Monumental painting is one of the arts in which the Byzantines excelled the most and where their Byzantine heritage is most evident. Although regional cultural centers multiplied in the late period, the evolution of Byzantine painting is closely linked to the history of Constantinople, the main center of Byzantine spiritual and artistic creation. This city managed to impose its art to the limits of the empire, but also well beyond.

However, the history of Byzantine painting is largely dependent on what has been preserved. Constantinople has not preserved enough monuments to trace in detail its evolutions and trends, but one can get an idea with the other monuments preserved in the territory dominated by the empire, as well as those under the cultural and artistic influence of Byzantium.

Four major periods can be distinguished in this evolution, which roughly correspond to the historical eras of Byzantium: the Early Christian period (330-630), the Proto-Byzantine period (630-843), the Middle Byzantine period (843-1204) and the Late Byzantine period (1204-1453)