The history of Byzantine sculpture differs significantly from that of its architecture, mosaics, and painting. One of its defining characteristics was the abandonment of sculpture in the round (i.e., in three dimensions). This technique was associated with “pagan idolatry” and met strong opposition from theologians. Consequently, it was quickly abandoned, and monumental sculpture in the round did not survive beyond the 6th century, despite its previous status as a favored medium of imperial art. The Byzantines thus found themselves in a paradoxical situation: the sculptural heritage of antiquity remained very present, yet statues were regarded with suspicion and were no longer produced.

Statuary in the Late Antiquity.

In Rome and in the new capital of the Bosphorus, the remains and memories of monumental ancient statuary were preserved. Statues of Constantine and his sons adorned the Capitoline Square and the façade of the Church of the Lateran in Rome. We know from written sources that Constantinople was also adorned with images of statues of Constantine. His colossal statue was located on the forum square, endowed with the attributes of the solar god, Sol Invictus. A statue of Justinien, erected on a column on the Augusteum square, presented the emperor on horseback as a Roman general, holding the globe in his left hand and his right hand raised in a “magic” gesture to repel the darkness. He wore a toupha, a curious helmet topped with a peacock feather plume, reserved for triumphs and which could derive from a Sassanid influence. The same crown was represented on a 10th-century textile, the Gunther shroud.

The “Theodosian Renaissance” of the late 4th century, the first return to the Greek past, left the statue of the young Valentinian II (375-392) found in Aphrodisias, in Asia Minor, and dated to around 390, now in the archaeological museum of Istanbul. The softness of the youthful face, the regularity of the features, and the wide folds of the toga that shape the body are the last reflections of ancient statuary. A bust of his brother, Arcadius (383-404), is in the same vein but more realistic. The latest of these works is a colossal bronze statue of an anonymous emperor, found in Barletta in southern Italy. Sometimes attributed to Valentinian I (365-373), to Marcian (450-458), or to Heraclius (610-647), it is of the type of the victorious general. But the stiffened attitude and the robust realism of the face have only tenuous links with Roman art. The attribution to Marcian seems the most likely.

Two portraits of empresses have also survived: the small marble statue of Aelia Flacilla (died in 388), wife of Theodosius I, kept in the Cabinet des Médailles in Paris, and a head, probably later, sometimes attributed to Theodora, wife of Justinian, and located in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.

More numerous are the portraits and statues of magistrates and dignitaries found in Asia Minor, in Ephesus or Aphrodisias, or elsewhere in the Byzantine area (Thessaloniki, Constantinople). They show the direction in which the style of the 5th century is heading: sunken features with severe, disillusioned, and distant expressions, heavy and stiff clothing that hides the shape of the body and announces the official art of the centuries to come. Worked on three faces only, with the back left almost in its raw state, they are almost more like reliefs than statues. However, certain works still show a great sensitivity to modeling and a great acuity, such as the statue of a couple from the 4th century in the museum of Thessaloniki.

Imperial Reliefs from the Early Byzantine times.

Some debris and ancient drawings from the 16th and 17th centuries inform us about the last triumphal monuments, arches, and columns that the emperors of the 4th and the first half of the 5th century erected. Adorned with many reliefs, the arch of Constantine in Rome, erected in the aftermath of the victory of the Milvian Bridge in 312, marks the beginning of sculpture in the Late Empire in the West. The contrast with the works of the 3rd century is so great that one wonders about this sudden change of style. In Constantinople, the debris of the column of Theodosius I, the base of the obelisk that he had erected in the hippodrome, that of the column of Marcian (450-457), and drawings of the column of Arcadius, erected in 404, provide evidence of this.

The base of the obelisk of Theodosius at the hippodrome is almost intact. It shows the most important moments of the official imperial ceremonies in the hippodrome, which succeed each other on the four faces of the marble block. Twice, in the northeast and southwest, the emperor is seated in his box, surrounded by dignitaries and his guard, opening the chariot races; the arch under his feet indicates the place where the vehicles come out. On the southeast side, he is represented standing, extending the crown to the winner. On the northwest side, he receives the homage of the defeated barbarians. Twice, he is surrounded by his co-emperors, Valentinian II and Arcadius, his eldest son, and Honorius, his younger son. On the lower part, in retraction of the base, a Greek inscription in the northwest and a Latin inscription in the southeast evoke the foundation of the monument in 390. On the other two sides, the work undertaken to erect the obelisk in the circus is represented.

It was the imperial court itself that elevated certain provincial tendencies to represent figures in a rigid and immobile manner (Egypt, north of the Alps) to the level of imperial art. Texts report that Emperor Constantius II, during his entry into Rome in 357 on a triumphal char, surprised the inhabitants with his immobile attitude “like a tower.” The representative of Christ on earth had to appear in the image of his heavenly sovereign. On the coins, especially those issued in the East, this prince and his successors always present themselves in a rigid and frontal manner. It was in Constantinople, under the direct impetus of the court, that this imperial and “Byzantine” style was born.

The evolution of Christian Sculpture.

Christian sculpture has not left works of this magnitude. Some statues of the Good Shepherd and of Christ enthroned, the busts of evangelists at the Museum of Istanbul, are all that is presented in the round. Among the Good Shepherds, a group of Greek origin, although from the end of the 4th century, is not Christian. They are simple shepherds carrying a ram on their shoulders, which served as table feet. A statue of Christ at the Museo Nazionale in Rome, from the second half of the 4th century, is of a classicizing style that is manifested in Rome and Milan.

Sarcophagi provide more information on the evolution of Christian relief sculpture. They can be classified into several groups according to their regions of origin. Of average quality in most cases, artisanal rather than artistic, they are of considerable interest for the abundant information they provide on the earliest Christian iconography. Three main groups can be distinguished: that of Italy, excluding Ravenna, is the most important in number and quality. It extends from the first half of the 3rd century to the 5th century, including the Latin provinces of Gaul, Spain, and North Africa. Another group, that of Constantinople and Asia Minor, begins at the end of the 4th century and appears later and less homogeneous, its unity residing mainly in its provenance rather than its style. The art of the last group, that of Ravenna and some regions under its influence, is situated between the Latin West and the Greek East and is manifested continuously from the end of the 4th century to the 7th century.

In the second half of the 5th and the 6th century, symbolic motifs increasingly supplanted Christological scenes. Sheep or peacocks, representing the apostles or the faithful, confront a chrisme enclosed in a triumphal crown or a cross with the alpha and the omega, erected on the mound of paradise from which the four rivers flow. Sometimes, vases from which vine shoots emerge surround a cross and symbolize this paradisiacal world.

Apart from sarcophagi, a certain number of ecclesiastical furniture and enclosures: ambos, chancels, and doors, sometimes capitals, column shafts, architraves, and pediments, give rise to figurative decorations. Objects of this kind are few in number and of diverse styles according to the place and the time.

The Middle Byzantine Period.

Often considered the period of the apogee of Byzantine art, sculpture is often considered a minor decorative element in comparison to the mosaics and frescoes that adorn the churches and palaces. Sculpture in the round had, at this time, completely disappeared.

In the churches, in the 10th and 11th centuries, the decorations applied to the constructive parts of the building (capitals of the columns and the pillars, architraves, and cornices) underwent important transformations. The stone or marble was sculpted, but the surfaces were flat and barely modeled. Bands cut in flat relief highlighted the birth of the vaults on the inside and outside (e.g. Basilica of Skripou) and sometimes covered the shafts of the pilasters and pillars (Church of Constantine Lips). The capitals conserve more of the 6th-century facture. The chancel slabs and ambos were adorned with motifs widespread in northern Italy (Lombard art) to Syria (Umayyad art). The repertoire was largely antique: vine or acanthus scrolls populated with animals, rosettes inscribed in medallions, confronted peacocks. In the 10th century, the influence of Islamic art was clearly felt. The “Sassanid” fleuron, the semurv, a winged monster with a peacock tail and a wolf’s head (?), of Persian origin, peacocks and heraldic eagles, decorative bands imitating Kufic writing, penetrated not only the sculptural decoration but also the ceramics and manuscripts. The interest shown by Emperor Theophilus (825-842) in Abbasid architecture may explain this sudden Islamic influence in Byzantine art.

Sculpture in the Late Byzantine Period.

Byzantine sculpture in the late period did not deviate much from the canons of the Middle Byzantine era, except that occasionally the Western influence was more strongly felt.

Historical sources indicate a renewed interest in sculpture among the upper echelons of Byzantine society. This interest may have been sparked, or at least encouraged, by a new antiquarian taste promoted by Emperor Michael VIII, who restored the Empire after recapturing Constantinople in 1261.

The frequent use of inscriptions and monograms on sculptures suggests that patrons in the Palaiologan period viewed sculpture as an effective medium for conveying personal identity.

The period is also characterized by the use of spolia, particularly materials taken from Early Christian monuments. This practice was not merely a result of the economic constraints of the time but also reflected political and aesthetic choices. Often, newly commissioned sculptures for monuments were designed to interact with carefully selected spolia from earlier periods.

Despite these influences, Late Byzantine sculpture does not lack originality and displays remarkable synthetic flexibility. It also engages with monumental painting, with both arts complementing each other in the decorative programs of churches.

Discover some examples of Byzantine Sculptures.

Sources:
Nicholas Melvani , Late Byzantine Sculpture. (Studies in the Visual Cultures of the Middle Ages, 6). Turnhout: Brepols 2013.