ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on mosaics, wall paintings and painting on wood in Eastern Europe from ca. 500 to 1300. The material evidence is examined through the following themes and issues: religious iconographies and their meanings in church spaces; art as a reflection of the needs of monastic communities by means of its liturgical, theological and funerary functions; secular iconographies and the role of donor compositions; and the movement of workshops and objects as a way to highlight the interconnectedness of those territories at the crossroads of the Byzantine, Mediterranean and Western European cultural spheres. The themes and issues discussed in this chapter are meant to complement and supplement the evidence presented in Chapter 27, pairing mosaics, wall paintings and painting on wood with the architecture that contains them.
