7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Durable Survey, May 20, 2005
This review is from: Art of the Byzantine Era (World of Art) (Paperback)
Rice's introduction to Byzantine art is particularly useful in that it does not limit itself to the arts of Constantinople only. It focuses first on the Late Antique period (primarily in Egypt), and then goes on to provide worthwhile overviews of artistic developments in Constantinople, Byzantine Italy and the Balkans. And, although he provides little more than a cursory explanation of the complex causes of change in the Byzantine aesthetic, the author's enthusiasm for his subject is evident in his clear, jargon-free descriptions of individual works. Despite being originally published almost 40 years ago, this study still effectively conveys the breadth of Byzantium's artistic influence better than most.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Good survey of art in the Byzantine "commonwealth", October 9, 2011
This review is from: Art of the Byzantine Era (World of Art) (Paperback)
While this book discusses Byzantine art, it also describes art in what Dmitri Obolensky described as
The Byzantine Commonwealth. As such, this book is on a lot more than just the art produced in and for the elites in Constantinople. Instead Talbot Rice describes the influence of Byzantine art surrounding regions, such as Armenia, Norman Sicily, the Slavonic lands, and Georgia. The cover of the book amply demonstrates this fact, given that the mosaic depicted is not one produced in the Byzantine Empire, but rather the crowning of Roger II of Sicily. Looking at regions outside of Constantinople's temportal power but still under the influence of Byzantine art is what this book does. In this survey, Talbot Rice examines an enormous variety of artistic source material: mosaics, manuscripts, textiles, objects of art, churches, sculpture, ivories, and enamels. While this is an incredible selection of material spanning an vast geographical area, he manages to synthesize it cogently. The result is this good little book on Byzantine art. For a Thames and Hudson publication, I was a little disappointed in the number of colour plates, given that their books often include a disproportionate quantity of colour plates in relation to their price compared to many other art books. Nonetheless, there are still sixty-some colour images in this book, and given the price one can hardly complain.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoy the Sacred Art, and its historical background, March 18, 2006
This review is from: Art of the Byzantine Era (World of Art) (Paperback)
****
"Not since the world was made was there ever seen or won so great a treasure, or so noble or so rich, ... had there been so much wealth as was found in Constantinople." Robert of Clari, a French crusader, in 1204
Byzantine Art:
Byzantine always admired art reflected the splendor and prestige of its court and church, which were often intertwined in Byzantine society and culture. Byzantine art set standards for craftsmanship, and its architecture reflected the Eastern Orthodox worship traditions which thrived in the Eastern part of the post Constantine Roman Empire. The the time frame of Byzantine art consists of a first golden age, started after establishment in 330 the second golden age of Byzantine art, and the late period, ended with the Ottomans in 1453. The development of the style of Byzantine Art was achieved during the Fifth and Sixth centuries. During the Eighth and Ninth Centuries, the writing of icons (painting of saints' images) was prohibited by Emperor Leo III in 726, and then after by the iconoclasts who believed iconography was a form of idolatry and that all icons should be destroyed. This spilt the empire into two parties and came to be known as the Iconoclastic Crisis. Icon painting and mosaics were restored again in the Ninth century and thrived until the fall of the Empire to the Turkmen. Sculpture was limited only to then small ivory book covers.
In, 'Art a World History' Jo Marceau, concludes that, "Byzantine art displayed the same constancy: in the fifth and sixth centuries, it developed a formal expression that was manifested in thousands of works of art that came to be regarded as sacred and immutable."
Sacred Art of Icons:
The Eastern Churches adopted an earnest reflected tone to worship in contrast to the colossal cathedrals of the West. This focus is reflected in Byzantine art, and in architecture as featured in the unique dome style, exemplary in the Hagia Sophia. The figures in those arts appear flat, two dimensional with minimal use of shadowing, to give any three dimensional impression. Figures are almost always presented from the front with somber faces and solemn looks amplified with staring eyes. Faces were rather narrow and dark, with trendy use of a reflecting gold background. Very little attempt, if any, was made for realism in the painting, while mosaic depictions are more impressionists, the Ravenna collection is especially cheerful and beautiful.
A Classic Art Study:
Talbot Rice, an authority on Byzantine Art, who traveled and worked in east Mediterranean countries, and visited Cappadocia and Cilicia, wrote a compelling study, and edited a masterly presentation of almost 250 pieces of art in icons, mosaics, frescoes, Coptic textiles, ivories, jeweled gospel covers, and gave an exposition of the beautiful architecture of the era, which characterizes Orthodox Worship to date. This study is a rare attestation to the roots of iconography in Coptic mural paintings at the ancient monasteries at Bagawat (5th century), Deir Abu Hennis and Bawit, and those of Suryan monastery. But most beautiful is the Coptic icon of Christ and St. Menas (now in the Louvre)
David Talbot Rice:
Talbot Rice was University of Edinburgh Fine arts professor, and an eminent Byzantine. He joined the Oxford Field Museum excavation at Kish, Iraq, after graduation in 1925. He first visited Mount Athos with Byzantinist Robert Byron in 1926. In 1932, Rice was appointed a lecturer, at the University of London.
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