Comnenus mosaics Hagia Sophia
The Mosaics of the Comnenos, located on the eastern wall of the southern gallery in the Hagia Sophia, date from 1122. The Virgin Mary is standing in the middle, depicted, as usual in Byzantine art, in a dark blue gown. She holds the Christ Child on her lap. On her right side stands emperor John II Comnenus, represented in a garb embellished with precious stones. His wife, the empress Irene of Hungary stands on the left side of the Virgin. Their eldest son Alexius Comnenus is represented on an adjacent pilaster. He is shown as a beardless youth, probably representing his appearance at his coronation aged seventeen.
