Refers to the style and period that developed after the conquest of Constantinople by the armies of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and lasted into the early 14th century. The style is particularly evident in southern and central Italy, and was fertilized by the import of Byzantine portable objects, by Greek artists in Italy, and by western artists returning from Byzantine territiories. Italo-Byzantine style is characterized by the merging of Byzantine themes, figural types, and decorative elements with Hellenistic-Roman illusionism, Gothic fluency of line, and local Italian traditions.
