A 10th century Persian, writing in Arabic, praised the artistic talents of the Romans(“Byzantines”):

A 10th century Persian, writing in Arabic, praised the artistic talents of the Romans(“Byzantines”):

“The Byzantines are the nation most skilled in painting…Their artists paint human beings without omitting a single detail, for the Byzantine painter is not satisfied with a painting until he has transformed the figure into a youth, a mature man, or a dotard; he next makes his subject handsome and charming and then mirthful or lachrymose. In his painting the artist even manages to distinguish between a sarcastic smile and a shy one and between gaiety and the laughter of the delirious.” -Ibn Al-Faqih

Source: Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs by Nadia Maria El Cheikh