![]() ![]() While a certain number of works of art and in particular manuscripts were destroyed, some manuscripts were nevertheless produced during this period from the seventh to the mid-ninth century, particularly in the peripheral areas of the empire, such as in Palestine, or in Italy. ![]() Pages from the Sinopensis Gospel Development Iconoclastic period The Rabbula Gospels, which come from Mesopotamia and is dated to 586, move further away from this style, with more contrasting colors and more geometric shapes. The artistic trend leans more towards hieratic and more abstract figures than in the previous period. This is the case in the oldest of these codices, the Vienna Dioscorides, commissioned by Princess Anicia Juliana in Constantinople at the beginning of this century, but also in somewhat later manuscripts such as the Vienna Genesis, the Codex Sinopensis and the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (which comes from the south of Byzantine Italy) or even the Cotton Genesis, which most likely comes from Egypt. These manuscripts show clear influences of ancient stylistic traditions. The earliest manuscripts date back to the 6th century. There are still some fragments of illuminated papyri found in Egypt which prove that there was an early byzantine tradition of illuminating manuscripts. ![]() Constantine I installed a scriptorium in his palace, and it is likely that it had a presence of illuminators and miniaturists, but none of its manuscripts have been preserved. Ĭombined there are 40.000 Byzantine manuscripts extant today but most are not illuminated.ĭue to the lack of early Byzantine manuscripts, it is difficult to know about the situation of illumination during the first centuries of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine iconoclasm paused production of figural art in illuminated manuscripts for many decades, and resulted in the destruction or mutilation of many existing examples. However, there are examples, both literary (mostly early) and religious (mostly later). ![]() "Luxury" heavily-illuminated manuscripts are less of a feature in the Byzantine world than in Western Christianity, perhaps because the Greek elite could always read their texts, which was often not the case with Latin books in the West, and so the style never became common. In addition to the majority of manuscripts, in Greek, there are also manuscripts from the Syriac Church, such as the Rabbula Gospels, and Armenian illuminated manuscripts which are heavily influenced by the Byzantine tradition. Madrid Skylitzes), medical texts such as the Vienna Dioscurides, and some manuscripts of the Greek version of the Alexander Romance. Not all Byzantine illuminated manuscripts were religious texts, secular subjects are represented in chronicles (e.g. 12th century miniature from the Skylitzes Chronicle depicting Emperor Theophilos and his court. These religious manuscripts were most commissioned by patrons and were used for private worship but also gifted to churches to be used in services. Monasteries produced many of the illuminated manuscripts devoted to religious works using the illustrations to highlight specific parts of text, a saints' martyrdom for example, while others were used for devotional purposes similar to icons. Religious images or icons were made in Byzantine art in many different media: mosaics, paintings, small statues and illuminated manuscripts. In total there are 14 images throughout the psalter.īyzantine illuminated manuscripts were produced across the Byzantine Empire, some in monasteries but others in imperial or commercial workshops. 10th-century illumination in the Paris Psalter which depicts the life of David, author of the Book of Psalms. ![]()
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