Power in Image
ARH1130
Kenedi Kitch
5/16/25
Theme- Rulers and Elite
Introduction Throughout history, art has served as a powerful tool for rulers and elite classes to
legitimize, display, and preserve their authority. This exhibit, Rulers and Elite: Power in
Image, brings together five works of art from different times, regions, and media, each
revealing how visual culture reinforces systems of dominance and elite identity. From
divine emperors to modern critiques of class performance, these works illustrate how
images can both uphold and question social hierarchies.
The exhibit begins with Emperor Justinian and His Attendants, a Byzantine mosaic
asserting imperial authority through religious symbolism and hierarchical composition.
From ancient Rome, Augustus as General, similarly fuses political power and divinity,
portraying Augustus as an eternal, god-sanctioned leader. Moving to Japan’s Edo period,
Nabeshima Hofukai reflects the elite’s control over modernization, using Western
techniques to depict an exclusive naval training ground, emphasizing institutional
dominance. Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte captures the subtler
performances of class in modern Paris, where leisure and etiquette visually mark social
privilege. Finally, Kehinde Wiley’s Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps reinterprets
classic portraiture, reclaiming elite iconography to challenge historical power structures.
Together, these works reveal how the visual language of power persists and adapts across
cultures and time.
Exhibit Proposal 1 – Ancient / Medieval (Modules 1-7)
Title: Emperor Justinian and His Attendants
Location: Basilica at San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy
Date: 547 AD
This mosaic exemplifies how visual art was used to show the imperial power of the
rulers and elite in the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Justinian and His Attendants presents the
emperor centrally, dressed in regal purple, surrounded by clergy, soldiers, and court
officials. His placement, along with the symmetry and hierarchical scale, makes him the
clear focal point. A golden halo background suggests a heavenly or divine space,
reinforcing his role as both political and spiritual leader. The flat, linear style of the mosaic
shows emphasis on pattern and symbolism over naturalism; which is a common
characteristic of Byzantine art. This style reflects a shift from Roman traditions of realism
to an artform that served religious and ideological purposes. In the context of a church,
this artwork functions as political propaganda, legitimizing Justinian’s divine right to rule.
The inclusion of both military and religious figures supports Justinian’s dual authority as
emperor and defender of the Christian faith. This mosaic is a powerful visual example of
how rulers used art to assert dominance, reinforce their association with the divine, and
promote state unity. This artwork helped solidify hierarches and shape a culture where
imperial authority was seen as unquestionable and divinely sanctioned.
Exhibit Proposal 2 – Early Modern (Modules 8-12)
Theme- Rulers and Elite
Title: Nabeshima Hofukai
Location: Nagasaki Naval Training Center
Date: c. 1855
The Nabeshima Hofukai, Nagasaki Naval Training Center, c. 1855, reflects the Edo
period’s elite modernization through selective Western influence. The piece depicts the
Nagasaki harbor and naval training grounds. The artist adopts Western-influenced
techniques like linear perspective and shading, introduced through Dutch trade, to create
a wide detailed view of ships, figures, and architecture. Visually, the artwork arranges lines
of uniformed trainees, clustered boats, and fortified walls in a highly ordered, panoramic,
which conveys both military discipline and trade value. This composition demonstrates the
central role of Dejima, a man-made island where the only people permitted to make port
were Chinese and Dutch merchants. This exclusivity showcases the elitist views during
Japan's’ isolationist policies of the time. This painting further demonstrates the elite
institutional power, as naval training became crucial for the Tokugawa Bakufu’s strategy
among growing foreign pressure. Similar to other artworks at the time this represents
Japan’s selective adoption of outside practices while maintaining control. This contrasts
with Qing China’s View of Canton, where multiple Western nations traded openly.
Hofukai’s use of depth in the animated harbor and activity almost symbolically expressed
Japan’s cautious engagement with other nations while safeguarding their own elite
authority and maintenance of order.
Exhibit Proposal 3 – Global Modern (Modules 13-15)
Theme- Rulers and Elite
Title: A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat
Artist: Georges Seurat
Date: 1884
Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte shows how art reflects
and reinforces social hierarchies and elite in a modern, urbanized society. Created during
late 19th-century France, following Haussmann’s transformation of Paris, the painting
depicts finely dressed figures leisurely gathered in a carefully curated public park. While
the scene appears idyllic, it almost subtly critiques bourgeois norms and the performance
of social status. Seurat's use of Pointillism produces a flattened, almost artificial surface,
mirroring the rigid customs and superficial interactions of elite urban life. The balanced
composition and symmetrical arrangement produce stiff figures in isolated poses. This
rigidity in the figures conveys an emotional detachment and reinforces a visual sense of
order and social control. Rather than a clear focal point, the viewer’s gaze moves across
the canvas, taking in the careful display of wealth through costume, posture, and activity.
The prominently placed woman with an umbrella and pet monkey signals eccentric wealth,
while the overall uniformity of leisure shows the exclusivity of such spaces. Rather than
depicting moments of upheaval or popular unrest, this captures the quiet, calculated
rituals of leisure, exposing the subtle ways modern elites preserved their social authority
within the structures of everyday life.
Exhibit Proposal 4 – Global Modern (Modules 13 - 15)
Theme- Rulers and Elite
Title: Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps
Artist: Kehinde Wiley
Date: 2005
Kehinde Wiley’s Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps reclaims elite portraiture
to challenge and disrupt historical power structures. This large-scale painting appropriates
Jacques-Louis David’s iconic portrait of Napoleon, substituting the European emperor with
a modern Black man in contemporary street clothing. Wiley maintains the dramatic
composition of the original, with the subject heroically posed atop a rearing horse. But
Wiley alters the context with an ornate backdrop. The decorative pattern removes the
realistic depth and replaces the historical landscape, creating a flattened surface that
isolates the figure and challenges traditional illusionistic space. The focal point is the
figure’s commanding pose, achieved through dynamic diagonal lines from the horse’s
body and the raised arm. Wiley’s utilizes a bold or saturated color palette, with stark
contrast between the earth-toned clothing, white horse, and vibrant background, which
enhances the theatrics of the scenery. This work critiques the Eurocentric canon of art
history, where black bodies were historically excluded from heroic or elite representations.
By blending hip-hop aesthetics with old master styles, Wiley confronts issues of race and
the inheritance of power imagery in western art. This postmodern work both celebrates
and subverts elite iconography, beautifully reclaiming visual language for historically
marginalized identities.
Exhibit Proposal 5 – Ancient (Modules 1- 7)
Theme- Rulers and Elite
Title: Augustus as General, Primaporta Augustus
Date: c. 20 BC
The marble statue Augustus as General exemplifies how Roman rulers employed
idealized portrayal to assert authority and divine favor. Created during the early Roman
Empire, this sculpture portrays a serene faced Augustus in military garb, extending his arm
in a commanding gesture, symbolizing leadership, eternal strength and victory. Augustus is
shown barefoot, a subtle yet important detail that associates him with the gods, implying
his deified status. The statue’s use of contrapposto, borrowed from Classical Greek art,
displays the naturalism and grace, but it’s combined with highly symbolic elements. The
details carved on the armor depict divine and political symbols, including a personification
of Rome and a sky god, reinforcing Augustus’s divine mandate. The Cupid figure at his side
visually connects Augustus to the goddess Venus, from whom his family claimed descent
which further strengthened his legitimacy. Hierarchy of scale ensures Augustus dominates
the composition, standing larger than accompanying figures or symbols. This idealized
sculpture fits within the imperial tradition of using art as propaganda. Which presents the
emperor not as he appeared in life, but as an eternal, flawless, god-sanctioned leader. The
sculpture embodies how rulers manipulated visual culture to validate elite power and
secure legacy.