From Greece comes the discovery of the first-ever portrait of the last-ever Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI Phalaiologos.
Discovered at a monastery Constantine’s brothers once patronized, it dates to the 15th-century fall of the great empire and offers a vision of the man painted according to his likeness, rather than according to Imperial custom.
Located in Aigialeia in the Achaea region of Western Greece, Constantine grew up in or near a town called Mystras, south of the monastery, which he governed for 5 years until he took the throne in the year 1449.
In a statement, the Greek Ministry of Culture said that as a portrait, it is not idealistic or standardized.
“It is an authentic portrait, which accurately reflects the physiognomic characteristics of the last Byzantine emperor. He is an earthly figure, a mature man, with a slender face and personalized features, who exudes calmness and kindness,” it reads.
The statement describes further how his raiment would have likely been purple with gold embroidery and decorated with medals, on which are depicted double-headed eagles with a crown between their heads—insignia of the members of the Palaiologos family.
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The Phalaiologos household produced rulers of Byzantium for around 200 years, and Constantine the XI was not only the last of its house to rule in Constantinople, but also the last Byzantine royal of any house to rule, as Constantine disappeared from history during the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.
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This makes the portrait exceptionally rare even among imperial Byzantine frescoes, as Constantine XI’s time on the throne spanned a mere 4 years.
The preservationists who first identified the antique frescoes found Constantine’s portrait as a base layer and hidden from sight.
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