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Throughout the semester, we have seen that art and architecture were used as tools to

express and legitimize authority. Discussing four specific examples which you must fully

identify from at least three different historical periods (i.e., Greek, Roman, Medieval,

Byzantine, etc.) demonstrate the ways in which art and architecture were used to convey

and validate power.

One of the arts in Byzantine was the Hagia Sophia (532-537). It had a giant dome built

with square bricks and two towers that created a feeling of fortress-like solidarity. The dome's

interior was filled with light to create a heavenly atmosphere. After the destruction of the church

due to riots, Justinian hired Isidorous and Anthemius to rebuild the church to signify the

restoration of his power and spiritual authority of the Orthodox Church. The church's interior

was separated into the ground floor and upper floor according to social classes and gender to

represent the emperor's social hierarchies’ and reservation gallery. The entrance of the church

had nine doors, with one door of the emperor at the Centre (Module 9). Thus, the church acted as

a visual design of heaven on earth's religious, social, and political organization.

The Greeks also had an art known as the Roman Copy (120-50BCE). The art was about a

naked masculine warrior stepping forward, which depicted the combination of both tensed and

relaxed muscles. The art was seven feet in height, representing the beauty of a male warrior who

was ready to face whatever could come across but with a calm face. Another art was the

Parthenon (447-432BCE), the iconic temple in Greece initially built of marble only. The

Parthenon was built in the octagon style with eight columns. The use of marble in the space

between the two triglyphs of a Doric frieze showed the heroic battle of the gods fighting with

giants, the Greek heroes fighting with the natives, and men fighting with giants (Module 4). The

design of the Parthenon used the mathematical proportions on the columns, but they were not
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straight as they appeared tilted and swelling at the Centre. The swelling of the columns

demonstrated the powerful hidden attempt.

The Arch of Constantine (315CE) in Rome acts as a reminder of the Roman Emperor

Constantine in victory during the fight of Milvian Bridge. The Arch serves as a political pillar

presenting Constantine as the most influential Roman emperor associated with the military

conquests and good governance. After succeeding in the campaign against Maxentius during the

fight of Milvian Bridge, Constantine built a monument to remind the Roman people that they had

defeated the enemy. The Arch was made at around 21 meters with a larger width divided into

three arches (module 3). The more prominent Arch was situated at the center and put the other

two at the sides. The lower side of the temple contained art that symbolized the victory achieved

in the Milvian Bridge.

In medieval, one of the most art that symbolized power was the Mosaic of Emperor

Justina, and his court found on the altar of the church of San Vitale. The image represented the

mosaic program which its central theme was the ruler's power in the Christian organization. The

mosaic program presented Justinian as the king of the traditional roman emperors and restoration

of the kingdom's boundaries. Justinian used to wear a purple robe, and a group of soldiers

surrounded the mosaic to show the position of the king between the authority of the church and

that of the soldiers (Module 8). Justinian's act of carrying a bowl with bread marking the liturgy

of the Eucharist’s depicted him as a true king in the mosaic.

The cultures of the many peoples that bordered the West had an enormous influence on

western art. Using specific and fully identified works of art, discuss four examples of this

phenomenon, two from the Ancient world and two from the medieval world.
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One of the works of art that influenced western art is the medieval art in the Carolingian

art that started during the reign of Charmagne. During this time, decorated books with colors

and gilded pictures on the covers to represent the success of the visual arts. They wrote some of

the books according to the four gospels that are Matthew, Luke, mark, and john to be used by the

people in authority were covered with silver and stones of ivory the way the Byzantine deed. The

skilled craftsmen were directed to design the illuminated manuscripts. The other work of art in

the medieval world that influenced western art is Ottonian art. The Ottonian art is the design in

the pre-Romanesque that also included some of the works from Italy and France (Module 11).

After the fall of the Carolingian emperor, the revived the Holy Roman emperor under the

Ottonian emperor.

The presence of the new faith because of the reformed church with the new emperor led

to the strengthening of the cultural practices and favored the artistic works. Through the Ottonian

art, the religious in that the illuminated transcripts and the metalwork were produced in some

centers to be used in the imperial courts and some church elders. However, more manuscripts

were crafted to be used by a large public in the pilgrims. Through Ottonian art, the king built a

palace in Rome and interacted with the pope, who believed to have the spiritual power from God

(Module 11). The interior was decorated and made with luxury treasures with the Ottonian arts.

The art that influenced western art in the ancient world is ancient Egyptian art. initially,

the exhibitions of the arts were placed in the tombs of the wealthy people who could afford the

price to signify life after death. This has influenced western art to realize the other importance of

skills like placing them in the temple and museums to act as a tourist attraction. Using Egyptian

art, people from the West started making jewelry, sculptures, and paintings. Society has got more

understanding and knowledge on the principles of the ancient Egyptians through their art
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(Module 2). For example, the charms and amulets they crafted they believed would protect them

from danger, and the figurines were thought to protect them from ghosts and other evil spirits.

From the Lectures (Module 2), the Aegean art in the ancient world influenced western art

in that a form of writing referred to as linear was invented mainly for the records in the palace.

People in the culture of the West who were influenced by the Aegean art started building

apartments with plastered ceilings supported with wooded columns painted with bright colors.

The influence of Aegean art in western art is depicted in the decoration in the pottery. At first,

the Greeks used to decorate their palaces with red, yellow, and white backgrounds, but they later

started to decorate the paintings of their palaces with dark backgrounds.

During the semester, we've studied a variety of architectural monuments ranging from

pyramids, temples, and triumphal arches to churches and mosques. Please choose four

examples and discuss how these buildings reflect the beliefs, customs, and needs of the

societies that built them. Each of the four works you select must come from a different

stylistic period, and one must be Islamic. Please remember to include an in-depth

discussion of the architectural plans, commissions, and decorations as relevant, and situate

the buildings in the appropriate historical contexts.

Mosques are places where people come together and pray, and the Muslims believe that

God allowed those houses to be built to speak His name in them. The mosques did not contain

any human figures but decorated them with the Quran, influenced by Byzantine architecture and

other local designs. They built the mosques in an enclosed yard with one or two prayer halls

called the iwan facing the direction of Mecca, where the faithful used to conduct prayers led by

the imam. The entrance of the mosques faced the direction of Mecca, and outside the mosque,
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there was a pool where the Muslims washed after prayers. Most of the mosques had single

chambers acuminated with arches through the doorway, and there was a dome above the room.

These domes symbolized the unity of worshippers with God. In the mosque's interior, the floors

were covered with carpets and internal walls that provided space for prayers (Module 10). There

was also a screen inside the mosque that gave women and other essential people privacy.

The triumphal arches to churches had two docks linked by a hook, covered with a flat

frieze on which they might hang the sculpture with commemorative writings. The arches were

mainly decorated with stone carvings and sculptures, and most of them consisted of two

doorways. The triumphal arches were the most popular types of architecture of ancient Rome.

The Romans used the triumphal arches to celebrate the victorious heroes. Society also used them

to hold important events like inventing new colonies, building roads, and celebrating the death of

the member of the great families (Module 3). The triumphal arches were also made to memorize

the victims who were injured during wars.

The Roman temple had the main confined space known as cella with a sculpture of a god

to whom the temple was dedicated, and there was a small sanctuary where people used to

conduct prayers and worship. Behind the cella, the temple officials used other small rooms to

keep equipment and offerings. The temple's architecture was more on the front side of the

entrance. The front entrance hall was long as the cella with columns in each row known as the

terrace (Module 6). The design of the temple demonstrated the number of columns in the gallery.

Many galleries or porticos had six columns that the architecture placed in proportions and ratios

to show harmony and balance in the society.

The Egyptians built the pyramids intending to protect the pharaoh's body after death and

all the necessary things he would need in his next life after death. Therefore every pyramid
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contained sculptures, wall paintings, jewelry, and other ancient’s arts that were believed to be

important in life after death. The architectural plans also demonstrated the religious customs and

political believes of people. The Egyptian pyramids were constructed at the bank of the river

Nile directly where the sun sets to fulfill the religious doctrine about the empire of the dead

(Lectures, Module 2). They believed the pharaoh's soul had to be linked with the sun before

continuing its eternal journey. They polished them with the white limestone to give a bright

appearance from a distance.