Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli
Rome: The Late Empire -- Roman Art A.D., 200-400.
George Braziller, 1971. The Arts of Mankind. First edition. Translation by Peter Green. x/463 pages.
Large-format volume, measuring approximately 9.25" x 11.25", is bound in red cloth, with stamped gilt lettering to spine. Book is new. Dust jacket, with price of $30 on front flap, is in near fine condition, with very small tear to upper outside corner of front panel.  Illustrated throughout in black-and-white and color, including fold-out plates, plus fold-out color map at rear. Volume is housed in cardboard slipcase (9.25" x 12") showing damage at top of spine panel.
This is the thirteenth volume of this series. 
"The assassination of the Roman Emperor Commodus in A.D. 192 may be viewed as a milestone of the history of art, marking the end of the era of Greek influence. During the two turbulent centuries which followed, the art of Western Civilization changed in style from Hellenistic and Mediterranean to Medieval and European, and the first Byzantine forms appeared in the East.
The internal transformation of the Roman and Romanized world in the 3rd and 4th centuries profoundly influenced the art of that period. The Western Provinces shed what had never been more than a superficial acceptance of the Greek rational attitude toward nature and the world in favor of their fundamentally irrational superstitions. The new relationship with reality was the chief factor in the appearance of a new mode of artistic expression tha tmoved away from naturalism to take on an increasingly symbolic and transcendental significance. Simultaneously, there emanated from Constantine's court, in his new capital on the Bosphorus, the first true manifestation of Byzantine art.
Reflected in the art of the end of the Roman Empire were a widespread fascination with violence, a thirst for power, and a spiritual uncertainty which seem surprisingly relevant today. that this troubled period should give birth to two of the most important styles in the hisotry of art is indeed remarkable. Professor Bandinelli's description of what took place constitutes an exciting insight into one of the most fascinating periods of art in transition."