Poreč, Cathedral of Eufrasius, apse mosaic, left side, patrons, Bishop Eufrasius, Archdeacon Claudius, Claudius’ son, Eufrasius
On the left side of the apse mosaic, Bishop Eufrasius carries a model of the church he rebuilt and decorated. He is followed by Archdeacon Claudius and a child, identified by the inscription as Eufrasius, son of the archdeacon. The child holds two candles with long wicks, carefully crafted with exceptionally fine tesserae, and these suggest a personal offering to the Virgin as a prayer for a living or deceased child (Terry and Maguire [2007], pp. 140-42, 158-59). Patrons appear with models of churches in the sixth-century apse mosaics of San Vitale in Ravenna and Santi Cosma e Damiano (Sts. Cosmas and Damian) in Rome. Close comparisons have been suggested (Terry and Maguire [2007], pp. 63-64) between the design and technique of the faces of Eufrasius and Claudius and those of the deacons in the Maximian panel at San Vitale in Ravenna, and the face of the patron, Bishop Eufrasius, here received exceptional treatment with very small tesserae and a unique palette of colors and materials (Terry and Maguire [2007], pp. 79, 110-11). A close look at the upper mantle of Claudius shows how the sixth-century mosaicists set some rows of tesserae diagonally to create texture and vary the pattern of straight rows in otherwise homogeneous white areas, a technique used at San Vitale, Ravenna (Terry and Maguire [2007], p. 64). Cited sources: Terry, Ann and Henry Maguire. Dynamic Splendor: The Wall Mosaics in the Cathedral of Eufrasius at Poreč. Univ. Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State UP, 2007. D'Emilio photo archive no. 19773711_1273uGalleries:Apse mosaics with the Virgin Mary, Bishops, Cathedral of Eufrasius, Poreč, Children, Croatia, Italy and the Adriatic, 500s, Mosaic, Patrons of artKeywords:buckled shoes, candles, model building, purplePhoto Location: Poreč, CroatiaPhotographer: Dr. James D’EmilioDate of Photo:Device Make: NikonDevice Model: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 EDOriginal Dimensions: 3610×5286Picture Orientation: PortraitGPS Coordinates:Picture Number: 22216
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