Macedonian Renaissance

Refers to the period and style that blossomed between the end of the Iconoclastic Controversy of 843 and the occupation of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204. The style developed around the dynasty initiated by Basil I the Macedonian (867-886) through successive rulers, including Constantine VII (913-959) and the Comnenes (1081-1185), and was given life in the intense cultural activity and renovation campaigns sponsored by these rulers and the resulting need for painting, mosaics, and ivory carvings to replace lost images. The style is characterized by a particularly strong tendency toward Classicism.