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Art of the New Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire essentially being the city founded under the first Christian Roman Emperor. The city, of course, kept many of his beliefs.
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The Hagia Sophia is a church with a long history. It was first commissioned by Constantine when moving the Roman capital. Then Constantinople was besieged by the Ottomans. The Ottomans, after laying claim to the city for centuries, would peel back the censored Byzantine artwork, and they kept it half Ottoman, half Byzantine. -
A mosaic of Emperor Justinian. The mosaic is a unifying piece showing Justinian's Divine right to rule over the army, the government, and the religion. The piece even illustrates his superiority complex with the religious higher-ups. -
Borrowing many ideas from Rome, Medieval Europeans tried to blend Roman artwork with a more modern cultural lens.
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An era of humanity for religion, and great beauty in architecture. The most prominent feature of this new art style was the Gothic church. The Gothic churches were the largest and most ornate churches in the world, to attract as many as possible.
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An illuminated manuscript for personal study, most likely. They were essentially handheld bibles. -
A one-hundred-year span of Italian city-states blending new art with medieval Gothic styles and Byzantine.
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The Notre Dame, like many other Gothic churches of the time, was supposed to be a beacon to pilgrims for miles, attracting everyone to pay a visit. The flying buttresses, along with the pointed archways, were a few of the many famous techniques used in these churches. -
Right outside the Notre Dame, this piece is passing the message of the imminent birth of Jesus. -
This last judgment piece has a last plea from the one who owned the church. At the bottom, where souls are being judged, you can see the owner of the church making his offering to the church to secure his spot closer to heaven. -
The piece along the wall of the famous private church is a prominent example of chiaroscuro.