preview

Byzantine Mosaic Art

Decent Essays

Byzantine Mosaics
The mosaic of Christ being baptized by John the Baptist in the Nea Moni monastery from the Greek island of Chios is a prime example of the goal of Byzantine mosaic art. Although the true artist’s name is unknown, it can be said that this mosaic is from the 11th century, from the period known as Middle Byzantine art. This mosaic features Jesus in the middle of the mosaic, with John on his left baptizing him. Two angels are present to the right of Jesus, watching over the proceedings taking place. Behind John the Baptist, to the left of Jesus Christ, is a group of onlookers, although the mosaicist used the least number of figures possible to successfully portray the group. Mosaic art in the Middle Byzantine period was focused …show more content…

The mosaic of Christ being baptized by John the Baptist was not the first mosaic to be centered in the spiritual world. This mosaic was influenced by mosaics such as the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, from Ravenna, Italy. Created some 500 years earlier than the Nea Moni Mosaic, in the period known as Late Antiquity, the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes mosaic possesses the same goal of portraying the story in the spiritual world. At the center of this mosaic is Jesus Christ, presenting bread and fish to the crowds of people. Only four people were used to represent the crowds of people which I believe relates back to the mosaic of Christ being baptized by John the Baptist. In both works of art, the artists use as few figures as possible to convey their ideas. It is likely they both do this for the same purpose, to not draw attention away from the story being told. Figures in this mosaic also wear flat clothes and seem to float, unanchored from the ground. Although, the landscape does contain a few stones and bushes, it is nothing compared to the realistic representations of nature in art of the Roman Empire. And again, the sky is a radiating gold color that represents the everlasting glow of heaven and the spiritual world. This piece from Sant’Apollinare Nuovo was one of the first to enter the spiritual world and …show more content…

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes mosaic is another example of a mosaic focused on the spiritual world, showing that the Nea Moni mosaic was part of a larger movement. I included this piece of art because it was one of the first to dive into representing the spiritual world over the physical. From the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia comes the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence mosaic that provides an example of the focus of mosaic art before the shift to depicting the spiritual world over the physical world. Artists in the Middle Byzantine period decided to portray their stories in the spiritual world in order to call more attention to the stories themselves. The mosaic of Christ being baptized by John the Baptist came right after the end of iconoclasm when people were still worried about worshipping idols. This is why the mosaicist made sure the focus of the painting, the story, was clear. It is also why the landscape is so very simple and why the mosaic is not flooded with figures. By keeping the rest of the painting bare, the artist draws all of the viewer’s attention to Jesus Christ and the story of his baptism. Depicting the spiritual world over the physical world was a conscious choice the artist, and many other artists of this period, made in order to create a timeless representation of the story

Get Access