Byzantine art is a general name which is used to describe the artistic products which come from the Eastern Roman Empire, which is sometimes known as the Byzantine, as well those which come from the nations and states which were culturally inherited from the empire. These products were mainly Christian-oriented art even though derived from techniques and forms of Greece and Egypt. This style spread to all other corners of the empire, even in places where the orthodox Christianity was flourishing (Evans &William, 2).
The style that characterized the Byzantine art was one which was almost concerned with the religious expressions. It was mainly the translation of the church theology into artistic terms. The byzantine architecture as well as paintings that were done remained quite uniform and anonymous and it developed within a very rigid tradition. What resulted was a very sophisticated style which has never found its match even in today’s Western art (Gardner et al., 213).
The Byzantine visual art started with mosaics decorating the walls as well as domes of churches. They also did fresco painting of the walls. These mosaics produced wonderful results that the form was taken to countries like Italy. There was a less public art form found in Constantinople, and that was made from the mosaic. This form served as the icon that meant that it was a holy image. They were made from the monasteries of the Eastern Church. These were made from the encaustic wax paint which was rested on portable wooden panels.
Hiberno Saxon art is an art which up during the post-Roman history of the British Isles. This type of art is majorly characterized by flat picture planes as well as abstracted images that border on the unrecognizable parts. This style holds a very tenuous position abstraction and the representation and heavily relies on symbolism so that the meaning they convey can be easily understood. This style is a complete or exact opposite of the Byzantine style which as mentioned earlier was Greco-Roman style. The two styles had different aims and avenues through which they expressed themselves (Kharkov, 38).
The Hiberno-Saxon style gets it cue from an older style which was being referred to as the Migration style which serves as its roots. It is through the art of migration that the Hiberno-Saxon style gets its elongated roots, the abstracted figures which represent animals. All these come from the beginning of the interlaced style. The interlaced style is the technical precision for which the Hiberno- Saxon style is known for (Evans et al. 56). The element of the Hiberno-Saxon style was applied to a new art form which is known as the illustration manuscripts. The new from were then given new Christian subjects.
The Byzantine art and the Hiberno-Saxon style have certain difference through which they expressed the human from (Evans et al. 57). The Byzantine style expressed the human form just shallowly. When compared with the with the Hiberno- Saxon style, it is found that this style the Byzantine style does not give a lot of detailed information about the human figures. The byzantine gave more emphasis to the classical figures, and it made them more appealing (Rice, 46). The Hiberno-Saxon style, on the other hand, describes or tackles the human figures in more abstract manner. The Hiberno-Saxon style adds more details and technical precision which is found in its works thus taking the human figures to another level.
The difference between the two differs is greatly attributed to the fact that these two styles were used in different places by different people. The period during which they were also used determines the manner in which they tackle the human form. The two remain as the major reasons for the difference in which human figures were represented.
Work cited
Evans, Helen C., and William D. Wixom. The glory of Byzantium: art and culture of the Middle Byzantine era, A. D. 843-1261. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2007. Print.
Gardner, Helen, Fred S. Kleiner, and Christen J. Mania. Gardner’s art through the ages: the western perspective. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. Print.
Kharkov, Catherine E. The art of Anglo-Saxon England. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2011. Print.
Rice, David Talbot. Byzantine art. Rev. and expanded ed. Harmonds-worth: Penguin, 2002. Print.
