Classical Architecture // Early Christian // Byzantine (Architecture Style)
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| Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, 532–7 |
Region: Eastern Mediterranean.
Period: Fourth to fifteenth century.
Characteristics:
- Pendentive dome
- Mosaics
- Basilican
- Centralized
- Stylistic freedom
- Brick and plaster
Pendentive dome : Unlike the dome of the Pantheon, which rested on a circular base, the domes of Hagia Sophia and other Byzantine churches were supported by essentially square bases.
To reconcile the different geometries, Byzantine domes sat on pendentives – curved triangular vaults
that visually and structurally negotiated the gap between the four supporting round arches and the dome above.
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| Basilica of S. Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 527–48 |
Mosaics: The interiors of Byzantine churches were densely decorated with rich fi gurative and geometric mosaics. Those at the Basilica of S. Vitale are the most sumptuous to have survived.
Various biblical scenes, all manner of flora and fauna, and figures of Jesus Christ and the Apostles are depicted in gleaming colours.
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| Sta. Maria Maggiore, Rome, 432–40 |
Christian adaptions of the type, which informed Byzantine architecture, typically removed the end colonnades, inserted an apse at the east end for the altar, and sometimes added transept arms and a narthex at the west end.
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| Basilica of S. Vitale, Ravenna, 527–48 |
Centralized : Early Christian churches were almost universally basilican in form. However, centralized plans, which were better suited to Byzantine liturgical practices, became increasingly prevalent. One of the most perfect is the Basilica of S. Vitale, which is not actually a basilica in the formal sense, but has curving columned screens mediating between a central octagon and a surrounding ambulatory.
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| Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, early sixth century |
Stylistic freedom :Erected by Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, as his palace chapel, the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in many ways represents a fusion between the early Christian and the Byzantine styles.
While conforming to the basilicantype, its architectural articulation is only loosely classical, with the inexact imitation of an entablature supported by characteristically Byzantine – and unclassical – basket capitals.
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| Hagia Irene, Istanbul, rebuilt in the mid sixth century |
Having been subject to iconoclasm, the bare interior of Hagia Irene reveals how the use of brick allowed the creation of its complex geometrical structure.
Book Reference: Architectural Styles : A Visual Guide By Owen Hopkins
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