Writing in gold. Byzantine society and its icons

Description

Writing in Gold is a bold and challenging statement about the importance of the visual arts in a largely illiterate society. Exploring the height of Byzantine society from the 6th to the 12th centuries through a survey of the period's surviving paintings, mosaics, and metalware, the book shows how these art objects molded attitudes and beliefs in the medieval world. The examples chosen cover the full range of Byzantine society from the sophisticated urban environment of Constantinople, where emperors used art to maintain loyalty and support for the system, to the life of a small community on Cyprus, where a recluse used art to glorify himself to his disciples. Written in a lively style, and drawing on new and original material throughout, Writing in Gold illuminates an intriguing period in art history. Frontispiece Contents 1. The visible saint: St Theodore of Sykeon 2. The saint imagined: St Demetrios of Thessaloniki 3. Iconoclasm: The imposition of change 4. After iconoclasm: The illusion of tradition 5. Paradise sought: The imperial use of art 6. Paradise gained: The private use of art Retrospect Byzantine emperors Glossary Bibliography Index