Justinian Mosaic, San Vitale
San Vitale, consecrated 547, Ravenna
Apse mosaic
One of the most famous images of political authority from the Middle Ages is the mosaic of the Emperor
Justinian and his court in the sanctuary of the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. This image is an integral
part of a much larger mosaic program in the chancel (the space around the altar).
A major theme of this mosaic program is the authority of the emperor in the Christian plan of history.
The mosaic program can also be seen to give visual testament to the two major ambitions of Justinian's reign:
as heir to the tradition of Roman Emperors, Justinian sought to restore the territorial boundaries of the Empire.
As the Christian Emperor, he saw himself as the defender of the faith. As such it was his duty to establish
religious uniformity or Orthodoxy throughout the Empire.
Justinian and his attendants
Who's Who in the Mosaic and What They Carry
In the chancel mosaic Justinian is posed frontally in the center. He is haloed and wears a crown and a purple
imperial robe. He is flanked by members of the clergy on his left with the most prominent figure the Bishop
Maximianus of Ravenna being labelled with an inscription. To Justinian's right appear members of the imperial
administration identified by the purple stripe, and at the very far left side of the mosaic appears a group of
soldiers.
This mosaic thus establishes the central position of the Emperor between the power of the church and the
power of the imperial administration and military.Like the Roman Emperors of the past, Justinian has religious,
administrative, and military authority.
The clergy and Justinian carry in sequence from right to left a censer, the gospel book, the cross, and the bowl
for the bread of the Eucharist. This identifies the mosaic as the so-called Little Entrance which marks the
beginning of the Byzantine liturgy of the Eucharist.
Apse detail
Justinian's gesture of carrying the bowl with the bread of the Eucharist can be seen as an act of homage to the
True King who appears in the adjacent apse mosaic).
Christ, dressed in imperial purple and seated on an orb signifying universal dominion, offers the crown of
martyrdom to St. Vitale, but the same gesture can be seen as offering the crown to Justinian in the mosaic
below. Justinian is thus Christ's vice-regent on earth, and his army is actually the army of Christ as signified by
the Chi-Rho on the shield.
Who's in Front?
Closer examination of the Justinian mosaic reveals an ambiguity in the positioning of the figures of Justinian
and the Bishop Maximianus. Overlapping suggests that Justinian is the closest figure to the viewer, but when
the positioning of the figures on the picture plane is considered, it is evident that Maximianus's feet are lower
on the picture plane which suggests that he is closer to the viewer. This can perhaps be seen as an indication
of the tension between the authority of the Emperor and the church.
Essay by Allen Farber