Some of the most splendid examples of Byzantine painting are preserved in Macedonia. The role of Thessalonike was paramount while the monasteries of Mount Athos are a veritable ark of Byzantine art.
The only pre-Justinian mural mosaics in the East have survived in Thessalonike, where unique for Greece Early Christian sepulchral wall-paintings are also to be found. The painting in the city's monuments of the dark ages is a rare testimony of the art of the time.
The largest number of paintings of the Middle Byzantine period, among them some of the most important, are encountered in Macedonia. The artistic output of Thessalonike in Late Byzantine times directly influenced the entire Balkans, and painters from the city worked in the service of Serb princes.
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