MiNoit ARTS. The mediaeval artists of the Byzantine Empire excelled in the arts of luxury, decoration, and industry; in the illuminating of manuscripts: the carving of ivory book-covers, boxes, and diptychs; the weaving of tapestries, hangings, and rugs; the making of superb vest ments for the priesthood and nobility; the carv ing of cameos and precious stones, glassware, and faience: the casting, embossing, chasing, and enameling of works in gold. silver, and bronze. Church treasuries and palaces were equally tilled with a multitude of such works. The description of the ceremonial of the imperial palace by the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. the texts relating to Saint Sophia, the report of the em bassy of the Lombard Luitprand, and many other texts are confirmed by the surviving examples ex ported to the West. The superb eolleetion of church vessels in the treasury of Saint Mark's in Venice is ma inly part of the loot of 1214 from Sa int Sophia. The imperial dalmatian at Saint Peter's in Thane is the most beautiful of Byzantine fig ured stuffs, which were among the most valuable expf iris; from the East. The enameled reliquary at Liminiro. (948-59) and the crown of Saint Stephen IIKI-78) at Budapest also stand at the head of their class, being surpassed only by the famous Pale d'Oro at Saint Mark's. That the artists of ConAantinople often received orders from the West is shown by the bronze doors deco rated with designs in nici/o executed for Italian churches in the Eleventh Century, such as those of Amalfi, Monte Cassino, Sant' Angelo. Atrani, and Saint l'aul's at Rome. The ivory carvings still extant are very numerous. The golden ages for their production were the Fifth to the Sixth and the Tenth to the Eleventh centuries, though perfection in this branch of art was more con stint than in any other until the Thirteenth Cen tury. Among the most beautiful early pieces are the 3Ionza diptych of (lalla Placidia (c.-110), the Archangel of the British Museum, the Brescia Lox, and especially the marvelous episcopal throne at Ravenna, Of later works, some of the finest are the "Virgin and Child." the "Cruci fixion" triptych and the "Coronation of IZomanus and Eudoxia" in Paris. One especially interest ing class is that of the ivory oblong boxes, the only large series that are not religious in charac ter. carved with lifelike scenes of daily life or borrowed from classic legend and myth—a pecu liar survival. These can he seen at Sens, Cor tona. Florence (Carrand), Saint Petersburg, New York (Metropolitan Museum), London (Saint Bens), and in nearly all large collections of me diirval ivories. Surpassing even the ivories, both in their importance for the history of art and in remaining examples, are the Greek illuminated manuscripts. It was in the East that the first works of this sort were executed. The idea of making pictures of all the main. events of the Old and New Testaments in chronological series, starting in this way. passed into the field of monumental painting in the Fifth Century, and was most fruitful in results. The gold ground, the brilliant coloring, the idealistic qualities, and the opposition to realism of this branch of art made it peculiarly suitable as an expression of the Byzantine spirit. It followed the same his toric vicissitudes as ivory-carving. The Rossano Gospels, the Vienna and London Genesis, the Vatican roll of Joshua and Topography of Cos mas. the Syriac manuscript at Florence are the leading early works (Fifth to the Sixth Cen tury). For the middle period, with its peculiar combination of asceticism and classic revival, the typical works are the Homilies of Gregory Na zianzen and the Psalter in Paris ( BibliothNue Nationale), and the later Menologium of Basil at the Vatican (Ninth to the Tenth Century). A certain number of manuscripts executed by im perial command are especially magnificent, such as Saint .John Chrysostom for Nivenhorus Botani ates (1078-S1) at Paris, the Panoply for Alexis Comnenus ( lusl-Ills), and the Evangeliarium for .John Comnenus (IIIS-43) at the Vatican. The decoration has become extremely rich at this time and the figures reduced in size or surround ed by heavy borders. Classic traditions no longer
obtain, and asceticism dominates. The connec tion with monumental painting during all these centuries has remained very close, and as there is an unbroken series of examples, in contrast to the scarcity- and breaks in larger works of and wall painting, the miniatures supply invalu able material for the hi-toffy of mediaoval paint ing. In this branch only does the East preserve many examples, in the libraries of many monas teries, such as those of Mount Mount Athos. and many more throughout the Levant. still it is in Western collections, such as the Vatican, Bibliothioque Nationale, and British Museum libraries, that the bulk has found ref uge. Being a common object of commerce, these manuscripts, imported into Italy, Germany, and France, furnished local s•ulptorso painters, and decorators with models and motives in nearly every branch of art during all the centuries before the Renaissance. Finally, there are a few other categories which may lie mentioned. though of lesser importance. There were little portable mosaic tablets. such as the diptychs in the t del Dimino in Florence and the Transfiguration in the Louvre. of marvelous delicacy of execu tion. The panel pictures. which were of consid erable size in Daly. appear to have been smaller in the Byzantine School. The remaining exam ples are mostly later than the Twelfth Century. 'There are interesting collections at the Vatican, at Ravenna, and at Palermo. Earlier panel pic tures are some of the so-called miraculous paint ings of the "Virgin and Child." sonic supposed to be painted without hands. A number are in Rome (e.g,. Santi Domencio e Sisto and Santa Maria Maggiore), Venice (Saint Mark's), Bo logna (San Stefano), and throughout Italy. Crete was the centre for a school of panel paint ing, one of its leaders being Rico. It influenced the Italian schools in the Thirteenth Century. In Venice itself was established, in the Eleventh Century. a school of Byzantine painters. In the vexed question of Byzantine influence over Euro pean art. there is one point where no reasonable doubt can exist: that in all these minor arts the far more advanced culture of the East furnished the standards, not only for technique and artistic form, hut for treatment of theme. The silk and tapestry workers of Sicily. Venice. Rome. and Flanders, the gold, silver, and enamel workers of the Rhine, the mosaicists of Campania and Ven ice, the panel painters of Tuscany, the ivory carvers and goldsmiths of the monasteries every where, learned their art from Byzantium.
litufloGnArny. Bayet, L'Art By:antia (Paris, 1S92), is a convenient handbook. The literary sources are collected in Unger. Quellen der byzan tinischen Kunstgcschichte (Vienna, ISTS). In Garrucci. 8toria dell' a rte cristiana ( Prato. I879-99), arc reproduced the miniatures. ivo ries. mosaics, and other works earlier than the Ninth Century. Kondakorr, Histoire de Part by:antin (Paris. 1SSG-911, is a careful study of the history of Byzantine illuminated manu scripts. Labarte, Histoire des arts industriels (Paris, 1873), though uncritical. is very impor tant as the only general treatment of all the minor arts, well illu-drated. The great collec tions of Cahier and :Martin. ti pie (Paris, I8.17-50). and id., You Inf' lanyes d'arclu'ologie (Paris, I s74), contain ninny ivories, stuffs. and illuminations. For enamels the best work is Kondakoff, Gcschich le and Penk miiler des byzantinisehen Entails (Frankfort, 1SS9-92). For an account of the great share taken by the monasteries of Mount Athos, con sult Brockhaus. [lie Kunst in den .1 thos-Klds ltrn ( Leipzig, Is91 ) ; for methods of construc tion. Choisy, L'art Je 'Aar chez less By:antins (Paris, ISS3) ; for groups of monuments, nil gher. Les anriennes byz-antincs de Con stantinople ( Vienna, I Sig ) ; Sa lzenberg, altehristlichen Baltdenkmale non Konstantinoin (Berlin, L:51) : Texier and Pullan. By2riu / in( Architecture ( London, I Ssi). Historical ses may be found in Essenwein. Ba nst (Darmstadt. }SSG) in a German series of handbooks edited by Dunn. and in Kraus, (cs•hiehtc der christlichen Kunst, 1. (Freiburg, 1S96).