12-26Christ enthroned with saints (Harbaville Triptych), ca. 950. Ivory, central panel 9–^12 5 –^12 . Louvre, Paris.
In this small three-part shrine with hinged wings used for private devotion, the ivory carver depicted the figures with looser, more classical stances in
contrast to the frontal poses of most Byzantine figures.
Middle Byzantine Art 333Ivory Carving and Painting
Costly carved ivories also were produced in large numbers in the
Middle Byzantine period, when the three-part triptych replaced the
earlier diptych as the standard format for ivory panels.
HARBAVILLE TRIPTYCHOne example of this type is the
Harbaville Triptych (FIG. 12-26), a portable shrine with hinged
wings used for private devotion. Ivory triptychs were very popu-
lar—among people who could afford such luxurious items—and
they often replaced icons for use in personal prayer. Carved on the
wings of the Harbaville Triptych,both inside and out, are four pairs
of full-length figures and two pairs of medallions depicting saints.
A cross dominates the central panel on the back of the triptych (not
illustrated). On the inside is a scene ofDeësis (supplication). Saint
John the Baptist and the Theotokos appear as intercessors, praying
on behalf of the viewer to the enthroned Savior. Below them are five
apostles.
The formality and solemnity usually associated with Byzantine
art, visible in the mosaics of Ravenna and Monreale, yielded here to
a softer, more fluid technique. The figures may lack true classical
contrapposto, but the looser stances (most stand on bases, like free-
standing statues) and three-quarter views of many of the heads
relieve the hard austerity of the customary frontal pose. This more
natural, classical spirit was a second, equally important, stylistic cur-
rent of the Middle Byzantine period. It also surfaced in mural paint-
ing and book illumination. When the emperors lifted the ban against
religious images and again encouraged religious painting at Con-
stantinople, the impact was felt far and wide. The style varied from
region to region, but a renewed enthusiasm for picturing the key
New Testament figures and events was universal.NEREZIIn 1164, at Nerezi in Macedonia, Byzantine painters
embellished Saint Pantaleimon with murals of great emotional
power. One of these represents the Lamentation over the dead Christ1 in.