Mosaics in Early Byzantine Era

The increase in mosaics in churches in Late Antiquity and the Byzantine Era was largely due to the influence of the Roman Emperor Constantine (ruled from 306 to 337 AD). During his rule as emperor, Christianity became the major religion and there was a push for more buildings to house the followers of Christ. Along with the new buildings there was a need to decorate these places of worship accordingly and express the religion in a grandiose sort of way. Mosaics were generally the inexpensive and impressive answer that was used to convey the church’s message. Through mosaics, the people of the church could learn and be informed of the spiritual and cultural symbolism (Kleiner and Mamiya 313).

Early mosaics before this time period had been used as a cheap floor covering. Very quickly it was discovered that the mosaic medium lent itself to simple geometric patterns that were simple and decorative. These mosaic floors were usually just small stones of varying sizes. The next step in mosaic work was to incorporate pictures and more complicated designs (Kleiner and Mamiya 315).

As time passed new methods were introduced to mosaics that allowed the artists to create more detailed mosaics with shadowing and cleaner outlines. One of the methods was to use tesserae, or tiny stones cut into cube shapes that could be adjusted for different sizes and shapes easily. Greater color gradations were introduced as well, giving mosaics an almost painted look. During the Early Christian Era the tesserae were generally constructed out of glass to give the mosaic a glittering look. The Romans, however, tended to use marble tesserae (Kleiner and Mamiya 313).

The mosaics in Christian churches were not meant to show subtle contrast and smooth changes like a typical painting, but were meant to be bold and powerful pieces of art designed to inspire. These mosaics decorated wall upon wall of Christian churches and used larger stones instead of the smaller Roman ones, because the delicacy would be lost on such large pieces. Also the mosaics were generally viewed from a distance and the artists would choose simpler designs to get their point across (Kleiner and Mamiya 313).

The Basilica of San Marco was built in 829 AD and after many renovations still stands in Venice, Italy. Within the San Marco church, there are a number of mosaic pieces that show a revival of Early Christian and Early Byzantine traditions and date to the 12th and 13th centuries. The different mosaics in the church are all typically Venetian artists only. However, the styles of the mosaics suggest that the artists were either of some Greek background, or at least had some training in the Greek arts. A little later on the Byzantine style was changed and became a more local Venetian style. Almost all of the mosaics are geometric and formulated in their design and have labels in both Latin and Greek (Demus 1-9).

Eighty feet above the floor, the great arch shows scenes of the Crucifixion and the Anastasis of Christ. This arch contains a long narrative where the mosaicists use smaller particles and tiny bits of stone to create an ornate and colorful mosaic. John the Baptist and other biblical figures are depicted in these mosaics in an effort to tell stories of the Christian faith (Demus 76).

The Basilica of San Vitale was built during the mid 6th century in Ravenna, Italy. The construction of the San Vitale Basilica began under Bishop Ecclesius but was dedicated by Bishop Maximianus in 547 AD. Two concentric octagons create soaring spaces and curving arches. The mosaics in the choir and apse contain some of the most magnificent and famous mosaics in the world. Light that filters in glitters off of the surfaces and panels that exhibit the expressive details of the mosaics. The mosaics often show a unified composition. The general topic of these mosaics expresses the idea of Christ’s redemption of humanity (Kleiner and Mamiya 332-336).

In the apse vault, the mosaic shows a young Christ sitting on a sphere of the world which is meant to represent the time of his Second Coming. Below the sphere are the four rivers of paradise and there are sharp contrasts between the blue sphere, the gold background,