Book Description
The subject of this book is the Byzantine revival of the 19th and early 20th centuries, in architecture, fine art, the decorative arts and literature. Neglected and vilified for centuries, Byzantium came to exercise a potent influence on groups and individuals, who each interpreted its legacy in different ways and used it to promote different aims. Ludwig I and Ludwig II of Bavaria, and Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia retreated into Byzantine fantasy to express their ideal of divine kingship. French and German patriots claimed that the early medieval churches of southwest France and the Rhineland were directly inspired by Byzantine models. French High Catholics were attracted by the severe and hieratic figures in the mosaics at Ravenna, adapting them as symbols of authority, while at the other extreme the Symbolists responded to Byzantium's supposed decadence, and the scandalous Empress Theodora was made the subject of a sensational stage play. John Ruskin was seduced by the "voluptuous chastity" of St Mark's, Venice; William Morris, on the other hand, pressed Byzantium into the service of democracy and socialism. Architects turned to the Byzantine dome as an antidote to the ubiquitous Gothic. Artists and designers were attracted by the anti-naturalistic style of Byzantine ornament, and in America Louis Comfort Tiffany used Byzantine motifs and inspiration for purely secular ends. The early theorists of modernism also looked to Byzantium for inspiration, and the poet W.B. Yeats felt its otherworldly and mysterious power. The Byzantine revival was never widely popular; it attracted extremists, outsiders and visionaries. Nevertheless, it was important and influential. Professor Bullen's interdisciplinary study presents a coherent account of the varied manifestations of Byzantinism in Germany, Austria, France, Britain and America, and unravels the early confusion that failed to distinguish between Byzantine and Romanesque styles. The book is illustrated, not only with original Byzantine models and the works they inspired, but also with reproductions from the finely illustrated publications that played an important role in their own right in promoting Byzantium as an ideal.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Although the Byzantine style was never widely popular, it was nevertheless important and influential. The legacy of Byzantium was interpreted in many different ways and used to promote different aims. Professor Bullen's original and pioneering interdisciplinary study presents the first coherent account of the varied manifestations of Byzantinism in Germany, Austria, France, Britain and America. The book is richly illustrated not only with original Byzantine models and the works they inspired, but also with reproductions from the finely illustrated publications that played an important role in their own right in promoting Byzantium as an ideal. Covering politics, religion and literature as well as the arts, this is an exemplary study in cultural history, providing real insight into the interplay of ideas and forms.

SYNOPSIS

Bullen (English, U. of Reading, UK) has undertaken a unique topic in this interdisciplinary study of the revival of Byzantine art in 19th-and 20th-century Europe and North America, which was a corollary to the enormously popular Gothic Revival movement. The volume is divided by country, with sections on France, Germany, England, Austria, and America. Several topics are discussed. Specific works of architecture, their models, and (often extensive) decoration are described. Among the architectural monuments discussed are Ralph Adams Cram's Christ Church in New York, Bertram Goodhue's State Capitol Building in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Victor Orsel's Notre-Dame-de-Lorette in Paris. Painters influenced by Byzantine art are also included; Gustav Klimt, Hipployte Flandrin, Gustave Moreau, and John Singer Sargent (in his architectural painting), among them. Bullen also devotes considerable space to the place of Byzantine art in 19th-century formulations about art history and aesthetics. There are copious illustrations in b&w and color, all of the best quality. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal