I don't feel like writing all this right now, and OKCupid won't let
me write one sentence and save it so here's some art history paper
I did last year to fill up space. The Hagia Sophia: Its Influences
and Legacy In 527 A.D., Justinian was crowned Emperor of the
Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire as it was known. He
was an ambitious man, always striving to surpass his predecessors,
whom he also admired and drew much inspiration from. His reign
brought about an era of high artistic achievements, large scale
military expansion, and peace within his imperial boundaries. But
nowhere are his daring, ingenuity, aspirations, and ego more
grandiosely expressed than in the crowning achievement of Byzantine
architecture, the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia is a domed
cathedral that dominates the cityscape of Constantinople (today
known as Istanbul). It was designed by two mathematicians called
Anthemius of Tralles and Isodore of Miletus, both of whom never
created a building before. But only two mathematicians steeped in
the Greek obsession with nature and its laws, equations,
proportions, and beauty could have created such a singular
structure. The Hagia Sophia is a rectangular plan, topped with a
gigantic dome in the middle, which is supported by exterior half
domes that buttress the force of the dome. In the cathedral space,
a square of one hundred feet was laid out and from its corners rise
four seventy-foot high piers, each upholding four huge arches.
Pendentives, which are triangles curved inwards toward the top of a
dome, occupy the spaces between the arches. The windows in the
space have a numerical arrangement to them: seven arches in the
galleries above five arches on the ground floor, five windows above
seven in the areas below the large ceiling arches, and forty
windows in the large dome above the five in the semi-domes. While
there are many mathematical influences that went to the design of
the Hagia Sophia, there are stronger influences behind its overall
look and reason for being. First of all, Justinian was a man
forever indebted to Constantine and all the architectural wonders
he had erected. Constantine established the form of the basilica as
the basic layout for churches and cathedrals: a long nave down
which the clergy walks and to the side of which the churchgoers sit
and partake in the ceremonies, and the transept or apes at the end
where the altar stands and Mass is conducted. This plan was changed
in the Byzantine East and centralized around a cube with a dome for
the ceiling. While not a cathedral, the Basilica of Maxentius and
Constantine is definitely an influence for the Hagia Sophia: it is
more centralized and closer to a square than all previous
basilicas, has a vaulted hall with three apses intersecting the
nave, strategically placed windows for beautiful lighting effects,
and buttresses on the main pier. The Basilica itself was obviously
influenced by the Baths at Caracalla which also had grand vaulted
ceilings and many domed rooms throughout. The Hagia Sophia is a
culmination of this evolution of a longitudinal space acting as a
centralized arrangement of spatial elements. Justinian was a great
admirer of Constantine so its no wonder the Hagia Sophia resembles
the Basilica of Constantine. However, no basilica ever used
pendentives to support any domes and nor did any other grand-scale
Roman building. So where did the pendentives of the Hagia Sophia
come from? This is something that no one has been able to answer,
but although these architectural solutions had been invented by the
Romans, they were rarely used. It stands to reason that Anthemius
and Isodore chose the pendentive because of its elegance and
practicality. This reasoning proved to be a turning point in
Byzantine architecture, as the pendentive was used in all Byzantine
domed churches afterwards. But its influence doesn't stop there.
Italian architects realized the superior qualities of the
pendentive and used them in many of the domes built during the
Renaissance. Andrea Palladio's S. Giorgio Maggiore, Michelangelo's
New Sacristy, Giuliano da Sangallo's Sta. Maria delle Carceri, and
Leon Battista Alberti's S. Andrea are all prime examples of
pendentive use in Italy. The Baroque Period also used pendentives
in its experiment's with ornate spaces. Filippo Juvarra's Stupingi,
Jakob Prandtauer's Benedictine Abbey, and particularly Christopher
Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral all decorate the pendentives in such a
way that they are barely discernable and the domes flow out into
the ceiling in amazing ways. None of this would have been possible,
or perhaps even thought of, without the daring of the pendentive
use in the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia's legacy extends even
further outside of Christianity and into Muslim architecture. Once
the Hagia Sophia was completed in 537, it became a template and
inspiration for the rest of Byzantine religious architecture. While
no two churches or cathedrals are alike, the basic Byzantine form,
use of light, pendentives, domes, and artistic styles are in one
way or another represented throughout each. When Islam swept
through the decaying Byzantine Empire, the Arabs needed a style of
architecture to convey their religious ideals and build mosques in
the form of. They saw Byzantine churches with their central plans
and huge open spaces and developed a Muslim style of architecture
from this. The Dome of the Rock is a prime example of Muslims
attempting to surpass the vanquished Empire in artistic splendor.
If the Hagia Sophia was the start of the Byzantine model, then by
extension it influenced Muslim mosques. There is a perfect example
in Istanbul of the Hagia Sophia's lasting legacy that is more
directly relatable to the building. When the Turks conquered
Constantinople, they were amazed by the Hagia Sophia and converted
it into a mosque. During a restoration of it, the architect Sinan
became well versed in the structure and its construction. When he
became the Royal Architect under Suleiman the Magnificent he was
hired to create a mosque, called the Suleymaniye, rivaling the
Hagia Sophia. The influence of the Byzantine cathedral are obvious:
the giant dome (which is larger than the Hagia Sophia's), the
stacked half domes and mountainous build-up of smaller side
structures, the huge arches, pendentives, square base, and ring of
windows in the central interior space. The mosque owes much to the
Hagia Sophia, but the experience one has upon entering the
Suleymaniye is different from the Christian cathedral's feel. The
dramatic lighting that creates a feeling of lightness and
suspension from Heaven is not in the Suleymaniye: instead the
lighting fills the interior and gives clarity to the structure,
rather than obscuring certain qualities of the room. The Hagia
Sophia is one of the great buildings of the world and stands as a
testament to Man's ingenuity and creativity. While based on several
Roman influences, it was still constructed as a totally unique
conception and pushed the boundaries of anything done before it.
Its legacy runs the course of history, from its direct influences
on Byzantine churches, to Renaissance and Baroque architecture, and
even into other religions as seen in Islamic mosques across the
globe. There is no doubt that it will continue to inspire more
buildings and amaze more minds as it stands in the heart of
Istanbul for another fifteen-hundred years.
I am forthright, unpredictable, and schizophrenic
I am forthright, unpredictable, and schizophrenic
