Introduction to Architecture

Module 4: Early Christian and Byzantine

Architecture
Part 1: Early Christian Architecture
Geographical setting of post Roman Civilization:

The Roman Empire was divided into two distinct halves – Western and Eastern during
the rule of Diocletian. Christianity was adopted as the state religion during the reign of
Constantine and the capital of the empire was moved over to Byzantium or
Constantinople in the east.
Soon after the demise of Constantinople the western half of the empire fell to the attacks
of the savages from the north west namely, Gaul and other Germanic tribes.
Ravenna came under Byzantine rule later in the 6 th century AD
Geology
As the geographical setting is similar to the Roman empire, the building resources
available were also similar
However, materials from the ruins of old Roman buildings were occasionally used for
construction of new places of worship for the Christian masses

Climate
Similar to the climate across the Roman empire

Religion
 Christianity evolved as the major and the most dominating religion in the region
 Although emperors like Julian had resisted this prevalent religious movement in favour
of the pagan religion existing in ancient Rome
Timeline of post - Roman Civilization (Western)

The Early Christian period is said to last from 300 – 604 AD

 306 – 337 AD: Rule of Constantine
 Formal division of the Roman Empire in 364 AD – Valentian named as
emperor of West and Valens as emperor of east
 The last rule of a Roman Empire in Rome was in 476 AD.
 Theodoric the Goth ruled Italy between 493 – 526 AD. During this period
Byzantine art influenced Roman art through Ravenna

N.B: The Eastern end of the Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire now) had
no control on the Western territories which further sub-divided into small
states (never to reunite again).
Architectural character
 The development in architecture
was stalled and Roman architecture
was heavily copied for the building
styles, which primarily consisted of
the churches. This stalemate led to
the evolution of the Romanesque
style of architecture from the 6th
century AD
 The early Christianity followers
lacking generous patronage from the
reigning rulers resorted to old
Roman buildings and borrowed
heavily from the design of the
Roman basilicas to construct new
churches. The basilica being secular
building of the Roman era was easily
acceptable to the masses.
 The major building types during
this period were churches and tombs
Building type – Basilican churches
 Basilican churches had 3 -5 aisles with
trussed timber roof. The columns in the
aisles were often held together by a series of
arches.
 These format of churches transcended
from the early Christianity era to the Gothic
period
 An atrium of forecourt formed an
impressive and open approach to the
church. This open space was usually
surrounded by a series of arcade on all
sides. In the centre of the atrium was a
fountain or well (the water present here was
used to wash before entering the church or
to baptize)
 The central nave had adjoining aisles on
both the sides. The nave was illuminated
naturally by clerestory windows above it.
The width of the nave usually is twice that St. Peter Basilica, 330 AD (Constantine)
of the aisles. Occasionally galleries were
 Building type – Basilican churches
S. Giovanni, Rome
A transept arranged perpendicularly to
the central nave and located at its end
converts the plan into a Latin cross (the
symbol of Christianity). The rituals took
place in the choir which was separated
by a low height timber partition. The
transept ends in a semi-circular apse
where the altar is located. The apse had
a semi-dome roof with richly
embellished ceiling
Building type – Basilican churches
A transept arranged
perpendicularly to the central nave
and located at its end converts the
plan into a Latin cross (the symbol
of Christianity). The rituals took
place in the choir which was
separated by a low height timber
partition. The transept ends in a
semi-circular apse where the altar
is located. The apse had a semi-
dome roof with richly embellished
ceiling.
An isolated circular plan church located close to these basilicas were used for
baptistery.
The construction was carried out using Roman construction methods i.e. concrete wall
faced with stones/bricks/plaster. The columns installed were usually from borrowed
from Roman buildings and often had dissimilar characteristics.
The doors and windows were spanned by arches with lintels never being used.
The interiors were rich with bright colors used for surface beautification. Glass
mosaics were used on the windows or other openings.
End of class 1…
Part 2A: Byzantine Architecture
 A. Geography
 The capital of Byzantine Empire was
located in Constantinople or Byzantium
 Located in a strategic position and
regarded as the best location in Europe
from trade point of view
 Constantinople was located at the
junction of two promontories
overlooking the Bosporus and the Sea
of Marmara. It was called the Rome of
the East due to its geographical setting
amongst seven hills like Rome in Italy
 The strategic importance of
Constantinople can be attributed to its
location at the midpoint of two great
highways of commerce – A. The first
being the water way trade route between
Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. B.
The road based trade links connecting
Asia to Europe
 It had sea based ports unaffected by
tide and allowing large vessels in its
shores
B. Geology
Constantinople’s natural resources pertaining to building materials was very limited. It
mostly imported bulk of the building materials. The marbles used for building the
capital was brought from the eastern Mediterranean (Greece). However, it has been
known across the Roman empire as the marble working centre with high quality
sculpturing activities taking place in its territories
C. Climate
Constantinople was more warm than Rome and that effected working conditions
(particularly building construction)
D. Religion
Constantinople became the second epicenter of Christianity after Rome due to
shifting of the capital to Constantinople. Moreover, there was permanent rift created
between the western and the eastern churches due to the Filioque controversy
regarding the holy Trinity in Christianity – The Father, the Son (Jesus) and the holy
Spirit.
The eastern churches regarded that the Spirit proceeded from the Father alone while
the western churches consider that the Spirit proceeded from the Father as well as the
Son. This lead to division of Christianity into Roman Catholics (western) and Eastern
orthodox in 1054 AD
The eastern church have always shunned the use of sculptures inside the church and
had adopted to paintings to highlight different events in Christianity
E. Historical background and timeline
 Found in 7th century BC by the Greeks
 29 AD – Beginning of Christianity
 286 AD – Diocletian divides Roman Empire into two halves
 313 AD – Constantine adopts Christianity as state religion
 324 AD – Constantine shifts capital to Byzantium, reunites Roman Empire
 364 AD – Roman Empire formally split into Eastern and Western parts (having
separate emperors for each half)
 476 AD – Rome ransacked by Visigoths and Vandals
 632 AD – Muslim advances towards Byzantium
 1453 AD – Byzantium falls to the Turks and is ruled by the Ottoman empire

Byzantine architecture pertains to the building style developed in Byzantium and later
spread to the western parts of the Byzantine empire (through Ravenna in Italy) during
Justinian’s rule (527 – 565 AD)
Architectural features

 The generic architectural features during Byzantine era were the domes mounted on
non-circular plan of built masses for churches, tombs and baptisteries. This is in strong
contrast to the Romanesque style which utilised vaults extensively
 The highlight in terms of contribution to architecture is the construction of Santa
Sophia or Hagia Sophia
A Byzantine building has a concrete core
like Roman architecture with a shell or
carcass of bricks. This brick casing were
arranged in different styles externally
(horizontal/oblique/meander fret/herring
bone pattern). The external fascia had these
brick patterns with contrasting bands of
stone or mosaic and relief arches
 Internally the brick casing was covered with marble sheets and adorned with
mosaics and bright paintings
 Byzantine art form was carried to the western territories by traders and the notable
contributions are S. Mark, Venice; S. Vitale, Ravenna, etc
Architectural features

 The dome is the signature element of the Byzantine architecture. The domes were
placed on non-circular plan buildings, as against Roman architecture, with the help of a
structural element pendentives. This was an original contribution of the Byzantine
architecture.
Architectural features
Windows were placed at the base of a dome instead of placing them on a cylindrical
drum below the dome (as done in Roman architecture).
 Porous stones like pumice was used in construction of vaults. Moreover, at times
the domes were constructed using pottery (e.g. S. Vitale, Ravenna), where pottery
masses were arranged side by side and grouted with concrete to make the construction
light weight.
 The vaulting system in Byzantine architecture sprung from its base without any
centering as used in Roman arches. Instead a central post with a radial arrangement of
support staffs were used to hold large flat bricks used for these construction.
Architectural features
 Byzantine art is labeled as Greek art
spirit with Asian influences – the biggest
example of the above is the exhibition of
structural elements of a building from
the exterior (trabeated form evident in
Greek temples). E.g. the vaults
supporting the tunnels/corridors and
their domes are not hidden behind any
other structural/non-structural element
(as done in Roman era – e.g.
Colosseum). The elevation and the
section of the building have great
resemblance.
 The arches/vaults were supported on
columns (whose capitals were removed)
and thus tracing back to the Greek
structural systems. The classical orders
were completely replaced by new
Byzantinian orders (seven distint style).
Architectural features
 Byzantine architecture is never known for its moulding or surface articulations.
Rather much attention was paid to create interesting interiors using mosaics, colored
glass enameled panels or frescoes. However, inlaid works and use of natural stones in
mosaic was not encouraged.
 The use of flat brick casing for the exterior surfaces did not allow for mouldings or
other surface modulations in Byzantine architecture.
 Brick was extensively used in Byzantine buildings and lot of manpower was
required to produce those. The military was often employed in such pursuits.
 Byzantines’ brought in the concept of phase wise construction of buildings
End of class 2…
Building types
 The major building types during Byzantine period were churches and baptisteries.
Although initial church were similar to the basilicas, later developments were either
complicated geometrical shapes (circular or polygonal)
 The early examples of Byzantine architecture are St. Vitale, Ravenna; St. Sergius
and Bachhus, Constantinople
 The best example of Byzantine architecture is Hagia Sophia, Constantinople
 Byzantine architecture had spread to the far east to Russia; the major examples
being Santa Sophia at Kiev; St. Basils, Moscow;
 Other notable examples of Byzantine architecture are Monastery of Hosios
Loukas, Greece; St. Marks at Venice
Example: St. Vitale, Ravenna (526 – 547 AD)
 This church was an earlier Byzantine example
which formed inspiration for the Hagia Sophia
built almost 10 years later. It was however, built
on the prototype of Temple of Minerva Medica at
Rome
 The church is octagonal in plan, with a central
octagonal core having a two tiered ambulatory
space all around it. The second tier of the
ambulatory space housed a gallery
 The apse extends from the northern part of the
central core to the periphery.
 The central dome sits on a circular (cylinder
resting on the octagonal core) plan and has
windows introduced on the cylindrical surface at
the base of the dome.
 The dome had a diameter of 17m and height of
30 m. The dome is made of earthen pottery and is
protected by a wooden roof.
Example: St. Sergius and Bachhus, Constantinople (527 – 536 AD)
 The design of this church was inspired by Early
Christian basilicas. The church has an octagonal
core set in a roughly rectangular arrangement
 The central space was covered by a dome on an
octagonal base supported by pendentives
 Built by the same architects who designed
Hagia Sophia and is believed to be like a ‘dress
rehearsal’ before building the grand structure
 The narthex lies on the western side
approached through a portico instead of an atrium
(as seen in a basilican church).
 The central nave has four exedrae extending
diagonally across it. This feature has later been
used in Hagia Sophia
 The interiors of the church has been completely
changed after it has been converted into a mosque
Example: Hagia Sophia, Constantinople
 Also known as the church of holy wisdom.
It was built by Justinian in 532 AD. It is
regarded as one of best pieces of architecture
in this planet
 Its architects were Isidore of Miletus and
Anthemius of Tralles
 It is one the best examples of Byzantine
architecture and provides a true example of
how to place a circular dome on a square base
 The church has a square core with four
sturdy corner masses defining the core. There
are four supporting arches on the core which
together with pendentives hold the dome
above.
 The longitudinal (rectangular)
arrangement of the plan is arranged in the
east west direction with the narthex at one
end and the apse at the other end
 Two smaller semi domes are arranged
beside the central dome and are supported
by the square inner core and a pair of
columns on either side of the core (along
east west direction)
 These combination of arched openings
also are interconnected diagonally to form
exedras
 Externally this creates a hierarchy of
domical structure leading to the central
dome.
 The atrium on the western side at the
approach of the church has been demolished
and the entrance now is directly through two
layers of the narthex
 Internally the church is adorned with
bright colored mosaic and marbled
pillars.
 The punctures at the base of the
central dome allows light to enter the
structure.
 Hagia Sophia was the seat of Eastern
Orthodox church for around 900 years
and was later converted to a mosque
during the Ottoman rule.
 The highly figurative mosaics were
plastered and replaced by Islamic motifs.
Example: Santa Sophia, Kiev
 It was built in 1037 AD by prince
Yarosalv and was named after Hagia
Sophia
 This church has 5 naves, 5 apses and
13 cupolas (mini domes). The central
naves are surrounded by two layers of
two tiered gallery on three sides
 This church was confiscated by the
Soviets and converted to a museum in
1934
 Example: St. Basils, Moscow
 With the shift of seat of Orthodox
Christianity from Constantinople to
Russia more and more Byzantine
churches were built
 This church is based on a plan of eight
pointed star with a central rectangular
nave and apse
 Each node of the star had a domed
tower with the central domed tower being
the tallest.
 The Byzantine architecture of interior
light was lost and replaced by bright
exteriors and onion shaped domes
 Example: St. Marks, Venice
 Built on the famous St. Mark’s square (one
of the most popular public squares in the world)
 This church has 5 domes each covering a
square grid on the plan (which is an
arrangement of 5 square grids)
 It is designed on the basis of a Greek
cruciform where each arm of the cross is of the
same length and has 3 square grids covered by
domes
 The front façade is Gothic in nature and
added much later
End of class 3…
Part 2B: Romanesque Architecture
Romanesque Architecture
The religious – social backdrop

 The church extends its influence beyond the

realms of religious practices. It took important
decisions in matters of military activities and
civil administration.
 Religious enthusiasm prevailed resulting in
building of new edifices, spread of Christianity
and crusades (particularly in eastern Europe).
 Science, arts and in general education was
controlled by the church. Often clergies
associated with churches designed buildings.
 Feudal structures evolved and constant strife
led to stagnation in areas like arts, sciences and
architecture.
 The western Roman empire’s complete
downfall is marked by the ascendance of
Charlemagne (King Charles of Frank) in 799
AD.
Architecture style
 Romanesque architecture essentially indicates to a an architectural style pertaining to or
derived from the Roman architecture
 This style is distinguished by the use of cluster of towers, projection of transept and
elevation of the choir
 Romanesque architecture is characterized by two guiding principles
 Principle of equilibrium (as against the principle of inert stability of Romans)
 Use of dressed stonework on heavy mortar bed for construction
Romanesque architecture is explained by historians as prelude to Gothic
architecture. Romanesque architecture had local influences and has distinct
interpretations in Germany, Italy, France etc.

Cathedral Square, Pisa

Architecture style - Italy
 Romanesque architecture in Italy had direct interaction with Byzantine architecture
via Ravenna which was an important city of the Byzantine empire in the west. Hence,
influence of buildings like St. Mark’s cathedral or St. Front is evident here.
 Romanesque architecture in Italy can be sub-divided geographically into North
Italy, Central Italy and South Italy variants. However, mostly all the variants were
derivative of the Basilican churches seen during Early Christian era.
 Some significant examples are Cathedral Square, Pisa; S. Michele, Pavia; S.
Zenone, Verona; Monreale Cathedral, Sicily

S. Michele, Pavia S. Zenone, Verona Monreale Cathedral, Sicily

Architecture style - France

 Romanesque architecture in northern and western provinces of France had certain

similarities to the Basilican churches seen during Early Christian era with S. Front
being an exception.
 The southern provinces however had distinct form e.g. aisle-less nave with dome
held on pendentives. The evolution of pointed arch was first seen in this province and
some historians claim its genesis from Saracenic architecture.

Abbaye Aux Hommes Abbaye Aux Dames

Architecture style – Romanesque vaulting
Thank you