PENDENTIVE

• A pendentive is a triangular piece beneath a dome that allows the dome to rise high above the floor. Usually
ornamented and four to a dome, pendentives make the dome appear as if it's hanging in the air, like a
"pendent." The word is from the Latin pendens meaning "hanging." Pendentives are used for stabilizing a
round dome on a square frame, resulting in enormous interior open space beneath the dome.
• The Dictionary of Architecture and Construction defines a pendentive as "One of a set of curved wall surfaces
which form a transition between a dome (or its drum) and the supporting masonry." Architectural historian
G. E. Kidder Smith has defined the pendentive as "A triangular spheroid section used to effect the transition
from a square or polygonal base to a dome above."
• Pendentives are significant in the history of architecture because they defined a new engineering technique
that allowed interior domes to rise to new heights. Pendentives also created a geometrically interesting
interior space to be ornamented. Four pendentive areas could tell a visual story.
• More than anything, however, pendentives tell the real story of architecture. For early Christians the
problem was how to create soaring interiors that expresses man's adoration of God..
PENDENTIVE
.The Geometry of Pendentives
• Although Romans experimented with pendentives early on, the structural use of pendentives was
an Eastern idea for Western architecture. "It was not until the Byzantine period and under the
Eastern Empire that the enormous structural possibilities of the pendentive were appreciated," To
support a dome over the corners of a square room, builders realized that the diameter of the
dome had to equal the diagonal of the room and not its width.
• "To understand the form of a pendentive, it is only necessary to place half an orange with its flat
side down on a plate and cut equal portions vertically off the sides. What is left of the original
hemisphere is called a pendentive dome.
• Each vertical cut will be in the shape of a semicircle. Sometimes these semicircles were built as
independent arches to support the upper spherical surface of the dome. If the top of the orange
is cut off horizontally at the height of the top of these semicircles, the triangular pieces still left
will be exactly the shape of pendentives. This new circle can be made the base for a new
complete dome, or a vertical cylinder can be built upon it to support another dome higher up." —
Talbot Hamlin
•
 Iconographic Types and
Iconostasis
• Byzantine art developed iconographic types that were employed in
icons, mosaics, and frescoes and influenced Western depictions of
sacred subjects.
• The early Pantocrator, meaning "all-powerful," portrayed Christ in
majesty, his right hand raised in a gesture of instruction and led to
the development of the Deësis, meaning "prayer," showing Christ as
Pantocrator with St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary, and,
sometimes, additional saints, on either side of him.
• The Hodegetria developed into the later iconographic types of the
Eleusa, meaning tenderness, which showed the Madonna and the
Child Jesus in a moment of affectionate tenderness, and the
Pelagonitissa, or playing child, icon.
• Other iconographic types included the Man of Sorrows, which
focused on depicting Christ's suffering, and the Anastasis, which
showed Christ rescuing Adam and Eve from hell. These types
became widely influential and were employed in Western art as
well, though some like the Anastasis only depicted in the Byzantine
Orthodox tradition.
 • Iconostasis, meaning "altar stand," was a term used to
refer to a wall composed of icons that separated
worshippers from the altar. In the Middle Byzantine
period, the Iconostasis evolved from the Early
Byzantine templon, a metal screen that sometimes
was hung with icons, to a wooden wall composed of
Iconographic panels of icons. Containing three doors that had a
hierarchal purpose, reserved for deacons or church

Types and notables, the wall extended from floor to ceiling,

though leaving a space at the top so that worshippers
could hear the liturgy around the altar. Some of the
Iconostasis most noted Iconostases were developed in the Late
Byzantine period in the Slavic countries, as shown in
Theophanes the Greek's Iconostasis (1405) in the
Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow. A codified
system governed the placement of the icons arranged
according to their religious importance.
HAGIA
SOPHIA
 Hagia Sophia, Turkish Ayasofya, Latin Sancta Sophia, also called Church of the Holy
Wisdom or Church of the Divine Wisdom, an important Byzantine structure
in Istanbul and one of the world’s great monuments. It was built as a Christian church in
the 6th century CE (532–537) under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. In
subsequent centuries it became a mosque, a museum, and a mosque again.

The Hagia Sophia was built in the remarkably short time of about six years, being
completed in 537 CE. Unusual for the period in which it was built, the names of the
building’s architects—Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus—are well known, as is

HAGIA their familiarity with mechanics and mathematics.

SOPHIA The Hagia Sophia combines a longitudinal basilica and a centralized building in a wholly
original manner, with a huge 32-metre (105-foot) main dome supported
on pendentives and two semidomes, one on either side of the longitudinal axis.

In plan the building is almost square. There are three aisles separated by columns with
galleries above and great marble piers rising up to support the dome. The walls above
the galleries and the base of the dome are pierced by windows, which in the glare of
daylight obscure the supports and give the impression that the canopy floats on air.
HAGIA SOPHIA
• The dome rests not on a drum but on pendentives, spherical
triangles that arise from four huge piers that carry the weight
of the cupola. The pendentives made it possible to place the
dome over a square compartment.
• Beneath the dome are 40 windows with sunlight coming
through. The sunlight emanating from the windows
surrounding its lofty cupola, suffusing the interior and
irradiating its gold mosaics, seemed to dissolve the solidity of
the walls and created an ambience of ineffable mystery.
• The decorations within the Hagia Sophia at the time of
construction were probably very simple, images of crosses for
instances. Over time this changed to include a variety of
ornate mosaics.
HAGIA SOPHIA
CENTRAL NAVE
• About the aisles which are divided into two floors are arranged on the floor above,
the open central space using columns with capitals , pillars and arches that alternate
and repeated rhythmically downstairs
• The capitals “saddle” are flat sheets Corinthian capitals, and large picture rails to
enhance and increase the height above the support of the arches
ATRIUM
• The basilica is preceded by an atrium, the east side was used as entrance porch,
exonarthex, characteristic of the early Christian and Byzantine churches and along
the axis lies the endonártex.
• This is a large chamber coated with thin marble panels. The imperial entrance, in the
center of the atrium, is protected by a large bronze door at the apex of a dove image
comes from the Gospel of St. John, opened in Chapter X, which reads “Our Lord said,
I am the door of the Lamb. ”
• Above, is a mosaic, probably inspired by a sermon by Emperor Leo VI, showing the
Emperor kneeling before Christ and flanked by medallions of the Virgin and the
Archangel Gabriel. Believed to have been donated by Leo VI in 920, as a sign of
repentance for his fourth marriage, prohibited, prompting the patriarch to the
emperor prevented from entering by the same door.
HAGIA SOPHIA
INTERIOR
• Inside is divided into three naves, the central double-width and
opening side through thick pillars pierced. The capitals are carved
design of a clear Byzantine motif tracery of vine leaves and foliage
• The outer face of galleries continues the play of light and shadows
with pearl and ebony inlay. The effect of light and reflections created
inside the temple, ethereal and airy, a golden iridescence in contrast
to the massive outdoor closed and sometimes interferes visually in the
perception of space in the loss of their limits.
• The light inside the Hagia Sophia, comes from the many windows
in the base of the dome and made possible by the support system that
leave free weights and open bays in the major and minor exedras the
walls, originally and in some cases were closed with stained glass.
• The roof is still covered largely with golden mosaics dating from
the sixth century. It is decorated with crosses and structural details are
highlighted by vegetal and geometric borders

EXTERIOR
• The exterior is closed and solid, with staggered volumes falling
from the central dome to the exedras larger to smaller and finally to
the chapels of the lower level. Acquire a more heavy external
buttresses receiving transverse thrusts of internal arcs.
HAGIA SOPHIA
Conversion into Mosque
• In 1453 Constantinople was taken by the Turks and the Hagia Sophia church
converted into a mosque. As a result, the minarets rose exterior became interior
decoration adding four circular emblems in the corners of the plant, early mosaics
were affected losing original splendour and reoriented the temple, which altered the
original longitudinal axis plant as the apse of the church was relegated to the
background.
• Other changes were made during this period, according to Islamic architectural
nonstandard:
• The Sultan Mehmed II “the Conqueror” he built an altar, mihrap, in part because the
apse this should be in the direction of Mecca. Also built the brick minaret in the
southeast corner of the building.
• In 1484-1512, the Sultan Bayezid added another minaret at the northeast corner.
• The sultan Murad III commissioned Turkish architect Sinan, 1535-1574, the
construction of the two minarets front of the church and made urns bring Bergama
Mosque, the Hellenistic period.
• During the reign of Murad IV added the pulpit and the preacher bench
Diagrammatic representation of Hagia Sophia, Instanbul