Sicily is famous for the spectacular mosaics found in its magnificent palaces, chapels and cathedrals. Commissioned during the twelfth century by Sicily's Norman rulers and largely the work of Greek-speaking mosaicists brought to Sicily from Constantinople, these mosaics are among the most beautiful examples of Byzantine art in existence. A brief historical introduction about Byzantine, Arab and Norman domination and the spread of Byzantine art in Sicily is followed by three chapters dedicated to the greatest examples of Byzantine influence in Palermo, Cefalù and Monreale. With more than 175 color photographs, this extensively illustrated book provides a fascinating look at these mosaics. There are many close-ups, along with breathtaking views of interior spaces. Text in English and Italian.
With the luxury of their materials, technical precision, beauty, and aesthetic grandeur, Byzantine mosaics, particularly the wall mosaics, constitute the most impressive manifestation of Byzantine monumental painting. Highly expensive and laborious works of art, they were commissioned and dedicated by emperors, dignitaries, state officials and members of the Church hierarchy, in order to enhance the dwellings of Divinity, important churches and monasteries; and at the same time to manifest the power, glory and legendary wealth of His earthly representatives. A brilliant selection of mosaics from twenty-five famous monuments are presented here by Nano Chatzidakis, Professor of Byzantine Art and Archaeology at the University of Ioannina. In historical and stylistic terms, they cover the development of mosaic art from the 5th to the 14th century, which is described and analysed efficiently by the author in the first part of the volume. The unique pictorial character and special artistic importance of each individual mosaic ensemble presented in this volume is superbly illustrated and emerges strikingly through a full discussion of the stylistic and aesthetic physiognomy of the mosaics it comprises, and a brief reference to the monument it adorns.
This magnificent volume explores the epochal transformations and unexpected continuities in the Byzantine Empire from the 7th to the 9th century. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Empire's southern provinces, the vibrant, diverse areas of North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, were at the crossroads of exchanges reaching from Spain to China. These regions experienced historic upheavals when their Christian and Jewish communities encountered the emerging Islamic world, and by the 9th century, an unprecedented cross- fertilization of cultures had taken place. This extraordinary age is brought vividly to life in insightful contributions by leading international scholars, accompanied by sumptuous illustrations of the period's most notable arts and artifacts. Resplendent images of authority, religion, and trade—embodied in precious metals, brilliant textiles, fine ivories, elaborate mosaics, manuscripts, and icons, many of them never before published— highlight the dynamic dialogue between the rich array of Byzantine styles and the newly forming Islamic aesthetic. With its masterful exploration of two centuries that would shape the emerging medieval world, this illuminating publication provides a unique interpretation of a period that still resonates today.
In this book, Liz James offers a comprehensive history of wall mosaics produced in the European and Islamic middle ages. Taking into account a wide range of issues, including style and iconography, technique and material, and function and patronage, she examines mosaics within their historical context. She asks why the mosaic was such a popular medium and considers how mosaics work as historical 'documents' that tell us about attitudes and beliefs in the medieval world. The book is divided into two part. Part I explores the technical aspects of mosaics, including glass production, labour and materials, and costs. In Part II, James provides a chronological history of mosaics, charting the low and high points of mosaic art up until its abrupt end in the late middle ages. Written in a clear and engaging style, her book will serve as an essential resource for scholars and students of medieval mosaics.
The fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople to the Latin West in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade abruptly interrupted nearly nine hundred years of artistic and cultural traditions. In 1261, however, the Byzantine general Michael VIII Palaiologos triumphantly re-entered Constantinople and reclaimed the seat of the empire, initiating a resurgence of art and culture that would continue for nearly three hundred years, not only in the waning empire itself but also among rival Eastern Christian nations eager to assume its legacy. Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557), and the groundbreaking exhibition that it accompanies, explores the artistic and cultural flowering of the last centuries of the "Empire of the Romans" and its enduring heritage. Conceived as the third of a trio of exhibitions dedicated to a fuller understanding of the art of the Byzantine Empire, whose influence spanned more than a millennium, "Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557)" follows the 1997 landmark presentation of "The Glory of Byzantium," which focused on the art and culture of the Middle Byzantine era—the Second Golden Age of the Byzantine Empire (843–1261). In the late 1970s, "The Age of Spirituality" explored the early centuries of Byzantium's history. The present concluding segment explores the exceptional artistic accomplishments of an era too often considered in terms of political decline. Magnificent works—from splendid frescoes, textiles, gilded metalwork, and mosaics to elaborately decorated manuscripts and liturgical objects—testify to the artistic and intellectual vigor of the Late and Post-Byzantine era. In addition, forty magnificent icons from the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine, Sinai, Egypt, join others from leading international institutions in a splendid gathering of these powerful religious images. While the political strength of the empire weakened, the creativity and learning of Byzantium spread father than ever before. The exceptional works of secular and religious art produced by Late Byzantine artists were emulated and transformed by other Eastern Christian centers of power, among them Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Cilician Armenia. The Islamic world adapted motifs drawn from Byzantium's imperial past, as Christian minorities in the Muslin East continued Byzantine customs. From Italy to the Lowlands, Byzantium's artistic and intellectual practices deeply influenced the development of the Renaissance, while, in turn, Byzantium's own traditions reflected the empire's connections with the Latin West. Fine examples of these interrelationships are illustrated by important panel paintings, ceramics, and illuminated manuscripts, among other objects. In 1557 the "Empire of the Romans," as its citizens knew it, which had fallen to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, was renamed Byzantium by the German scholar Hieronymus Wolf. The cultural and historical interaction and mutual influence of these major cultures—the Latin West and the Christian and Islamic East—during this fascinating period are investigated in this publication by a renowned group of international scholars in seventeen major essays and catalogue discussions of more than 350 exhibited objects.
Mosaics at Daphni and Hosios Loukas in Boiotia were produced during Byzantium's second golden age, in the period ca. 1090/1100 A.D. This book presents black and white and color images of these works of art, and detailed iconographical and historical commentary.
An analytical history of the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, and Early Abbasidmosaics in the Holy Land from the second century B.C.E to eighth century C.E.
This is a catalogue of church, chapel and monastery mosaic pavements discovered within the borders of Israel and the Palestinian Territories (Roman Palestine). Chronologically, it spans the early 4th to 8th centuries, the latter period seemingly designating the cessation of mosaic manufacture in early Christian edifices in Palestine based on current archaeological findings. Sites are arranged alphabetically and according to the four Roman provinces that encompassed the region, and to which it is believed each originally belonged. The primary name chosen for each site (in most cases) correlates with the site name used in the indispensable gazetteer Tabula Imperii Romani Iudaea Palaestina (1994), allowing for relatively simple site identification and cross-referencing. In order to simplify the mosaic design descriptions, the catalogue utilises a system of geometric pattern coding. For each site, a map reference is given for the Israel Grid, followed by a brief outline of its excavation or survey, a thorough description of the pavements including the coding system, inscriptions (if present), a commentary including proposed dates (if given) and bibliography. The indexes include a concise list of occurrences for each pattern code, figural designs and iconoclastic damage; for inscriptions, ecclesiastical titles, named mosaicists and cited provincial dating eras.
