API tools faq
paste
Advertisement
jonstond2

Byzantine Art and Architecture

jonstond2
Dec 15th, 2015
217
0
Never
Add comment
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!
text 121.50 KB | None | 0 0
raw download clone embed print report diff
  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. Byzantine art and architecture may be defined as the artistic production of the eastern Mediterranean region that developed into an orthodox set of societies after the relocation of the Roman capital to Constantinople in 330 CE. While there is a debate about the use of the term “Roman” for emperors as late as Justinian (r. 526–565), the churches and their decoration in Ravenna, as well as the 6th-century purple Bible and Gospel manuscripts clearly show the beginnings of the new iconographic and stylistic concerns that we call “Byzantine.” While Byzantium itself was conquered when the capital fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the types of buildings and the traditions of monumental and portable arts continued on, even to the present day in places such as Mount Athos. Thus it is hard to define the era with clear-cut beginning and endpoints. It is similarly difficult to define Byzantine architecture and art in geographic terms. The quintessential middle Byzantine church type, the cross-in-square, continues in Russian churches in contemporary times. Elements of style in icon painting are preserved as well. The orthodox traditions that are expressed in these artistic forms cover much of eastern Europe; autocephalous churches form part of the orthodox confession despite the differences in language as well as the addition of some local saints. Areas included in what has been called the “Byzantine Commonwealth” include Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Russia, and parts of Albania and Romania, among others. The relationship of the style to Italy has never been satisfactorily explored. Byzantine art and architecture have largely been studied in terms of religious buildings, decoration, reception, and liturgical use. New approaches such as the study of gender, light, and sound (both vocal and musical) in Byzantine art are yielding significant results. Recently, secular arts have begun to form a focus of examination. New technologies have allowed closer viewing of objects such as ivories; modern approaches have also been applied to the consideration of Byzantine buildings and artifacts, yielding innovative interpretations. Although a tiny fraction of what we believe was created still exists, Byzantine art has continued to fascinate viewers as seen by a number of recent exhibitions worldwide.
  4.  
  5. Byzantine Art
  6.  
  7. Several introductory surveys offer overviews, including of architecture, which can be used as textbooks in undergraduate courses. These also contain bibliographies that may serve as a starting point for more advanced students’ research. Both older and newer texts, such as Talbot Rice 1997, Lazarev 1967, Beckwith 1986, and Mathews 1998, sometimes include specialized sections relating to the author’s interests; each includes something the other does not. More recent texts, for example Lowden 1997, reflect ideological trends, such as a preponderance of interest in context, while largely ignoring style, whereas others, for example Cormack 2000, contain miniessays on certain themes. Durand 1999 offers very beautiful photographs that make the field attractive and allow detailed study of certain monuments. Vasilakē-Karakatsanē 1996 offers a wide array of bibliographic entries for beginning reading and research at all levels.
  8.  
  9. Beckwith, John. Early Christian and Byzantine Art. 4th ed. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 1986.
  10. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  11. This chronological survey discusses periods by what the author identifies as a major theme of each age. Exclusively black-and-white illustrations include all media. Architecture is mentioned only as the setting for wall decoration, as the series includes a separate volume on architecture. An unusual feature is the inclusion of contemporary Italian art.
  12. Find this resource:
  13. Cormack, Robin. Byzantine Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
  14. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  15. Somewhat less accessible than similar texts. Within a chronological framework it delves into issues such as the transformation of the sanctuary, of interest to more advanced art history students. Discusses architecture briefly, with few pictures and no plans. Illustrated with black-and-white and good color photographs. For upper-level surveys.
  16. Find this resource:
  17. Durand, Jannic. Byzantine Art. Paris: Finest SA/Éditions Pierre Terrail, 1999.
  18. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  19. An oversized survey with beautiful photographs, mostly in color. Comprehensive, covering all 4th–14th century media, with plans and details. Occasional thematic subheadings (such as, “Luxury and Crafts: Imperial Prestige”) give understanding and context to objects. For everyone.
  20. Find this resource:
  21. Lazarev, Victor Nikitich. Storia della pittura bizantina. Turin, Italy: G. Einaudi, 1967.
  22. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  23. A translation from the original Russian multivolume work, this early survey is particularly strong on middle Byzantine work as well as later icons from Russia. While numerous, illustrations are small and not particularly crisp. Extensive footnotes make this work useful for further research.
  24. Find this resource:
  25. Lowden, John. Early Christian and Byzantine Art. London: Phaidon, 1997.
  26. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  27. A comprehensive survey with good plans and photographs. This volume is very strong on iconography and historical context. The manuscript section is comprehensive. There is a dearth of discussion of style throughout the volume, however, limiting its usefulness as a classroom text.
  28. Find this resource:
  29. Mathews, Thomas F. Byzantium: From Antiquity to the Renaissance. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998.
  30. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  31. This book is arranged thematically, covering topics such as Constantinople and the secular domestic world. Architecture and the arts are integrated within each chapter. It incorporates the most up-to-date research; examples include the development of the icon from earliest times and the reinterpretation of Cappadocian complexes as secular rather than monastic.
  32. Find this resource:
  33. Talbot Rice, David. Art of the Byzantine Era. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997.
  34. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  35. While somewhat out of date, this survey includes several unusual sections, including Armenian and Georgian art and architecture as well as late Byzantine and Russian art. Includes discussion of context. Surprising number of textiles included. Black-and-white and color plates of varying quality illustrate this volume for all readers.
  36. Find this resource:
  37. Vasilakē-Karakatsanē, Agapē. Bibliographie de l’art byzantin et post-byzantin. Athens, Greece: Comité national hellénique de l’association internationale d’études du sud-est européen, 1966.
  38. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  39. This resource includes indexes of major periodicals and bibliographies by topic most directly relevant to the study of art and architecture and others useful but often not included in this type of collection, such as prosopography and topography.
  40. Find this resource:
  41. Specialized Surveys
  42.  
  43. A number of works, both older and newer, have concentrated on the development of Byzantine art in terms of its purpose, iconography, and style. Volbach 1962 and Kitzinger 1977 trace the development of types and styles in early periods. Some works treat particular eras, such as the age of iconoclasm (e.g., Grabar 1984, cited under Reference Resources: Texts) and later Byzantine painting (e.g., Rice 1968). Frantz 1934 (cited under Studies by Subject) examines a category of artistic creation. Maguire 1981 focuses on relating the visual arts to Byzantine literary writings. Finally, Mathews 1993 and Mathews 1999 (cited under Icon Painting) place Byzantine art in relation to other arts, such as Roman pagan materials, a relatively recent discovery. All these writings are more detailed and presume a solid background in the material. Most are more appropriate for readers at the graduate level and above.
  44.  
  45. Kitzinger, Ernst. Byzantine Art in the Making: Main Lines of Stylistic Development in Mediterranean Art, 3rd–7th Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977.
  46. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  47. Traces the development of Byzantine art from the 3rd through the 7th centuries. Focuses on the conflict in style between surface denial and surface acceptance and the impact of Christian content on these developments. Numerous black-and-white plates illustrate this readable text. Appropriate for advanced undergraduates on up.
  48. Find this resource:
  49. Maguire, Henry. Art and Eloquence in Byzantium. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981.
  50. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  51. Examines the influence of sermons and hymns on artists’ narrative illustrations. Considers four rhetorical devices: description, antithesis, hyperbole, and lament, proposing rhetorical influence on the development of the threnos scene. Illustrated by a variety of monuments in black-and-white photographs mostly wanting in quality. For advanced graduate students on up.
  52. Find this resource:
  53. Mathews, Thomas F. The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
  54. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  55. Treats the creation of early Christian art as proceeding out of pagan images of emperors, magicians, and religious practices such as processions. While these images helped Christianity to triumph, they also affected the new religion’s development in turn. For advanced undergraduates and up.
  56. Find this resource:
  57. Rice, David Talbot. Byzantine Painting: The Last Phase. New York: Dial, 1968.
  58. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  59. An early survey of painting in the 12th–15th centuries, including Serbia, Macedonia, and Russia, along with discussion of Byzantine painting and the West. Includes one of Rice’s projects, Hagia Sophia in Trebizond, which is often ignored. Color photographs are better than the uneven black-and-white illustrations. For advanced undergraduates and up.
  60. Find this resource:
  61. Volbach, Wolfgang Fritz. Early Christian Art. Translated by Christopher Ligota. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1962.
  62. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  63. A survey of art and architecture in the 3rd–6th centuries; includes seldom published buildings and sculpture along with well-known monuments. Excellent black-and-white photos include those of structures that have since heavily deteriorated. The extended text describing and analyzing the plates is in notes placed at the back. For graduate students and scholars.
  64. Find this resource:
  65. Earlier and Classical Heritage
  66.  
  67. A number of scholars have examined the biblical and classical underpinnings of much Byzantine art. While some older work utilizes Charles Rufus Morey’s archaic (and rejected) categories of Alexandrine versus Antiochian art styles, the discussion of Greco-Roman sources in Aĭinalov 1961 can be illuminating. Some have sought the epicenter of classical elements, such as Weitzmann 1971a and Bianchi-Bandinelli 1955 (cited under Individual Manuscripts), or examined the use to which elements of classical style can be put, such as Weitzmann 1971b. The Old Testament sources of manuscript illumination have also been considered in Weitzmann 1971c.
  68.  
  69. Aĭnalov, Dmitriĭ Vlas’evich. The Hellenistic Origins of Byzantine Art. Translated by Elizabeth Sobolevitch and Serge Sobolevitch. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1961.
  70. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  71. Despite the use of Morey’s old categories, this useful study examines the style of manuscript illuminations and pictorial reliefs for classical elements in architecture and body structure as well as ornamental and iconographic details. Seeks Greco-Roman, Hellenistic, and Roman sources. Illustrated in black-and-white. For scholars.
  72. Find this resource:
  73. Weitzmann, Kurt. “The Classical in Byzantine Art as a Mode of Individual Expression.” In Studies in Classical and Byzantine Manuscript Illumination. Edited by Kurt Weitzmann and Herbert L. Kessler, 151–175. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1971a.
  74. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  75. The piece argues for a continuation of a “classical undercurrent” of style in the arts of Byzantium, especially in the depiction of the body, personifications, and landscapes. Explores the deliberate choice of classical modes to underscore meaning in early and middle Byzantine art. Useful for scholars and graduate and advanced undergraduate students.
  76. Find this resource:
  77. Weitzmann, Kurt. “The Classical Heritage in the Art of Constantinople.” In Studies in Classical and Byzantine Manuscript Illumination. Edited by Kurt Weitzmann and Herbert L. Kessler, 126–150. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1971b.
  78. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  79. Adapted from a publication of 1954, this article shows remnants of Morey’s categories. It discusses classical iconographic and stylistic elements preserved in works either located or created in Constantinople. Deals with various periods and many media—mosaics, ivories, silver, and manuscripts—both religious and secular. Extensive discussion of Dioscurides illustrations. For scholars and graduate students.
  80. Find this resource:
  81. Weitzmann, Kurt. “The Illustration of the Septuagint.” In Studies in Classical and Byzantine Manuscript Illumination. Edited by Kurt Weitzmann and Herbert L. Kessler, 45–75. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1971c.
  82. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  83. Taken from lectures presented in the 1940s, this essay examines narrative and symbolic illustrations based on Old Testament column illustrations as posited by Weitzmann using his usual methodology of positing lost prototypes. Traces the expansion and conflation of images to form the early Christian illumination of biblical texts. For scholars.
  84. Find this resource:
  85. Byzantine Architecture
  86.  
  87. Byzantine architecture is often treated within general survey books, as noted in Byzantine Art. There are several surveys, however, that treat architecture separately. The Pelican volume Krautheimer and Ćurčić 1986, like so many of this series, is appropriate as a textbook for graduate courses as well as useful for the preparation of lectures for undergraduate and graduate courses. MacDonald 1967 and Mango 1976, more readable and condensed, can be useful to students at a lower level. Kleinbauer’s 1992 comprehensive bibliography serves as a starting point for further research.
  88.  
  89. Kleinbauer, W. Eugene. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture: An Annotated Bibliography and Historiography. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1992.
  90. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  91. Geographically comprehensive. Gives a short précis of the material and main argument. Begins with general works and sources and then a section by topics; also includes a selective list of writings on post-Byzantine buildings. An essay gives a historical account of works by authors, institutes, and regions. For graduate students and scholars.
  92. Find this resource:
  93. Krautheimer, Richard, and Slobodan Ćurčić. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. 4th ed. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 1986.
  94. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  95. This revision of the original Pelican survey (1965) is a densely written volume offering thorough considerations of individual buildings arranged by geographic location within a chronological framework. Archaeological photos and drawings, while detailed, are poorly reproduced. This update includes sections on the Balkans and the latest phase of Byzantine architecture.
  96. Find this resource:
  97. MacDonald, William Lloyd. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. New York: George Braziller, 1967.
  98. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  99. This slim book offers a concise history of various building types. It includes many plans and section drawings, complementing the black-and-white photos of exteriors and interiors of major buildings. Typical of older volumes, illustrations are not crisply reproduced. Nonetheless, this study would be useful to students at all levels.
  100. Find this resource:
  101. Mango, Cyril A. Byzantine Architecture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1976.
  102. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  103. A readable survey that includes a section on materials and techniques, builders and patrons, along with city planning. This comprehensive volume contains material from early Byzantine times up through the late period including Russia. Good plans and photographs of varying quality illustrate the text. For advanced undergraduate readers on up.
  104. Find this resource:
  105. Specialized Surveys
  106.  
  107. A number of works have concentrated on the development of Byzantine architecture in terms of its purpose and style. Some works examine the development of types of works, such as the early basilica type in Krautheimer 1971 cited under Varying Approaches. Authors may consider architecture by region: Vogüé 1973 covers the architecture of the Holy Land from early Byzantine times; Doumato’s 1980 bibliography covers Syria; Ćurčić 1984 treats the Balkans generally and by country (Albania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia); Deichmann 1995 covers structures in Ravenna, Italy; Hoddinott 1963 deals with the architecture of the southern Balkans (Macedonia and southern Serbia) and its relationship to church building in the West, and Ousterhout 2005 covers house complexes in Cappadocia (cited under Secular Arts). All these writings are more detailed and presume a solid background in the material. Most are more appropriate for readers at the graduate level and above.
  108.  
  109. Ćurčić, Slobodan. Art and Architecture in the Balkans: An Annotated Bibliography. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1984.
  110. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  111. This annotated bibliography about monuments (primarily from the 9th century onward) in Albania, Bulgaria, and the former Yugoslavia includes works up to 1979. Clear discussions are marred only by somewhat arbitrary categorizations. Such writings on Albanian works are a helpful and rare occurrence. Useful for scholars and students at all levels.
  112. Find this resource:
  113. Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm. Früchristliche Bauten und Mosaiken von Ravenna. Wiesbaden, Germany: F. Steiner, 1995.
  114. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  115. An extensive survey of buildings and decoration in Ravenna, mostly in black-and-white. Documentation of many hard to see details makes this book valuable. Its abbreviated text limits its usefulness to scholars who have a firm background in the material.
  116. Find this resource:
  117. Doumato, Lamia. Early Christian Architecture of Syria. Monticello, IN: Vance Bibliographies, 1980.
  118. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  119. A bibliography in typescript. General early Christian writings introduce the work followed by listings of books and then articles on the architecture of Syria. Final sections treat individual sites and monastic buildings. For graduate students and scholars.
  120. Find this resource:
  121. Hoddinott, R. F. Early Byzantine Churches in Macedonia and Southern Serbia: A Study of the Origins and the Initial Development of East Christian Art. London: Macmillan, 1963.
  122. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  123. Two introductory parts offer a historical development of the church—its origins, liturgical necessities, and relationship to Rome, the West, and Slavic settlements. A thorough selection of monuments is presented chronologically—early 4th–7th centuries. Illustrated by plans and diagrams along with black-and-white photographs of varying quality. For scholars.
  124. Find this resource:
  125. Vogüé, Melchior de. Les Églises de la Terre Sainte. Toronto: Les Presses de l’Universite de Toronto, 1973.
  126. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  127. Amid an account of his voyages, Vogüé documented churches, including historical details, inscriptions, and medieval literary references. Illustrated by exquisite engravings of facades, interiors, and wall decoration. An example of an older regional survey that preserves images of structures before deterioration or restoration. For graduate students and scholars.
  128. Find this resource:
  129. Varying Approaches
  130.  
  131. In addition to general architectural surveys, a number of works show different approaches to the treatment of architecture. Some of these works are thematic in nature; these include Mathews 1971 on architecture and liturgy, Krautheimer’s seminal article (Krautheimer 1971) on the concept of the copy in the middle ages, Babić 1969 and Grabar 1972 on particular building or chapel type, and the very useful treatise on builders and techniques of Ousterhout 1999. Others, such as Striker 1981, are monographic treatments of a single significant building; others are important for highlighting particular approaches, such as the archaeological in Bouras 1982, or the utilization of historical visual sources, such as the Fossati drawings in Mainstone 2006. Ćurčić and Hadjitryphonos 2010 presents an unusual approach: architecture is considered both in actuality and in representation. Most of these are appropriate for graduate students and scholars, as they presume at least a basic grounding in the knowledge of Byzantine architecture.
  132.  
  133. Babić, Gordana. Les Chapelles annexes des église byzantines: fonction liturgique et programmes iconographiques. Paris: Éditions Klincksieck, 1969.
  134. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  135. This study of side chapels and their liturgical function (in the 5th–14th centuries) groups them by placement and purpose. By examining various liturgies, the archaeological record, and the iconography of decoration, the author recreates the functions of these attached chapels to commemorate saints and deceased founders.
  136. Find this resource:
  137. Bouras, Charalambos. Nea Moni on Chios: History and Architecture. Athens, Greece: Commercial Bank of Greece, 1982.
  138. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  139. An archaeological approach to the study of a single building. Includes a section on history and questions of reconstruction. Illustrated by diagrams of the church and monastery and archival as well as current photographs. For scholars.
  140. Find this resource:
  141. Ćurčić, Slobodan, and Evangelia Hadjitryphonos. Architecture as Icon: Perception and Representation of Architecture in Byzantine Art. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010.
  142. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  143. Catalogue of an exhibition focused on depicting Byzantine buildings. Introductory essays examine the purpose and meaning of included architecture, trace the sacralization of architecture in Byzantine culture, and consider space in Byzantine thought and building. Entries on architectural representations in two- and three-dimensional art follow. For scholars and advanced graduate students.
  144. Find this resource:
  145. Grabar, André. Martyrium: recherches sur le culte des reliques et l’art chrétien antique. London: Variorum Reprints, 1972.
  146. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  147. Explores the early Christian development of the centrally planned building, originally a commemorative structure over a tomb or holy site. The author posits this as the source of the centrally planned church, as it develops to include liturgy; it becomes the major type of Byzantine church structure from the middle Byzantine period onward.
  148. Find this resource:
  149. Krautheimer, Richard. “Introduction to an ‘Iconography of Medieval Architecture.’” In Studies in Early Christian, Medieval, and Renaissance Art. By Richard Krautheimer, 115–150. London: London University Press, 1971.
  150. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  151. Examines how medieval buildings said to copy an earlier, famous prototype can be understood. The author shows how individual elements—such as dedication, number of supports, and basic form (central planning, for example)—were often shuffled and recombined, counting as similar. Originally published in 1969.
  152. Find this resource:
  153. Mainstone, Rowland J. Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian’s Great Church. London: Thames and Hudson, 2006.
  154. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  155. An exhaustive description of the church, its materials, and its structure. Includes a history of the site and church. Traces the development of the design and its impact on subsequent building. Fully illustrated by diagrams, drawings, and black-and-white photographs, both archival and contemporary. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  156. Find this resource:
  157. Mathews, Thomas F. The Early Churches of Constantinople: Architecture and Liturgy. University Park and London: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1971.
  158. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  159. This useful volume attempts to reconstruct the various foundations, major and minor, in the Byzantine capital. Drawings—partial and full plans, section, profile, and elevations—and black-and-white photos explicate this section. Parts of the liturgy are then discussed as taking place within these various portions of the buildings.
  160. Find this resource:
  161. Ousterhout, Robert G. Master Builders of Byzantium. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.
  162. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  163. Focuses primarily on building techniques of middle and late Byzantine religious architecture. Clear plans and architectural drawings are more useful than the variable quality photographs. Texts, archaeological reports, and standing buildings as well as ruins help elucidate building trends, workshops, materials and construction techniques, and elements such as windows and interior decoration.
  164. Find this resource:
  165. Striker, Cecil L. The Myrelaion (Bodrum Camii) in Istanbul. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981.
  166. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  167. The classic monograph treatment of this important middle Byzantine building. Discusses its identification, literary evidence, archaeological investigations—both of the standing elements and of excavations—along with an establishment of the phases of the building. Well illustrated by plans, drawings, and photographs. For graduate students and scholars.
  168. Find this resource:
  169. Reference Resources
  170.  
  171. A number of resources, both in print and online, offer students and scholars access to both texts and images. Most of these are available to everyone, although a few require personal or institutional subscription. A fairly recent neglected resource are specialized guidebooks to Byzantine sites that serve both travelers and students of Byzantine art and architecture.
  172.  
  173. Texts
  174.  
  175. Both published and electronic resources aid scholars and students at all levels in pursuit of information and sources dealing with Byzantine art and architecture. Mango’s 1997 translation of texts relating to buildings and artworks is still a first choice and will serve all levels of inquiry, as it translates all these texts, from a variety of sources, into English. Kazhdan and Talbot 1991 also includes numerous entries on art and architecture written by important scholars and is a good starting point; it includes a short bibliography for each entry. Wessel and Restle 1966– offers a more comprehensive introduction to many sites and artworks; it has a longer bibliography for each subject that would be a good resource for research. Useful for more advanced levels are the various bibliographies based on the listings in the journal Byzantinische Zeitschrift, a major journal publishing Byzantine studies. These include Allen 1973–1976 and Allen 1985. Databases such as the Getty Research Institute’s Bibliography of the History of Art provide web-based, searchable listings of articles and books on Byzantine subjects but must be accessed through an institutional affiliation. Study centers with collections such as Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection’s Resources for Byzantine Studies also include useful resources, such as the English translations of saints’ lives and a comprehensive set of monastic foundation documents. Grabar 1984 on iconoclasm is an excellent guide to the texts and illustrative images of this particular period.
  176.  
  177. Allen, Jelisaveta Stanojevich. Literature on Byzantine Art, 1892–1967. 2 vols. London: Mansell, 1973–1976.
  178. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  179. Two-volume bibliography of writings on early Christian and Byzantine art and architecture based on Byzantinische Zeitschrift listings. Volume 1 is organized by geographical site, and Volume 2 by medium and a selection of topics. For graduate students and scholars.
  180. Find this resource:
  181. Allen, Jelisaveta Stanojevich, ed. Author Index of Byzantine Studies. Microfiche catalogue. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, Center for Byzantine Studies, 1985.
  182. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  183. This resource offers an alphabetical ordering of all the bibliographies published in the important journal Byzantinische Zeitschrift from 1892 through 1981. As it includes works in a variety of languages, it will be more useful for graduate students and scholars. Also includes fiche 147, a name index of Migne’s Patrologia greaco-latina.
  184. Find this resource:
  185. Bibliography of the History of Art. Getty Research Institute.
  186. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  187. This database includes older forms of the list such as the Répertoire de la litterature de l’art, which were published in printed form and required searching by decade. Offers listings of books and articles on Byzantine art that can be found through author, title, or subject/keyword search. Many worldwide sources have been indexed. Must be accessed through an institutional subscription.
  188. Find this resource:
  189. Grabar, André. L’Iconoclasme byzantin. 2d ed. Paris: Flammarion, 1984.
  190. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  191. A discussion of Byzantine iconoclasm—its sources in Byzantine and Islamic cultures—and the years leading up to and following the Iconoclastic Controversy. The study includes a discussion of texts, documents, and monuments including seals and coins and how they reflect the historical circumstances of the era. For scholars and advanced graduate students.
  192. Find this resource:
  193. Kazhdan, Alexander P., and Alice-Mary Talbot, eds. Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 3 vols. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
  194. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  195. This three-volume work contains many entries on Byzantine arts and architecture by a variety of experts in the field. For everyone.
  196. Find this resource:
  197. Mango, Cyril A. The Art of the Byzantine Empire, 312–1453. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.
  198. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  199. This useful volume, originally published in 1972, translates into English documents and portions of writings that refer to Byzantine buildings and artworks. It is organized by era (e.g., iconoclasm, the middle Byzantine period). Each writing cited is given a heading listing its main content (e.g., “A Mosaic at Bethlehem”).
  200. Find this resource:
  201. Resources for Byzantine Studies. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
  202. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  203. Dumbarton Oaks’s site includes links to translations of saints’ lives that form the basis of many icons and monumental and manuscript illustrations, translations of monastic foundation documents that reference church buildings and their decoration, and wills mentioning icons and other objects.
  204. Find this resource:
  205. Wessel, Klaus, and Marcell Restle, eds. Reallexikon zur byzantinischen Kunst. 7 vols. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 1966–.
  206. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  207. A comprehensive, multivolume encyclopedia (currently in seven volumes) with entries on sites, architects, individual buildings, types of artworks, iconographic subjects, etc. Illustrated with maps, plans, and drawings. Includes extensive bibliography for each entry. For all levels.
  208. Find this resource:
  209. Images
  210.  
  211. Various resources allow students and scholars access to images and guides to images as well as image making. The publication of the Athos monk’s Painter’s Manual (see Hetherington 1990) details elements of iconography that guided painters of murals and icons for centuries. Tradigo 2006, the Getty’s publication on icons and saints, offers an illustrated collection of many such saints and scenes. Liesel 1963 offers photographs of liturgies of the eastern orthodox denominations, including elements of various pieces of liturgical furniture and items. Electronic resources, such as the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection’s Byzantine Photograph Collections and Princeton University’s Index of Christian Art are increasingly important as repositories of images that before were only available on-site.
  212.  
  213. Byzantine Photograph Collections. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
  214. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  215. Offers more than 80,000 images (black-and-white photographs, negatives, slides, and color transparencies) of Byzantine art, including objects, architecture, and archaeological images from the 4th–15th centuries. Includes images from Byzantium and related cultures. Photographs of fieldwork number another 100,000. Open to the public and useful at every level.
  216. Find this resource:
  217. Hetherington, Paul, trans. The “Painter’s Manual” of Dionysius of Fourna. 2d ed. Redondo Beach, CA: Oakwood, 1990.
  218. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  219. The “Painter’s Manual” was probably written in the 1730s, while the author was working on Mt. Athos; however, it is believed to draw on earlier sources. It gives a detailed description of iconographic and stylistic rules for painting portraits as well as biblical scenes. Drawings elucidate elements of proportion.
  220. Find this resource:
  221. Index of Christian Art. Princeton University.
  222. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  223. A database of images based on their subject, this collection is available electronically, partly open and partly by subscription. Physical copies exist at Dumbarton Oaks, the Getty Center, Princeton University, and Utrecht University. An invaluable resource for the study of iconography that is easily utilized by scholars and upper-level students.
  224. Find this resource:
  225. Liesel, Nikolaus. The Eucharistic Liturgies of the Eastern Churches. Popular Liturgical Library. Translated by David Heimann. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1963.
  226. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  227. Originally Die Liturgien der Ostkirche. Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: Berlag Herder KG, 1960. Descriptive text, including readings and actions of priests and worshipers, accompanied by black-and-white photographs of different moments of the service allow the reader a behind-the-scenes look at the progression of twelve eastern liturgies. Illustrating churches and liturgical implements, this is a resource for researchers at all levels.
  228. Find this resource:
  229. Sinai Archives, University of Michigan.
  230. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  231. This collection of 8,500 negatives from the expedition to the Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai (undertaken by the Universities of Alexandria, Michigan, and Princeton in 1958, 1960, 1963, and 1965) includes architecture, decoration, icons, and manuscripts. Copies of published images may be requested for study or publication.
  232. Find this resource:
  233. Tradigo, Alfredo. Icons and Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Translated by Stephan Sartorelli. Los Angeles: Getty, 2006.
  234. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  235. A comprehensive guide to portrait types and biblical scenes organized by category (such as mass martyrdoms, fathers of the eastern church). Well illustrated by Byzantine and Russian paintings. For all levels.
  236. Find this resource:
  237. Guides
  238.  
  239. Guidebooks to areas once under Byzantine rule or domination usually give short shrift to the Byzantine sites and layers in excavated areas. Several, however, offer interesting information and aids to finding important structures and remains. They are often useful as references as well as visitors’ guides, as the first two of these were written by scholars. Hetherington 1991 includes many Byzantine sites in a guide that also includes Western medieval material in Greece. Kourkoutidou-Nikolaïdou and Tourta’s 1997 guide to the sites of Thessaloniki, the empire’s “second city,” is a scholarly reference with many useful drawings. Van den Graven’s 2010 book on Istanbul offers information on monuments often lost among the popular Islamic sites discussed in guidebooks. These are usable by all interested in Byzantine sites and art.
  240.  
  241. Hetherington, Paul. Byzantine and Medieval Greece: Churches, Castles and Art of the Mainland and Peloponnese. London: John Murray, 1991.
  242. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  243. A comprehensive and scholarly guide to Byzantine sites and buildings in Greece. It is introduced by a history of medieval Greece and a discussion of architectural and artistic trends of the periods covered. Sites are discussed in alphabetical order. Both plans and photographs are included. The guide also describes wall paintings of significance, along with collections in which Byzantine pieces are prominent.
  244. Find this resource:
  245. Kourkoutidou-Nikolaïdou, Eftychia, and A. Tourta. Wandering in Byzantine Thessaloniki. Athens, Greece: Kapon Editions, 1997.
  246. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  247. Organized by section of the city, each preceded by a map, the guide presents a series of walking tours. Dimensions of buildings are included, along with plans, drawings, and clear photographs, often of hard to see details. A good scholarly guide to the numerous Byzantine sites of the city.
  248. Find this resource:
  249. Van den Graven, Robert. Byzantine Istanbul: A Self-Guided Tour. 2d ed. Istanbul: Çitlembik, 2010.
  250. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  251. This guide includes major sites organized by section of the city. It is written in a rather popular style; nonetheless, it includes plans and photographs along with discussions of lesser monuments that are hard to find and rarely presented in standard tourist guides.
  252. Find this resource:
  253. Major Exhibition Catalogues
  254.  
  255. Over the past five decades, blockbuster exhibitions of Byzantine art have become surprisingly popular. Early ones were held in Europe, such as the ones in Brussels and Athens. An early example in North America was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Weitzmann 1979); it focused on the early period of Byzantine culture. This set the stage for several more at the same venue, one covering the middle Byzantine period, and one the later. Recent exhibitions have been either displays of beautiful objects from a number of periods or didactic exhibitions dealing with particular themes. In many cases, extensive catalogues have been produced for these shows. Exhibition catalogues have evolved from documentation of an exhibition and the objects included, such as Lafontaine-Dosogne and the Musées royaux d’art et d’histoire’s Bruxelles Splendeur de Byzance, to venues for scholarly essays on topics raised by the exhibition. These tomes, for example Weitzmann 1979, thus serve as records of the presentation of Byzantine art as well as the scholarly exploration of the particular pieces in the show. Introductory essays include expositions of the history of the relevant period and may show the theoretical underpinnings of the theme and choice of objects to include. Exhibitions and their published record often serve a didactic purpose, such as the Zappeion show’s emphasis on the relationship to Europe and its arts, Byzantine Art, An European Art. Frequently, the later catalogues, such as those accompanying the middle two shows at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Evans and Wixom 1997 and Evans 2004, serve as publications on certain media or types of Byzantine and related objects. In most cases, the photography is spectacular and affords the reader views of many important pieces; often there are objects from scattered holdings one might not be able to access that can at least be viewed in the show and the catalogue. Karakatsanes 1997, Papanikola-Bakirtzi 2002, and Cormack and Vassilaki 2008 are good examples. Occasionally, reviews of the catalogues become major pieces of theory and scholarship in their own right. Most of these catalogues are useful at all levels of inquiry.
  256.  
  257. Byzantine Art, an European Art. Athens, Greece: Department of Antiquities and Archaeological Restoration, 1964.
  258. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  259. A series of expositions stressing the understanding of Byzantine art as linked to Western medieval culture precedes shorter essays that introduce each section (and some subcategories) of the catalogue. More than 700 objects from the 4th through the 15th centuries are described; a small selection of black-and-white photos illustrates. For scholars.
  260. Find this resource:
  261. Cormack, Robin, and Maria Vassilaki, eds. Byzantium, 330–1453. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2008.
  262. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  263. This recent catalogue has short essays introducing some unusually organized sections, such as, “At Court” and “At Home: Ceramics of Everyday Life.” Rare large sections cover metalwork separately from jewelry. Beautiful photographs, an extensive bibliography, and excellent maps serve scholars and all levels of students.
  264. Find this resource:
  265. Evans, Helen C., ed. Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.
  266. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  267. Introduced by a discussion of organizing principles and, usefully, a set of relevant texts, this catalogue is loosely organized by theme, media, purpose, and geography. Some essays (referenced separately) are excellent presentations of certain types of objects and particular media. Context is not clear and monumental painting is rarely alluded to. Photographs are particularly fine.
  268. Find this resource:
  269. Evans, Helen C., and William D. Wixom, eds. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997.
  270. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  271. Introduced by a historical overview, the catalogue includes sections organized by media as well as themes (e.g., “Luxury Objects,” “Images of the Court”). Context is demonstrated by black-and-white comparison photos and drawings. Excellent photographs, mostly in color, accompany the well-researched and -written essays and entries, serving scholar and student alike.
  272. Find this resource:
  273. Karakatsanes, Athanasios A., ed. Treasures of Mt. Athos. Thessaloniki, Greece: Holy Community of Mt. Athos and Organization for the Cultural Capital of Europe Thessaloniki, 1997.
  274. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  275. Historical and art historical essays introduce this enormous catalogue that is organized by medium, occasionally separated into Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods. Each section has its own introductory essay. Photographs are excellent. This is a tremendously useful presentation of objects that most scholars (and all women) will never have access to.
  276. Find this resource:
  277. Lafontaine-Dosogne, Jacqueline, and Musées royaux d’art et d’histoire, Bruxelles. Splendeur de Byzance. Brussels: Les Musées, 1982.
  278. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  279. Arranged by medium, this extensive presentation includes high arts as well as more humble objects—bronze icons and lamps, pectoral crosses, and everyday ceramics. A short introduction prefaces the entries. Black-and-white photos are of middling quality; the few color plates are excellent. A brief section on Mt. Athos and its arts ends the volume.
  280. Find this resource:
  281. Papanikola-Bakirtzi, Demetra, ed. Everyday Life in Byzantium. Athens, Greece: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, 2002.
  282. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  283. The catalogue documents an exhibition titled “Byzantine Hours, Works and Days in Byzantium” held in three venues. Divided into sections treating town and country life, home life, and burial, more than 700 objects in diverse media are beautifully photographed in color and well discussed. Relevant essays introduce each topic.
  284. Find this resource:
  285. Weitzmann, Kurt, ed. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979.
  286. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  287. The catalogue has a short historical introduction and good map. Major sections are determined by “realm”—imperial, classical, secular, Jewish, Christian—and, within each, by iconography—the portrait, Greek gods, etc. Each incorporates all different media, including gems, glass, opus sectile, and so on. Black-and-white illustrations are fair, color ones excellent.
  288. Find this resource:
  289. New Approaches
  290.  
  291. The 1980s saw a development of interest in alternative approaches to the examination of art. A heightened interest in archaeological approaches and scientific investigations, a reliance on context rather than iconographic and stylistic analysis, the development of women-centered and feminist approaches, the inclusion of physiological and psychological studies, Marxism, and the meditations usually grouped under the rubric of “theory” all began to be manifest in published scholarship. Some scholars of Byzantine art began to employ these different types of scholarship in studying different Byzantine art forms and architecture. Occasionally, the newer modalities replace older approaches entirely. Currently, all these approaches exist side by side, widening the ways we seek to understand and communicate about the history of the arts in Byzantium. Most presume a fairly thorough grounding in Byzantine art and thus are more appropriate for advanced graduate students and scholars in the field.
  292.  
  293. Theoretical
  294.  
  295. These examinations expand more traditional methodologies, such as examination of relevant texts, both religious and secular; this joining of traditional approaches with newer ones is evident in Barber 2002 and Peers 2004. The same is largely true of Mondzain 2005. Unfortunately, however, convoluted writing and emphasis on popular locution often make these works more appropriate for scholars and graduate students than for undergraduates.
  296.  
  297. Barber, Charles. Figure and Likeness: On the Limits of Representation in Byzantine Iconoclasm. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002.
  298. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  299. In an extended meditation on the truthfulness of images and how an icon shows what it shows, Barber uses tools such as deconstruction, textual discussion, and visual analysis. While no new conclusions are reached, the book is an example of these new and older approaches used together. For graduate students and above.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. Mondzain, Marie-José. Image, Icon, Economy: The Byzantine Origins of the Contemporary Imaginary. Translated by Rico Franses. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005.
  302. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  303. Philosophical meditation on the Byzantine image through iconophile author Nikephoros’s writings. Links the economic concept of natural image to the artificial image (icon). Traces the importance of the visual image in contemporary life to the Iconoclastic Controversy and uses these ideas to examine modern imagery, such as Nazi caricatures of Jews. For scholars.
  304. Find this resource:
  305. Peers, Glenn. Sacred Shock: Framing Visual Experience in Byzantium. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004.
  306. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  307. Peers’s book asserts a heretofore underappreciated role of the frame in understanding the approach to the holy in Byzantine art. Arguments made through case studies of bronze crosses, miniatures, and certain icons and revetments coexist with a more traditional use of texts and stylistic analysis. Language is postmodern, often involving neologisms. For scholars.
  308. Find this resource:
  309. Archaeological and Anthropological
  310.  
  311. The archaeological studies exemplified by the publication of Iannuci, et al. 1992 show the kind of archaeological/scientific approach that can be used. The use of current anthropological investigation as in Gerstel 1995 also helps add to the more typical treatment of Byzantine art.
  312.  
  313. Gerstel, Sharon E. J. “Ritual Swimming and the Feast of the Epiphany.” In Abstracts of Papers: Twenty-First Annual Byzantine Studies Conference, 9–12 November 1995, New York University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Byzantine Studies Conference, 1995.
  314. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  315. Examines the motif of boys swimming in the scene of Christ’s baptism, linking it to the ritual diving for a wooden cross on the Feast of the Epiphany for the “Blessing of the Waters.” In addition to textual evidence, current practice in seaside orthodox communities bolsters the argument. For scholars.
  316. Find this resource:
  317. Iannuci, Anna Maria, Cesare Fiori, and Cetty Muscolino, eds. Mosaici a S. Vitale e altri restauri: Il restauro in situ de mosaici parietali: Atti del Convegno nazionale sul restauro in situ di mosaici parietali, 1–3 ottobre 1990, Ravenna. Ravenna, Italy: Longo Editore, 1992.
  318. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  319. An archaeological examination of the mosaics in Ravennate and Roman churches, their workshops and techniques, and the techniques of scientific study and restoration. Drawings, diagrams, and excellent photographs illustrate. For scholars.
  320. Find this resource:
  321. Scientific
  322.  
  323. Kuniholm and Striker 1990 offers surprising conclusions from dendrochronolgical investigations, while microscopic analysis such as that of Orna, et al. 1989 affords us information about Byzantine illuminators’ work and materials. Mark and Çakmak 1992 utilizes a variety of scientific investigative techniques to explore the fabric of Hagia Sophia. Pentcheva 2006 shows the use of perception as a way of understanding worshipers’ reactions to Byzantine icons and churches. Trkulja 2011 examines the use of illumination in architecture to affect the worship experience. Many of these works include traditional examination of text along with these newer approaches, as seen in James 1996, Pentcheva 2010, and Pentcheva 2011. All of these are aimed at the scholarly community.
  324.  
  325. James, Liz. Light and Colour in Byzantine Art. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
  326. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  327. This volume studies color and its relationship to light in Byzantine mosaics and wall paintings. Analysis of the physical aspects of color and its manufacture is joined to analysis of Byzantine writings about color to tease out the Byzantines’ perception of color, light, and form. For scholars and advanced graduate students.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Kuniholm, Peter Ian, and Cecil L. Striker. “Dendrochronology and the Architectural History of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki.” Architectura: Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Architektur 1 (1990): 1–26.
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331. Examines the wood of tie beams to suggest a date terminus post quem of 1329 rather than 1315 for this important church, severing the relation to Patriarch Niphon. The investigation suggests a single phase of building, with modifications in Byzantine and Ottoman times. Specialists will appreciate the extensive data, while advanced students and scholars will find the article generally useful.
  332. Find this resource:
  333. Mark, Robert, and Ahmet S. Çakmak, eds. Hagia Sophia from the Age of Justinian to the Present. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
  334. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  335. Presents a series of studies on the physical and structural aspects of Hagia Sophia utilizing various scientific approaches. Precursors and related buildings are presented, as are elements of structural decoration. Most notable is the computer modeling of the structure. Well illustrated with diagrams and black-and-white photographs. For scholars.
  336. Find this resource:
  337. Orna, Mary Virginia, Patricia L. Lang, J. E. Katon, Thomas F. Mathews, and Robert S. Nelson. “Applications of Infrared Microspectroscopy to Art Historical Questions about Medieval Manuscripts.” In Archaeological Chemistry IV. Edited by Ralph O. Allen, 265–288. Advances in Chemistry Series 220. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1989.
  338. DOI: 10.1021/ba-1988-0220.ch014Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  339. Description of the scientific investigations undertaken on Byzantine manuscripts in the University of Chicago library. Comparison of pigments to previously studied Armenian manuscripts highlights differences, showing the Byzantine painters relied more on organic pigments. Such investigations will allow greater understanding of the painting enterprise. For scholars.
  340. Find this resource:
  341. Pentcheva, Bissera V. “The Performative Icon.” Art Bulletin 88.4 (December 2006): 631–655.
  342. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  343. Discusses icons by stressing materiality and the worshipers’ various sensual reactions to the surface. Utilizing Byzantine theories of vision, Pentcheva elucidates the importance of viewers’ changing experiences as lights flicker, incense rises, etc. (see the footage online). Argues that the most numerous and important middle Byzantine icons were relief images.
  344. Find this resource:
  345. Pentcheva, Bissera V. The Sensual Icon: Space, Ritual and the Senses in Byzantium. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010.
  346. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  347. Examines the interaction of worshiper and image through sensory data and texts. Pentcheva traces the history of various sensual emphases and argues that iconoclasm was a crisis of definition of the “eikon.” Offers new interpretations of texts and methodology for understanding them in the context of icon and manuscript images. See the footage online.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. Pentcheva, Bissera V. “Hagia Sophia and Multisensory Aesthetics.” Gesta 50.2 (2011): 93–111.
  350. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  351. This article uses shining imagery in materials and contemporary descriptive writings to give a sense of experiencing Hagia Sophia in the 6th century. Computer auralization techniques recreate the sound of choral singing as it might have been then. A film, viewable online, makes the findings vivid. For scholars.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. Trkulja, Jelena. “Byzantine Light: Dramatic Illumination as an Agent of Design and Religious Experience.” Lecture presented at Princeton University, Program of Hellenic Studies, 23 March 2011.
  354. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  355. This paper, delivered at the conference “Redefining Byzantium: Art and Thought in the Byzantine World at the Index of Christian Art” in 2011, discussed the changing levels of light in a Byzantine church, both natural and artificial, and how this affected the experience of a worshiper. Available as a summary on Academia, it should be published soon.
  356. Find this resource:
  357. Wider Subjects
  358.  
  359. In addition to new methodologies, a widening set of subjects has been opened up in the study of Byzantine art in recent decades. Bibliography on Gender in Byzantium, Gerstel 1998, Kalavrezou 2003, and Meyer 2009 bring women’s roles and reactions to the forefront, and some, such as Gerstel 2002, even began examining such issues for other underrepresented groups such as the peasantry. While considerations of children are rare, Hennessy 2003 discusses several famous ones and what they mean.
  360.  
  361. Gerstel, Sharon E. J. “Painted Sources for Female Piety in Medieval Byzantium.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 52 (1998): 89–111.
  362. DOI: 10.2307/1291778Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  363. A study of monumental painting, primarily Greek, using texts and women’s images to examine the participation of women in church. Women are shown to have stood in the northern half of churches and taken part in extraliturgical services in the narthex. Black-and-white photos illustrate. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Gerstel, Sharon E. J. “The Sins of the Farmer: Illustrating Village Life (and Death) in Medieval Byzantium.” In Word, Image, Number: Communication in the Middle Ages. Edited by John J. Contreni and Santa Casciani, 205–217. Florence: SISMEL, Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2002.
  366. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  367. Studies images of the last judgment, focusing on farmers, herdsmen, and other peasants among the damned. Attributes (e.g., plows and millstones) make their identities clear, and the pictures address sins described in Byzantine law codes relating to the peasantry. Illustrated with poorly preserved murals in black-and-white. For scholars.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Gouma-Peterson, Thalia, Alice-Mary Talbot, and Nate Aschenbrenner. Bibliography on Gender in Byzantium.
  370. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. Begun by Gouma-Peterson as a general bibliography on women, it has been administered and expanded since her death by Talbot to include writings on eunuchs, masculinity, etc. Contains many useful references to art concerning women in all eras of Byzantine history. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. Hennessy, Cecily. “Iconic Images of Children in the Church of St. Demetrios, Thessaloniki.” In Icon and Word: The Power of Images in Byzantium. Studies Presented to Robin Cormack. Edited by Antony Eastmond and Liz James, 157–172. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2003.
  374. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  375. Examines the narratives about childhood, linking them to biblical stories of blessed children. Posits a relationship to pilgrimage as a transitional state, such as childhood and the depiction of children, to help worshipers identify with the church. Indicates that children’s images were part of 7th-century visual culture. For scholars and graduate students.
  376. Find this resource:
  377. Kalavrezou, Ioli. Byzantine Women and Their World. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2003.
  378. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  379. Catalogue of the first exhibition to explore Byzantine women’s lives through their representation in art and literature (4th–15th centuries). Divided by purpose (work, home, marriage, etc.), each with its own short introductory essay, placing the pieces in context. Beautiful color and black-and-white photos make this useful for advanced undergraduates on up.
  380. Find this resource:
  381. Meyer, Mati. An Obscure Portrait: Imaging Women’s Reality in Byzantine Art. London: Pindar, 2009.
  382. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383. Considers how the lives of women are depicted in Byzantine art, from domestic and maternal roles to activities in the home and occupational settings. Examines images of women, including idealized, mythological, and biblical scenes. Determines that these depictions only partially reflect the reality of Byzantine women’s lives. For advanced undergraduates on up.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Monumental Painting
  386.  
  387. Major Byzantine churches were lavishly decorated, and much scholarship has been devoted to this decoration, utilizing varied approaches.
  388.  
  389. Mosaics
  390.  
  391. Early churches, such as those at Ravenna, are decorated with mosaics, and some volumes discuss and illustrate these ensembles (see New Approaches). While the mother church, Hagia Sophia, was too large to decorate all at once, works such as Mango 1962 have amassed materials for the study of its decoration. After iconoclasm, a new scheme developed to adorn the new type of church, often called the cross-in-square. While this decorative system is not as rigid as is described in Demus 1955, it is often found with some variations in these mid-Byzantine buildings and discussed by authors, either as groups of buildings, as in Diez and Demus 1931, or as monographs on individual decorative ensembles, as in Mouriki 1985. Mosaic decoration of the later Byzantine period has also been well documented. Demus 1988 considers regional sets of mosaic embellishment, while Underwood 1966 continues the more monographic approach to major ensembles such as the Kariye Camii.
  392.  
  393. Demus, Otto. Byzantine Mosaic Decoration: Aspects of Monumental Art in Byzantium. Boston: Book and Art Shop, 1955.
  394. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  395. Presents the “classical scheme” of decorating the middle Byzantine cross-in-square church. Architecture and decoration represent the cosmos in zones—highest for Christ, angels, and the Virgin; middle for the “festival cycle”; and lowest for saints’ portraits. Details further elucidate arrangement and techniques. Readable by graduate and advanced undergraduate students.
  396. Find this resource:
  397. Demus, Otto. The Mosaics of Norman Sicily. New York: Hacker Art, 1988.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. Offers archaeological and documentary data and analysis of individual monuments. Study of iconography follows, considering programs and their placement along with cycles and backgrounds. The last part analyzes style by monuments and traces its development. For graduate students and scholars.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. Diez, Ernst, and Otto Demus. Byzantine Mosaics in Greece, Hosios Lucas & Daphni. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1931.
  402. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  403. Discusses middle Byzantine period architecture and art. Traces the influence of gifts on Byzantine art (an early example of a theme that gained importance later). Describes stylistic development and iconography and analyzes placement. Tipped-in color photos, uneven black-and-white. For graduate students and scholars.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Mango, Cyril Alexander. Materials for the Study of the Mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1962.
  406. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  407. A collection of drawings, watercolors, and descriptions paired with photographs, which document the mosaics at different stages of preservation and allow an unprecedented close study of these important pieces, some barely visible today. For scholars.
  408. Find this resource:
  409. Mouriki, Doula. The Mosaics of Nea Moni on Chios. Translated by Richard Burgi. Athens, Greece: Commercial Bank of Greece, 1985.
  410. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  411. An excellent example of a detailed study of a mosaic ensemble. Discussion of founders and architectural setting is followed by a full description, including colors of tesserae. Iconographic analysis and discussion of style follows. Volume 2 has the plates, splendid color photographs, and uneven black-and-white photographs. For scholars.
  412. Find this resource:
  413. Underwood, Paul Atkins. Kariye Djami. 2 vols. New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1966.
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. Volume 1 (historical introduction and description) presents the history, discussion of the architecture by phase, and a complete description of the decoration, including iconography, inscriptions, and dimensions of scenes and major figures along with colors used. Volume 2 (mosaics) includes beautiful photographs, including details and rarely illustrated, partially preserved portions. For all levels.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Frescoes
  418.  
  419. Middle Byzantine painted ensembles in newly discovered regions were presented with full photodocumentation, such as the rock-cut churches of Cappadocia in Jerphanion 1925; later studies are also continuing on these materials, as in Rodley 2010, Jolivet-Levy 2001, and Jolivet-Levy 2002. Alternative views of these Cappadocian structures Rodley identifies as monasteries can be found in Ousterhout 2005 (cited under Secular Arts). With the shrinking of the empire and its resources in later Byzantine times, the more economical medium of fresco became ever more popular; these ensembles found in the various kingdoms of the former Yugoslavia are well documented for certain regions as in Millet 1954 and Djurić 1974. Fresco decoration of the late period on Mt. Athos and in Serbia, Macedonia, and Mistra are also well documented and examined in Millet 1954, Mouriki 1991, Dufrenne 1970, and Miljkovik-Pepek 1967 (cited under Specialized Studies).
  420.  
  421. Djurić, Vojislav J. Vizantijski freske u jugoslaviji. Belgrade, Serbia: Izdavački zavod Jugoslavija, 1974.
  422. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  423. A comprehensive survey of wall frescoes in the republics of the former Yugoslavia. Presented chronologically and extensively footnoted with a full bibliography for the monuments. Color and black-and-white photographs illustrate important sections of the paintings; drawings and a map are helpful. For scholars and graduate students interested in the topic.
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Dufrenne, Suzy. Les Programmes iconographiques des églises byzantine de Mistra. Paris: Éditions Klincksieck, 1970.
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427. Discussion of iconographic programs and elements common to Mistra churches, illustrated by plans, sections numbered to indicate placement of scenes and figures, drawings, and many black-and-white photographs (most difficult to read). Deals with symbolism of placement and what reflects Mistra’s unique cultural discourse. For scholars.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. Jerphanion, Guillaume de. Une Nouvelle Province de l’art byzantin: les églises rupestres de Cappadoce. Vols. 5 and 6. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Guethner, 1925.
  430. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  431. The starting point for research, this study presents the landscape, bibliography of visitors, and discussion of sculptural and architectural features and then by chapel (ordered topographically), full descriptions, photographs, plans, diagrams, inscriptions, and some watercolors. Discusses paleography, orthography, graffiti, and ornament along with description of figures—postures and gestures—and colors. Includes three volumes of plates. For graduate students and scholars.
  432. Find this resource:
  433. Jolivet-Levy, Catherine. La Cappadoce mediévale, images et spiritualité. Saint-Léger-Vauban, France: Zodiaque, 2001.
  434. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  435. A beautifully produced introduction to medieval Cappadocia and its architecture and art. Illustrated with maps, plans, diagrams, and photographs, both black-and-white and color, it offers a good overview of the rock-cut churches and their paintings, focusing on programs and iconography. For everyone.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Jolivet-Levy, Catherine. Etudes cappadociennes. London: Pindar, 2002.
  438. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. A collection of essays by this scholar who has written extensively on the paintings of this region. Includes presentation of newly discovered material, examinations focusing on iconographic programs of various churches, and general and individual studies of subjects such as images of the archangel Michael and imperial costume. For scholars.
  440. Find this resource:
  441. Millet, Gabriel. La Peinture du moyan âge en Yougoslavie (Serbie, Macédoine et Monténégro). Vol. 1. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1954.
  442. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  443. An extensive set of early black-and-white photographs of church frescoes, from the 10th through the middle of the 13th centuries, presented chronologically. Drawings of some scenes and decorative motives are included. Text consists of limited captions (e.g., iconographic identification, location in the church), an iconographic index, and a very brief bibliography. Subsequent volumes cover mid–end 13th century (Volume 2); end 13th through the first quarter of the 14th centuries (Volume 3); and second–third quarter 14th century (Volume 4), by Tania Velmans.
  444. Find this resource:
  445. Mouriki, Doula. “The Wall Paintings of the Pantanassa at Mistra: Models of a Painter’s Workshop in the Fifteenth Century.” In The Twilight of Byzantium: Aspects of Cultural and Religious History in the Late Byzantine Empire: Papers from the Colloquium Held at Princeton University, 8–9 May 1989. Edited by Slobodan Ćurčić and Doula Mouriki, 217–250. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.
  446. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  447. In discussing the decoration of the Pantanassa, this article compares the decorative scheme to those of earlier churches in Mistra, presenting information about much of the city’s art. Mistra’s paintings are compared to works in Constantinople and linked to motifs in Islamic and Western medieval art. For graduate students and scholars.
  448. Find this resource:
  449. Rodley, Lyn. Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451. A study of what are identified as monasteries (see Ousterhout 2005 cited under Secular Arts for an alternative opinion), describing the decoration—iconography, inscriptions with translations, colors, and some discussion of style. Offers a chronology, analysis, and discussion of technique. Black-and-white photos and drawings illustrate. For advanced graduate students and scholars. Originally published in 1985.
  452. Find this resource:
  453. Specialized Studies
  454.  
  455. Some studies, such as Babić 1968, have treated frescoes iconographically, elucidating a particular subject and its salience in contemporary religious or political terms. Rare as they are, signatures in fresco ensembles have provided the starting point for a study in Miljkovik-Pepek 1967 of a pair of painters responsible for much of the Serbian king’s patronage around 1300. Some studies, such as Dufrenne 1970 (cited under Frescoes), have dealt primarily with questions of the meaning of the ensemble as a whole and its placement in a church’s architectural spaces. Tronzo 1997 offers a similar study within a context of royal patronage. And major monuments have received monographic treatment, as with mosaic ensembles, as seen in Underwood 1966.
  456.  
  457. Babić, Gordana. “Les Discussion christologiques et le décor des églises byzantines au XIIe siècle.” Frühmittelalterliche Studien 2 (1968): 368–386.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. Traces the impact of 11th-century Christological discussions on apse paintings. The prepared throne as the focus of officiating priests was used to represent the Trinity; by the later 12th century, it was replaced by the amnos (body of Christ as an infant) to stress Christ’s human/divine natures. For scholars.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. Miljkovik-Pepek, Petar. Deloto na zografite Michailo i Eutihij. Skopje, Macedonia: Kulturno Istorisko Nasledstvo vo SR Makedonija, 1967.
  462. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  463. A thorough study of the work of these two important painters responsible for much late 13th- through early 14th-century fresco painting in Macedonia as well as icons and paintings on Mount Athos. An eighteen-page summary in French along with many drawings, diagrams, and photographs renders it useful for scholars.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Tronzo, William. The Culture of His Kingdom: Roger II and the Cappella Palatina in Palermo. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997.
  466. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  467. Discusses the hybrid quality of the decorative ensemble and its various elements, offering new dates and contexts for parts of the decoration and furnishings. Considers the function to serve both church and king. Illustrated with excellent black-and-white photographs and drawings. For graduate students and scholars.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Underwood, Paul Atkins. Kariye Djami. 2 vols. New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1966.
  470. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  471. In Volume 1 (historical introduction and description), a complete description of the fresco decoration of the burial chapel is presented, including iconography, inscriptions, and dimensions of scenes and major figures along with a description of the colors used. Photographs of the frescoes are found in Volume 2 (frescoes). For all levels.
  472. Find this resource:
  473. The Icon
  474.  
  475. Icons are one of the quintessential types of Byzantine art. While the word comes from the Greek for “image,” the icon is defined by its special relationship to its prototype—Christ, the saint depicted, etc. Although modern parlance favors paintings on wooden panels as the usual referent, an icon can be a wall painting, an ivory, or a bronze plaque. Several pieces offer good introductions to the issue of the icon. An excellent discussion of the definition and sources of the icon can be found in Kartsonis 1998 (cited under Icon Painting). Belting 1994 offers an in-depth discussion of the sources and diffusion of icons (also cited under Icon Painting). A lengthy analysis of the icon, with emphasis on later Russian examples, is found in Ouspensky and Lossky 1982 (also cited under Icon Painting). Pentcheva 2006 and Pentcheva 2010 (cited under New Approaches: Scientific), along with Brooks 2008 and Schwartz 2007 (cited under Sculpture [Stone and Base Metals]) are some of the few studies to examine metal icons.
  476.  
  477. Icon Painting
  478.  
  479. Most studies of icons involve paintings, usually in tempera on a wooden support, although early icons were also painted in encaustic. The works mentioned in Icon are relevant to painted icons as well as those in other media. Kartsonis 1998 offers an excellent introduction to all levels of readers. In addition to overall studies, there are treatments showing various approaches to writing about icons that focus particularly on those that are painted. These include presentations by geographic area such as Soteriou 1956 and Weitzmann 1982; works on particular types of icons, such as Ševčenko 1992 on vita icons; iconographic studies; studies of individual icons; and works about icons of certain eras. Recent investigations of early icon-like images of pagan gods that may have been instrumental in the development of the icon are underway. Mathews 1999 offers a preliminary report of his research, while other theories about the icon’s source may be found in Belting 1994 and Kartsonis 1998. The relationship of icons to other types of Byzantine works includes studies such as Cormack 1997.
  480.  
  481. Belting, Hans. Likeness and Presence: A History of the Image before the Era of Art. Translated by Edmund Jephcott. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. Traces the sources of early icons in miraculous, legendary, cult, and imperial images. Discusses the image and its veneration through iconoclasm to the 19th century and extends the discussion to Italy and the West. An appendix offers translations of a number of texts related to images. For scholars.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Cormack, Robin. Painting the Soul: Icons, Death Masks and Shrouds. London: Reaktion, 1997.
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487. Discusses the use and experience of icons from medieval and modern understanding along with methods of display. Considers the relationship to death masks and the shroud of Turin. Crete is examined as illustrative of more recent icon production and usage, offering evidence of change in the icon and its circumstances. For scholars.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Kartsonis, Anna. “The Responding Icon.” In Heaven on Earth: Art and the Church in Byzantium. Edited by Linda Safran, 58–80. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.
  490. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  491. A good introduction to Byzantine theories about the icon and its sources in pagan cult imagery and depictions of the Roman emperor. Especially clear is the section on images “not made by hands.” Various media are discussed. Useful at all levels of learning.
  492. Find this resource:
  493. Mathews, Thomas F. “Panel Paintings of Late Antiquity: A Preliminary Report on the Project.” In Abstracts of Papers, Twenty-Fifth Annual Byzantine Studies Conference, November 4–7, 1999, University of Maryland, College Park. Washington, DC: Byzantine Studies Conference, 1999.
  494. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  495. A short discussion of the examination of panels depicting pagan gods, primarily from Egypt; the author posits the importance of these paintings as a major source in the development of the Byzantine icon. A conservator, Norman Muller, joined this ongoing project in 2000.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Ouspensky, Léonid, and Vladimir Lossky. The Meaning of Icons. Translated by G. E. H. Palmer and E. Kadloubovsky. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1982.
  498. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  499. A theoretical discussion of the icon, including its liturgical function, visual language, and conservative form. While parts are obscure and rambling, useful iconographic information will serve scholars. Numerous photographs, mostly in color and focusing on Russian examples, illustrate. Includes examples from private collections rarely if ever published.
  500. Find this resource:
  501. Ševčenko, Nancy Patterson. “Vita Icons and ‘Decorated’ Icons of the Komnenian Period.” In Four Icons in the Menil Collection. Edited by Bertrand Davezac, 57–69. Houston, TX: Menil Foundation, 1992.
  502. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  503. This article seeks the source of the vita icon—a central image surrounded by scenes of a person’s life. Examining metal icons preserved from Byzantium and Georgia, she posits the origin of the type in icons decorated with silver frames or revetments. Clearly written and illustrated, this article is useful at all levels.
  504. Find this resource:
  505. Soteriou, G., and M. Soteriou. Icones du Mont Sinaï. Vol. 1. Athens, Greece: Collection de l’Institut Français d’Athènes, 1956.
  506. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  507. Comprises 238 black-and-white plates (with 8 in color) in the collection at Mount Sinai, arranged chronologically. Minimal text limits the use of this volume, but the early presentation made available many new images to the scholarly world. For scholars and graduate students.
  508. Find this resource:
  509. Weitzmann, Kurt, Manolēs Chatzēdakēs, and Svetozar Radojčić. The Icon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982.
  510. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  511. This large book offers an introduction to the origin and significance of icons and sections organized according to geography, including Constantinople, the crusader kingdoms, Russia, the Balkans, Georgia, and Wallachia/Moldavia. Each has a short text by a scholar specializing in the area, followed by multiple full-color reproductions. For all levels.
  512. Find this resource:
  513. Icon Revetments
  514.  
  515. The use of silver decoration to add beauty, richness, and embellishment became more popular as time went on. Grabar 1975 was one of the first comprehensive studies of this art form; Durand 2004 offers an update and includes newer material and examples from a wider geographic area.
  516.  
  517. Durand, Jannic. “Precious-Metal Icon Revetments.” In Byzantium, Faith and Power (1261–1557). Edited by Helen C. Evans, 243–251. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2004.
  518. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  519. Discusses the history and historiography of the icon revetment. Using texts and more recently discovered examples, this work updates Grabar’s earlier work, augmenting his and other older studies with a newer bibliography and revetments from a wider variety of geographic regions, such as various Balkan and Caucasian countries, as well as the West. For scholars.
  520. Find this resource:
  521. Grabar, André. Les Revêtments en or et en argent des icones byzantines du moyen âge. Bibliothèque d’Institut hellenique d’études byzantines et post-byzantines de Venise 7. Venice: Institut Hellenique d’Études Byzantines et Post-Byzantines, 1975.
  522. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  523. This study of gold and silver repoussé revetments suggests their genesis as imitations of colored and gilded marble iconostases in major churches and relates them to compositions of precious metal icons. Includes a catalogue of some forty, including several from Georgia. Black-and-white photographs including good details serve graduate students and scholars.
  524. Find this resource:
  525. The Iconostasis
  526.  
  527. While icons were an important part of the accoutrements of the Byzantine church, the presentation of them has varied over time. Much discussion has ensued about the enclosure of the altar area, later used to display dozens of icons. The genesis of the icon screen (iconostasis) as a development of the early Byzantine templon is considered in the surveys Epstein 1981 and Walter 1977, while the relationship to a certain type of icon is explored in Gerstel 2006. Lidov 2000 offers a number of studies, from the genesis of the iconostasis to its later development into the multistory icon screen in late medieval Russia.
  528.  
  529. Epstein, A. W. “The Middle Byzantine Sanctuary Barrier: Templon or Iconostasis?” Journal of the British Archaeological Association 134 (1981): 1–28.
  530. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  531. Using archaeological and literary data, explores the evidence for the icon screen in 9th–12th-century churches both in Constantinople and the provinces. Argues that the templon was a low marble screen topped by an epistyle decorated with a figural program, often with a central Deesis. Argues against fixed intercolumnar icons. For scholars.
  532. Find this resource:
  533. Gerstel, Sharon E. J. “An Alternate View of the Late Byzantine Sanctuary Screen.” In Thresholds of the Sacred: Architectural, Art Historical, Liturgical, and Theological: Perspectives on Religious Screens, East and West. Edited by Sharon E. J. Gerstel, 135–162. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 2006.
  534. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  535. This study examines the relationship between bilateral icons and the fixed icons forming part of some sixty masonry icon screens. It then looks at frequently used decoration on the screen’s altar side and posits the depictions of saints as models for saintly behavior among the priests. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  536. Find this resource:
  537. Lidov, Alekseĭ M., ed. Ikonostas—Proishchozhdenie—Razvitie—Simbolika. Moscow: Progress-Traditsiia, 2000.
  538. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  539. Twenty-seven papers from an international symposium on the liturgical barrier in the orthodox church. Examines Byzantine forbears, offering new theories on its development out of the entry to the Holy of Holies and a possible source in the antependium for later Russian developments. In English and Russian (with English abstracts). For scholars.
  540. Find this resource:
  541. Walter, Christopher. “The Origins of the Iconostasis.” In Studies in Byzantine Iconography. Edited by Christopher Walter, 251–257. London: Variorum Reprints, 1977.
  542. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  543. An examination of the evidence pointing to the beginnings of the icon screen as a low barrier surmounted by an architrave jutting into the naos. A screen across the apse with icons flanking the doorway followed and developed into an ever larger screen filled with icons. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  544. Find this resource:
  545. Manuscripts
  546.  
  547. Illuminated (ornamented) manuscripts offer some of the most numerous and best preserved examples of Byzantine painting. There are a variety of approaches scholars have taken in examining and presenting these manuscripts, as discussed in the subsections included here. While substantive overviews such as Ševčenko 1998 are rare, several volumes present information as catalogues of particularly significant collections, such as Omont 1929, which presents those at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, and Pelekanides, et al. 1974–1975, which presents the holdings of the Athonite monastic libraries. Some present manuscripts by their origin in geography and/or time period, such as Buchthal’s groundbreaking study (Buchthal 1986) of crusader manuscripts and their Byzantine influence and Weitzmann 1996 and Weitzmann 1963 are important works on manuscripts of the 9th and 10th centuries.
  548.  
  549. Buchthal, Hugo. Miniature Painting in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. London: Pindar, 1986.
  550. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  551. Pioneering study of crusader manuscripts, with emphasis on the mixture of western European and Byzantine elements. Attempts to trace crusader manuscripts to their precise Byzantine models. Contains a complete catalogue of six 12th-century and seven 13th-century manuscripts, religious and secular. Good black-and-white illustrations. For graduate students and scholars.
  552. Find this resource:
  553. Omont, Henri Auguste. Miniatures des plus anciens manuscrits grecs de la Bibliothèque nationale du VIe au XIVe siècle. Paris: Librairie Ancienne Honoré Champion, 1929.
  554. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  555. A three-volume oversized catalogue, presented in chronological order, of the illuminations from religious and secular texts. The text presents detailed descriptions including figures, gestures, colors, inscriptions, and, occasionally, diagrams of the folios. Black-and-white photographs at full size illustrate. For graduate students and scholars.
  556. Find this resource:
  557. Pelekanides, Stulianos M., P. C. Christou, Ch. Tsioumis, and S. N. Kadas. The Treasures of Mt. Athos: Illuminated Manuscripts, Miniatures-Headpieces-Initial Letters. Vol. 1, The Protaton and the Monasteries of Dionysiou, Koutloumousiou, Xeropotamou and Gregoriou. Athens, Greece: Ekdotike Athenon S. A., 1974–1975.
  558. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  559. Organized by institution, with brief introductions that illustrate the exterior, important frescoes, and/or monastery treasures in ivory, metal, and wood. The bulk of the volumes consists of beautiful color plates of the manuscript details, briefly captioned. A short catalogue entry includes inscriptions, descriptions, and an abbreviated bibliography. Byzantine and post-Byzantine texts included for all levels. Volume 2: The Monasteries of Iveron, St. Panteleimon, Esphigmenou, and Chilandari.
  560. Find this resource:
  561. Ševčenko, Nancy Patterson. “Illuminating the Liturgy: Illustrated Service Books in Byzantium.” In Heaven on Earth: Art and the Church in Byzantium. Edited by Linda Safran, 186–228. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.
  562. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  563. An excellent introduction to Byzantine illuminated manuscripts, including the various types of texts illustrated and their typical figural illustrations. Photos of examples illustrate all types. Sections treat manuscript collections, manufacture of manuscripts, and the relation of illustrations to the liturgy and to monumental painting. For all levels.
  564. Find this resource:
  565. Weitzmann, Kurt. Geistige Grundlagen und Wesen der makedonischen Renaissance. Cologne and Opladen, Germany: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1963.
  566. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-663-02479-8Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  567. Theorizes about the sources of Macedonian Renaissance artworks (9th–10th centuries) by examining the iconography of the Paris psalter, linking elements of the compositions to sources in classical art along with philosophical and religious writings. Followed by an interchange on the subject with various other scholars. For scholars.
  568. Find this resource:
  569. Weitzmann, Kurt. Die byzantinische Buchmalerei des 9. und 10. Jahrhunderts. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1996.
  570. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  571. This pioneering study of Byzantine illumination groups homogenous manuscripts by examining their ornament. In the process, a number of pieces previously believed to be from the capital are attributed to Asia Minor. Drawings and black-and-white illustrations back up Weitzmann’s arguments. For scholars and advanced graduate student researchers.
  572. Find this resource:
  573. Sources of Illumination
  574.  
  575. Several studies such as Weitzmann 1970 and Weitzmann 1971 seek the source of illustration and certain scenes; while some discredit this approach, it is still useful as a model of inquiry. A few focus on earlier elements expressed in miniatures, such as Bianchi-Bandinelli 1955 cited under Individual Manuscripts, and Weitzmann 1971a, Weitzmann 1971b, and Weitzmann 1971c, all cited under Earlier and Classical Heritage.
  576.  
  577. Weitzmann, Kurt. Illustrations in Roll and Codex: A Study of the Origin and Method of Text Illustration. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1970.
  578. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  579. This essential work reconstructs the origin of Byzantine manuscript illumination in illustrations from Hellenistic/Roman papyrus rolls, reflected in Megaran bowls and Iliac tablets. Weitzmann examines the way these pictures were combined and placed in text columns or margins or developed as full-page miniatures. Reconstruction drawings and photographs illustrate. For scholars and advanced graduate students.
  580. Find this resource:
  581. Weitzmann, Kurt. “Illustrations of the Septuagint.” In Studies in Classical and Byzantine Manuscript Illumination. By Kurt Weitzmann. Edited by Herbert L. Kessler, 45–75. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1971.
  582. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583. Reprinted and translated from a 1952/1953 article, this piece examines the remains of biblical illustration in manuscripts (early Christian and middle Byzantine) and the Dura frescoes, and posits early illumination of individual books of the Old Testament. As usual, Weitzmann offers reconstructions of pictures inserted in text columns. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  584. Find this resource:
  585. Studies by Subject
  586.  
  587. Both older and more recent studies examine types of illustrations through studies of individualized subjects. Corrigan 1992 examines visual polemics against not only heretic Christians but Jews and Muslims as well. Friend 1927 presents studies of evangelist portraits. Loerke 1961 studies two images in the Rossano Gospels, positing their source in wall paintings in the house of Pontius Pilate. Weitzmann 1980 discusses the image of the lamentation as a conflation of several scenes, created to emphasize emotion. Though early, Frantz’s 1934 study of ornament is still a major resource on the topic.
  588.  
  589. Corrigan, Kathleen Anne. Visual Polemics in the Ninth-Century Byzantine Psalters. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
  590. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  591. After discussing the earlier illustrated psalters, the author explores the political meaning of not just the well-known anti-Iconoclastic images but also those expressing anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic ideas, with the supporting testimony of the prophets. Black-and-white photos illustrate the iconography. For scholars and graduate students.
  592. Find this resource:
  593. Frantz, M. Alison. “Byzantine Illuminated Ornament: A Study in Chronology.” Art Bulletin 16.1 (1934): 42–101.
  594. DOI: 10.2307/3045526Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  595. Through the examination of some 400 manuscripts, Frantz has established a database of ornamental motifs and traced their development over time (6th–14th centuries), hoping that this chronology will prove useful for the study of architecture and of other materials. Well illustrated by drawings. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  596. Find this resource:
  597. Friend, Albert Mathias, Jr. “The Portraits of the Evangelists in Greek and Latin Manuscripts.” Art Studies 5 (1927): 115–147.
  598. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  599. This two-part study of what Friend calls “primitive” types of portraits as found in Byzantine manuscripts and those in other languages to which Byzantine types spread continues in Volume 7 (1929). While showing remnants of Morey’s archaic Antioch/Alexandria scheme, Friend amasses data allowing an examination of types and their relationship to classical models. For graduate students and scholars.
  600. Find this resource:
  601. Loerke, William C. “The Miniatures of the Trial in the Rossano Gospels.” Art Bulletin 43.3 (1961): 171–195.
  602. DOI: 10.2307/3047954Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  603. Loerke argues for the source of the two unusual narrative images in wall paintings illustrating the Acta Pilati that decorated the church of Pilate, Jerusalem, c. 450. He posits a lost scene that made up a set of three, two opposite each other, flanking a central apse. For graduate students and scholars.
  604. Find this resource:
  605. Weitzmann, Kurt. “The Origin of the Threnos.” In Byzantine Book Illumination and Ivories. By Kurt Weitzmann. London: Variorum Reprints, 1980.
  606. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  607. Seeks to unravel the path by which several scenes in early Christian and early Byzantine art are joined and remade into the scene of the lamentation. Some surprising early medieval examples help to uncover Byzantine themes; classical iconography also helps form this image. For scholars and advanced graduate students.
  608. Find this resource:
  609. Studies by Text
  610.  
  611. A fairly common approach has been to treat manuscripts grouped by the text illustrated. A number of good studies fall into this group, including studies of biblical and other types of manuscripts. Cutler 1984 studies the illustration of a type of luxury illustrated psalter. Lowden 1992 similarly treats the illuminations of the manuscripts containing the first eight books of the Old Testament. Bernabò 2004 examines the four preserved illuminated books of Job. Lowden 1988 considers the illustrations of a group of prophet books. Galavaris 1969 presents a study of the illustration of the sermons of Gregory of Nazianzus, Ševčenko 1990 writes on the illustration of the book of saints’ lives, and Nelson 1980 studies the illustrations of Gospel prefaces. Examination of a secular illuminated manuscript, the Physiologos, is found in Bernabò 1998 (cited under Secular Arts).
  612.  
  613. Bernabò, Massimo. Le miniature per i manoscritti greci del Libro di Giobbe. Florence: SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2004.
  614. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  615. Covers the four manuscripts illustrating the book of Job. Discusses the Byzantine cycle of illustrations and describes the miniatures in each codex by text, offering a concordance of scenes. Describes the characteristics of the figurative cycle and dates the manuscripts. Well illustrated in black-and-white. For scholars and advanced graduate students.
  616. Find this resource:
  617. Cutler, Anthony. The Aristocratic Psalters in Byzantium. Paris: A. and J. Picard, 1984.
  618. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  619. Studies the so-called aristocratic psalter, a manuscript type with full-page framed miniatures. Presents a catalogue of these manuscripts. Each decorated folio is described with inscriptions transcribed. Pages are all illustrated with black-and-white photographs; included is a full bibliography for each manuscript. For scholars and advanced graduate students.
  620. Find this resource:
  621. Galavaris, George. The Illustrations of the Liturgical Homilies of Gregory Nazianzenus. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969.
  622. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  623. An early study of author portraits and teaching scenes in a group of twenty illustrated manuscripts. Examines invented scenes, those migrated from other religious sources as well as mythological, historical, and genre depictions. Untangles variants as well as conflations. Black-and-white photographs of varying quality; for scholars.
  624. Find this resource:
  625. Lowden, John. Illuminated Prophet Books: A Study of Byzantine Manuscripts of the Major and Minor Prophets. University Park and London: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1988.
  626. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  627. A study and analysis of six manuscripts and the relations among their texts and illustrations. Compares the portraits and narrative scenes, linking the latter to other manuscripts such as menologia and the Sacra Parallela. Mostly black-and-white illustrations of poor quality. For scholars.
  628. Find this resource:
  629. Lowden, John. The Octateuchs: A Study in Byzantine Manuscript Illustration. University Park and London: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992.
  630. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  631. Very readable study of these four manuscripts using codicological and philological approaches. Discussion of copying, invention, and errors in illustration. Lowden suggests one source in the Cosmas Indicopleustes illustration, arguing against the idea of a single pictorial recension. Drawings of ruling patterns and many black-and-white illustrations; for graduate students and scholars.
  632. Find this resource:
  633. Nelson, Robert S. The Iconography of Preface and Miniature in the Byzantine Gospel Book. New York: New York University Press, 1980.
  634. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  635. Examines the nonnarrative illuminations of prologues, focusing on evangelist symbols, the Maiestas Domini, and portraits of the inspired evangelists. Describing images and inscriptions, it emphasizes the relationship of the image to the text. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this volume that also offers historiography. For scholars.
  636. Find this resource:
  637. Ševčenko, Nancy Patterson. Illustrated Manuscripts of the Metaphrastian Menologion. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1990.
  638. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  639. An extensive catalogue of manuscripts illustrating this text, grouped by the diverse ways they were decorated by looking at themes (martyrdom, portraits). Ševčenko attempts to create a chronology of these different forms of illustration. Unfortunately, as there are no illustrations, this book is mostly of use to scholars.
  640. Find this resource:
  641. Individual Manuscripts
  642.  
  643. Finally, many older projects such as Buchthal 1968 and Bianchi-Bandinelli 1955 examined a particular manuscript in a monographic treatment; this approach is occasionally still followed, as in Brubaker 1985, although the aim of understanding the manuscript in its political context is stressed.
  644.  
  645. Bianchi-Bandinelli, Ranuccio. Hellenistic-Byzantine Miniatures of the Iliad (Ilias Ambrosiana). Olten, Switzerland: Urs Graf-Verlag, 1955.
  646. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  647. Describes and reconstructs this codex, with diagrams and photographs, mostly black-and-white. Proposes a late 5th-/early 6th-century date, a single artist, and an origin in Constantinople. Analyzes the state of preservation, techniques, and iconography. Considers the relationship to classical elements, passed through manuscript models, including a tragedy. For scholars.
  648. Find this resource:
  649. Brubaker, Leslie. “Politics, Patronage and Art in Ninth-Century Byzantium: The Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus in Paris (B.N. Grec 510).” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 39 (1985): 1–13.
  650. DOI: 10.2307/1291513Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  651. Considers the manuscript in relation to contemporary manuscripts of this text and how the illustrations show conscious alterations of a conventional model to provide visual commentary in ways relevant to contemporary court and patriarchate. Illustrated in black-and-white. For scholars.
  652. Find this resource:
  653. Buchthal, Hugo. The Miniatures of the Paris Psalter: A Study in Middle Byzantine Painting. Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus Reprint, 1968.
  654. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  655. A 1938 study of this important classicizing manuscript, with full-sized black-and-white photos. Analyzes iconography and discusses the cycle, linking elements to their classical sources, and proposes a partial source in early Christian biblical strip illustrations. The study of style draws connections to contemporary manuscripts. For graduate students and scholars.
  656. Find this resource:
  657. Bindings
  658.  
  659. Lowden’s 2007 rare study of bindings offers information about a topic rarely examined.
  660.  
  661. Lowden, John. “The Word Made Visible.” In The Early Christian Book. Edited by William E. Klingshirn and Linda Safran, 13–47. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2007.
  662. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  663. Studies decorated exteriors of early Christian books, examining actual bindings and, in comparison, images of books as well as descriptions in literary accounts. Covers leather, painted wood, silver, gold, and ivory examples. Analyzes compositions in terms of symmetry, diptych-like form, and sense of display. Muddy black-and-white photographs. For advanced graduate students and up.
  664. Find this resource:
  665. Other Media
  666.  
  667. Metalwork, ceramics, glyptics, glass, and textiles were classed as minor arts until recently. While the almost equally dismissive “treasury arts” is often used as a descriptive, such art forms were important parts of churches, palaces, and homes in Byzantine times. Sculpture has usually been ignored as well, unless it is figurative. But from the 1980s onward, these media have been more prominently studied as part of major exhibitions and their catalogues (see Major Exhibition Catalogues for examples). Likewise, catalogues of major permanent collections have included large sections on these items.
  668.  
  669. Precious Media (Ivory and Metal)
  670.  
  671. Usually, the first to be examined in depth are the more precious materials. Ivories have been well studied in Goldschmidt and Weitzmann 1979 and more recently in Cutler 1994 and Connor 1998, using different approaches that consider production and polychromy. Coins—because they often involve gold—have been carefully catalogued in Grierson 1982. Works in silver have been the subject of major studies beginning with Dodd’s 1961 pioneering work on silver stamps. Boyd 1998 has extended these investigations, especially as more information about these items and the hoards they belong to has come to light, and other kinds of precious metal objects were also considered, such as Cotsonis 1994 on processional crosses; see also Durand 2004 and Grabar 1975 (both cited under Icon Revetments) on silver cladding of icons. Work on Byzantine enamels was comprehensively published in Wessel 1967, while individual items were discussed and reconstructed (see Epstein 1981, cited under Iconostasis, which discusses enamels on an epistyle). Bosselmann-Ruickbie 2011 (cited under Secular Arts) offers a discussion and catalogue of jewelry, most of which is of precious metals.
  672.  
  673. Boyd, Susan A. “Art in the Service of the Liturgy: Byzantine Silver Plate.” In Heaven on Earth: Art and the Church in Byzantium. Edited by Linda Safran, 152–183. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.
  674. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  675. Extremely clear discussion of many types of silver objects and their liturgical uses, along with issues of silver hoards, reattribution, and restoration. Decoration and inscriptions, illustrated with good photos and drawings, are comprehensively treated. Mostly covers early Byzantine work. Good resources for scholars and for students at all levels.
  676. Find this resource:
  677. Connor, Carolyn L. The Color of Ivory: Polychromy on Byzantine Ivories. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998.
  678. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  679. Examines the surfaces of ivories with microscope and ultraviolet light to observe remnants of pigments—stains, residue, and incrustation. The author builds a database, analyzing pigments and their sources, and examines ancient and Byzantine written accounts about ivory polychromy. Black-and-white and color photographs and reconstructions illustrate. For scholars.
  680. Find this resource:
  681. Cotsonis, John A. Byzantine Figural Processional Crosses. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1994.
  682. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  683. This catalogue of a particular type of metal cross includes both crosses made of precious metals, such as silver and silver gilt, and base metals, such as bronze sheathing over an iron core. The author describes the use of such crosses; he also analyzes iconography and metalworking techniques.
  684. Find this resource:
  685. Cutler, Anthony. The Hand of the Master: Craftsmanship, Ivory and Society in Byzantium (9th–11th Centuries). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.
  686. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  687. This study of ivory considers stages of production (cutting, finishing, assembling), discussion of quality, and consideration of the craftsmen and users. Ivories are grouped and dated. Unusual black-and-white photographs present both preserved pieces and fragments, shown from different angles, back views, etc. For graduate students and scholars.
  688. Find this resource:
  689. Dodd, Erica Cruikshank. Byzantine Silver Stamps. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1961.
  690. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  691. Pioneering comprehensive, systematic study of hallmarks and the vessels they mark, allowing absolute dating. Catalogues 103 objects, religious and secular, with full description, transcription of inscriptions on objects and stamps, diagrams, some casts, and black-and-white photographs. The starting point for research on Byzantine silver. For graduate students and scholars.
  692. Find this resource:
  693. Goldschmidt, Adolph, and Kurt Weitzmann. Die byzantinischen Elfenbeinskulpturen des X.–XIII. Jahrhunderts. Vols. 1 and 2. Berlin: Deutsche Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, 1979.
  694. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  695. An extensive catalogue with full description and black-and-white photo documentation. Volume 1 considers the rosette caskets by subject, linking motifs to proposed sources in cited comparisons. Volume 2 examines reliefs and “icon-like” pieces—triptychs, single plaques, coronation reliefs — comparing these to contemporary pieces in other media. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  696. Find this resource:
  697. Grierson, Philip. Byzantine Coins. London: Methuen, 1982.
  698. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  699. Covers coinage, 6th century through 1453, by dynasty and type. Discusses origins, phases, metals, weights, and mints. Each section (century/dynasty) begins with a general introduction and then treats medallions and coins by type, with full description, inscriptions, and black-and-white photographs. Includes the 13th-century governments in exile. For scholars.
  700. Find this resource:
  701. Wessel, Klaus. Byzantine Enamels from the 5th to the 13th century. Recklinghausen, Germany: Verlag Aurel Bongers, 1967.
  702. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  703. Begins with a history and discussion of enamel techniques, along with consideration of patronage and diffusion. A catalogue of sixty-six major pieces follows, with extended entries, bibliographic references, and photographs, mostly in black-and-white. Of use to everyone from advanced undergraduates on up.
  704. Find this resource:
  705. Sculpture (Stone and Base Metals)
  706.  
  707. Grabar’s 1963 study of early and middle Byzantine sculpture is still useful; not much investigation is done on Byzantine sculpture, unless it is part of a building (see Epstein 1981 cited under Iconostasis). More humble materials were not studied extensively; Grabar 1958 is a rare early study of lead pilgrim flasks. Other works in nonprecious materials such as steatites, copper, and bronze pieces were only studied later in the 20th century and early in the new millennium. Kalavrezou-Maxeiner 1985 is the first study of a body of steatite carvings. Brooks 2008 presents a set of copper repoussé plaques the author posits as an iconostasis covering. Pitarakis 2006 considers a large body of bronze cross reliquaries. Schwartz 2007 is a preliminary study of icons in copper repoussé, which mostly date to the mid-Byzantine period. Also from this period is jewelry in bronze, which is included in Bosselmann-Ruickbie 2011 (cited under Secular Arts). Mango 1994 studies the medium of tinned copper, a material that imitates silver and is occasionally seen as the material for vessels. The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection’s Byzantine Seals Online Catalogue sigillography project has catalogued and published hundreds of lead seals.
  708.  
  709. Brooks, Sarah T. “Sculpting the Triumphant Cross: The Byzantine Templon and an Unpublished Cycle of Precious-Metal Icons at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” In Abstracts of Papers, Thirty-Fourth Annual Byzantine Studies Conference, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, October 16–19, 2008. New York: Byzantine Studies Conference, 2008.
  710. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  711. Presents a unique group of icons and decorative panels in copper repoussé that form a templon beam, proving that this medium was used in this way. Proposes a date in the 10th/11th century. Full publication is forthcoming in The Metropolitan Museum Journal. For graduate students on up.
  712. Find this resource:
  713. Byzantine Seals Online Catalogue. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
  714. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  715. Devoted to research and electronic presentation of the collection’s 17,000 lead seals, continuing the work of Oikonomides and Nesbitt. Searchable by name or century; filtered searching is also possible. Clear directions, text, and photographs of obverse and reverse make this a useful resource for anyone interested in sigillography and numismatics.
  716. Find this resource:
  717. Grabar, André. Ampoules de Terre Sainte (Monza, Bobbio). Paris: Librairie Klincksieck, 1958.
  718. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  719. This pioneering study describes the flasks’ common features, giving a full description of each. The author then discusses the importance of their iconography and its variations, their artistic and aesthetic qualities, and their relationship to other metalwork such as coins and to contemporary works in other media. For graduate students and scholars.
  720. Find this resource:
  721. Grabar, André. Sculptures byzantines de Constantinople (IVe–Xe siècle). Paris: Librairie Adrien Maisonneuve, 1963.
  722. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  723. A discussion organized by function, including architectural and decorative sculpture. From the 9th century on, sections treat specific monuments that have extensive relief decoration such as the Feneri Isa Camii. A catalogue then describes individual pieces illustrated in black-and-white plates. For graduate students and scholars.
  724. Find this resource:
  725. Kalavrezou-Maxeiner, Ioli Despina. Byzantine Icons in Steatite. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1985.
  726. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  727. A presentation of steatite (soapstone) carvings, 10th–15th centuries. The introduction discusses their relationship to ivory, carving techniques, iconography, and literary references. A catalogue of 174 steatites divided by century and grouped by subject follows; black-and-white photographs are published in a second volume. For graduate students and scholars.
  728. Find this resource:
  729. Mango, Marlia Mundell. “The Significance of Byzantine Tinned Copper Objects.” In Thymíama stē mnēmē tēs Laskarínas Mpoúra. Edited by Rena Andreade, 221–227. Athens, Greece: Mouseío Mpenákē, 1994.
  730. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  731. This article deals with the imitation of earlier heavy silver objects in the less expensive material of tinned copper, presenting several liturgical pieces. A political explanation for the use of tin is offered. Scientific analyses are appended; the article is appropriate for advanced graduate students and scholars.
  732. Find this resource:
  733. Pitarakis, Brigitte. Les Croix-Reliquaires pectorales byzantines en bronze. Paris: Picard, 2006.
  734. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  735. A catalogue of bronze cross-shaped reliquaries from the 9th through the 12th centuries. Analysis of the iconography, along with the archaeological context of many, allows a relationship to pilgrimage centers in the Holy Land to be posited, along with a secondary linkage to monastic and military patrons and owners. For scholars.
  736. Find this resource:
  737. Schwartz, Ellen C. “Copper Repoussé Icons: A Preliminary Report.” In Abstracts of Papers, Thirty-Third Annual Byzantine Studies Conference, University of Toronto, October 11–14, 2007. New York: Byzantine Studies Conference, 2007.
  738. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  739. Studies icons made of copper repoussé, discussing their method of production and quality. Suggests usage as individual icons, coverings for templon beams, or icon screens of small chapels. Links them to objects in other media and offers the upper middle class as possible patrons and consumers. For graduate students on up.
  740. Find this resource:
  741. Ceramics and Textiles
  742.  
  743. Ceramic vessels have been studied intermittently, most recently in catalogues of exhibitions—see Major Exhibition Catalogues. Ceramic tiles that decorated buildings are seeing new studies. Gerstel and Lauffenburger 2001 and Gerstel 2011 discuss tiles from Nikomedia, while tiles from medieval Byzantinizing Bulgaria were studied decades ago in Schwartz 1982. Finally, more ephemeral materials have also been studied. Although not much wood has been preserved from Byzantine times, bread stamps were examined in Galavaris 1970 and wooden church beams in Kuniholm and Striker 1990 (cited under New Approaches: Scientific). Woodfin 2004 and Woodfin 2012 update Muthesius 1997 on Byzantine textiles.
  744.  
  745. Galavaris, George. Bread and the Liturgy: The Symbolism of Early Christian and Byzantine Bread Stamps. Madison, Milwaukee, and London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1970.
  746. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  747. Discussion of the use of bread in orthodox church liturgies and other church rites. Covers the making of bread and the use and nature of bread molds and stamps. Stamps are studied through iconography, inscriptions, and frequently used composition, and illustrated by black-and-white photographs of varying quality. For graduate students and scholars.
  748. Find this resource:
  749. Gerstel, Sharon E. J., with technical analysis by Julie Lauffenburger. “The Nikomedia Workshop: New Evidence on Byzantine Tiles.” Journal of the Walters Art Museum 66–67 (2011): 5–51.
  750. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  751. An extensive catalogue with color photographs and thorough analysis of tiles made in Nikomedia. It includes figural as well as ornamental tiles and some reconstructions, along with discussion of their disposition on church walls and the relationship of tile to painted decoration in the 10th century. For scholars.
  752. Find this resource:
  753. Gerstel, Sharon E. J., and Julie A. Lauffenburger. A Lost Art Rediscovered: The Architectural Ceramics of Byzantium. Baltimore: Walters Art Museum in association with Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001.
  754. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  755. Essays, from a variety of angles, discuss the ceramic tiles that decorated Constantinopolitan churches from the 9th through the 11th centuries. Includes lists of sites, a typology of images and ornamental motifs, discussion of techniques of manufacture, and a full catalogue. For graduate students and scholars.
  756. Find this resource:
  757. Muthesius, Anna. Byzantine Silk Weaving AD 400 to AD 1200. Vienna: Verlag Fassbaender, 1997.
  758. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  759. A thorough presentation of silk technology (materials, dyes, weaving techniques) opens this book. Silks are grouped and discussed by techniques and motifs, followed by an extensive catalogue of pieces with full entries, color photos, diagrams, charts, and reconstruction drawings. Some information will be useful at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels.
  760. Find this resource:
  761. Schwartz, Ellen C. “Medieval Ceramic Decoration in Bulgaria.” Byzantinoslavica 43.1 (1982): 45–50.
  762. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  763. Examines the wall and floor tiles found around Preslav, capital of the first Bulgarian kingdom, dated to just after 900. Argues that these show the desire of patrons in medieval Bulgaria to imitate the precious decoration of Byzantine churches in a more affordable and easily worked material. For graduate students and scholars.
  764. Find this resource:
  765. Woodfin, Warren T. “Liturgical Textiles.” In Byzantium, Faith and Power 1261–1557. Edited by Helen C. Evans, 295–299. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2004.
  766. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  767. Covers the development of liturgical textiles from earlier times. Emphasizes those used as liturgical implements (aer and epitaphios) but also discusses the garments of various ranks of celebrants. References to the catalogue entries that follow allow for full illustration in color. For graduate students and scholars.
  768. Find this resource:
  769. Woodfin, Warren T. The Embodied Icon: Liturgical Vestments and Sacramental Power in Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
  770. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  771. Examines liturgical dress in the 12th to the 15th century, its iconography, materiality, and how it functions symbolically. Links the embroidered decoration to church painting on the walls and iconostasis. Makes connections to the liturgy, mystagogical interpretations of images, and the relationship to imperial dress. For graduate students and scholars.
  772. Find this resource:
  773. Secular Arts
  774.  
  775. Byzantine art is usually studied as a religious art, because the preponderance of buildings and objects that have survived comes from churches and monasteries. Objects made for this patronage usually were made of desirable materials—gold, ivory, marble, mosaic—and kept protected (such as manuscripts). Secular buildings and objects, however, do exist, and scholars have studied them, especially in more recent times. Maguire, et al.’s 1989 exhibition catalogue on the Byzantine house was one of the first presentations of a wide array of nonreligious objects. Maguire and Maguire 2007 followed up the examination of nonreligious material in a large study on the secular arts and its varied themes. Vikan 1984, a study of magical objects, elucidates the Byzantine approach to healing through magic and often pilgrimage to important sites. Bosselmann-Ruickbie 2011 presents Byzantine jewelry from finds with secure mid-Byzantine dates. Oikonomides and Nesbitt’s work on seals (see Byzantine Seals Online Catalogue cited under Sculpture [Stone and Base Metals]) and Grierson’s 1982 work on coins (cited under Precious Media [Ivory and Metal]) carefully catalogue and publish these types of secular objects. Bernabò 1998 presents an illuminated bestiary, one of the secular manuscripts that has been preserved. Recent publications such as Ousterhout 2005 on excavations and studies of Cappadocian structures point to their usage as extended house complexes rather than monasteries, as formerly assumed. While much of this scholarship is presented in conference proceedings and specialized journals, it is usable by scholars and students at all upper levels.
  776.  
  777. Bernabò, Massimo. Il Fisiologo di Smirne: le miniature del perduto codice B. 8 della Biblioteca della Scuola evangelica di Smirne. Florence: SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo, 1998.
  778. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  779. Examines the illustrations of the lost 11th-century codex of the Physiologos, a Byzantine bestiary, once in Smryna. Describes and analyzes the miniatures; places the manuscript in context with others illustrating this text. Includes diagrams of ruling patterns and many illustrations in black-and-white. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  780. Find this resource:
  781. Bosselmann-Ruickbie, Antje. Byzantinischer Schmuck des 9. bis frühen 13. Jahrhunderts: Untersuchungen zum metallenen dekorativen Körperschmuck der mittelbyzantinishen Zeit anhand datierter Fund. Wiesbaden, Germany: Reichert Verlag, 2011.
  782. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  783. Discusses finds, analyzing types of jewelry by find spot and by category. Catalogue of pieces organized by type, with extensive descriptions and detailed photographs. Unusually includes jewelry of base metals. A separate catalogue lists and illustrates depictions of jewelry organized by medium (mosaic, fresco, ivory, etc.). For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  784. Find this resource:
  785. Maguire, Eunice Dauterman, and Henry P. Maguire. Other Icons: Art and Power in Byzantine Secular Culture. Princeton, NJ, and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2007.
  786. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  787. Presents a thematic consideration of the realm of “unofficial” Byzantine art, 8th–14th centuries. Focusing on invention as exemplified by hybrid creatures, themes such as supernatural power and marvels of the court are considered. Well illustrated in black-and-white by a variety of monuments and contexts. For advanced graduate students and scholars.
  788. Find this resource:
  789. Maguire, Eunice Dauterman, Henry P. Maguire, and Maggie J. Duncan-Flowers. Art and Holy Powers in the Early Christian House. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1989.
  790. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  791. Catalogue of an exhibition about the house and its contents, 4th–7th century. The book deals with symbolic and apotropaic motifs, as well as biblical and Christian decoration on objects, mostly those of daily use—furnishings, medical devices, toys, etc. Illustrated primarily with black-and-white photographs. For advanced undergraduates on up.
  792. Find this resource:
  793. Ousterhout, Robert G. A Byzantine Settlement in Cappadocia. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2005.
  794. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  795. This study examines ecclesiastical rock-cut architecture and, more significantly, several complexes previously thought to be monastic. The author convincingly argues that these were secular settlements and links the types of rock-cut structures to various late Roman and pan-Mediterranean building types. Many photographs and plans make this useful for scholars and graduate students.
  796. Find this resource:
  797. Vikan, Gary. “Art, Medicine and Magic in Early Byzantium.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 38 (1984): 65–86.
  798. DOI: 10.2307/1291495Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  799. Investigates medical magic through the examination of texts, eulogia, and other objects in a case study of the shrine of Symeon the Younger. Argues for the roots of magical medicine in the Hellenized eastern Mediterranean. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs of amulets and amuletic jewelry. For graduate students and scholars.
  800. Find this resource:
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Advertisement
Public Pastes
Advertisement
We use cookies for various purposes including analytics. By continuing to use Pastebin, you agree to our use of cookies as described in the Cookies Policy.  OK, I Understand
Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!