The Byzantium 330 - 1453 Exhibition in the Royal Academy of Arts of London, England
Hello friends,
Today I will talk about the Byzantium 330 - 1453 Exhibition that I attended in London back in 2009. The exhibition took place in the Royal Academy of Arts from the 25th of October 2008 up until the 22nd of March 2009. Its theme was Byzantium, and displayed around 300 items including icons, jewelry, mosaics, enamels, etc.
Byzantium was an ancient Greek colony that later became the capital city of the Byzantine Empire under the name Constantinople, and later still changed to Istanbul when the Ottomans captured the city in 1453 (1).
At its heyday as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople was a beautiful city full of treasures that tempted even the Crusaders, who in 1204 captured the city, and looted or destroyed its beautiful artworks. After the Crusaders, it was the turn of the Ottomans to finish the work.
Fortunately, some Byzantine treasures survived, and I was delighted to see them in this exhibition.
In order to see these items you would normally have to travel the world, as they are kept in different places, so this was a great accomplishment for the Royal Academy of Arts and a spectacular exhibition.
I can't resist showing you some more Byzantine masterpieces that I found on the web.
And that's the end of today's post. I hope you liked it, and that you will follow me to the next one. Have a good day, and speak to you soon!
References
1.Text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantium.