DEVELOPMENT OF ART.

433

other countries joined them ; Romans, Franks, Germans,
and English recruited their ranks; to these must be
added Greeks, driven from the East during the Icono-
clastic persecution by Leo the Isaurian, and his son
Constantine Copronymus. The elegance and refinement
inseparable from Greek art influenced Italy in a sensible
manner during the eighth century; and the refusal of
Gregory II. to obey the Iconoclastic decrees from Con-
stantinople established the point of admitting “ sta-
tuary,” which the Orthodox Greek Church has always
banished as idolatrous, amongst the objects admitted in
the ritual of the Roman communion.
The Duomo of San Marco at Venice may be pro-
nounced the choicest example of Byzantine art west of
the Adriatic. Both externally and internally the lavish
and costly ornamentation dictated by theological sym-
bolism recalls the mystic Byzantium.
The five domes, the vaults, the walls, down to the
triforia,1 are everywhere incrusted with fine mosaics on
a gold ground. The lower walls are lined with precious
marbles; the pavement, which has become uneven by the
course of time, is formed of rich “ opus Grsecanicum,”
so styled from its importation by Greek artisans from
Byzantium.
The sanctuary, or eastern arm of the cross, is sepa-
rated from the rest of the building by low, massive columns,
supporting statues of our Saviour and the Apostles.
The ciborium, with the sanctuary, is very curious. At
the two extremities of the screen are seen two pulpits ;
that to the left is canopied by a baldacchino, and
resembles those seen in the earlier mosaics of Oriental
origin. The effect of the interior in the mellow semi-
gloom is indescribably fine. A noble portico, crowned
with six small cupolas, is also covered with mosaics,
which extend along the western facade and the northern
aisle, the corresponding southern wall being faced by
the Chapel of San Zeno and the baptistery.
The Arabs, who at first had no style of their own,
1 Galleries for women.

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