Byzantine Art

by Durand, Jannic

• ISBN13: 9782879392226
• ISBN10: 2879392225
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Natl Book Network

Summary

Drawing on the inheritance of Greece, Rome, the East and Christianity, Byzantine art flourished for over a thousand years between the founding of Constantinople by Constantine the Great on the site of ancient Byzantium in 330 and the fall of the city, captured by the Seljuk Turks in 1453 and re-named Istanbul.

This remarkable book showcases the monumental decors, mosaics, manuscripts, gold and silverware, sculpture and architecture of an art all too often appreciated only for its solemnly hieratic icons.

For each major period, the developments affecting the entire range of artistic disciplines are placed in context in a brief historical introduction.

Table of Contents

Introduction	8	(11)
Early Byzantine Art (4th-6th century)	11	(50)
Birth of an Empire	14	(3)
Architecture: the classical heritage	17	(16)
The last days of classical sculpture	33	(4)
Incunabular painting	37	(6)
Luxury arts and crafts: a political instrument	43	(18)
The Age of Upheaval (7th-mid-9th century)	61	(16)
The iconoclastic controversy	68	(3)
Art under the iconoclasts	71	(6)
The Byzantine Renaissance (mid-9th-late 12th century)	77	(84)
Political and military apogee	80	(6)
An architectural revival	86	(22)
The blossoming of painting	108	(24)
Luxury arts and crafts: imperial prestige	132	(29)
The Latin ``Interlude'' (1204-1261)	161	(12)
The Latin Empire	164	(7)
Byzantine traditions and identity	171	(2)
The Palaiologos Dynasty (1261-1453)	173	(27)
An Empire condemned	176	(2)
The eleventh-hour revival	178	(3)
Architecture and monumental decor	181	(10)
Painting and the luxury arts and crafts	191	(9)
Conclusion	200