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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Only a Poor Old Man, post: 4222095, member: 111037&quot;]I am afraid this is not the case. If there is overwhelming evidence for something is for the exact opposite. It is not that people suddenly forgot how to draw, it is just that the artistic priorities drastically changed in the Byzantine empire and Christianity played a massive role in this. Realistic portraiture simply fell out of fashion in favour for a more abstract style that was in line with the teachings of the Orthodox Church. The old style art was associated with paganism and idolatry and it was frowned upon. The Byzantine empire was rich and powerful enough and that was evident in many sectors such as architecture, and social structure. There was plenty of art, but it was different and of the austere kind. There was alot of debate about this even then, and it even led to the iconoclasm movement of the 8th century. People were redefining what was permissible in art all the time. And that happens today too. Take for example what passes for modern art nowdays. The future historians might find themselves baffled and make up all kinds of excuses and theories about what happened in art between the 19th and 20th/21st centuries. Similarly, the Victorians unfamiliar with Eastern traditions and attitudes made the wrong assumption that &#039;art&#039; was forgotten in Byzantium. This attitude changed over the time and one of the pioneers of that was Sir Steven Runciman, and I would strongly reccomend his books to anyone interested in the Byzantine empire.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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