The Power of Symbolism in Byzantine Art

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Recommended: Late antiquity art and byzantine

The Power of Symbolism in Byzantine Art

ABSTRACT: Our deeply visual culture today shows the fascination humanity has with the power of images. This paper intends to discuss the use and importance of images within the context of Byzantine art. The works produced in the service of the Eastern Orthodox Church still employed today, show a remarkable synthesis of doctrine, theology and aesthetics. The rigid program of Church decoration was meant as a didactic element to accompany the liturgy. The majesty of the images bespeaks of the Glory of God and the spiritual realities of the Christian faith. The images were intended to educated and provide contemplation of the invisible realm of the spirit. Byzantine aesthetics, therefore, is thoroughly in the service of theology.

In today's world artistic works provide an enigma to the viewer, for the emphasis on the total freedom of expression of the artist has led to a confusion as to the meaning and function of art. Many works of art today adhere to an almost 'anything goes' type of attitude to the extent of even dismissing the expression of ideas, thoughts or feelings from their repertoire. Yet a study of past artistic expressions reveals that freedom of creativity was not always stressed, especially during periods when art was in the service of religion. The need to penetrate deeper into the mystery of life and nature, to discover solutions to the practical as well as the spiritual problems that surround humans was sometimes developed with the aid of the power of images that provide a comforting world view. Byzantine art is one such example of art in the service of theology and the salvation of humankind which was perceived to be surrounded by sin and destruction. Although dominate...

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...f Politics, Society and Thought, Scott Foresman & Co., 1961.

Charles Diehl, Byzantium: Greatness and Decline, Rutgers University Press,1957.

E.Glenn Hinson, The Early Church: origins to the dawn of the Middle Ages, Abingdon Press, 1996.

Henry Maguire, Art and Eloquence in Byzantium, Princeton University Press, 1981.

John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology, Fordham UP, 1974.

Lyn Rodley, Byzantine Art and Architecture, Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Otto von Simson, Sacred Fortress: Byzantine Art and Statecraft in Ravenna, Princeton University Press, 1987.

John Stuart, Ikons,Faber&Faber, London, 1975.

Gary Vikan,"Byzantine Art," in Angeliki Laiou & Henry Maguire (eds.), Byzantium, a World Civilization, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C., 1992.

Paul Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1988.

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