BYZANTINE ART

700 - 1453 A.D.

Art becomes a path to spiritualism as Greek and Roman studies of the human body are lost in the movement to promote Christianity.

Here for the first time we see the image of Christ take a central role in a civilization’s art. The Byzantine period extended from 500 A.D. until 1453 A.D. when Constantinople fell. Byzantine Art drew heavily on themes, forms and artistic skills developed in Egypt and Syria. It became influential in the future development of art in Northern Africa, the Balkans, Russia, and parts of Italy. The art of Greece and Rome, on the other hand, became the foundation of Renaissance Art, a century later. To understand the difference between these two lines of art history is to see the chasm between the spiritual and the human spirit.