Explore the beauty of Byzantine art on our webpage showcasing a collection of images. Byzantine art, from 4th century to 1453, known for rich colors, intricate patterns and religious themes. Browse our collection to gain a deeper understanding of this fascinating historical period.
The image is of a Russian icon depicting the Resurrection, dating back to the 19th century. The style of this icon is characteristic of traditional Russian Orthodox religious art, known for its formalism and rich symbolic content. The icon features Jesus Christ rising from the tomb, surrounded by symbolic elements...
The icon of the Resurrection from Russia in 1900 is a vibrant and detailed representation of traditional Russian religious art. It features a central panel depicting the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, surrounded by smaller panels showing scenes from the Bible or the lives of saints. The color palette is rich...
The woodcut depicts saints as intercessors and models of Christian virtue, emphasizing a communal aspect of sainthood. The top three saints, Saint Damian, Saint Pantaleon, and Saint Cosmas, were all physicians, highlighting their significant roles in Christian hagiography. The woodcut medium played a crucial role in disseminating devotional imagery, especially...
This painting depicts Saints Cosmas and Damian, who were twin brothers and early Christian martyrs. They were born in Arabia and practiced medicine without charging for their services, which earned them the title of "Anargyroi" or "Unmercenary Physicians." The year 303 is significant because it was...
Images of the Virgin Eleousa, the Virgin of Compassion, developed in the later Byzantine centuries and profoundly influenced the art of the Latin West. Here, the intimate poses of the heads and hands display the warm emotional attachment of the Virgin and Child. The fifteenth-century Latin inscription on the reverse...
About the Images: This exceptional pendant consists of a reliquary cross inside a hinged case with six small adjacent compartments for relics. The impressive amethyst cameo depicting the Virgin and Child on the lid is surrounded by cabochon rubies and emeralds alternating with pearls. The cross and the outer edge...
About the Image: Epitrachelia are liturgical stoles worn only by priests and bishops. This one was specially made for a metropolitan of Cyzicus in Asia Minor. Rather than with the more usual images of saints (cf. Walters 83.315), it is embroidered with illustrations of the 24 strophes of the...
About the Image: Hand crosses like this one are used by priests to bless the faithful. This boxwood carving, set in a lavishly decorated enamel frame, shows God the Father (top), the Three Angels visiting Abraham (center), Christ's Ascension (below), the Annunciation (left), and Christ's Baptism...
About the Image: The image you've provided is a representation of traditional Eastern Orthodox iconography. It portrays Saint Constantine, Saint Paraskeva, Saint Cosmas, and Saint Damian, all significant figures in Christian hagiography. The technique used here is tempera painting, a method where pigments are mixed with a medium...
About the Image: This ivory piece is one half of a 'panaghiarion,' a case designed to enclose the 'panagia,' bread dedicated to the Virgin in an Orthodox worship service (compare Walters 71.257-258). The relief carving is in the composition known as the Hospitality of Abraham,...
About the Image: This is one of twenty-six known manuscripts by the hand of Luke the Cypriot (active 1583-1625), an accomplished Greek calligrapher who worked after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453). He copied it in 1594 at his episcopal see of Buzau (in Wallachia, now Romania) and soon took...
About the Image: George from Lydda (a town in Palestine) served in the Roman army and became a saint through the martyrdom he suffered on account of his Christian faith. The popular legend about his defeat of a dragon symbolizes the victory of piety over sin and of good over...
About the Image: This complex icon composition contains more than one hundred tiny figures. In the center sits Christ, identified as Overseer of All. Twelve scenes from Christ’s life surround the central image. Panels with “choruses” of saints frame the icon, each showing Christ Emmanuel blessing a different group...
About the Image: This is one of twenty-six known manuscripts by the hand of Luke the Cypriot (active 1583-1625), an accomplished Greek calligrapher who worked after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453). He copied it in 1594 at his episcopal see of Buzau (in Wallachia, now Romania) and soon took...
About the Image: The image features a Byzantine cameo depicting Christ Emmanuel, dating from between 1200 and 1400. Cameos are typically small, carved gems that have been valued as art objects since ancient times. This piece is particularly notable for its representation of Christ as Emmanuel, a title meaning "...
About the Image: This image is a page from a manuscript, specifically featuring an illustration of "Christ Addressing Nicodemus" by Lukas of Cyprus, created between 1594-1596 during the Ottoman period. The artwork is a fine example of Byzantine manuscript illumination, which persisted into the Ottoman era in regions...
About the Image: This pendant is one of the most beautiful and technically accomplished personal devotional objects to survive from Byzantium. On one side Christ Pantokrator (Ruler of All) blesses the viewer with his right hand and holds the Gospel book in his left. Christ gazes to the side, acknowledging...
About the Image: Images of the Koimesis, or the Dormition in the West, show the Virgin lying on a bier, while her soul, represented as a baby, is offered by Christ to attendant angels who will take it to heaven. The apostles, led by Saints Paul and Peter, stand witness....
About the Image: Fitted with two rings for suspension, a hook, and a hasp, this small icon can be closed and hung round one's neck as a token of piety and divine protection. Open, it can be used as a prayer image. Christ and two bishop saints, most...
About the Image: Here is a beautiful page from a Byzantine-style illuminated manuscript. Manuscripts such as these played a crucial role in preserving religious texts, stories, and iconographies during the medieval period. Let's delve into the components: 1. Text: 2. * The text is written in Greek, a significant...
About the Image: This representation of Christ joined with the Virgin and John the Forerunner (the Baptist), one of the most widespread middle Byzantine icon types, is known as the Deesis. By tradition, the first witnesses to Christ's divinity, the Virgin and Saint John came to be seen...
About the Image: A masterpiece in the corpus of Byzantine ivory icons, this small representation of the Crucifixion is the only surviving portion of a triptych whose wings are now missing. It was probably used as a personal devotional object in a private setting. The entire scene is represented taking...
About the Image: This is a fascinating artifact from the rich tapestry of Syriac Christianity. The image appears to be a folio from a prayer book related to services for the dead, written in the late 13th century in Syria. Let's delve deeper into the context and significance...
About the Image: The Neonian Baptistry in Ravenna, a testament to early Christian Byzantine art in Western Europe, boasts breathtaking mosaics from the late 4th to early 5th century. In the dome's mosaic, twelve apostles encircle a central depiction of Christ's Baptism, each elegantly robed and...
