The fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople to the Latin West in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade abruptly interrupted nearly nine hundred years of artistic and cultural traditions. In 1261, however, the Byzantine general Michael VIII Palaiologos triumphantly re-entered Constantinople and reclaimed the seat of the empire, initiating a resurgence of art and culture that would continue for nearly three hundred years, not only in the waning empire itself but also among rival Eastern Christian nations eager to assume its ...
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The fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople to the Latin West in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade abruptly interrupted nearly nine hundred years of artistic and cultural traditions. In 1261, however, the Byzantine general Michael VIII Palaiologos triumphantly re-entered Constantinople and reclaimed the seat of the empire, initiating a resurgence of art and culture that would continue for nearly three hundred years, not only in the waning empire itself but also among rival Eastern Christian nations eager to assume its legacy. Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557) , and the groundbreaking exhibition that it accompanies, explores the artistic and cultural flowering of the last centuries of the Empire of the Romans and its enduring heritage. Conceived as the third of a trio of exhibitions dedicated to a fuller understanding of the art of the Byzantine Empire, whose influence spanned more than a millennium, Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557) followed the 1997 landmark presentation of The Glory of Byzantium, which focused on the art and culture of the Middle Byzantine era--the Second Golden Age of the Byzantine Empire (843-1261). In the late 1970s, The Age of Spirituality explored the early centuries of Byzantium's history. The concluding segment Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557) explored the exceptional artistic accomplishments of an era too often considered in terms of political decline. Magnificent works--from splendid frescoes, textiles, gilded metalwork, and mosaics to elaborately decorated manuscripts and liturgical objects--testify to the artistic and intellectual vigor of the Late and post-Byzantine eras. In addition, forty magnificent icons from the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine, Sinai, Egypt, join others from leading international institutions in a splendid gathering of these powerful religious images. While the political strength of the empire weakened, the creativity and learning of Byzantium spread farther than ever before. The exceptional works of secular and religious art produced by Late Byzantine artists were emulated and transformed by other Eastern Christian centers of power, among them Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Cilician Armenia. The Islamic world adapted motifs drawn from Byzantium's imperial past, as Christian minorities in the Muslim East continued Byzantine customs. From Italy to the Lowlands, Byzantium's artistic and intellectual practices deeply influenced the development of the Renaissance, while, in turn, Byzantium's own traditions reflected the empire's connections with the Latin West. Fine examples of these interrelationships are illustrated by important panel paintings, ceramics, and illuminated manuscripts, among other objects. In 1557 the Empire of the Romans, as its citizens knew it, which had fallen to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, was renamed Byzantium by the German scholar Hieronymus Wolf. The cultural and historical interaction and mutual influence of these major cultures--the Latin West and the Christian and Islamic East--during this fascinating period are investigated in this publication by a renowned group of international scholars in seventeen major essays and catalogue discussions of more than 350 exhibited objects. [This book was originally published in 2004 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.] Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
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Good-Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name-GOOD Oversized.
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Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 030010278X. Color Plates and Reproductions; 4to 11"-13" tall; 680 pages; 2004 Metropolitan Museum of Art & Yale University Press. Stout oversize HC/DJ. 1st edition, 1st printing. Tightly bound exceptionally neat in crisp edged and uniformly bright pictorial dust jacket. Feels and appears unread and about as new. Lavishly illustrated with color plates and reproductions. NF/NF or better...Oversize book will require additional charges for most shipping methods.
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New. 030010278X. *** FREE UPGRADE to Courier/Priority Shipping Upon Request *** – – *** IN STOCK AND IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT-FLAWLESS COPY, BRAND NEW, PRISTINE, NEVER OPENED-680 pages. Description: During the last centuries of the "Empire of the Romans, " Byzantine artists created exceptional secular and religious works that had an enduring influence on art and culture. In later years, Eastern Christian centers of power emulated and transformed Byzantine artistic styles, the Islamic world adapted motifs drawn from Byzantium's imperial past, and the development of the Renaissance from Italy to the Lowlands was deeply affected by Byzantine artistic and intellectual practices. This spectacular book presents hundreds of objects in all media from the late thirteenth through mid-sixteenth centuries. Featured in full-color reproductions are sacred icons, luxuriously embroidered silk textiles, richly gilded metalwork, miniature icons of glass, precious metals and gemstone, and elaborately decorated manuscripts. In the accompanying text, renowned scholars discuss the art and investigate the cultural and historical interaction between these major cultures-the Christian and Islamic East and the Latin West. Continuing the story of the critically acclaimed The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A. D. 843-1261, this book-the first to focus exclusively on the last centuries of the Byzantine era-is a highly anticipated publication that will not be superceded for generations. --with a bonus offer--