Publication details
An Inherited Mirage : Tracing Theory, Architecture, and Ideologies of the ‘Neo-Byzantine’ Style between France and Central Europe (1820s–1890s)
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Peer-reviewed scientific article |
| Magazine / Source | UMĚNÍ / ART |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | Journal website |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.54759/art-2025-0307 |
| Keywords | byzantine art; neo-byzantine; historicism; architecture; medievalism; byzantium; France; Central Europe; Czech Lands; Moravia; revival and reception; identity formation; architecture and power; Habsburg Monarchy; Byzantine revival; terminology |
| Attached files | |
| Description | The study examines the revival of Byzantine architecture in France and in Central Europe (the German lands and the Danubian Monarchy) over the course of the nineteenth century. In both regions, this reception was shaped by a complex interplay of cultural, political, and scholarly influences. Contemporary knowledge of Byzantine architecture, as well as the adoption of its various elements in modern buildings, unfolded against the backdrop of a somewhat sceptical Enlightenment attitude toward Byzantine art and history in general, a period long regarded as one of decline from classical artistic values. Nevertheless, Byzantine forms began to surface in diverse regional contexts, reflecting a range of ideological agendas. The rediscovery and renewed application of Byzantine art and architecture were driven by four principal factors: the systematic exploration of the past and the emergence of art history as a scientific discipline grounded in the categorisation of styles; the use of historicist architecture by political and social elites as a means of legitimising their own histories and projecting public authority; architects’ pursuit of originality and innovation in their search for artistic expression, not only in ornamentation but also in materials and construction; and, finally, contemporary taste and artistic “fashion.” The study highlights the contrast between the reception of Byzantine elements in France—where they were integrated into state narratives—and in the Habsburg Monarchy, where they served to articulate specific identities within a multi-ethnic empire. The analysis is structured in three parts. It first addresses debates on Byzantine art in contemporary French and German-language (and, in part, Czech) scholarship; it then examines the architectural manifestations of these ideas in France; and finally, it considers their implementation in Central Europe. The study emphasises that terminology and views concerning Byzantine architecture circulated between France and Central Europe within broader cultural and political frameworks, shaping identity and expressions of authority rather than constituting a purely aesthetic endeavour. |
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