Art History Q4
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Pwani University *
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Arts Humanities
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Nov 24, 2024
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How the Roman and Byzantine Worlds Influence African Art
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How the Roman and Byzantine Worlds Influence African Art
The Romans and the Byzantines were some of the ancient civilizations with rich works of
art. These two civilizations are known known as the founders of renaissance and classical art,
which had a significant impact of global art. The Byzantine empire, also referred to as the
Eastern Roman Empire, was a strong administration based on the Byzantium’s European side. It
was Roman empire’s continuation when it was headquartered in Constantinople. The Roman
empire, on the other hand, was a post-republican administration, characterized by autocratic
forms. Regardless of their political forms, these two worlds had much impact on Africa’s arts.
This paper looks at the impact of Romans and Byzantine on Africa’s art. In other words, it
explores how Roman and Byzantine worlds influenced the art forms that emerged in Africa later.
Before delving deep into explaining how the Roman and Byzantine worlds influenced
African art, it is important to point out the key features that characterized these two worlds. One
of the characteristics of the Byzantine and Roman arts that perhaps had an influence on African
arts is the use of icons. According to Stokstad and Cothren (2018), late Byzantine artists of
Constantinople created icons as well as painting murals and making mosaics on walls. This
tradition continued for centuries and is still carried on today in Russian and Greek painting. It
fostered the works of remarkable artists, including the famous work of Andrew Rublyov who
created the magnificent icon of the hospitality of Abraham (Stokstad and Cothren, 2018).
Another characteristic was the use of manuscripts—painted books. When the missionaries came
to Africa, they used these works of artistry, which as the next paragraph elaborates, had a long
lasting impact on African art.
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To begin with, the spread of mosaics in North Africa paved the way for the introduction
of biblical illusion into African Art. Missionaries who visited Africa during the Trans-Atlantic
trade introduced mosaic law to the locals, inspiring them to venture into illusionary biblical art.
The missionaries used texts that depicted images from the Roman and Byzantine world,
including the burning bush, Moses, and the crucifix. For example, in the mid fourth century, the
Aksumite king Ezana converted to Christianity, and soon, gold and silver coinage minted at
Aksum bore the Christian cross (Stokstad and Cothren, 2018). Furthermore, Stokstad and
Cothren (20180 explain that the cultural embrace of Christianity by the Zagwe people, led by
king Lalibela, is evidenced by the numerous rock hewn sanctuaries that were created in the
region at this time. In other words, since the missionaries used biblical illusions that had Roman
and Byzantine drawings and images on them, Africans quickly adopted these arts in their later
practices.
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Reference
Stockstad, M., & Cothren, M. (2018).
Art History Vol.1
. Pearson.