THEOTOKOS IN POREC. PUBLIC, OFFICIAL AND PRIVATE IN THE SIXTH-CENTURY DEVOTION TO MARY

The mosaics in the central apse of the episcopal church of Eufrasius in Porec, built in the sixth century, present an inexhaustible source for research of iconography of the visual arts in time of Justinian. Given the fact that a large part of the corpus of early Byzantine art was not preserved, especially the one in Constantinople, mosaics in Porec are the key to understanding the role of visual arts in reference to theology, contemporary philosophical disputes, aesthetic canons and role of visual display as a communication means.