Emperor Justinian and His Retinue
In the church of San Vitale in Ravenna the emperor stands in the middle of a row of clergy and soldiers. Byzantine art sought to show the sacred and eternal, not a real scene.
The figures stand flat against a gold background and their feet overlap – space does not matter.
The mosaic is in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna in northern Italy. The church was begun around 526, while the city was still ruled by the Ostrogoths. Its construction was paid for by a wealthy man named Julianus Argentarius. After Byzantine troops conquered Ravenna in 540, the city became the centre of imperial power in Italy. The church was consecrated in 547 or 548 by Archbishop Maximian. San Vitale is dedicated to the martyr Vitalis, who according to tradition died in Ravenna.
San Vitale is an octagonal centrally planned church. The mosaic of Justinian is on the north wall of the chancel, near the altar. Opposite is a corresponding image of the Empress Theodora and her ladies-in-waiting. The imperial couple are shown as if taking part in the Mass, although neither of them ever visited Ravenna.
Justinian stands in the centre in a purple cloak held together by a large brooch. He has a halo and holds a gold paten with the bread for the Eucharist. To his right stand clergy and Archbishop Maximian with a cross. Maximian is the only person whose name is written above his head. To the left stand officials and soldiers. A shield bears the Christogram, the Greek letters chi and rho. The officials wear white cloaks with purple panels that indicated their rank.
Together there are twelve figures, a number usually associated with the apostles. The image unites ecclesiastical and secular power: the emperor stands between clergy and soldiers and acts as God’s representative on earth. Who the other officials are has been debated. The general Belisarius or Julianus Argentarius are sometimes suggested, but no names are certain. Theodora’s image opposite carries the same message. She holds a golden chalice with the wine, and at the bottom of her cloak the three Magi can be seen bearing gifts.
The figures are stiff and frontal. They have large eyes and stand on green ground without depth. Their feet overlap, so that it is hard to see who is standing where. The background is gold and separates the scene from the everyday world. It is about rank and ceremony, not about a real space.
The mosaic is made of thousands of small pieces, tesserae, of glass and stone. In the gold tesserae a thin gold leaf has been placed between two layers of glass. The pieces are set at slightly different angles, so that the light is reflected and the surface glitters as one moves through the space.
Ravenna’s mosaics survived the centuries better than most Byzantine images in Constantinople, which were destroyed during Iconoclasm. They are therefore one of our most important sources for 6th-century Byzantine art. Since 1996 San Vitale and other early Christian buildings in Ravenna have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the apse above, Christ sits on a blue globe, surrounded by angels and Saint Vitalis.