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Last updated 02 July 2006
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Byzantine Art in Cyprus
Click on the underlined text for a discussion on the topic Artists Benefactors and donors Features Frescoes Mosaic The Painted Churches of Cyprus 7C 8C 9C 10C 14C etc
After the division of the Roman Empire in 395, Constantinople beheld the passage of many great dynasties. The first period of the empire, which embraces the dynasties of Theodosius, Leo I, Justinian, and Tiberius, is politically still under Roman influence.
The aristocracy of birth, which had been forming in all parts of the empire, and gaining political influence, at last achieved its firm establishment on the throne with the dynasties of the Comneni and Angeli. During this time, the Crusades occurred. The great overflow of the West towards the East, started by the pious wish of all Christian Europe to deliver the Holy Sepulchre. Constantinople saw the crusaders for the first time in 1096. These sad quarrels and the fratricidal conflicts of Christian nations lasted nearly a century, until in 1182 Emperor Andronicus Comnenus, a ferocious tyrant, ordered a general massacre of the Latins in his capital. In 1190 the Greek patriarch, Dositheus, solemnly promised indulgences to any Greek who would murder a Latin. These facts, together with the selfish views of the Venetians and the domestic divisions of the Greeks, were enough to provoke a conflict.
(in exile in the Empire of Nicaea during the time of the Latin Empire) The capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders divided the empire into several new political units. Even after the restoration, the Empire of the Palaeologi is only one member of this group of states. The expansion of the power of the Osmanli Turks prepares the annihilation of the Byzantine Empire. This new Latin/Frankish Empire, organized according to feudal law, never took deep root. It was unable to hold its own against the Greeks, who had immediately created two empires in Asia, a despotate in Epirus and other small States, nor against the Bulgarians, Comans, and Serbs. After a much-disturbed existence, this Latin/Frankish Empire disappeared in 1261. Constantinople became again the centre of Greek power with Michael Palæologus as emperor.
In 1453 Mehmed II overthrew the Byzantine Empire and claimed the title of Caesar; his successors continued this claim
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following text is from my files/cyprus/byzantine Cypriot life was taking on a new shape under the guidance of the new religion. It was not just a question of replacing Apollo with Christ and Aphrodite with the Virgin Mary - there was a genuine interest in the new religion and the Church. There had been a good deal of disenchantment with the older religions and the concept of a Supreme Being, together with the promise of eternal joy was rather appealing. Since it was believed that ultimate salvation would depend on following every doctrine of the faith, the people devoted a good deal of attention to religious matters. This was a favourable climate for the Church to prosper. People expressed their devotion by showering gifts on the Church - icons or specially commissioned paintings, furnishing or sacramental vessels, money, land or new buildings. The interiors of the churches were considered to be reflections of the celestial realm and given most lavish treatment - even in the poorest areas, efforts were made to adorn the church interiors from floor level to dome. As a generalisation, it may be said that much Byzantine art was religious art, restrained and quite distinctive. In addition to creating images, which combined features from Hellenistic, Roman and Eastern art, Byzantine artists developed their own concept of the sacred Hierarchy. Domed churches, opulent mosaics both as wall and floor decorations as well as a certain style of icon, came to be characteristic in the Orthodox world. There is very little left in Cyprus of the period dating before the Arab invasions (647 AD and continued on and off for the next three centuries) as this was a long period of destruction and looting. The one outstanding survivor is the mosaic depicting the Virgin between Archangels at Angeloktistis Church, Kiti which is dated to the 6C or 7C AD One way of recognizing this date as valid is that the Virgin is named as Saint Maria. During the 8C and 9C, the portrayal of figures in paintings, icons, church vestments, hangings etc., was forbidden but Cyprus was not affected by these restrictions, so the island became a refuge for iconolatrous monks from the mainland. Thus features of the art traditions of Asia Minor appeared in Cypriot Byzantine paintings - for instance the frescoes in the church of Ayia Solomoni. Many of the great cities lay in ruins after the Arab invasions but rebuilding went on and there was a corresponding frenzy of activity on the church scene. Monasteries such as Kykko and Makheras were either built or endowed with imperial funds; the new five domed church came into being (Ayia Paraskevi at Yeroskipos) and visits to Cyprus by master painters from abroad consolidated further Byzantium techniques. The oldest surviving icons in Cyprus date from this peaceful and fertile period. ********************** At the Enkleistra of Ayios Neophytos near Paphos, three caves are completely painted and date from 1183. They show the two main trends of Byzantine art - the "court" style of the time and the more severe "monastic" style. ****************** Earthquakes or fire have destroyed a number of the painted churches. When seeing these churches, it should be remembered that many of them also had richly embellished hangings and vestments. The brocade or velvet robes were often trimmed with jewels or cloisonné work, also with embroidery in gold and silver thread. The Byzantines were much preoccupied with gold, and favoured it also for candlesticks. The churches had masses of candles, both in candleholders and candelabra, to illuminate the rich altar cloths, icon adornments and Gospel covers. The splendours of this period were to be interrupted by another series of political events. In 1184 Isaac Comnenus proclaimed himself Emperor of Cyprus, the brief sojourn of Richard the Lionheart and nearly four hundred years of French and Italian rule effectively alienated Cyprus from Byzantium and there was a consequent struggle for survival of the Orthodox Church after the establishment of the Latin Church on the island. The Crusaders capture of Byzantium compounded the difficulty because, although Constantinople was recovered some sixty years later and there was an attempt to gather the Empire together again, Cyprus was never again part of that Empire. The surviving works from this period all show a conservative Byzantine style. From the 13C onwards, a new style of church architecture developed in the Troodos area, probably a result of weather conditions and poverty. These churches are simple four-walled buildings, constructed out of stone and mud-brick, and all have steeply slanting roofs with flat tiles. ************************************************* The beginning of the end of the Byzantine civilisation came to the mainland and her refugees forewarned Cyprus of its approach. Cypriots once again sought refuge in their religion. Consequently in the late 15C there was a great revival in church building and fresco and icon painting, still in the Byzantine style but with a little more local and rustic character. Saints like St George and slaying the dragon and St Mamas riding his lion - protectors of the faithful were popular subjects. Also a substantial amount of painting combining the Italian and Byzantine styles emerged and the Latins and the Orthodox actually shared churches in some places. Cyprus fell to the Turks in the 16C and wall painting virtually came to an end. Illustration of the Orthodox faith came to rely on the icons.
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Ellie-Bee's Hive 
