138. Justinian and His Retinue, 546 C.E.

Mosaic, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna. Byzantine.

 

 

Located on the interior walls of the San Vitale Basilica in Ravenna, this mosaic is a pertinent example to the Byzantine style. The Emperor Justinian is clothed in purple and his head is surrounded with a halo, a similar attribute to that of the Christ at the top of the dome. He stands at the centre of the compositions with his soldiers and army at his left while the clergymen are at his right. This detail emphasizes that he was the leader of both the church and the state in his empire. In his hands he holds a paten and is seen with a beard to show that he was too busy performing his duties as ruler to shave. The gold background, an important symbolic colour that suggests an infinity taken out of mortal time on which supernatural images float, shows that the setting of the mosaic is inside a church. The structure shows that the figures are standing in a V-shape formation with Justinian at the front and centre with the Bishop Maximian at his left. This structure can be seen by the overlapping details of the feet with the individuals of lesser importance standing in the back.