156. Emperor Otto III Receiving

Homage from the Provinces, 997-1000.

Ink on vellum, 334 x 243 cm.

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich. Carolingian.

 

 

The Emperor Otto III was proclaimed king of Germany in Verona in 983 at the age of three, and he was crowned in Aachen at the end of that same year. This portrait is part of a series called the Gospels of Otto III (a tenth or eleventh century illuminated gospel book). This manuscript contains early fifth century adaptations of the four gospels and is a major example of Ottonian art. It is in the pre-Romanesque, Byzantine style which is reflected by the dynasty’s desire to visually establish a link with the Christian rulers form late Antiquity. These portraits normally include different stylistic elements such as province personifications or representatives of the military and the church surrounding the emperor—an important detail that is part of a lengthy imperial history.