Emily Brown
Ward Block F
December 18th 2013
The Use of Iconography in the Islamic and Byzantine Empires
The Byzantine and Islamic Empires
were two strong and expansive empires. Each empire affected the other in many
ways, creating a new, and intriguing mix of culture. The Islamic and Byzantine
empires were different through their art and its presence of absence of
human images. The Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Hagia Sophia were both
beautiful places of worship for the empires that were each filled with
intricate mosaics such as the Horseshoe Arch in the Mosque of Cordoba and the
Apse mosaic of the Hagia Sophia, but these mosaics differ in their presence or
absence of human images. The Horseshoe Arch in the Great Mosque of Cordoba is a steeply curved arch surrounded by
Islamic calligraphy and intricate detailed geometric patterns. The Aspe mosaic
in the Hagia Sophia is almost thirteen feet tall and placed in a curve of a
large dome. The mosaic depicts the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus while in a seated position.
The
Horseshoe Arch is heavily detailed arch that is covered in richly colored blue,
golds, yellows, and browns from glass
being placed over gold, that creates a “dazzling affect” as described by Shadieh Mirmobiny from Khan Academy This arch illustrates popular Islamic western
styles and shows how much skill the Islamic people invested in their Mosques.
Islamic mosaics did not contain human images and were mainly “geometric and mathematical”
according to the Joy of Shards Mosaic Resource.
This shows that no lack of thought or effort went into the making of the
mosaics because they did not contain the images of humans, but instead the high
value the Islamic people felt towards their faith and their incorporating
mathematics and other areas of skill into their mosaics. Islamic mosaics such as the Horseshoe Arch in
the Great Mosque of Cordoba is a great example of how the Islamic people
developed artistic styles based on regional traditions (Shadieh Mirmobiny ). The Horseshoe Arch contains calligraphy and immense detail shows the
artistic skills of the Islamic empire and their focus on following the
traditions of their faith by the abstaining from the use of human images in
their mosaics.
During
the Byzantine Empire the trend of using mosaics as an art form had become
popular. According to Max Pfingsten from the education portal “ The Byzantinesdidn’t just follow this trend, they refined it even further, creating some of the most beautiful mosaics in the Western World.” The mosaics in the Byzantine Empire focused greatly around the Christian faith. In the Byzantine Empire churches containing mosaics depicting Christ, Saints, and emperors were all very common. The
mosaics in the Byzantine Empire, contrary to the Islamic Empire’s mosaics, did not avoid using human form in
their art, but rather centered and focused their mosaics around them. The Aspe
mosaic is a great example of the Byzantine Empire’s use of the human image.
In Byzantine art, depicting “MaryTheotokos or Mary the Bearer of God” (Max Pfingsten) was very popular. The Apse mosaic is huge and would have taken a massive
amount of effort to construct considering it is thirteen feet tall and at the top of
a dome in the Hagia Sophia that is about one hundred feet above the church floor (Owen Jarus). It was
not the lack of effort in their mosaics that made the Byzantine and Islamic
mosaics clash, but instead it was their strong conections towards the traditions
of their faiths that led their mosaics to either be filled with human
depictions, or totally absent of them. The mosaics of both empires show the
empires’ different faiths and faith traditions through their use or lack of use
of human depictions in their mosaics.
 |
| Horseshoe Arch of Great Mosque of Cordoba |
 |
| Aspe Mosaic in Hagia Sophia |
Outline
I.
Back ground information
A.
Introduce Horse Shoe Arch of the Great Mosque of
Cordoba
B.
Introduce Aspe Mosaic of Hagia Sophia
C.
Describe both mosaics
D.
The Islamic and Byzantine Empires were different
in their art and its presence or absence of human images.
II.
Horse Shoe Arch of The Great Mosque of Cordoba
A.
Large amount of detail
1. Geometric and mathematical patterns
2.
Calligraphy
B.
Lack of human images
1.
Against religious tradition
2.
Incorporated other branches of learning instead
III.
Aspe Mosaic in Haiga Sophia
A.
The Aspe Mosaic contains human images
1.
Depicts the mother Mary hold Baby Jesus
2.
Using images of saints, Christ, and emperors was
popular in Byzantine art
B.
Very difficult to make
1.
Thirteen feet tall
2. Located at top of dome one hundred feet above
ground
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