I need a rendering, mosaic, painting whatever, of the Byzantine Empress Theodora. The images are not hard to find. What is very difficult is that I need the provence as well, who did it, when, etc. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
I’m always torn about this kind of question. I’ve moved it to CAFE, as that’s where questions about the Arts belong.
But GQ posters are a pretty good group at finding these kinds of answers.
If you don’t get results in CAFE in a few days, email me and I’ll move it back to GQ.
samclem GQ moderator
I get a lot of hits on Google; too many to read through for you. That’s the homework part you’ll have to do. But use Google, and spell all your words right.
One of the lovely things about Google is that its program suggests alternative spellings when you do misspell a word. “Do you mean…?”
Probly not, though, when you misspell a word so that it means a region of France.
Theodora is a region of France? Never! Alsace, maybe.
This site has some good info. I don’t think you’ll find the name of the mosaic artist, because I don’t think it was ever recorded.
Aside from providing the names of the bishops under which the church of S. Vitale, in Ravenna, was constructed, none of my four art history books provide any background on the actual artist responsible for this (mosaic) portrait of Theodora and her retinue. I do not recall seeing any other portraits of her. Most of the art historians believe that the portraits of Justinian, the bishop, and the banker who financed the church (in the accompanying mosaic) and of Theodora and one or two of her attendants are probably life likenesses, although several of the minor characters in the paintings are clearly stylized.
So the closest I can get to an actual portrait and its provenance is an important church in Italy that was constructed during the reign of Justinian and Theodora that probably displays a genuine likeness of them and one or two other figures, based on the educated speculation of a handful of art historians.
No exact date. No named artist. No documented testimony that the image was an actual portrait rather than an attempt to present a nice image.
The Ravenna image (linked by phouka and tom~) is the standard in art history classes. The links above give the dates and info on why they are thought to be portraits–some of the retinue are clearly “individuated” and IIRC, Justinian’s image is generally acknowledged to be a portrait–the mosaic has been compared to his coins.
“Provenance” as a term doesn’t mean you have to say who the artist is (most medieval artists didn’t sign their works)–it means the evidence you have for a piece being attributable to a particular artist, school or place. I think the question is easily answered by saying “artist unknown, it would be unusual if a medieval artist was known by name, especially re a mosaic.”
Thanks for all your help. Yes, I got the term provenance wrong. I am not much of an art historian. The annoying thing is that the teacher wanted me to find an example of byzantine art that depicted Theodora, but said everyone always used the Ravenna mosaic and to try and find something else. Obviously, she never tried as it sounds like this mosaic is IT regarding depictions of the empress.
There is also a 6th century marble bust (in Milan’s Castello Sforzesco) that is traditionally identified as a portrait of Theodora. However, this identification is not universally accepted.
The only other Theodora portrait that I can find a picture of is an ivory consular diptych from c. 540 (in Berlin’s Museum of Byzantine Art). It’s a small portrait of her (she’s the one on the right; Justinian’s on the left-hand panel), and the features are difficult to make out. But at least it’s something.
I’ve also found a reference to ivory tablets in Florence and Vienna which feature her portrait, but I haven’t been able to locate an online image of these.
Those sculptures, in addition to the much more famous Ravenna mosaic, comprise all known portraits of Theodora (AFAIK).
This dates it at 550 AD.
