Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

church, monks & art at end of the sixth century 915
state of the evidence to say that we can yet date the precise stages of sixthcentury
developments. The important evidence from Thessalonica and
Rome suggests the need for caution over the detail. In the expansion of
Thessalonica after the mid-fifth-century development of the city after the
prefect of Illyricum moved there, we cannot be sure of the chronology of
the various churches and their decoration. In particular, the mosaics of the
first decoration of St Demetrius may be as early as the first quarter of the
sixth century. 68 Yet they incorporate many expressive and stylistic features
which Kitzinger saw as belonging to the early seventh century. The representation
of the Virgin Mary in the north inner aisle mosaics has much in
common with the icon of the Virgin and saint at Sinai. Kitzinger argued that
the icon included significant classical and non-classical elements and that in
this period style was being exploited for devotional purposes: that the classicism
of the angels and Mary indicated through style their metaphysical
status, and that similarly the abstract style of the two saints (Theodore and
George or Demetrius) indicated their humanity and function as mediators
and receptors of prayers. But the same contrasts of form are found in the
church of St Demetrius – and substantially again in the fifth-century consular
diptychs. Another church with sets of panels acting as icons is Santa
Maria Antiqua in Rome, where again there is a debate about its precise relative
chronology, although the case for saying that its first phase of decoration
(including the panel of Maria Regina) belongs to the reign of Justin II
is strong. These materials from Thessalonica and Rome also introduce questions
about the nature of power and patronage in the period; it is clear that
the bishop in Thessalonica and the pope in Rome had the advantage of
long-term power and prestige, unlike the civil leaders.
The scholarly focus on an ‘age of Justinian’ may have unduly compartmentalized
the developments of the sixth century. The materials from
Thessalonica and Rome in particular demonstrate the range of patronage –
popes, bishops, monks, governors and leading citizens all feature in the patronage
of art in these cities. The church leaders were often long established
in city life, while secular officials were in power for relatively short times. 69
These add further complexities of power and status to our understanding
of how patronage worked in this period. But it is clear that it was a period
of great enterprises successfully carried out; the result was that the Roman
empire by the end of the period was visibly and deeply Christianized.
In viewing this visible Christianity, it has become clearer that we have
little access to the thought-processes of the planners and artists, who continued
to work within a broadly classical vocabulary but were capable of
considerable variation in their choices of manner and content (pagan
motives continued to be included in art, particularly in floor mosaics and
68 Spieser (1984); Cormack (1989). 69 Ward-Perkins, Public Building.
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