Since culture is appropriated and
expanded upon from one region to the next, when Emperor Justinian combined the
common Roman church form of the oriented basilica with the dome structure recently
developed in the Hagia Sophia, a new architectural style was created. This
style of building was later named the Byzantium.
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| Inside of Hagia Sophia with Light |
Deemed the
Emperor’s “most important project,” the Hagia Sophia displays the time and
energy invested in it (Gardner 134). Like most buildings from this time period,
it was very plain on the outside. The inside though, was in and of itself a
work of art. The walls were covered in mosaics and stones of white, yellow, and
pink marble, and green porphyry. The key characteristic of this church was the
dome built upon 40 windows. When the light streams in from those 40 windows and
hits the stones, it not only illuminates the entire building, but it makes the
dome seems to be built on light. This architectural design of the dome resting
on windows makes it appear if it is suspended from air was created by
distributing the weight of the dome into pendentives rather than into walls.
This allows the sun to filter in and reflect off of all the surfaces available.
The end result left the viewer in awestruck amazement.
The
building was commissioned in 532 and finished in 537. The speed and work put
into the church was an everlasting symbol of Justinian’s rule. The Hagia Sophia
was, and continues to be, a great example of architectural engineering.
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| Split view of Hagia Sophia |
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner, Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Concise Western History. Boston:Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
The Hagia Sophia is the best example of the Byzantium style. I did not know that the windows lighted the building so well and I think that awesome picture really gives a good image. Good Post!
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