Byzantine Mosaics In Norman Sicily

Betrifft die Handschrift Cod. 120. II der Burgerbibliothek Bern (S. 411, 445).

This book explores the making and meaning of one of the most enigmatic and singular interior spaces of the Middle Ages, the mosaic incrusted chamber commonly known as the 'Room of Roger' in the palace of the Norman kings of Sicily in Palermo. The unique way in which Byzantine technique, skill and style are blended with Maghribi Islamic perspective conventions and iconography while producing aesthetic interaction as well as obvious tension, serves as a starting point for an investigation of the various currents of artistic exchange and dynastic pretensions between Palermo, Constantinople, Norman Antioch and the Maghrib. Political aspirations in the Levant, Almoravid splendour in Fez and Marrakech, and the ever-present rival, the Byzantine emperor, all come to play a part in the making of the famous 'Camera di Ruggero'.

In this work, Eve Borsook--best known for her extensive work on fresco and mural painting--examines in detail the three great cycles of mosaic, focusing particularly on their arrangement and liturgical, even political significance. Produced within a sixty year span, the Norman royal mosaics form an unusually unanimous statement of the monarchy's view of itself, demonstrating the powerful way art, politics, theology, and ceremony merge.

Twenty-seven authors approach the diverse areas of the cultural, religious, and social life of the twelfth century. These essays form a basic resource for all interested in this pivotal century. A reprint of the first edition first published in 1982.

The text explores the iconographic and stylistic sources of the Greek mosaicists, as well as the departures from Byzantine norms, and the relationship of the decoration to contemporary work in the royal foundations. Also included is a chapter on the architecture of the church by Slobodan Çurciç.

With the luxury of their materials, technical precision, beauty, and aesthetic grandeur, Byzantine mosaics, particularly the wall mosaics, constitute the most impressive manifestation of Byzantine monumental painting. Highly expensive and laborious works of art, they were commissioned and dedicated by emperors, dignitaries, state officials and members of the Church hierarchy, in order to enhance the dwellings of Divinity, important churches and monasteries; and at the same time to manifest the power, glory and legendary wealth of His earthly representatives. A brilliant selection of mosaics from twenty-five famous monuments are presented here by Nano Chatzidakis, Professor of Byzantine Art and Archaeology at the University of Ioannina. In historical and stylistic terms, they cover the development of mosaic art from the 5th to the 14th century, which is described and analysed efficiently by the author in the first part of the volume. The unique pictorial character and special artistic importance of each individual mosaic ensemble presented in this volume is superbly illustrated and emerges strikingly through a full discussion of the stylistic and aesthetic physiognomy of the mosaics it comprises, and a brief reference to the monument it adorns.