In the late 12th century two broad developments took place in wall painting and manuscript illumination throughout the West. On the one hand, forms became smoother and more fluent, and a less abstract and less aggressively patterned interpretation was put on nature. On the other hand, the perennial interest that Western artists had shown in contemporary Byzantine art grew more intense, and this sometimes led to the opposite extremes of turbulent and mannered design. Both of these tendencies probably aimed at representing human actions and interactions with greater conviction and increased psychological power. In England a new soft style is ...(100 of 73439 words)