Fig. 334.—Opus Alexandrinum Pavement, San Marco, Rome.
In the early part of the sixth century Christian art in Italy was at a low ebb, as by this time nearly all the antique remains and culture had been used up; but fortunately, the Eastern and Western Churches were not as yet divided in doctrine, and a fresh life had been imparted to Italian art from the Byzantine culture of the Eastern Empire.
Besides the basilica form of building, another antique form of early Christian architecture was developed, called a “baptistery,” which generally took the form of a detached building, with a circular or polygonal plan. In some cases the baptistery adjoins the atrium of the basilica, but often is a detached building of considerable importance. The structure is supposed to have been suggested by the circular portion of the Roman baths, and consists of a circular row of columns supporting the upper structure; the central portion is surrounded by a low cloister-like aisle, and the fountain is in the middle of the building. The circular building known as the Church of Santa Costanza in Rome—the funeral chapel before mentioned—the octagonal baptistery of Constantine, and the fine baptistery at Ravenna, are examples of this kind of building. Another beautiful example is the octagonal baptistery of the Lateran, belonging to the fifth century; it has eight large antique columns, which support an architrave, upon which rest another series of eight smaller columns, carrying another architrave and the domed roof. The whole building has a pleasant and agreeable effect of extreme airiness.
Byzantine Architecture.
The ancient town of Byzantium, the modern Constantinople, was mostly in ruins when Constantine the Great selected it for the new capital of the Roman Empire. He rebuilt the old town and named it after himself, and in the year A.D. 330 the inauguration of the new capital was celebrated. Later on, under Theodosius, the Roman Empire was divided, and Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern portion.
It was the great connecting-point between the countries of the East and the West. The inhabitants of the new city being mostly Greeks, the native artists and architects employed by Constantine imparted a decided Grecian character to the ornament and decoration, especially of the churches and other buildings that were erected by this emperor.
The occasion of the new political change and the rapid spread of the Christian religion served to give a great impetus to the building and lavish decoration of churches and public edifices. Although the new architecture was founded on the Roman originals, yet in the hands of the Greeks both architecture and ornament assumed a new and original character. From the time of the founding of Constantinople to the date of Justinian’s reign (A.D. 527-565), when the great church of Santa Sophia—holy wisdom—was built, on the ruins of an older church that was said to have been burnt down, we can guess that it must have been a time of experiments and developments from the basilica type of building to the well-defined domed style of architecture known as the Byzantine.
The timber-roofed and vaulted style of structure now gave place to the dome, which resulted also in a change of the plan to the square form, instead of the rectangle. During the two hundred years previous to the building of Santa Sophia, the problem of dome construction, with others of a difficult nature in building, had been successfully solved by the Greek architects of the Eastern Empire. Justinian employed the Greeks, Anthemius of Thralles and Isidorus of Miletus, as the architects of Santa Sophia, and they succeeded in erecting a marvellous structure that may justly be reckoned as one of the wonders of the world.
Four vast piers, arranged on a square plan, support four solid arches of masonry, semicircular in shape, and 100 feet span each. The four triangular spaces at the corners and the spaces formed by the angles, the semicircular arches and portions of the ring of the dome, are filled with “pendentives,” which may be described as continuations of the dome. These pendentives partly support the dome, and the other points of support are on the backs of the great arches. The four pendentives meet in the circular ring from which the dome springs. The dome is 46 feet in height from the level of its base, and 107 feet in diameter, and is rather flattish in shape.