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Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
The best mosaics created by the Byzantine Empire are in
its capital Constantinople. And the most famous of them
are them are the surviving Byzantine mosaics in the
churches of Hagia Sophia and Chora. Here we find on the
walls the images of Christ, Virgin Mary, John the Baptist,
St. John Chrysostom, the Byzantine Emperors
Constantine IX and John II, and Byzantine Empresses Zoe
and Irene. Beginning with the reign of Emperor Basil I the
Macedonian in 867, during the so-called "Macedonian
Renaissance" in the 9th and 10th centuries, the Empire's
military situation improved, new churches were again
commissioned, and the Byzantine church mosaic style
became standardised (of which the Chora Church in
Constantinople is the finest extant example).The
importance of these mosaics is even greater when one
considers the fact that it is Byzantine art that made
possible the birth of the Renaissance in Western
its capital Constantinople. And the most famous of them
are them are the surviving Byzantine mosaics in the
churches of Hagia Sophia and Chora. Here we find on the
walls the images of Christ, Virgin Mary, John the Baptist,
St. John Chrysostom, the Byzantine Emperors
Constantine IX and John II, and Byzantine Empresses Zoe
and Irene. Beginning with the reign of Emperor Basil I the
Macedonian in 867, during the so-called "Macedonian
Renaissance" in the 9th and 10th centuries, the Empire's
military situation improved, new churches were again
commissioned, and the Byzantine church mosaic style
became standardised (of which the Chora Church in
Constantinople is the finest extant example).The
importance of these mosaics is even greater when one
considers the fact that it is Byzantine art that made
possible the birth of the Renaissance in Western
Reconstruction of the largest ancient building, the
church of Hagia Sophia in Byzantine capital of
Constantinople (from www.byzantium1200.com)
church of Hagia Sophia in Byzantine capital of
Constantinople (from www.byzantium1200.com)
Copyright © 2008 AncientSculptureGallery.com. All rights reserved.
Europe. In architecture, the church of Hagia Sophia which housed these mosaic masterpieces was itself
an architectural masterpiece, a building of superior scale and magnificence to anything in the ancient
world.
an architectural masterpiece, a building of superior scale and magnificence to anything in the ancient
world.