This book reads like the back of a can of spam. The language is as archaic as the subject matter and should be read if you intend to put someone to sleep. Furthermore, I cannot stress enough how frustrating it is to read a book about art and have to constantly pause in your reading to flip to the appendix in the back so that you know what work is being discussed. Occasionally, however, Kitzinger does manage to cough up an interesting factoid about the Byzantine artists and his research into the period is thorough. And yet even I, a student of medieval history and culture, could not drink enough coffee to stay alert while reading this book.