A mural of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos (1405-1453), has been discovered in a monastery near the town of Aigio in Peloponnese. According to an expert, it is the only known living portrait of the last Byzantine emperor.
The mural was discovered during conservation work in the catholicon of the Old Monastery of Taxiarches in Aigialeia, some 15 kilometers south of Aigio. where there are two layers of mural paintings of high artistic quality from the late Byzantine period, a statement from the Culture Ministry said on Thursday.
Constantine reigned from 1449 until his death in battle at the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453.
Archaeologist Anastasia Koumousi, director of the Achaia Ephorate of Antiquities, identified the image on the inside mural as that of the last Byzantine emperor and dated it to the mid-15th century.
“In this case, the portrait is linked to the last Byzantine emperor and involves his only living portrait. The painter must have rendered the portrait features … from his own perception, meaning that his model was not an official imperial portrait, as was customary, but the emperor himself,” the statement quoted Culture Minister Lida Mendoni as saying.
The mural depicts the figure of a mature man wearing imperial insignia and holding a cruciform scepter.
“His gold-embroidered purple cloak is decorated with medals, on which are inscribed double-headed eagles with a crown between their heads, a distinctive feature of the members of the Palaiologos family. The presence of the double-headed eagles on the figure’s clothing, in combination with the other insignia, constituted an illustrated message that allowed the viewer to unequivocally identify the man with the emperor,” the statement added.
The ministry said that Constantine’s connection with the monastery was through his brothers Demetrios and Thomas, who, as the despots of the Morea, had financed its renovation.
The painter of the mural would have known Constantine from his own time as despot in the region.
A despot was the holder of a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent of the Byzantine emperor. In modern usage, the word has taken a negative meaning.
*pictures via Culture Ministry
