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Byzantine Art Project

Artworks from the great traditions of Byzantine and Eastern Christian iconography, each paired with a doctrinal reflection. The corpus surfaces GLM's confessional shape case by case as the iconography requires it — read what the picture argues.

348
ARTWORKS
10
COLLECTIONS
17
FLAGSHIPS
1,250+
YEARS
13 of 348Architecture →
COLLECTION:
ERA:
REGION:
MEDIUM:
SITE / MUSEUM:
Archangels Gabriel and MichaelAngels

Archangels Gabriel and Michael

c. 867 (with the apse Theotokos program)· Hagia Sophia
Photo by Dennis G. Jarvis / archer10 (2013). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). The underlying 9th-century mosaics are in the public domain.
The Six-Winged SeraphimAngels

The Six-Winged Seraphim

14th century (Palaeologan restoration; underlying program likely 6th c. with later layers)· Hagia Sophia
Photo by Dick Osseman / Dosseman (2016). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). The underlying mosaic is in the public domain.
Saint PaulApostles

Saint Paul

c. 1100· Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession 17.190.673), via Wikimedia Commons. Released under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The underlying c. 1100 Byzantine cloisonné medallion is in the public domain.
James the JustApostles

James the Just

c. 1310 (Palaeologan; parekklesion built and decorated under Michael Glabas Tarchaneiotes and his widow Maria-Martha)· Pammakaristos / Fethiye Camii (parekklesion)
Photograph by Byzantine Institute staff (1949–1963), Dumbarton Oaks fieldwork records (MSBZ004_BF_T_F_022_A). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The underlying c. 1310 mosaic is in the public domain.
The Iconoclastic CrossIconoclasm Debate

The Iconoclastic Cross

c. 740s (post-740 earthquake reconstruction under Constantine V)· Hagia Eirene (Saint Irene)
Photo by Dick Osseman / Dosseman (2016). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). The underlying 8th-century mosaic is in the public domain.
Pammakaristos Parekklesion: Old Testament ProphetOT Typology

Pammakaristos Parekklesion: Old Testament Prophet

c. 1310 (early Palaiologan; the parekklesion was erected by Martha Glabas in memory of her husband Michael Doukas Glabas Tarchaneiotes, a general of Andronikos II Palaiologos; the mosaics survived the 1591 conversion to a mosque because they were plastered over)· Pammakaristos Parekklesion (Theotokos Pammakaristos / Fethiye Camii)
Photograph by Vmenkov (2010). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) and GNU Free Documentation License 1.2+. The underlying c. 1310 mosaic at the Pammakaristos parekklesion is in the public domain.
Christ PantocratorPantocrator

Christ Pantocrator

c. 1261· Hagia Sophia
Photo by Myrabella (2012). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The underlying 13th-century mosaic is in the public domain.
Christ PantocratorPantocrator

Christ Pantocrator

c. 1310· Pammakaristos Church (Fethiye Camii)
Photo by Dick Osseman (Dosseman, 2010). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). The underlying 14th-century mosaic is in the public domain.
Christ PantocratorPantocrator

Christ Pantocrator

c. 1315–1321· Chora Church (Kariye Camii / Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora)
Photo by Guillaume Piolle (2011). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0). The underlying 14th-century mosaic is in the public domain.
Saint NicholasSaints

Saint Nicholas

c. 950· Walters Art Museum
Image courtesy of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (accession 48.2086.1). Released under Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0. The underlying 10th-century ceramic tile is in the public domain.
The AnastasisSecond Coming

The Anastasis

c. 1315–1321· Chora Church (Kariye Camii)
Photo by Joseph Kranak (2009). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0). The underlying 14th-century fresco is in the public domain.
Theotokos of the ApseTheotokos

Theotokos of the Apse

867 (inaugurated 29 March)· Hagia Sophia
Photo by Dick Osseman (Dosseman, 2019). Wikimedia Commons. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). The underlying 9th-century mosaic is in the public domain.
The Annunciation at the WellTheotokos

The Annunciation at the Well

c. 1315–1321· Chora Church (Kariye Camii)
Photo by Byzantine Institute staff (1952), MSBZ004-ICFA-KC-BIA-0366. Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington DC. Released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The underlying 14th-century mosaic is in the public domain.

Photographs sourced primarily from Wikimedia Commons and museum open-access programs (Met CC0, Walters PD/CC BY-SA, British Museum CC BY 2.5, Cleveland Museum of Art CC0, Smithsonian Open Access, Dumbarton Oaks CC0). Originals are public domain by age; photographs carry the licenses noted on each artwork. Click any card for full credit, license, and a link back to the source.

THE SCRIPTORIUM — BE OBEDIENT & BE BOLD