Byzantine Mosaic Art

Timeline

1. 501–526Constantinople · TurkeyIn the early sixth century Byzantium had inherited the late Roman mosaic tradition, decorating church walls with glass mosaics of saints and geometric patterns; before Justinian's accession, mosaic craftsmanship in capital and provincial churches was already well established, accumulating technique and craftsmen for subsequent empire-level building projects.
2. 532–565Hagia Sophia · IstanbulJustinian I rebuilt Hagia Sophia (532–537), decorating the interior walls of its great dome and half-domes with gold glass mosaics to create a sacred luminous effect; contemporaneously several churches in Constantinople adopted the same technique, establishing a paradigm for the visual language of Byzantine religious architecture.
3. 540–600Ravenna · ItalyAfter Justinian's conquest of Italy, Ravenna became the Byzantine center in the west; the mosaics of San Vitale (c. 547) and Sant'Apollinare are famed for scenes such as Justinian and Theodora adoring Christ, with frontal, stylized figures on splendid gold backgrounds, the most complete surviving remains of sixth-century Byzantine mosaic art.