Cosmos and Community in Early Medieval Art

Review by Daniel Aloi of Cornell University in the Cornell Chronicle

In his new book, “Cosmos and Community in Early Medieval Art,” assistant professor of the history of art and visual studies Benjamin Anderson presents the first comparative study of cosmological art between 700 and 1000 A.D. and details what distinguished such imagery in each of three cultural spheres – the Frankish empire of Western Europe, the Byzantine empire and the Islamic empire in the Middle East. As each of the medieval cultures diverged from their Greco-Roman roots and established their own artistic traditions, cosmic imagery provided continuity, though the images’ local meanings varied widely.