Comnenos Mosaic of Ayasofya
Last of three Eastern Roman Empire churches erected on this site; built 360, completed 537AD in a grand style of Byzantine architecture.
This mosaic dates from 1122
Emporer John II Komnenos (1087 – 1143) & Empress Princess Piroska (Eirene) of Hungary (1088 – 1134) m. 1104 stand on either side of Mary the Virgin and the Christ child.
The mosaic was plastered over rather than destroyed upon the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The plaster was removed in the 1930s.
I had a chance to visit while it was still a secular museum; the structure was re-converted to a mosque in 2020.
Lost another one of the good guys. RIP the Z Man.
Any time I see images like these I am reminded of my Mom and her family.
Thank you, DT.
Art appreciation… a good and healthy activity. It’s civilized. Here’s a painter who’s having a stellar existence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kOlx6lXpEk