Influence of Greco-Roman and Formalistic Eastern Art on Byzantine Art

The Classical Style of Greece and Roman influenced Byzantine art greatly as the Byzantines absorbed strategies of depictions using symbolism for representation of the divine and important emperors, as well as the whole idea of the use of these strategies as political messages. At the same time, Classical styles were intricately integrated with the formalistic Eastern style as it took similar Christian motifs and new representations of the human form and its place in nature as well as revolutionary techniques in backgrounds and the relationship between setting and character to emphasize the role of the figures pictured. Byzantine art and architecture represents the fusion of a very classical and defined style with a style which instead allowed the eye to focus on the important together to produce highly symbolic and meaningful imagery, with images such as the San Vitale mosaics perfectly depicting the blend between these two unique art forms.

The classical styles of ancient Greece and Rome greatly influenced Byzantine art in that they provided key symbols for reverence, respect and power which could be used throughout Byzantine art in portraits of the divine and authority figures. The color purple marks one of the key colors used in Roman art – the color used to portray the emperor. In Roman times only the emperor would wear purple tunics, so depiction of figures with these clothes on would represent their elevated status in society. This idea can be seen not only in images which represent figures of authority (such as emperors and empresses) but also in those which represent the divine. The key image behind representing the divine with these robes was to show their importance their power, reflecting the very similar reasons for the depiction of Roman emperors in this type of cloth. On the top picture on the front side of the Rabbula Gospels folio 12, we can distinctly see the method of how important figures in the Christian religion were depicted, a way very similar to their earlier Roman emperor counterparts were also treated. Jesus wears a very long purple tunic, and the virgin Mary wears a long purple dress in the first image, and their importance is reinforced by the haloes around their head. Even though Jesus’ facial features in the painting do not allow us to easily see who he is, the symbolic motif of the purple tunic and the knowledge of its importance in Roman art signifies his importance and allows for his quick identification. Emperors and empresses alike received a similar treatment in art, akin to the portraiture of these authority figures in the art of the classical Roman times. Just as Roman art was greatly centered as political imagery to convey specific images using idealized forms of the emperor, Byzantine artists depicted their emperors and empresses using elaborate purple garments to show their connection (and approval to rule) from the divine along with features such as their prominence and position in images to indicate their elevated rank. The purpose of this imagery was, like in Roman times, not mainly to convey accounts of previous events but instead to serve as political propaganda messages which anchored the right to rule, the piousness and the prominence of the leaders of the Byzantine nation in the hearts of its citizens. As can be seen in the mosaic program of San Vitale, both Justinian and Theodora wear the purple robes of an emperor, indicating their elevated stature. As well as this, Justinian and Theodora both wear defining features which separate them from the others – specifically, they both wear an intricate headdress. Just as in Roman art, their position relative to others in the mosaic represents their power – both Justinian and Theodora seem from the mosaics to be furthest in the power, again showing how these figures influenced the people through powerful political imagery. One of the most impactful parts, however, of both mosaics is the fact that, as in Roman times, the scenes did not necessarily depict what had actually happened and instead serve more to allow citizens of the vast empire to appreciate their rulers and understand their authority. Although neither Justinian nor Theodora ever came to San Vitale, their presence indicates their omnipresent authority over everything within their vast empire, which allows us to see them with almost a divine reverence. In fact, both Justinian and Theodora have a large halo around their head, once more underscoring their divinity and importance to the people of their empire. The use of various images with symbolic imagery as political propaganda in the Byzantine empire was one very highly influenced by the classical Roman empire, and many of the methods used to imply their elevated status such as the color of the robes remained the same in the Byzantine and Roman empires.

The Early Christians’ impact on Byzantine art included the adoption of the Byzantines of many early Christian religious motifs as well as a new depiction of the human form and a new relation between the human form and nature. Key motifs involving a variety of subjects from the Early Christian times were quickly integrated into Byzantine art. One of the central motifs which is taken from early Christian art is that of depicting Christ with his twelve apostles, and this number was used throughout Byzantine paintings and mosaics to evoke similar themes. Specifically, the very reference towards religious figures such as Jesus allowed onlookers to appreciate the connection between the figures represented and Jesus himself. In the San Vitale mosaics, Justinian is surrounded by twelve attendants, and in the Church of Sant’Apollinare Apollinaris is surrounded by twelve sheep, both hinting to the widespread use of religious imagery from the early Christian motifs in the creation of compelling messages. The cross itself is also an important image from the East, since it represents Jesus Christ by representing a key element of his life, the crucifixion and his martyrdom to save humanity. Again in the Church of Sant’Apollinare, the inclusion of only the cross and not Christ himself indicates the use of symbolic imagery in replacement for actual depiction of important religious figures. The formalistic Eastern style also brought with it a new depiction of humans. Unlike the very individualized forms in Augustus’s the procession of the imperial family in the Ara Pacis, Byzantine art has shifted in the direction of less individualized forms which seem to almost become repetitive. As in the paintings at Dura-Europos, the brothers of David all have very similar facial features and lack any visible emotion, which allows onlookers to focus their attention on what the artist wants us to see – Samuel anointing David. A very similar theme can be seen in Byzantine art, which allows the painters and mosaicists to draw attention to certain aspects of their art piece. In the case of the mosaics at San Vitale, all of the women at the right of Theodora’s mosaic seem to have identical facial features and lack any emotion, allowing us to focus our attention on different parts of the mosaic, specifically the empress Theodora and the open doorway which she is about to proceed through. This idea of deindividualization can arguably be seen even more clearly in the bottom pedestal of the obelisk of Theodosius. Here, not only the spectators who are below him in the relief seem exactly identical and lack detailed facial features and emotion, but all of his attendants also lack emotion. Even though the classical Roman style was also able to emphasize certain figures, it did not do this by omitting details such as in both Byzantine and formalistic Eastern art, but instead by adding details such as the purple toga or simply by making these figures larger than the others in the artwork. Finally, the formalistic Eastern style also contributed to the Byzantine style the use of very simple and powerful backgrounds, contradicting the very naturalistic and realistic backgrounds often seen in classical Roman art. Most paintings in Byzantine art, like those in the art of the formalistic East, feature figures in front of an entirely golden background, possibly with a very thin layer of shrubbery or a thin green line at the very bottom of the artwork to represent the ground. However, even this ground is not adhered to strictly, a great departure from the classical Roman style of realistic depictions of the place of humans in regard to solid objects instead to a more abstract style in which some people seem to float in the air. The golden backgrounds in the paintings allow us to focus on the key messages – the religious figures – instead of the background scenery, and the abstract way of letting some figures levitate represents the lack of importance this had to the artist. The general aim of artists in the Byzantine period was not to depict reality, but instead to depict the divine in a way which could be seen clearly with powerful imagery, and the lack of rules of gravity and perfect golden backgrounds underscores the role which divinity and its possibilities played in the development of this art. At the monastery in Mount Sinai, Jesus and the figures surrounding him are all within a completely flat landscape consisting only of gold, with a tiny strip of green and yellow at the bottom of the painting. The same principle is true at the Daphni Crucifixion scene, the painting on the dome of the Kiev Cathedral, the interior of San Marco and the interior of the Basilican church at Monreale all allow us to clearly see and experience the divine – the empty background allows us to focus our attention on the divine characters, but the shining qualities of the gold underscore the role of divinity and allow us to experience a full spiritual experience. The many important Christian motifs, various revolutions in figure painting which allowed for emphasis of certain figures and the use of background from the formalistic artists of the East had a tremendous far-reaching impact on Byzantine art forever.

In conclusion, Byzantine art is a form which developed into a highly successful fusion of the classical forms of the Greeks and Romans and the formalistic style of the East to produce an art form which allowed the Byzantines to emphasize and show the roles of the divine and authorities in completely new ways. The use of symbols to indicate power and reverence taken from the Romans, and their widespread applications which were also influenced by the Romans allowed the Byzantines to carefully craft articulated messages about authority figures and the divine and deliver these to the citizens of a vast empire. Similarly, many of the motifs themselves, as well as a novel way of depicting the human form and its relation to setting in the formalist East allowed the Byzantines to further create a unique and impactful artistic identity.