Images(4)

The Emperor Justinian

Artist Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant (French, 1845-1902)

Date1886

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsImage: 148 x 260 in. (375.9 x 660.4 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936

Object numberSN442

The massive scale of this painting is no accident: by submitting such a large work to the Paris Salon of 1886, Benjamin-Constant hoped to finally win a grand medal. Wishing to create an authentic setting for this imagined scene from the 6th century, he copied costumes and jewelry from ancient sources, laboring over every detail. Unfortunately, despite receiving extensive admiration in the press, the painting was considered overly decorative and did not win the medal. Justinian I, also called Justinian the Great, was the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) emperor from 527 to 565. He is best known for his efforts to strengthen the empire and to standardize Roman law. In this scene, Justinian, wearing the imperial crown, is seated on a marble throne, with his counselors on benches to either side. In the foreground, a seated man in a hairshirt unfurls a scroll bearing a Greek text. The passage, which is mostly legible, is from the end of St. Paul’s epistle to Titus. Whether this text has a specific meaning here, or was included simply to give the painting an authentic look, remains unclear. <i>Emperor Justinian</i> was purchased from Benjamin-Constant by an American collector, who donated it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1890. It was prominently displayed there until 1908, returned to the donor’s family in 1928, and in the following year purchased by John Ringling. Though it was apparently shown at The Ringling in the early 1940s, at some point it suffered significant damage and has been in storage for many decades. The painting was restored in 2019 through the generous support of the Getty Foundation’s Conserving Canvas initiative.

On View

On view

Location