Byzantine Art and Architecture : An Introduction

Rating:
Summary: Finally ! An high caliber, sensible introduction
Review: Honestly, the first of its kind. A rich and truly significant era of art history meticulously researched has produced a truly wonderful volume aimed at university-level students, with thorough additional sources thoughtfully appended. Rodley is a leading British scholar of this period, with outstanding field experience. Majority of pictures are her own, and beautifully rendered. Absolutely should be a required text all art/art history libraries. A significant contribution to the canon. Future textbooks would do well to follow Rodley's lead in style and presentation.

Rating:
Summary: Thorough, but not compelling
Review: This is surely the most thorough and organized book available dealing with Byzantine art and architecture. It is chronologically ordered, and in each time period architecture, monumental art, sculpture, minor arts, and illuminated manuscripts are examined in turn.
There are two problems with the book however, that aren't discernable from the information presented here by editorial and customer reviews. The first, unfortunate trouble is the complete lack of color photography. Maybe this isn't a scholarly complaint, but art is meant to be seen in color. Byzantium's lustrous golden mosaics just don't come across that well in a black and white still. The size of the photos is also a disappointment, especially with the architecture. The Hagia Sophia, the greatest work of Byzantine architecture, is shown in a picture not much larger than an index card. I would gladly have paid another 25 dollars to get color illustrations.
The other problem is tied to the organizational format. I realize I am contradicting myself, but the slavish listing of works by type, i.e. architecture, sculpture, etc. doesn't allow for more significant works to be discussed at length. A beautiful and well-preserved structure such as San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy is given a cursory 2 or 3 paragraphs then is mentioned later when mosaics are examined, again for a half page at best.
For sheer volume of information this book is an excellent scholarly reference but to truly gain an appreciation of Byzantine art, I would suggest purchasing a less erudite but better illustrated book like Jannic Durand's Byzantine Art as a companion piece.