This second edition enhances the original publication, which itself was a masterful compilation and analysis of key themes and works of art in Byzantium over the period from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries. Byzantine Art elucidates but also reasons with assumptions, providing a balanced account of the historical, theoretical and empirical evidence available for our knowledge of Byzantine art. The revisions serve to underline its place as the most useful and insightful single book available on Byzantine art.
Of great benefit is the section on further reading, which has been somewhat extended in this edition and points to C.’s far-reaching knowledge and ability to maintain currency. The box texts with background insights, such as ‘How to date a dated Inscription or Colophon’, are valuable, as is the timeline.
The final chapter, new to this edition, gives up-to-date commentary on recent issues in Byzantine studies, such as the nature and influence of Iconoclasm and the parameters of the term Byzantine, discussing Byzantine-influenced developments into the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It also justifies decisions made regarding the organisation and selection of material in the first edition, such as the chronological framework, the use of works of art made for the elite and their Christian nature. These are criticisms often vented in Byzantine studies, and it is to C.’s credit that, in presenting chronologically (which makes the greatest sense), each chapter carries a strong theme within it, and exploration of textual evidence complements the visual in understanding how works of art functioned as part of life, and carried on doing so in the cultures that succeeded Byzantium.
In terms of presentation, visually the text is slightly more condensed. Most of the black-and-white illustrations have been replaced with colour. However, in several, the colour is misrepresentatively bright and/or washed out; so some of the accuracy is lost. This is particularly noticeable in those showing manuscripts and metalwork. A few images that were previously reversed have been corrected (figs 39, 111, 113, 115, 126), another has been corrected in terms of accuracy (fig. 51) and one, a full-page illustration of the floor of the Great Palace mosaics in Istanbul, is a new addition, as are those illustrating the final chapter. Overall, in terms of selection, the 131 illustrations are extremely well chosen.
The book remains an excellent source for understanding Byzantine art. It provides a both enjoyable and useful tool for enthusiasts, students and the more experienced in Byzantine studies, while offering insightful discussion and clarification of thorny historical and visual issues.
