Regarding the art of the period 867-1025 it has to be noted that the limits are conventional and it is preferable to consider as a starting point of this period, the year 843, when the icons were finally restored. A term frequently used for this period is the "Macedonian Renaissance". The use of this term, however, is one of convention and must not be confused with the notion of the Renaissance as it is known in the West. The Renaissance in the West took place under totally different conditions and aimed at the study, the observation and the depiction of reality. Byzantine art, on the other hand, aimed, through the use of classical norms, to convey its transcendental character. Besides this there is a basic difference in the approach to classical norms between Byzantine art and the art of Renaissance.
The phrase "Macedonian Renaissance" was coined to show emphatically the revival and the prosperity the state enjoyed during the 10th and the 11th century. It was the framework within letters and art flourished.

The period after 843 was important both for the reorganization and establishment of a new iconographic programme and the spread -in several variations- of the fully developed architectural type of the cross-in-square church. The gap encountered in this art is due to the scant surviving examples of pictures and mosaics saved from the period 867-1025, but is covered by manuscripts of this period -preserved in excellent condition- that come from Imperial and Patriarchal sources. At the same time, objects made of several metals, often decorated with precious stones, as well as ivory objects of incomparable art, reflect the undoubted economic and cultural flourishing of Byzantium in this period.