BTZANTINE ABCHITBCTURB. 



BYZANTIM-: .\!t< ii m:< -rr HI:. 



twelve marbles, jaspers, and porphyries, which nature had profusely 

 diversified, and which were blended and contrasted, a* it wen, by 

 akilfal painter. The triumph of Christ WM idonMd with the last 

 ^poili of p^pi ; but the greater put of time costly etonee WM 

 extracted from the quurie* of Asia Minor, the isle* tad continent of 

 Greece, Egypt, Africa, and Uaul. Eight columns of porphyry, whi.-h 

 Aurelian had placed in the temple of the Sun, were oflered by the 

 piety of a Roman matron ; eight other* of men marble ware presented 

 by the ambition Mai of the magistrate* of Kpbeeus : both are admirable 

 by their ais* and beauty, but every order of architecture disclaims their 

 fintMTir capital*. A variety of ornamenU and figures WM curiously 

 expressed in Mosaic; and the imam of Chrat, of the Virgin, of sainte, 

 and of anceb, which hare been defaced by Turkish fanaticism, were 

 Oaugoualj> exposed to the superstition of the Greeks. According to 

 the aji<itr of each object, the precioui metals were distributed in thin 

 leave* or in notid mtmm The balustrade of the choir, the capitals of 

 the pillan, the ornamente of the doon and galleries, were of gilt 

 bronze; the apectator wai daxxled by the glittering aspect of the 

 cupola ; the sanctuary contained 40,000 pound weight of silver ; and 

 Ike holy raees and restmenU of the altar were of the purest gold, 

 enriched with inestimable gems. Before the structure of the church 

 two cubits above the ground, 45,200 pounds were already 

 , and the whole expense amounted to 320,000 pounds : each 

 xirding to the measure of his belief, may estimate their value 

 either in gold or silver, but the sum of one million pounds sterling is 

 the result of the lowest computation." (' Decline and Fall,' ch. xi.) 



More strictly architectural descriptions of this remarkable building, 

 in its present as well as in its ancient state, will be found in the works 

 lefeiied to below, especially those of Fossati and Salzcnberg : the 

 former had the rare advantage of studying it quite unrestrained, he 

 baring been employed by the Sultan (or rather the minister Rescind 

 Pacha) to repair and in part restore the building. Salzenberg's work 

 is one of the most beautiful architectural monographs yet published. 

 As will have been noticed, Gibbon, with all hU warmth of description, 

 speaks disparagingly of Sta, Sophia as a work of art. Of late years a 

 different opinion has been gaining ground ; M. Fosaati, who has spent 

 so much time in its study, may easily be regarded as enthusiastic 

 when he expatiates on the " majesty of the eiuemble and the perfection 

 of the details" of " this grand architectural master-piece," ami assert* 

 that he " knows not any other monument in the world the proportion* 

 of which are so vast and so majestic;" but it is otherwise when we 

 find the interior of Sta, SophU held forth by a high authority in our 

 own country as the finest domical interior of ancient or modern times. 

 both for appropriateness and beauty ; while, it is added, " if we regard 

 it with a view to the purposes of Protestant worship, it affords an 

 infinitely better model for imitation than anything our own media: val 

 architects ever produced." (Kergusson, ' Handbook of Arch.,' ii. 951.) 

 Without going as far as this, there can be no doubt that a careful 

 study of Byxantine interiors, with those of our own Wren, would have 

 bean far more beneficial to Protestant church architecture than the 

 unreasoning imitation of Gothic forms which has so generally prevailed 

 of late Team, even whilst retaining Gothic as the basis of our eccle- 

 siastical style. 



The church of 88. Sergio* and Bacchos, or as it U commonly called 

 the leaver Sta. Sophia, is another very admirable, but smaller and less 

 gorgeous, example of this period yet remaining at Constantinople ; its 

 central dome U 47 feet in diameter. St. Irene (now used as a museum 

 for antique arms) is still smaller, but has some interesting features. 

 Hakenberg gives illustration* of both these churches. 



The Third Period extends from about 800 to 1200, when Byzantine 

 architecture proper may be considered to have expired : in the period 

 between the taking of Constantinople by the Venetians (1204) and its 

 final conquest by the Turk* (1453), such art as existed having become 

 corrupted by the admixture of various foreign anil incongruous 

 elements. 



In this Third Period, while the interiors are still adorned in as costly 

 and splendid a manner as possible, more ornament is expended upon 

 the exterior of the building than in the preceding, and more Orientalism 



of character is imparted to the general design. The dome* and semi- 

 dome* are much smaller, and are raised on cylinders which reach to the 

 height of the windows, so that the curved part is leas than a hemi- 

 sphere. Coloured shafts and flat surface decorations are much employed 

 on the outside of the buildings. All the churches of this period in 

 Constantinople are, much inferior in size, as well as in richness, to 

 Sta. Sophia. The finest remaining U that of Sta. Theotokos (9th 

 century), which is, however, only 45 feet by 37 in the interior (exclusive 

 of the uarthex), with a central dome only 14 feet in diameter, but 

 having three other domes over the narthex of scarcely inferior dimen- 

 sions. The church of S. Pantokrator, founded in the beginning of the 

 12th century, is a kind of triple church, the central one having, as U 

 believed, been intended as the sepulchre of the founder. 



But the noblest example of the Byzantine architecture of this period 

 is the church of St. Mark at Venice, which, begun in 977, was not 

 finally completed till the latter part of the 12th century. Venice at 

 this time belonged rather to the Eastern than to the Western empire, 

 and the architects of the new church were brought from Greece, as 

 were later the workers in mosaic ; but whether the design was from 

 Constantinople or Alexandria, is by no means certain. The plan of the 

 church is a Greek cross, which is crowned with a central and four other 

 domes', of equal diameters. The interior is 205 feet lung ; the transepts 

 are 164 feet ; but the external dimensions are 264 feet by 215. It is 

 built of brick, but veneered on the exterior with marble. Much has 

 been added to the church since its erection, and many of the original 

 features hare been concealed by subsequent alterations. Much <>i the 

 ornamentation of the western front, and the peculiar cupola-like termi- 

 nations which now surmount the domes, ore of considerably later 

 date, and belong to quite a different architectural style. Still the work 

 retains the true Byzantine character, esjiecially in the interior, which is 

 unique in the " truly Byzantine profusion of gold mosaics which cover 

 every part of the walla above the height of the capitals of the columns, 

 and are spread over every part of the vaults and domes ; being, in fact, 

 the real and essential decoration of the church, to which the archi- 

 tecture is entirely subordinate. Externally, its great beauty consists 

 in the profusion of marble columns, which surround and fill all the 

 front and lateral porches. Like those in the interior, they have no 

 live office to fulfil, but they are in themselves rich and 

 i ul. and are most picturesquely disposed." (Kergusson.) 



The church of St. Antony at Padua bears a considerable resemblance 

 ;' St. Mark's, but has a central dome, and five other domes over the 

 IM\ , , transepts, and choir, and two slender towers ; it is, however, not 

 so purely By/antine in character, and much less graceful in form. A 

 much closer imitation, though wanting the splendour of St. Mark's, U 

 the church of St. Front at IVrigueux, which M. de Vrrneilh assigns to 

 the beginning of the llth century. Another very im|xirtant chun-h of 

 this period, usually termed Byzantine, is the cathedral of Pisa, which, 

 with its connected l]>tistery, campanile, and campo santo, form 

 of the most striking architectural groups in Eum|M-. Hut tluiigli it 

 has much that is Byzantine in character, it has so mtnh i 

 Romanesque, that it cannot perhaps be fairly classed as l!j/antine. 

 Its architect was, however, a Greek, Buachetto of Dulichio, who erected 

 it,in the beginning of the llth century. 



For other true llyznutine churches in Greece, Asia Minor, Italy, 

 France, Ac., and for fuller particulars respecting the style itself , we 

 must refer the reader to the works cited below, only remarking that, 

 a in the instance of Pisa, it is now generally fell that some of the 

 authors who have specially written on the subject have been led by 

 their enthusiasm to extend Byzantine influence much farther than a 

 cooler and more searching investigation warrants. 



(A. Couchaud, (,'*. /'/?</// H;/ait>ne n drift, foL Paris, 1842 ; 

 G. Fossati, Ai/a Sofa Cmi*tnntiHii/,lr, <u rfftxtlif restored by ordfr 0} 

 If. if. tlir .W/ni. AMul M^ljiil. fol. London, 185S; W. Salzenberg, 

 Alt-t'liri>Hi>-/i- II" mink-malt ran Uimttatint,,,(l, fol. Berlin. 1854 ; Neale, 

 Notary of I/if H<Jy Kuter* C'AnrrA, London, IS.'.O; F. de Verneilh, 

 L'Arclnt nttint en Pranet, Paris, 1861 ; De Caumont, Court, 



vol. iv. ; II.. IN-, Hint, of ArrhittrtKre ; Fergusson, Handbook of Archi- 

 tecture ; Ac.) 



