Tackling Trabzon of the weakening Byzantine Empire which competed with the capital İstanbul in the fields of politics, commerce and art and one of the most important structures of its era, Hagia Sophia in Trabzon, the exhibition entitled “The Other Empire of Byzantium: Trabzon” will be open for visitors at ANAMED until September 18.
Unearthing photographs, sketches and many of the rare works compiled from international archives for the first time, the exhibition emphasizes the unique richnesses of Trabzon and its structures in terms of art history.
Focusing on the Hagia Sophia of Trabzon along with its unusual architecture, unrivaled facade reliefs and extraordinary wall paintings, the exhibition reveals the reflections of the city contrasts through the monuments of the empire. The Dean of London University Courtald Institute of Art, Prof. Antony Eastmond is announced as the curator of the exhibition that is created over the resources of the archives which have a crucial importance for Byzantine research.
The exhibition represents the journey of the best conserved monument of the Pontus Empire that reached today, the Hagia Sophia of Trabzon, from the establishment period of 13th century until now. It also examines the importance of the city during the Byzantine period and the aspects differing from İstanbul due to geographical reasons.
Carried out cooperatively with the London University Courtauld Institute of Art, the photographs and illustrations of the exhibition are compiled from the archives of Gabriel Millet from France and BnF, David Talbot Rice and David-June Winfield from England, St. Andrews University Russel Trust from Scotland and The Russian Academy of Sciences located in St. Petersburg.
Created by Tayfun Öner, a model that reveals the magnificence of Hagia Sophia and rare books containing the monument are also represented in the exhibition.