An Intentional Error? Imperial Art and "Mis"-Interpretation under Andronikos I Komnenos

Abstract

This paper examines the interpretation of a description of a lost portrait of the twelfth-century Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos. It shows that previous attempts to re-create the original appearance of the image through the emperor's intentions have been unfruitful. Instead, the paper demonstrates that by considering how the image was perceived by its original audience, it is possible to indicate the ways in which imperial art functioned in society. The paper further shows that the interpretation of art was determined as much by the audience's knowledge of the emperor as by the details of the image, and that imperial imagery could be manipulated by its viewers as well as by its creators.

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