The Byzantine Architecture of Thrace: The View from Constantinople (original) (raw)
Regional Developments in Late Byzantine Architecture - Skopje
Byzantinoslavica 69/1-2 (2011): 219-266, 2011
The parallel existence of several centers as the generators and recipients of architectural influence in the wider region of Byzantine Macedonia, such as Thessaloniki and Ohrid, obscured the significance of the city of Skopje, which flourished as a short-lived imperial city for almost 50 years (1346-1392). In this paper a number of post-1330 churches from the region of Skopje, F.Y.R. of Macedonia: St. Nicholas in Ljuboten; the Holy Saviour (later the Presentation of the Virgin) in Kuceviste; St. Nicholas in Sisevo; the Assumption of the Virgin in Matejic; St. Demetrios at Markov Manastir, in Susice; Assumption of the Virgin in Matka; St. Andrew on the Treska; and now ruined churches at Devic and Modriste on the Treska -- are grouped because of related stylistic features and proportions. The churches comprise an overlooked paradigmatic building school significant for further understanding of questions of style and building workshops in the regional developments of Late Byzantine architecture (ca. 1261-1453) and, especially after the 1330s, marked by a building decline in Constantinople. Contextualizing this "building school" locates the path of the development of the so-called "Morava School" (ca. 1370s-1459), the final phase of Byzantine architecture, through Skopje.
Proceedings, Abstracts of the Free Communications, Thematic Sessions, Round Tables and Posters, ed. A Rigo , 2022
Anomalies in Byzantine Art and Architecture: New Methodological Perspectives Conveners: *Jelena Bogdanović, *Marina Mihaljević, Ljubomir Milanović Art historians have traditionally understood departures from dominant practices and forms in terms of relations between margins and centers, with the former being viewed as provincial derivations, or misinterpretations, of the latter. However, anomalies have also been noted within the context of high-ranking patronage in the art and architecture of Byzantine cultural centers. How do we explain a unique building such as the Virgin Kosmosoteira (Ferres, 12th century), built by a member of the imperial family, which possesses a plan deviating from the metropolitan practice? What is the reason for the sudden appearance of a recumbent effigy within a funerary program during a period when Serbian rulers otherwise adhered to Byzantine tradition (Church of St. Archangel Michael, Prizren, 14th century)? This session seeks to establish a more nuanced view of the anomalous in Byzantine art and architecture. The questions to be addressed in this thematic session include the following: What other approaches to unique or outlying works may be productively pursued by scholars? Do such anomalies reflect shifts to non-Byzantine models; or do they expose underlying phenomena otherwise usually disguised by tradition? May they be attributed to personal or idiosyncratic interventions by a particular person or of a particular time and place; or, conversely, do they register specific political or religious circumstances? How may we rethink our approaches to works that lie outside traditional or canonical practices of patronage or production? *Marina Mihaljević, The Role of the Patron: The Church of the Virgin Kosmosoteira in Pherrai Sabine Feist, Ancient Because of Asymmetric? Architectural Anomalies and the Suggestion of Special Sites *Jelena Bogdanović, Architectural Articulations of the Southern Chambers of the Tripartite Church Sanctuaries Katherine Marsengill, How Do Reliefs Fit Into Our Understanding of the Development Icons? Ljubomir Milanović, Hic et Nunc (Here and Now): Reconsidering the Meaning of an Effigy Over the Tomb of the Serbian Emperor Dušan Ida Sinkević, Representation of the Baptism on the South Portal of the “Katholikon” at Dečani Monastery Galina Tirnanić, Anomalies in the Byzantine Body: Markers of Justice, Symptoms of Disease
Published in memory of Prof. Claudia Barsanti, Archaeology of a World of Changes provides a selection of papers presented in sessions on Late Roman and Early Byzantine archaeology, architecture, sculpture and landscapes of the 23rd International Congress of Byzantine Studies, “Byzantium – A World of Changes” (Belgrade, 22-27 August 2016). The variety of topics in archaeology and art history that are discussed in this volume illustrates the richness of material culture in the Roman East and the Eastern Mediterranean during the transition to the Middle Ages, especially in Greece and the Balkans. Christian buildings, not only churches but also episcopal palaces, along with their architecture and decoration, receive special attention. Indeed, the volume includes the complete proceedings of a round table on the historical development, the architectural typologies and the domestic spaces of bishops’ residences which took place at the Congress.
Perceptions Then and Now: The Aesthetic Features of Byzantine Architecture
sITA – studies in History and Theory of Architecture, Bucharest, Vol 8, 167-184, 2020
A recent project with architecture students provided rather surprising results in relation to their perception of Byzantine architecture. The students’ descriptions for Hagia Sophia were strikingly similar to those of the sixth century Byzantine spectators such as Procopius and Paul the Silentiary, with whom they were not familiar. Another 12th century description confirmed a similar appreciation of the building centuries later. Its constructive features, such as the size of the dome, and how it was supported, were found to be mind-boggling. Other elements such as the cornices and column capitals seemed as if they had no load bearing roles, because of their decorative features. The usage of light contributed to these perceptions. Such oddities in design, that contradict the nature of the material, were also encountered in later centuries such as the knotted column, popular in the 11th and 12th centuries. Another issue is the three-dimensional character of the Byzantine building, which provided various viewpoints, but never a clear perception of the whole interior. The dictation of liturgy describing where each group stand, defined their limited visual access, adding more mystery to their perception. Such inscrutability is very clearly visible in Byzantine texts. This paper aims to examine the aesthetic features of Byzantine interiors through direct references to material culture and contemporary texts, trying to understand how a building was designed to be perceived, and how these intended perceptions acquired by decorative schemes are still immutable despite what has been made available by modern technology.