On December 13th 2024, archaeologists uncovered the only known contemporary portrait of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Roman Emperor, who reigned from 1449 until his death in battle at the Fall of Constantinople on May 29th 1453.
The mural portrait was found during an excavation at the Old Monastery of Taxiarches in Aigialeia, southern Greece, known as the so-called Palaiomonastiri, which was founded by Venerable Leontios of Monemvasia at the end of the 14th century. We know from the Byzantine historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles that Constantine’s brothers, Demetrios and Thomas, financed the renovation of the monastery when they were co-despots of Morea in 1449.
It seems this remarkable find survived because it was hidden beneath a layer of frescos. Archaeologist Dr. Anastasia Koumousi, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Achaia, identified the second layer of frescoes, which, based on stylistic criteria, is safely dated to the mid-15th century. Likely it was commissioned by Emperor Constantine's brothers by a painter from Mystras, where Emperor Constantine lived for five years, and who had seen the emperor. It is not idealistic or standardized as a portrait. It is authentic and accurately renders the physiognomic features of the last Roman emperor.
Until now, there were no surviving images from the lifetime of this pivotal figure — the heroic Emperor of Rome who gave his life defending Constantinople during its final siege by the Ottomans in 1453.
Looking at his face, you can sense the calm, focus, and regal determination of a man who knew the immense task ahead and the sacrifice he was destined to make.
The painting depicts a bearded man wearing a diademed crown with an illuminated halo behind his head. He holds a cruciform scepter and wears a purple cloak embroidered with gold. The garment is decorated with medallions, most prominently a double-headed eagle, emblem of the Palaiologos Dynasty of emperors and senior members of the imperial family. The crown between the two eagle heads identifies the subject as the emperor himself.
The mural portrait was found during an excavation at the Old Monastery of Taxiarches in Aigialeia, southern Greece, known as the so-called Palaiomonastiri, which was founded by Venerable Leontios of Monemvasia at the end of the 14th century. We know from the Byzantine historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles that Constantine’s brothers, Demetrios and Thomas, financed the renovation of the monastery when they were co-despots of Morea in 1449.
It seems this remarkable find survived because it was hidden beneath a layer of frescos. Archaeologist Dr. Anastasia Koumousi, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Achaia, identified the second layer of frescoes, which, based on stylistic criteria, is safely dated to the mid-15th century. Likely it was commissioned by Emperor Constantine's brothers by a painter from Mystras, where Emperor Constantine lived for five years, and who had seen the emperor. It is not idealistic or standardized as a portrait. It is authentic and accurately renders the physiognomic features of the last Roman emperor.
Until now, there were no surviving images from the lifetime of this pivotal figure — the heroic Emperor of Rome who gave his life defending Constantinople during its final siege by the Ottomans in 1453.
Looking at his face, you can sense the calm, focus, and regal determination of a man who knew the immense task ahead and the sacrifice he was destined to make.
The painting depicts a bearded man wearing a diademed crown with an illuminated halo behind his head. He holds a cruciform scepter and wears a purple cloak embroidered with gold. The garment is decorated with medallions, most prominently a double-headed eagle, emblem of the Palaiologos Dynasty of emperors and senior members of the imperial family. The crown between the two eagle heads identifies the subject as the emperor himself.
