Art & Architecture of Late Antiquity
- Course Code
- HARC 0060
- Course Type
- Tutorials
- Subject Credit
- Course Availability
This course explores the art and architecture of the late Roman world, with a particular focus on the eastern Mediterranean, from the second to the eighth centuries. The changing needs and aspirations of the Roman state had a major impact on artistic change, as did Christianity, especially after its adoption by the Emperor Constantine I (died 337). The magnificent Hagia Sophia, built under the Emperor Justinian I (527-565), encapsulates many of the themes of this course.
Sample Topics
- The Classical tradition and Early Christian Art
- Empire, art patronage and the new Christian Rome under Constantine
- Church architecture, ceremony and propaganda in the time of Justinian
- Byzantium in the West: Ravenna and the Byzantine colonies
- Religious imagery and debate: Iconoclasm and the triumph of orthodoxy