Reply To: Artistic Conventions

[Bob Hook]

There is definitely a change in the subject matter and the style of artists during the Byzantine Era. I am amazed at the focus that was placed on Christian religious Imagery. Gone is the Humanist movement of the Greeks. I did a search for secular Byzantine art and I found very little. There were some Islamic images from late in the period and there were some non-religious scenes carved in elephant ivory panels. The article I found stated that ivory was not used to depict religious scenes and I saw more realistic looking relief carvings that depicted chariot races and celebrations. Gone were the depictions of peasants and everyday life. It was replaced with a flattened stylized depiction of saints and angels with details that were indicative of their holiness.