58 Byzantine Empire: architecture, culture, and the arts at Nerezi As well as painted icons, this period saw mosaic and ceramic examples, and for the first time the iconic form became popular through the empire Excellent Byzantine work of this period is also found in Kiev, Venice, Palermo, and other places outside the empire Venice’s Basilica of St Mark, begun in 1063, was modeled on the now destroyed Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople The Crusades, specifically the massacre of Constantinople in 1204, ended eight centuries of Byzantine culture The Frankish crusaders of the Fourth Crusade pillaged Constantinople, generating even more destruction of Byzantine art than did the iconoclastic period Justinian I built the Hagia Sophia in sixth century The minarets were added later by the Ottomans of art showing inappropriate figures occurred Restrictions on content meant that ornamental designs and symbols such as the cross were about the limit of expression Without human figures, mosaicists borrowed Persian and Arab designs, such as florals, and the minor arts remained vibrant The papacy adamantly rejected iconoclasm as a threat to the authority of the pope Leo’s son Constantine V (740–775) was more adamantly iconoclastic than Leo Although Byzantium abandoned iconoclasm in the ninth century, the breach persisted The end of iconoclasm brought about the Macedonian Renaissance, beginning under Basil I, the Macedonian, in 867 The ninth and 10th centuries were times of improved military circumstances, and art and architecture rebounded Byzantine mosaic style became standardized, with revived interest in classical themes and more sophisticated techniques in human figures After the Iconoclastic Controversy resolved itself in favor of using icons, the empire flourished from 843 to 1261 During this period the arts prospered, the official language was Greek, and Christianity solidified its hold from the capital through the northern Slavic lands Afer the Macedonians came the Komnenian dynasty, starting in 1081 under Alexios I Komnenos This dynasty reestablished stability after the major dislocations of Manzikert, which cost Byzantium Asia Minor Between 1081 and 1185 the Komnenoi patronized the arts, and a period of increased humanism and emotion occurred Examples are the Theotokos of Vladimir and the Murals PALAEOLOGAN MANNERISM The state reestablished in 1261 included only the Greek Peninsula and Aegean Islands After the crusader period (1204–61), Byzantium had a final surge until the Ottoman conquest The final bloom of Byzantine art, the Palaeologan Mannerism, occurred under the Palaeologan dynasty, founded by Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1259 This era saw increased exchange between Byzantine and Italian artists, new interest in pastorals and landscapes, and the replacement of masterful mosaic work such as the Chora Church in Constantinope by narrative frescoes Byzantine culture included women and men alike, unlike practices in classical Greece and Rome or in medieval Europe Women could not attend school, but aristocratic females received tutoring in history, literature, philosophy, and composition The greatest Byzantine writer was the female historian Anna Komnene, whose biography of her father, Emperor Alexios, is among the best of medieval histories Byzantine art was underpinned by the art of ancient Greece, and until at least 1453 it remained strongly classical yet unique One difference was that the ancient Greek humanistic ethic gave way to the Christian ethic That meant that the classical glorification of man became the glorification of God, particularly Jesus Byzantine art replaced the classical nude with figures of God the Father, Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth, the Virgin Mary, and the saints and martyrs Byzantine art emphasized strongly the icon, an image of Christ, Mary, a saint, or Madonna and Child used as an object of veneration either in church or at home Byzantine miniatures showed both Hellenistic and Asian influences Byzantine architecture rested on Roman technical developments Proximity to the Hellenized East meant that Constantinople’s architecture showed Eastern influences The Basilica of St John of the Studion, dating from the fifth century, exemplifies