:
 The use of a centralized church plan
 The use of surrounding isles
 The use of pendentives and dome on pendentives
 And the use of a complex program of interior structure,
lighting and decoration to create fascinating interiors
 The pendentive dome and the dome on pendentives provided the
Byzantine architects with a unique way of adjusting the circular form
of a dome roof to a square or polygonal plan
 By using several overlapping domes, Byzantine architects were able
to create an intricate interior structural system and external roof
system
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Domes and Domes on Pedentives

 The pendentive dome is


derived by trimming the sides
of a regular dome over a
square plan as shown in A.
 The pendentive dome enables
the transfer the total load of
the dome to the four corners
of a building, meaning that
only the four corners need to
be reinforced
 This allows the dome roof to
be adapted for a square
building as shown in B
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Domes and Domes on Pedentives

• Additionally, the top of the


pendentive dome can be trim to
introduce another dome on top of it
as shown in C
• The additional dome can further be
raised to introduce a cylinder
between the pendentive dome and
the additional dome as in D
• Windows can then be introduced in
the cylinder enabling architects to
creating dazzling interior light effects
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
St Vitale Ravenna AD 526-547

• Byzantine architecture has its


early prototypes in two churches,
San Vitale(526-47), Ravenna and
in Saint Sergius and Saint Bacchus
in Constantinople
• Ravenna once served as the seat
of the Roman Empire
• The church is among the most
important monument of Byzantine
architecture
• It was also the prototype for the
Hagia Sophia which was built 10
years later
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
St Vitale Ravenna AD 526-547

• The church is octagonal in plan


• It has a domed octagonal core
surrounded by ground level
ambulatory with a gallery
above it
• The outer wall of the
ambulatory is also octagonal
• Inner octagon 16.5m
• Outer octagon 35m
• It has an apse which extends
from the central core to one of
the 8 sides of the outer octagon
• Carved capitals, mosaic lines
the wall
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
St Vitale Ravenna AD 526-547

• Dome constructed
of earthen pots
fitted together,
protected by timber
roof producing
lightness of
structure
• The domed roof of
the church is raised
on a drum allowing
it greater height
and lighting
• The dome has a
diameter of 17
meters and a height
of 30 meters
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
St. Sergius and Bacchus, Constantinople

• It was built as a palace church


between A.D. 525-530
• It is based on the four-lobed
alternative church plan of early
Christian architecture
• The church in plan consist of an
octagonal core set in a very loose
rectangular form
• The form of the church was not a
perfect square (33m x 28m)
• Dome 16m in dia, 21.2 m high,
melon like form with ridges and
forrows.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
St. Sergius and Bacchus, Constantinople

• The central space was covered by


a dome
• The octagon of the central dome
has a small but true pendentive
dome
• This church was constructed very
shortly before Hagia Sophia and
was believed to be a experiment
• The dome, its adaptation to a
squarish form, the use of
pendentive and the lighting and
decoration scheme in the interior
gives it its Byzantine
characteristics
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople 532-7 AD

• Hagia Sophia or the church of the


holy wisdom is the most
accomplished master piece in the
history of architecture
• The church was constructed in 532
A.D. by Emperor Justinian in
Constantinople now Istanbul
• HagiaSophia was the greatest
vaulted space without
intermediate supports that has
ever been built and it remained so
throughout the history of the
Byzantine Empire
• It was designed by the Greek
scientists Isidore of Miletus, a
physicist, and Anthemius of
Tralles, a mathematician
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople 532-7 AD

• HagiaSophia is covered by a central


dome 32.6 m high, 54.8m above
ground
• The dome seems rendered
weightless by the unbroken arcade
of arched windows under it, which
help flood the colorful interior with
light
• The dome is carried on pendentives
• The weight of the dome passes
through the pendentives to four
massive piers at the corners
• 82m x 73m
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople 532-7 AD

• Hagia sophia dominated church


architecture after the 6th century AD
• For over 900 years it was the seat of
the Orthodox patriarch of
Constantinople and a principal setting
for imperial ceremonies
• Hagia Sophia was converted to a
mosque at the Fall of Constantinople
to the Ottoman Turks under Sultan
Mohammad II in 1453
• Its rich figurative mosaics were
covered with plaster and replaced by
Islamic motifs
• After continuing as a mosque for
many years, it was in 1934 turned by
Turkish authorities into the
HagiaSophia Museum
BYZANTINE ARCH. IN OTHER PLACES
Monastry of Hosios Loukas

• Built around 1020 A.D.


• It has a complex plan with 8
piers carrying its large
central dome
• The church plan integrates a
cross in square with an
octogan dome scheme
• The result is an effect of
interpenetrating space
BYZANTINE ARCH. IN OTHER PLACES
Monastry of Hosios Loukas

• Combined with lights from


its dome and its
decoration it give a clear
expressing of its Byzantine
character
• On the outside, its
construction materials
reflect local practices
BYZANTINE ARCH. IN OTHER PLACES
St Marks, Venice

• St Mark lies on St Mark's Square,


one of the most famous squares in
the world
• The church has five domes each
toping a square
• The church is based on a Greek cross
floor plan
• Each arm of the cross is of the same
length and is covered by a dome
• A dome also covers the square
space at the center
• While the basic structure of the
building has been little altered, its
decoration changed greatly over
time
• The front façade is Gothic and was
added much later

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