Close Encounters: Contact between Holy Figures and the Faithful as represented in Byzantine Works of Art

Abstract

The actual encounter between the holy figure and the layman can be presented in a variety of ways. There are some rather symbolic encounters, compositions which show Christ blessing the emperor or co-emperors as his representatives on earth. Many a Byzantine manuscript contains a colophon, a written statement recording the name of the person responsible for producing the book, the scribe and/or the patron, and voicing an appeal on their behalf for some form of heavenly reward. The dramatic possibilities of a conversation with Christ or the Virgin, plus the very human need for reassurance visually expressed, led to the development of another composition that was to become especially popular in the late Byzantine period: the scene of the Virgin actually introducing the supplicant to Christ.

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