Introduction

In the late 10th century, Prince Vladimir of Kiev was baptized and Kievan Rus' converted to Byzantine Christianity. From that time onward, the vast territories stretching to the east of Europe between the Baltic, Black, and Caspian seas became a new breeding ground for Byzantine art and civilization. The long history of Christian Russia had begun.

The works gathered for this unprecedented exhibition reflect remarkable diversity. Ancient Russian art not only preserved the Byzantine legacy until the turn of the 18th century, but revived it too, forging a strong identity of its own from the very beginning.