Byzantine

Style in the visual arts and architecture that originated in the 4th–5th centuries in Byzantium (capital of the Eastern Roman Empire; renamed Constantinople in 330; now Istanbul). It spread to Italy, throughout the Balkans, and to Russia, where it survived for many centuries. The term Byzantine refers now to a specific style rather than a geographic place. It is characterized by rich use of colour such as gold, rigid artistic stereotypes, and stylized figures composed of strong lines, giving a flat appearance. Byzantine artists excelled in mosaic work, manuscript painting, and religious icon painting. The simplicity and stylization of such religious works made them useful teaching aids, and Byzantine art is often called Christian art. In Byzantine architecture, the dome supported on pendentives (supportive structures at the intersection of arch and dome) was in widespread use.

Classical examples of Byzantine architecture are the churches of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (537–52), and St Mark's, Venice (11th century). Medieval painting styles were influenced by Byzantine art; a more naturalistic style emerged from the 13th century onwards in the West. See also medieval art.