The Place of Symbolism And Iconography In Religious Faith

Much to our understanding, the Synod’s and Iconoclasts believed that Christ is uniformly both God and man, having two natures integrated in perfect harmony. Iconic artworks were typified, usually depicting the separation of God and man, and, according to the Synod’s and Iconoclasts, one that indulges in the separation of natures would create blasphemy by visually proposing Christ’s humanity by its lonesomeness. Thus, typified iconic art, which visually depicted Christ, was seen as heresy.

In polytheistic cultures, the gods often did not embody omniscient status. Gods were complicated beings consisting of some distinct individuality, much like humans. The gods of polytheistic cultures often shared similarities to humans, some having more significance and some having less. Each god was unique in skill and knowledge and this separated one deity from the other. As such, polytheistic religious imagery embodied these ideas, often portraying their gods to be similar to humans by capturing their peculiar personalities and individual needs. This was in complete contrast to the Iconoclasts’ understanding of religious imagery.

In monotheistic religions such as Christianity there is only one god, thus, religious imagery must encapsulate God in an omnipotent bubble. In Christianity, mankind is expected to serve the creator. On the other hand, the Iconoclasts’ view is that sacred artworks should be accorded reverence. However, religious imagery in polytheistic cultures often had different interpretations of one God. While polytheistic religious imagery was more susceptible to different interpretations, monotheistic religious imagery must not be corruptible by man.

Byzantine artists had an infatuation with depicting spiritual ideas that were mysterious at the time. They stayed away from depicting ideal humans. Byzantine artworks were products of pictorial styles. The techniques of the Byzantine Empire consisted of mixtures of Greek and Egyptian art. Mosaics were the preferred art form for depicting religious imagery. For example, the mosaic of the emperor showed his majesty crowded by his servants. The tight demeanor and fancy robes give the impression of royalty and class. This mosaic was located in a church and was regarded highly. However, the most famous building of the era is most definitely Hagia Sophia. The architecture of the building is so magnificent and majestic in appearance such human eyes that meet it will feel a soaring impression of reverential awe. It was deliberately designed by the architects to create a breath taking effect when looked at. The building was made vast with grand spaces so that one would feel heavenly when the human eye meets the eyes of Christ. To invoke a feeling of form, meticulously added domes stack on top of each other.

The Tree of Jesse is an example of an iconic artwork. There are four kings next to the trunks and branches and on top of the tree lies Christ, who was birthed by the Virgin Mary.