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Overview
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
Library Journal
Manifestations of the exotic and theatrical complexities of neo-Byzantine influences on 19th- and early 20th-century architecture and art are the focus of this studious interdisciplinary survey. Fueled by extant buildings, powerful mythologies, and literature, Gothic Revivalism was more widespread, but Byzantium's round arches, dazzling mosaics, fabled past, and claims to primitive Christianity also inspired Western architects and artists. Bullen (English, Univ. of Reading) presents a patchwork of neo-Byzantine influences in Germany (there termed Rundbogenstil), France, England, and the United States; the section on Great Britain, which features Ruskin, Morris, Burne-Jones, and Westminster Cathedral, is the longest and most developed. Bullen examines U.S. buildings, interiors, and decorations by H.H. Richardson (Trinity Church, Boston), Ralph Adams Cram, Louis Comfort Tiffany (Columbian Chapel, Chicago), John Singer Sargent, and Bertram Goodhue. The author excels in interweaving Byzantine-inspired architecture and art with writings by Goethe, Yeats, and other authors. The reproductions of art and cool, calm Byzantine interiors are mostly superb, although some exterior shots are very small. Recommended for academic and architectural libraries as the most comprehensive survey currently available in English.-Russell T. Clement, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.