Course Description: In 324CE, Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople, creating what scholars now refer to as the Byzantine Empire. From 324 to 1453, the Byzantine Empire existed as a major power in the Mediterranean World. Its artists negotiated its Roman past with its Christian present, innovating new modes of depicting the world in art and architecture. In this class we will examine works from the early through late Byzantine periods, questioning Byzantine identity in the arts. Drawing from a wide geographic range, we will consider the Byzantine Empire as a site of cross-cultural interaction and exchange, and ask how art objects expressed the diversity and power of the Empire.
