DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.55207#0036
26 THE IMPERIAL PORTRAITS OF THE SOUTH GALLERY
head, is visible about the hair on both sides and in its pearl-trimmed edges
above the shoulders.
The ear-rings are pear-shaped carnelians or carbuncles in gold setting with
three pearl pendants much like the Roman crotalia.
Silver-green rims the nimbus of Irene.
The head of Irene, like that of John, is framed by an inscription in the same
red. It begins above the head, continues at her right, and finishes at the left.
The inscription of Irene reads:
’CIPHNH
'H EY
AY
ce
T8
Be
CT
TATH
A
€ipr)vr| f] Euo-EpECTTdTT| auyouaTa, Irene the most pions Augusta.
ALEXIOS
The transition from the gold surface of the main wall, on which the John
Panel is set, to the side of the pilaster with the portrait of Alexios, is effected by
a slight rounding of the corner. The mosaic is preserved on Alexios’ right side
to a point a little below his waist and, on the left, to a little below his shoulders.
The treatment of the figure of Alexios [65] is freer and more forceful than
that of the other figures, as if done at one sitting, straight from the artist’s
soul in realization of vision. There is a great feeling for the power of funda-
mental colours which set at varying angles to the light produce an endless
variety of tones. The modelling of the face is in greens and reds and yellowish
greys with dashes of whitish cubes that recall the manner of Van Gogh. The
hair is darkest lustrous brown, the large sad eyes are hazel with dark lashes and
thick eyebrows, the nose thin and straight with delicate wings, the mouth
small and sensitive with grieved drooping corners [66]. A slight swelling is
noticeable in the upper part of the face: the boy looks nephritic. It is a troubled,
transient face. And this impression is intensified by the nimbus and the robes,
where gold leaf is laid over translucent pale green glass, enveloping the figure
in changeable greenish lights deepening the gloom. This portrait even more
than the others painted in ultra-photographic Roman-portrait vision seems
yet to recognize the ordinance in Semitic religions against representation.
The crown worn by Alexios is like the one worn by the emperor his father,
only the top is a little less pointed and its ornamentation is in different gems.
head, is visible about the hair on both sides and in its pearl-trimmed edges
above the shoulders.
The ear-rings are pear-shaped carnelians or carbuncles in gold setting with
three pearl pendants much like the Roman crotalia.
Silver-green rims the nimbus of Irene.
The head of Irene, like that of John, is framed by an inscription in the same
red. It begins above the head, continues at her right, and finishes at the left.
The inscription of Irene reads:
’CIPHNH
'H EY
AY
ce
T8
Be
CT
TATH
A
€ipr)vr| f] Euo-EpECTTdTT| auyouaTa, Irene the most pions Augusta.
ALEXIOS
The transition from the gold surface of the main wall, on which the John
Panel is set, to the side of the pilaster with the portrait of Alexios, is effected by
a slight rounding of the corner. The mosaic is preserved on Alexios’ right side
to a point a little below his waist and, on the left, to a little below his shoulders.
The treatment of the figure of Alexios [65] is freer and more forceful than
that of the other figures, as if done at one sitting, straight from the artist’s
soul in realization of vision. There is a great feeling for the power of funda-
mental colours which set at varying angles to the light produce an endless
variety of tones. The modelling of the face is in greens and reds and yellowish
greys with dashes of whitish cubes that recall the manner of Van Gogh. The
hair is darkest lustrous brown, the large sad eyes are hazel with dark lashes and
thick eyebrows, the nose thin and straight with delicate wings, the mouth
small and sensitive with grieved drooping corners [66]. A slight swelling is
noticeable in the upper part of the face: the boy looks nephritic. It is a troubled,
transient face. And this impression is intensified by the nimbus and the robes,
where gold leaf is laid over translucent pale green glass, enveloping the figure
in changeable greenish lights deepening the gloom. This portrait even more
than the others painted in ultra-photographic Roman-portrait vision seems
yet to recognize the ordinance in Semitic religions against representation.
The crown worn by Alexios is like the one worn by the emperor his father,
only the top is a little less pointed and its ornamentation is in different gems.