A miniature is a small illustration used to decorate an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple illustrations of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment.
Miniature of Sinon and the Trojan Horse, from the Vergilius Romanus, a manuscript of Virgil's Aeneid, early 5th century
Miniature of Abraham meeting angels, from the Cotton Genesis, 5th–6th century.
Miniature of seven physicians from the Vienna Dioscurides, early 6th century.
Miniature of the Annuciation to the Shepherds, from a Book of Hours (Milan, Biblioteca Trivulziana, Cod. 470).
Byzantine art
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Byzantine art comprises the body of artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from th
One of the most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople – the image of Christ Pantocrator on the walls of the upper southern gallery, Christ being flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist; c. 1261; 4.08 x 4.2 m
Icon of the enthroned Virgin and Child with saints and angels, 6th century, Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai
The Arab Saint Arethas depicted in traditional Byzantine style (10th century)
Frescoes in Nerezi near Skopje (1164), with their unique blend of high tragedy, gentle humanity, and homespun realism, anticipate the approach of Giotto and other proto-Renaissance Italian artists.