Should we, then, apply only the term ktetor, and not donor, to these latter images? It is therefore the subject of the next chapter. Oliver looks entirely regal, proud, and majestic every inch the king. The three-quarter face, which allows for greater engagement between sitter and viewer, was also widely favored. [20] Normally the main figures ignore the presence of the interlopers in narrative scenes, although bystanding saints may put a supportive hand on the shoulder in a side-panel. If a regular person was featured in a painting, they were depicted as partaking in a recognizable religious scene such as the birth or death of Christ. 2v of this manuscript, the emperor Alexios Komnenos is represented approaching a seated figure of Christ, extending a manuscript before him in what seems to be a clear gesture of donation (Fig. 1.25).Footnote 37. Once we notice the gesture of St. Dionysios, we also see that several of the Fathers behind him make a similar gesture with their own scrolls, also proffering them toward the emperor. The Mosaics of the Southern Vestibule (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1936). framed: 54.3 x 35.5 x 9.2 cm (21 3/8 x 14 x 3 5/8 in.) The conventional aspects of portraiture ensure that each example will bear some resemblance to the next, and yet this general similarity makes the distinctive qualities of each one the more salient. And he is certainly no supplicant. 1 - The History and Problematic of the Donor Portrait [32], See particularly Roberts, 2224 for a review of the historiography as to the motivations of donors. The embedded portrait is the image of a real, modern person, usually the donor or person who paid for the painting, introduced into the narrative. A summary is not available for this content. If you dont know who they are (yes, there can be more than one segment or portrait) you are fundraising in the dark. An indication of some of the issues involved in defining the type is given not only by the images themselves, but by the names by which they are known. See also A. Beihammer, S. Constantinou, and M. Parani (eds. V, no 213. Rogues like Drer and Van Eyck notwithstanding, portraiture did not make a large-scale comeback until the start of the Renaissance a period during which the genre acquired new meanings and purposes. 8 For a reading of the fine grading of power transmission in this scene and other coronations, see Hillsdale, Byzantine Art and Diplomacy, 25463. Cookie policy. The emperors perform deeds fitting to their office and duty, and these intrinsically have a religious dimension, as the image makes clear. These naturalistic portraits, the sole survivors of their artistic tradition, were painted on wooden boards and used to cover the faces of upper class citizens during their burial ceremonies. These were derived from frescoes by Pellegrino Tibaldi a century early, which use the same conceit. Thus even though at first sight these imperial ktetor portraits look like a species of donor portrait, their closest structural relative is the coronation. Not one member of the retinue rocks his or her head back to gaze at the gods looming above. Indeed, there is a sense in which Manuel is much closer to Theodore than to Oliver.
