Art History: Jewish, Early Christian, Byzantine, Islamic Art

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Ambulatory

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Circling, barrel-vaulted passageway; curving isle passageway; the walkway around the apse of a church, especially a basilica, or around a central-plan building

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Aisle

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Passage or open corridor of a church, hall, or other building that parallels main space, usually on both sides; called side-aisles when they flank the nave of the church

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Apse

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Large semicircular (usually vaulted) recess on an end wall of a building; In a Christian church, often contains the altar

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Atrium

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The open courtyard in front of a Christian church, or entrance area

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Annunciation

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The Archangel Gabriel informs Mary that God has chosen her to bare his son

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Lamentation

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ie Pieta and Entombment; Jesus' followers gather around his body to mourn, then he's put in a tomb

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Crucifixion

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Jesus is executed on a cross, often w/ two criminals;

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Transfiguration

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Jesus reveals his divinity to his closes followers (Peter, James, John) on Mt Tabor w/ a dazzling vision

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Anastasis

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"Descent into Limbo"
;Resurrected Jesus descends into Hell to free deserving predecessors, (ex: Adam, Eve, David, Moses)

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Ascension

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Christ ascends to heaven from Mt. of Olives while mother and apostles watch

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Basilica

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Large rectangular building w/ clerestory, aisles separated from center nave by colonnades, and an apse @ both ends (church)

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Catacombs

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Underground cemetery consisting of tunnels on different levels w/ niches for urns and sarcophagi and often w/ cubicula

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Central-type plan

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Any structure designed w/ primary central space surrounded by symmetrical areas on each side, like a rotunda

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Chi rho

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Greek letters XP, means Christos

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Codex

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A book or group of manuscript pages (folios) held together by stitching or other binding along one edge

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Cubiculum (cubicula)

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Small private rooms for burials in a catacomb

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Diptych

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Two panels of equal size (usually decorated w/ paintings or reliefs) hinged together

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Dome

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A rounded vault, usually over a circular space. Consists of curved masonry and can vary in shape; may use supporting vertical wall (drum), may be crowned w/ open space (oculus) and/or exterior lantern
see: pendentives, squinches

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Folio

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Group of manuscript pages, sometimes embellished w/ pure gold

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Gospels

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New Testament books attributed to the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

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Icon

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Image representing a sacred figure or event in the Byzantine (later Orthodox) Church; Icons are venerated by the faithful, who believe their prayers are transmitted via them to God

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Iconoclastic Controversy

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"image breaking"; prohibition and destruction of works of visual art, usually bc they are considered inappropriate w/ religious texts; via Emperor Leo III (Byzantine)

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Iconoclasts

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Individuals who believed that icons were blasphemy and should be destroyed, notable: Emperor Leo III

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Iconophiles (-dules)

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"Lover of Images"; Individuals who advocated continued use of sacred images, notable: St. John of Damascus

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Lunette

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Semicircular wall area, framed by an arch over a door or window; can be plain or decorated

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Mandorla

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"body halo"; light encircling or emanating from the entire figure of a sacred person

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Manuscripts

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A hand-written book or document; folios

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Mosaic

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An image formed by arranging small colored stone or glass pieces (tesserae) and affixing them to a ahrd, stable surface

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Naos

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The principal room in a temple or church; AKA the nave, and sanctuary

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Narthex

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The vestibule or entrance porch on a church

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Nave

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Central space of a church, two or three stories high and usually flanked by aisles; naos

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oculus

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A circular opening, usually found either as windows or at the apex of a dome; can be open-sky or covered by exterior lantern

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Orant

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Standing figure represented as praying with outstretched and upraised arms

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Pantokrator

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Depiction of Christ, ruler and judge of the world;

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Parekklesion

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Side chapel, often used as a funerary chapel

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Parchment (Vellum)

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A writing surface made from treated skin of animals, very fine parchment is called vellum

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Pendentive

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The concave triangular section of a vault that forms the transition between a square or polygonal space and the circular base of the dome

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Psalter

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In Jewish/Christian sculpture, a book of Psalms attributed to King David

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Sarcophagus

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A stone coffin, often rectangular and decorated w/ relief sculpture

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Squinch

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An arch or lintel built across the upper corners of a square space, allowing a circular or polygonal dome to be set above the walls

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Synagogue

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any large room where the Torah scrolls are kept and read, site of communal social gatherings

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Theotokos

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Older church of the virgin; the Virgin Mary

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Torah

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First five books of the Hebrew Bible; Jewish holy text

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Transept

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The arm of a cruciform church perpendicular to the nave; point where the nave and transept intersect is called the crossing

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Triptych

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An artwork made up of three panels; panels may be hinged together in such a way that the side segments fold over the central area

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Edict of Milan (313)

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Issued by Constantine; granted all people in the Roman Empire freedom to worship whatever god they wished

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Rome splits into the East and West in (395)

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Split by Emperor Theodosius I; each ruled by one of his sons

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Fall of Rome (410)

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Alaric and the Visigoths sacked the city in 410, Galla Placidia was carried off as a prize of war by the Goths; St. Augustine inspired to write "The City of God", a cornerstone of Christian philosopy

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Ravenna

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East coast of Italy w/ Naval Base Classis, offered direct access by sea to Constantinople; Ravenna falls in 471 to Visigoths, Justinian’s capital in 527, then falls in 751 to the Lombards,

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Great Schism (1054)

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division of Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches of Christianity into Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church respectively

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Fall of Constantinople (1453)

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End of Byzantine Empire's fall to the Ottoman Turks, at which point Russia succeeded Constantinople as the "Third Rome" and center of Eastern Orthodox Church

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Jesus

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Manifestation of Christ on earth

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Constantine

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Issued Edict of Milan; pagan basilicas > christian churches; ordered the constructin of a large new basilican church to makr the place where St. Peter was buried (Old St. Peter's)

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Justinian

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Byzantine Emperor (527-565); sought to reconquer the lost western half of the Roman Empire, last Roman emperor to speak Latin as his first language, "restoration of the empire"

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Emperor Leo III

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Syrian; forbade the veneration of icons, imposed Iconoclasm

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Basil I (Basil the Great of Capadocia

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Co-Emperors w/ Michael III; key figure in Eastern Church, supported veneration of icons w/ John of Damascus

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Empress Irene

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Widow of Leo IV, ruled as regent for their son Constantine; ENDED ICONOCLASM (first)

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Empress Theodora

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Widow to Theophilus, ended iconoclasm for good and reinstated the central place of images in Byzantine devotional practice (843)

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Theodore Metochites

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Powerful intellectual figure in Constantinople; funded Funerary Chapel of Theodore Metochites

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Muhammad

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Man from Mecca who unified Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam; messenger and prophet of God

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Arabesque

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European term for a type of linear surface decoration based on foliage and calligraphic forms, thought to be typical of Islamic art and usually characterized by flowing lines and swirling shapes

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Caliph

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Successor to the Prophet; there were 4

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Calligraphy

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Ornate handwriting as an art form

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Horseshoe Arch

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an arch of more than a half-circle, typical of western Islamic architecture

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Hypostyle Hall

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A large interior room characterized by many closely spaced columns that support its roof

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Imam

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Islamic leadership position; worship leader of a mosque and Muslim community by Sunni Muslims

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Iwan

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Rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides with one end entirely open; gateway to the iwan is called pishtaq

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Kaaba

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A cubelike, textile-draped shrine said to have been build for God by Ibrahim (Abraham) and Isma'il (Ishmael, long the focus of pilgrimage and worship.

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Koran/Quran

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Islamic holy text; "a revelation from God", the only holy book that has been protected by God from distortion and corruption

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Madrasa

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An educational institution, usually a school dedicated to the teachings of Islam

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Miradors

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Windows that frame intentional views

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Mecca

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Spiritual capitol of Islam; Muslims make pilgrimages there to circumambulate the Kaaba

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Minbar

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Pulpit; place where the religious leader spoke

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Mihrab

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A niche in a wall of a Mosque indicating the direction of Mecca

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Minaret

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Tall steeples surrounding a Mosque, a tower from which the faithful were called to prayer; only royal permitted to have more than one

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Mosque

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A place of worship for followers of Islam;

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Muqarnas

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Niche-like components stacked in tiers and supported on single columns or clusters of two and three

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Qibla

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Wall marked by a centrally positioned mihrab niche, wall of the prayer hall that is closes to Mecca

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Sahn

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A courtyard in Islamic architecture; most traditional Mosques have a large central sahn

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Voussoir

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Wedge-shaped stone block used to build an arch; topmost voussoir called a keystone

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Joggled Voussoirs

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Interlocking voussoirs in an arch or lintel, often of contrasting materials for colorful effect (puzzle pieces)