DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.55205#0023
THE EMPERORS 17
the mouth is small and regular, the lips are moderately full; the chin, medium-
sized and gently dimpled, is outlined by a curved line. It is difficult to deter-
mine the age of the Emperor. The portrait is idealized. In the tenth century
and later it was usual to show him with a beard. He is here represented as in
his own time, beardless. The expression of the face with its furrows and deep
wrinkles pictures the experience of a middle-aged man. Yet the peculiar illumi-
nation that pervades the face seems to suggest emancipation from time, and we
may, perhaps, regard the features as ageless. Owing to the turn of the head
Constantine’s look is not directed towards the central personages of the mosaic,
but his expression shows how deeply he is aware of their presence. A certain
sorrowful concentration, emphasized by the sensitive drawing of the lips, blends
the notion of a Roman Emperor, founder of the City, with that of a royal saint.
It was in this way that he was regarded by the Byzantine Church.
The hair of Constantine is in the style that was usual in the representation of
the Emperors of the early Byzantine epoch. It is cut in front in such a way as
to form a narrow fringe covering the upper part of the forehead. On the back
and on the sides of the head it is longer, and falls in rounded locks to the neck;
on the Emperor’s left side we see it falling behind the ear. Only his left ear is
represented. These details are balanced symmetrically on Justinian’s head,
where, however, the fringe is shorter.
In attitude and gesture, in the turn and bend of the head, Justinian (Pl. XIII)
resembles the Emperor Constantine with whom he is contrasted in every parti-
cular item. He is represented here as older than his predecessor; his face is
thinner, his gaunt features are harder and heavier and they are modelled with
colours of a darker palette. The chin is more powerful. The forehead is broad
and is crossed by more and deeper wrinkles than Constantine’s.
Justinian’s eyebrows are raised higher than those of Constantine. He lifts his
eyes and looks rather into space than towards the Virgin and Child. This atti-
tude depresses the lower eyelid and stresses the whites of the eyes. The nose is
slightly longer than is that of Constantine. The right cheekbone is strongly out-
lined, and numerous wrinkles run along the cheek toward the chin. The mouth
is regular. The noticeable chiaroscuro and the sharp outline of the features which
seem to be executed by a chisel in stone, give a certain sculptural character to
the face of the Emperor. This is true also of the head of Constantine [8].
We are struck by the steadfast attention, by the devotion here pictured; we
notice also that the touch of sadness, which characterizes the expression of Con-
stantine, is absent from this face. The representation of Justinian is as far from
portraiture as is the visage of Constantine. There is nothing in common between
this wrinkled, conventionalized face and the historical portraits of Justinian in
the mouth is small and regular, the lips are moderately full; the chin, medium-
sized and gently dimpled, is outlined by a curved line. It is difficult to deter-
mine the age of the Emperor. The portrait is idealized. In the tenth century
and later it was usual to show him with a beard. He is here represented as in
his own time, beardless. The expression of the face with its furrows and deep
wrinkles pictures the experience of a middle-aged man. Yet the peculiar illumi-
nation that pervades the face seems to suggest emancipation from time, and we
may, perhaps, regard the features as ageless. Owing to the turn of the head
Constantine’s look is not directed towards the central personages of the mosaic,
but his expression shows how deeply he is aware of their presence. A certain
sorrowful concentration, emphasized by the sensitive drawing of the lips, blends
the notion of a Roman Emperor, founder of the City, with that of a royal saint.
It was in this way that he was regarded by the Byzantine Church.
The hair of Constantine is in the style that was usual in the representation of
the Emperors of the early Byzantine epoch. It is cut in front in such a way as
to form a narrow fringe covering the upper part of the forehead. On the back
and on the sides of the head it is longer, and falls in rounded locks to the neck;
on the Emperor’s left side we see it falling behind the ear. Only his left ear is
represented. These details are balanced symmetrically on Justinian’s head,
where, however, the fringe is shorter.
In attitude and gesture, in the turn and bend of the head, Justinian (Pl. XIII)
resembles the Emperor Constantine with whom he is contrasted in every parti-
cular item. He is represented here as older than his predecessor; his face is
thinner, his gaunt features are harder and heavier and they are modelled with
colours of a darker palette. The chin is more powerful. The forehead is broad
and is crossed by more and deeper wrinkles than Constantine’s.
Justinian’s eyebrows are raised higher than those of Constantine. He lifts his
eyes and looks rather into space than towards the Virgin and Child. This atti-
tude depresses the lower eyelid and stresses the whites of the eyes. The nose is
slightly longer than is that of Constantine. The right cheekbone is strongly out-
lined, and numerous wrinkles run along the cheek toward the chin. The mouth
is regular. The noticeable chiaroscuro and the sharp outline of the features which
seem to be executed by a chisel in stone, give a certain sculptural character to
the face of the Emperor. This is true also of the head of Constantine [8].
We are struck by the steadfast attention, by the devotion here pictured; we
notice also that the touch of sadness, which characterizes the expression of Con-
stantine, is absent from this face. The representation of Justinian is as far from
portraiture as is the visage of Constantine. There is nothing in common between
this wrinkled, conventionalized face and the historical portraits of Justinian in