Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The coverage of this book focuses on the art of Constantinople from 330 to 1453 and the stages this went through in reaction to historical circumstances as the city progressed from the Christian centre of the Eastern Roman Empire, to the crisis of attack from the new religion of Islam, to revived medieval splendour and then, after the Latin capture of 1204 and the reoccupation by Byzantine after 1261, to a period of cultural reconciliation with east and west. The book shows how changes in society led to changes in art by focusing on particular cases and objects.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. vi)
• Chapter 1 Rome with a Christian Face?: Early Byzantine Art 330-527 (p. 1)
• Chapter 2 In the Shadow of St Sophia: Byzantine Art in the Sixth Century and its Aftermath 527-680 (p. 37)
• Chapter 3 The Definition of an Orthodox Christian Empire: Byzantine Art 680-843 (p. 75)
• Chapter 4 Developments and Diversions in the Consolidated Empire: Middle Byzantine Art 843-1071 (p. 105)
• Chapter 5 The New Spirituality of the Eleventh Century and the World of the Twelfth Century (p. 145)
• Chapter 6 Art in the Service of a Failing Society: Late Byzantine Art 1204-1453 (p. 187)
• Notes (p. 218)
• Timeline (p. 224)
• Glossary (p. 229)
• Further Reading (p. 231)
• Museums and Websites (p. 238)
• List of Illustrations (p. 240)
• Index (p. 245)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Because Byzantine art portrays a society in change, defining the period and its contributions is a big undertaking. The author of several books on iconography and Byzantine art, Cormack (history of art, Univ. of London; deputy director, Courtauld Inst. of Art) only partially meets the challenge of making his subject understandable. The book's organization lends to its accessibility; Cormack breaks down the era's political and social developments, revealing their complexity, and time lines and sidebars make the topic more approachable. The trade paperback size (standard for this series) means smaller illustrations, which is a shortcoming. But the list of Internet links to museums with Byzantine art collections will be very useful for students. Despite the book's strengths, Cormack is not writing for the beginner, and some of this material will be over the heads of most readers. A respectable but not necessary addition to public and academic libraries that need the subject coverage. Karen Ellis, Nicholson Memorial Lib. Syst., Garland, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

One premise of this book is that there is no such thing as an innocent eye: the reader comes burdened with received ideas that Cormack (Courtauld Institute of Art) proposes at one point to "deconstruct" and at another, to "test," presumably like an old-fashioned empiricist. Where surveys such as Lowden's Early Christian & Byzantine Art (CH, Apr'98) stress the uncertainties of our knowledge about individual works, Cormack rightly frets about the difficulties involved in their interpretation. He asserts as matters of fact points over which other scholars agonize. The book is at its best when it recognizes the extent to which late Byzantine art was open to the West, and at its worst when the publisher's hand reveals itself. Too many images that cry out for color are rendered in murky half tones; too many of those in color have the ruddy hue of old transparencies. And the not-so-innocent eye will surely rebel against old warhorses (the Crucifixion page from the Rabbula Gospels, the Transfiguration in the Paris Kantakouzenos, and Angelos's marvelous Kardiotissa icon) printed backwards. Useful list of relevant museums and Web sites. General readers; undergraduates. A. Cutler Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Robin Cormack is Professor in the History of Art in the University of London, and Deputy Director of the Courtauld Institute of Art. Previous books are Writing in Gold and Painting the Soul (Runciman Award 1998). He was Royal Academy consultant for the exhibitions from 'Byzantium to El Greco' and the 'Art of Holy Russia'. He lives in Cambridge.