A pupil of André Grabar, Tania Velmans has worked for over thirty years on the art of the Byzantine empire and its wider diffusion throughout the neighbouring Slavic lands.

This volume makes available sixteen of the author's studies divided into four sections. The first examines the development of such themes as the Fountain of Life and the Akathistos cycle in Byzantium, and their radiation throughout the Slavic world, and looks at other Byzantine-derived subjects in the art of Western Europe. The second group of studies looks at iconographic developments within the Byzantine Empire. A third section looks at later Western influence on Byzantine and medieval Slav art. The final section deals with drawings and bookbinding.