Imperial Icons in Late Antiquity and Byzantium. The Iconic Image of the Emperor between Representation and Presence

This paper will explore the imperial image as an icon in the Byzantine perception and, ultimately, question its significance as an icon in the contemporary understanding of the term. Modern scholarship has outlined that imperial the image could rightly be defined as an icon in Late Antiquity and Byzantium, for its powers and status. However, what made the imperial image’s iconicity has yet to be defined. This paper will discuss such iconicity, intended as the fundamental relationship between the iconic character of the image and its meaning, and examine the role of imperial images in the late antique and Byzantine perception. It will question the significance of images of the emperor from a diachronic perspective, from Late Antiquity to the Middle Byzantine period. What is of interest is to determine the iconic power of imperial images, the elements that contribute to transform the representation into an icon - in the common interpretation of this word - and the Byzantine understanding of the portraits of the ruler. Ultimately, this reflection will lead to redefine the status of the imperial image between the boundaries of representation and presence.