This page comes from an illuminated manuscript of the bible illustrated during the Byzantine period. There are lots of organic shapes in this drawing sample. Flowers, vines, and a snake are depicted in a very small space. These organic lines differ a lot from earlier nature depictions, which show more rigid and orderly nature. An interesting thing about this artwork is that while the snake, vines, and flowers are organic, none of them are realistic. The coloring isn't something that you would find in nature and the actual flowers themselves don't exist in reality. The snake is also not something you would see in real life, but it is easy for the viewer to tell what they represent. All of these things lead me to believe that nature was thought of as beautiful in the Byzantine times, but could be made more beautiful and interesting with alterations. Nature must have been valued aesthetically as a concept, but perceived with greater interest and beauty if non natural colors and physiology was fused with nature.
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