Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In a provincial town located on the Adriatic Sea, the rulers often changed, and each of them tried to decorate Ravenna with new palaces and temples, as a result of which the Italian pearl became the main center of the country's architectural art. Located between East and West, it is a real treasure trove of unique historical monuments, eight of which are under the protection of UNESCO.

However, the main attraction of the blessed Ravenna is considered to be the most valuable mosaic, which you can see literally everywhere. The quality of its performance surprises and fascinates everyone who touches the cultural heritage of the city with a rich past.

Art of the Byzantine Empire

In the Byzantine Empire, the production of mosaics was put on stream, and all the temples and royal palaces were decorated with colored glass canvases. Of course, this is not quite the correct name, since suchart is not painting. The creators of the greatest works did not write them with paints, but typed them from pieces of sm alt.

The heyday of mosaic art falls on the 5th-6th centuries, called the golden age. The most famous masterpieces in the world are the mosaics of Ravenna and the images of Hagia Sophia (Constantinople). The historical temple in Istanbul to this day has retained all the power and greatness with which it was endowed by its creators - the creators of Ancient Byzantium. The most beautiful works of great value for world culture have been preserved in good condition.

Temples and mosaics of Ravenna: inexpressiveness and luxury

Early Christian religious buildings dating back to the 5th-7th centuries, when Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire, will not surprise anyone with architectural solutions and special beauty. Guests of the ancient city admit that outwardly it does not make any impression: inexpressive streets, inconspicuous squares, lack of a fabulous atmosphere and special color. However, behind the gray facades of the temples and thick brick walls, the mosaic heritage of the city is hidden. Authentic works of art are hidden from prying eyes and, in order to find them, you will have to get a map of a settlement located in northeast Italy.

The mosaics of Ravenna are so famous all over the world that other cultural sites go unnoticed by tourists. Priceless treasures, which have no equal in any city in the world, are hidden behind the faceless facades of historic buildings. Before talking about the main pride of Ravenna, it is necessary to turnattention to the features of such canvases.

Sm alt mosaics

Mosaic is a favorite type of decoration of Christian churches, which most fully embodied the aesthetic ideals of the religious worldview. Such painting was developed by the Byzantines, who created a special technology for the production of sm alt. They added a wide variety of metals (gold, mercury, copper and others) to easy-to-handle glass and obtained shades of different colors. The main element of the mosaic canvas was the same size and neatly laid out cubes.

Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna have become the main component in the decoration of tombs, temples, basilicas, where visual tasks come to the fore. The main theme of the monumental canvases was Christian stories and biblical stories. The technique of laying sm alt has improved every year, and the authors of wonderful compositions have developed new compositions and colors.

Features of technology

What is the difference between Byzantine and Roman mosaics? The main feature is the use of a golden background, on which cubes with an unpolished surface were laid out, differing in their position relative to other elements. In addition, the masters used smooth contours of the borders when depicting bodies or objects, which gave clarity to the composition against a radiant background. Thus, a single canvas was created, beautifully shimmering in the reflections of candles and in natural light. A delightful play of color and reflections created the effect of movement of a painting that lives its own life.

Artists of the Ravenna Schoolmosaic painting, created in the period from the 5th to the 7th century, worked with a palette consisting of sm alt of basic tones and not distinguished by a variety of shades. Most often, the cubes had a rectangular, square shape, although in some paintings you can see large round and oval elements - from 7 to 15 mm.

Heritage and modernity

The mosaics of Ravenna, which became the western capital of the Roman Empire, were in no way inferior to the amazing works of Constantinople. The city, which bore the title of a fount of art and culture, keeps a rich heritage that has become a source of inspiration for famous writers and artists. The modern city has not forgotten the ancient craftsmanship: one of the academies has a mosaic department, which is attended by both Italian and foreign students. Symposia and seminars are held here, bringing together experts from all over the world.

Demanded Ravenna talents carry out restoration work, create stunning copies of the most famous works that can be purchased in the art galleries of the city. The authorities of the Mosaic Capital are aware that the main task is not only to preserve the national treasures, but also to make them available to the public.

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

The oldest architectural monument is the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. The mosaics, made in the 5th century, were created by Byzantine masters, who were brought from Constantinople by the daughter of Emperor Theodosius the Great. In fact, as scientists have established, this is not a real tomb, since Galla is buried in Rome, and this building, which looks likerather inconspicuous, it was a small chapel dedicated to St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the family dynasty.

In a brick structure that has grown into the ground over several centuries, a real treasure is hidden, the sight of which takes the breath away from every visitor. Rays of the sun penetrate through the narrow windows, lined with jasper plates, and in the meager light, the cubes of the Ravenna mosaic shimmer like precious stones. There is an explanation for this miracle - this is how sm alt plays, conveying various shades of color. The ghostly light falling on the rough surface is reflected from different angles, and the vaults and walls of the mausoleum seem to dissolve before the eyes of admiring visitors.

Divine beauty

The mosaics of Ravenna, whose photos delight even people who are far from art, immediately catch the eye. The dome of the mausoleum, which is under the protection of UNESCO, is a blue starry sky, in its center a golden cross shines, directed to the east, and the Byzantines decorated four vaults with the symbols of the evangelists - a bull, a lion, an eagle and an angel. Here you can see the passing world of antiquity, and the masters displayed on the canvases a completely different beauty - divine.

Symbolism

Young Jesus Christ is depicted here as the Good Shepherd, surrounded by a flock of sheep. This is a common image of our Savior for early Christianity, only whose purple-gold robes speak of who we really are. The figures of saints appear on a blue background, reminiscent of ancient characters in Roman togas, and grapes - about paganorgy.

However, the artists who made the mosaics endowed each image with a symbolic meaning: sheep listening to Christ are a flock, pigeons and deer drinking from a transparent stream are Christians absorbing a new teaching, and bunches of grapes are a Garden of Eden into which believers fall.

Mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale

Next to the mausoleum is the famous Church of San Vitale in Ravenna. The mosaics of the basilica, made by Byzantine masters, are the main we alth of an ascetic-looking architectural monument, where the relics of the patron saint of the blessed city, St. Vitalius, are buried. Christians who thought about spiritual beauty, and not external beauty, did not decorate their temples, saving luxury for interior decoration. The 6th-century Byzantine mosaic of San Vitale in Ravenna, considered the most beautiful outside of Constantinople, adorns the chancel, apse and altar dais. Scenes from the Old Testament, images of Jesus with saints, Emperor Justinian with his wife are very different from the paintings in the mausoleum.

The main background in the paintings is the golden color, and the figures look as if they have lost their material. They have turned into flat silhouettes and seem incorporeal. Even in spite of the heavy drapery of the clothes, under their folds, no physical bodies are felt. The gaze of huge eyes on distant faces is mesmerizing.

Spiritual Essence

On the canvases, the brilliant masters displayed not the momentary, but turned to the eternal, showing not the material shell, but the divineessence, and movement is replaced by frozen images and a clear contour instead of volume. There are no smooth transitions of shades, and the mosaic of San Vitale in Ravenna is a large patch of color.

Byzantine anonymous authors never saw the wife of the emperor and tried to convey not a portrait resemblance, but a spiritual essence, embodying their ideas of beauty. Her husband, a great monarch, is depicted at the moment when he gives the church a golden vessel as a gift. The head of Justinian, who did not make a single important decision without his wife, is decorated with a halo. It is impossible to see a hint of personal qualities here: everything carnal and momentary is left outside the temple, and the emperor and the other half are depicted as ideal rulers.

The main colors of the panel, which emphasizes the solemn atmosphere of the basilica, are white, blue, gold and green. Pieces of sm alt are stacked at different angles, and the light emitted by them creates the impression of a wonderful atmosphere penetrated by warm sunbeams. It is not known what is most striking: a thoughtful composition, finely crafted details, or a perfect color match.

Paintings of the Orthodox Baptistery

In the 5th century, an architectural object appeared, recognized as one of the most significant monuments in the world - the city baptistery. The mosaics of Ravenna, complemented by marble inlays and stucco, seem to be inscribed in the dome of a building designed for baptism and which is the same age as the mausoleum of Galla Placidia.

The masters used a unique technique:all the figures and the elements separating them are a kind of radius, and golden rays stream from the central disk. On the dome panel you can see scenes of the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist, a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit, 12 apostles bearing martyr's crowns. The figures of the messengers of God, depicted on a dark blue background, are shown in motion, and the surface they step on looks lighter. The chitons of the disciples of Jesus are dominated by two colors - gold and white, personifying spirituality. The faces of the apostles, who have a pronounced individuality, are solemn.

Heavenly Jerusalem theme

Christ's disciples are shown as bearers of the light of Christian enlightenment. The Savior is baptized, and the outgoing grace through the apostles is transferred to the earthly church, which is symbolized by the depicted altars. And the fruit-bearing trees on the dome of the baptistery are associated with the Christian soul, bearing good fruit. Such a rich decoration of the religious building emphasized the special significance of the rite of baptism for believers, and the whole overall composition is connected with the theme of New Jerusalem - the city sent by Jesus the victorious to Earth.

One can only admire the special gift of nameless talents that modern Ravenna is proud of. The mosaics and frescoes of the baptistery, laid out of small stones with a rich color palette, were made with jeweler's precision by local, not Byzantine, craftsmen. They created delightful compositions, dazzling with rich colors.

Priceless works

Ancient Ravenna,transformed from a great capital into a provincial town, enjoys incredible popularity among tourists. Many years have passed, it has changed, but its priceless masterpieces have survived their creators and are perfectly preserved. The amazing mosaics of Ravenna, from which it is difficult to take your eyes off, are of interest to all tourists who appreciate beauty.