Byzantine Art

Catalog description

This course focuses on the art of the medieval Byzantine Empire, a period of strong imperial patronage that saw the rise of Christianity and its associated new forms of art and architecture. The course is organized chronologically, from Byzantine art's late antique Pagan Roman, Early Christian, and Jewish sources to its relationship to Islamic art and its later impact on the development of the arts of Western Europe and Russia. The major themes of the course are: the relationship of belief and ritual to religious imagery and architecture; cultural exchange and influence on art forms and iconography; and the impact of imperial patronage on art and architecture.