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Concept
Byzantine mosaics
Summary
Byzantine mosaics are mosaics produced from the 4th to 15th centuries in and under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. Mosaics were some of the most popular and historically significant art forms produced in the empire, and they are still studied extensively by art historians. Although Byzantine mosaics evolved out of earlier Hellenistic and Roman practices and styles, craftspeople within the Byzantine Empire made important technical advances and developed mosaic art into a unique and powerful form of personal and religious expression that exerted significant influence on Islamic art produced in Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates and the Ottoman Empire. In addition, Byzantine mosaics went on to influence artists in the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, in the Republic of Venice, and, carried by the spread of Orthodox Christianity, in Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and Russia. In the modern era, artists across the world have drawn inspiration from their focus on simplicity and symbolism, as well as their beauty.
Byzantine mosaics can trace their origin to the Greek tradition of road-building, since Greek roads were often made using small pebbles organized into patterns. By the Hellenistic Period, floor and wall art made of natural pebbles was common in both domestic and public spaces. Later, as the Roman Empire expanded and became the dominant cultural force in the Mediterranean and Near East, Roman artists were heavily influenced by the Greek art they encountered and began installing mosaics in public buildings and private homes throughout the empire. They also added small clay or glass pieces called tesserae, material that was also in use during the Hellenistic period. The use of tesserae enabled artists to create more colorful and finely-detailed images.
In 330 AD, the emperor Constantine moved the empire's capital from Rome to Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul), renaming it Constantinople after himself. Historians generally use this date for the beginning of the Byzantine Empire and divide Byzantine art into three historical periods: Early (c.
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