production of the portrait and proclaiming the humanism of the Renaissance.
133. Christ Pantocrator, 1148. Mosaic. Cefalu Cathedral, Sicily. Byzantine.
134. Bust of Arcadius Wearing the Imperial Diadem, Roman, early 5th century C.E. Marble. Arkeoloji Müzesi, Istanbul.
135. Bust Portrait of Eutropius, Roman, mid-5th century C.E. Marble, height: 30.5 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
A Roman historian, Eutropius flourished in the latter half of the fourth century C.E. He held the office of secretary (magister memoriae) at Constantinople, accompanied Julian on his expedition against the Persians (363), and was alive during the reign of Valens (364–378), to whom he dedicates his history. This work (Breviarium historae Romanae) is a complete compendium, in ten books, of Roman history from the foundation of the city to the accession of Valens. It was compiled with considerable care from the best accessible authorities, and is written generally with impartiality, and in a clear and simple style. Although the Latin in some instances differs from that of the purest models, the work was for a long time a favourite elementary schoolbook. Its independent value is small, but it sometimes fills a gap left by the more authoritative records.
136. Procession of the Martyrs, 493–526 C.E. Mosaic, Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna. Byzantine.
137. The Good Shepherd (detail), c. 44 °C.E. Mosaic, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. Byzantine.
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.
139. Empress Theodora and Her Attendants, c. 547 C.E. Mosaic, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna. Byzantine.
140. Plague from the Diptych of Consul Aerobindus, c. 506 C.E. Ivory, 39 × 13 cm. Musée national du Moyen Age-Thermes et hôtel de Cluny, Paris. Early Christian.
141. Ariadne and Her Cortege, early 6th century. Ivory, 40 × 14 cm. Musée national du Moyen Age-Thermes et hôtel de Cluny, Paris. Byzantine.
142. The Emperor Triumphant (Justinian?), from the Barberini Ivory, diptych panel in five parts, first half of the 6th century. Ivory and traces of inlay, 34.2 × 26.8 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Byzantine.
143. Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (Rossano Gospels), the Judgement of Pilate, 6th century. Painting on parchment, 31 × 26 cm. Cathedral Treasury, Rossano. Byzantine.
144. Christ Pantocrator, 6th century. Encaustic on wood, 84 × 45.5 cm. Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai. Byzantine.
145. Virgin and Child Enthroned between Saints and Angels, late 6th century C.E. Encaustic on wood, 68.5 × 49.2 cm. Monastery of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai. Byzantine.
146. St. Peter, early 7th century. Encaustic on wood, 93 × 53 cm. St. Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai. Byzantine.
147. Saint Sergius and Saint Bacchus, 7th century. Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum of Art, Museum of Western and Oriental Art, Kiev. Byzantine.
148. Saint Luke, 75 °C.E. Illustrated manuscript. Abbey Library of St. Gall, St. Gallen. Pre-Romanesque.
Saint Luke is the assumed author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. The four evangelists are normally shown together with their prospective attributes. Luke was known as a physician, historian and even painter who is believed to have painted the first image of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, although now this fact is most likely untrue. Because of this tradition, however, he is considered a patron of painters of pictures and is often portrayed as painting pictures of Mary. He is also shown in his animal form – an ox or a calf – because it is the symbol of sacrifice, which alludes to Jesus’ sacrifice for the world.
149. Saint Matthew, c. 80 °C.E. Parchment, Albertina, Vienna. Romanesque.
One of the twelve apostles, and the traditional author of the First Gospel, where Matthew is described as having been a tax-gatherer or customs-officer, in the service of the tetrarch Herod. His call to become a follower of Jesus was received as he sat in the “customs house” in one of the towns by the Sea of Galilee. He was at the time known as “Levi the son of Alphaeus.” Possibly “Matthew” was his Christian surname, since two native names, neither being a patronymic, is contrary to Jewish usage. It must be noted, however, that Matthew and Levi were sometimes distinguished in early times. It has generally been supposed, on the strength of Luke’s account, that Matthew gave a feast in Jesus’ honour. But Mark, followed by Matthew, may mean that the meal in question was one in Jesus’ own home at Capernaum. In the lists of the Apostles given in the Synoptic Gospels and in Acts, Matthew ranks third or fourth in the second group of four – a fair index of his relative importance in the apostolic age. The only other facts related of Matthew on good authority concern him as an Evangelist. Eusebius says that he, like John, wrote only at the spur of necessity. “For Matthew, after preaching to Hebrews, when about to go also to others, committed to writing in his native tongue the Gospel that bears his name; and so by his writing supplied, for those whom he was leaving, the loss of his presence.” The value of this tradition, which may be based on Papias, who certainly reported that “Matthew compiled the Oracles (of the Lord) in Hebrew,” can be estimated only in connexion with the study of the Gospel itself. The earliest legend as to his later labours, one of Syrian origin, places them in the Parthian kingdom, where it represents him as dying a natural death at Hierapolis. This agrees with his legend as known to Ambrose and Paulinus of Nola, and is the most probably in itself. Another legend, his Martyrium, makes him labour and suffer in Mysore. He is commemorated as a martyr by the Greek Church on the 16th of November, and by the Roman on the 21st of September, the scene of his martyrdom being placed in Ethiopia. The Latin Breviary also affirms that his body was afterwards translated to Salerno, where it is said to lie in the church built by Robert Guiscard.
