Levon Chookaszian

Royal Portraits
In Toros Roslin's creative activity the problem of reviving the genre of royal portraits seems to be
of special importance. The first Cilician royal portraits having come down to us are found in his
manuscripts. The tradition of depicting the members of the royal family was among those in the
Armenian book painting revived by Roslin. After him other portraits of Cilician historical figures
of the 13th-14th centuries were made. In the pleiad of these monuments(1) , Roslin's portrait of
Prince Levon is considered to be the first that has come down to us.
The portrait of Prince Levon the depiction of the young Prince. Some researchers suppose that
the piece was executed in 1250 (the Prince was born in 1236) and portrays the future sovereign as
a 14 or 15-year-old youth. According to another opinion, the portrait was created on the occasion
of the Prince's 15th anniversary, in the year of his mother Isabelle's death (1251). The miniature
decorates a parchment folio, which had been torn from its original manuscript and glued to
another, but recently it has occupied its former place in the original (Matenadaran, MS 8321).
Five portraits of Levon made in various years of his life, two of them by Roslin, and the others by
unknown miniaturists, have come down to us(2) .
Prince Levon was an outstanding personality, whose life was saturated with great events; he
played an important role in the fate of Armenian Cilicia. Roslin depicted the Prince as a saint. His
sanctity is expressed not only by a halo around his head, but also accompanying angels with
liturgical fans. The latter circumstance points to the liturgical significance of the composition.
Levon holds a green branch in his hand. This attribute is widely spread on the 12th-14th century
French seals with the representations of various saints, holding a flower, branch or an olive
branch in their hands(3) . No doubt, this attribute also points to the sanctity of the successor to the
throne.
According to the canons of portrayal of the successors to the throne of Byzantine emperors, they
were usually depicted moustashed and bearded. An exception is the image of the 12th-century
emperor Manuel I Comnene on the gold coin, where the sovereign is represented as Christ
Emmanuel(4) .
Since Roslin not only depicted the Prince as a saint, but also likened him with the young Christ,
the presence of angels, nimbs and the branch in the portrait as well as the depiction of Levon
without a beard and headdress, become clear. This interpretation of the image corresponds to
Roslin's expressions with which he gives mention of the young Prince and his relations, in his
colophons. The Prince's nimb is filled with crosses that stand out in relief on the gold
background. A typically Italian technique of special stamps for depiction parts covered with gold
is involved here(5) .
This technique is not peculiar at all for the painting of Eastern Christians. However, stamps with
the pattern of an ordinary cross were used extremely seldom in the Western art as well. We know
of a case of stamping crosses on the halo of Christ in the rear of the Virgin's Assumption from the
monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai, executed approximately at the same time. The icon emerged
from a French workshop, closely connected with the scriptorium in Acre that became the capital
of the Crusaders' kingdom after the fall of Jerusalem in 1244(6) . The presence of crosses in the
portrait of Prince Levon is an obvious result of cooperation of the Cilician painter with the
Western masters.
The Prince's garment is a rare specimen of Armenian heraldic attire. Under his red mantle a
garment decorated with ultramarine medallions detail medallion is clearly seen, on which a

brownish gold lion with a dark red disc overhead is represented. The gold crescent is made
distinct by a lighter tone on the disc. The medallions are framed with gold puncture. Dots on the
band may be taken as stars. Thus, the lion is shown with the sun, the moon and stars. No doubt,
Levon's coat of arms is represented on his garments.
Since the attire of the Armenian kings and noblemen has not come down to us, the Prince's
garment, particularly the pattern decorating it, is especially valuable for the historians. The
fabrics of the Western, Byzantine and Islamic garments closest to the Prince's attire are decorated
with medallions, where only one lion is placed.
The subject-matter with the lion, the sun and the moon is also inherent (included) in some nontextile Armenian pieces, created considerably earlier than the miniature by Toros Roslin. The
theme of the sun and the lion is known in the Sassanid art. In the poems "Shahnamah" and "Vis
and Ramin", Iranian banners are described, in which the lion is depicted combined with the moon
and the sun.
A.A. Romaskevich, having studied the representations of lions, considers that this composition
uniting the lion and the sun is the survival of god Mithra, protector of warriors. This composition
reverberates with the verbal description of god Mithra in Avesta(7) . The god of the sun AregMithra-Mihr was greatly revered in pagan Armenia.
Of all royal families only the Bagratids retained the root 'bag', i.e. god in their family name. A
certain prince Bagadata was the great grandfather of the family. Bagadata is an Old Persian name,
which, according to Hr. Acharian, means 'given or created by god (Mihr)' and corresponds to the
Slavonic name of Bogdan. Accepting the well-known scholar's viewpoint, it may be assumed that
the sun and the lion, or the cross, the sun and the lion are the so-called 'speaking' coat of arms,
whose content corresponds to the significance of the family name of the Bagratids.
In the diversity of Toros Roslin's heritage, century-old bonds refracted, linking the Armenian and
Persian cultures, which were reflected in the monuments of Armenian literature and art.
Persian civilization exerted strong influence over the peoples of Islamic religion, that is why the
composition of the lion and the sun appeared in the epoch of Toros Roslin also on the monuments
of Islamic peoples, living in the vicinity of indigenous Armenia and Cilicia.
Toros Roslin himself, who was a fine expert of both Armenian and Oriental Christian and
Western cultures on the whole, could have created Prince Levon's coat of arms. The Prince's coat
of arms does not repeat any of heraldic compositions, which testifies that the composition had
been profoundly thought out.
The second extant portrait of Prince Levon and Princess Keran where he appears with his wife,
the future Queen Keran, has been preserved among the miniatures of the Gospel of 1262
(Jerusalem)(8) . The portrait of the married couple, as well as the manuscript itself, were
obviously made on the occasion of their wedding that took place in the very year of 1262. In the
centre, on the background of the headpiece, is the half-length representation of Christ. His hands
are stretched out over the heads of the couple as if in protection. Above, in the headpiece angles,
half-figures of two angels are shown. The composition of the portrait is obviously evoked by the
specimens of Byzantine imperial art, ascertaining the sacred essence of monarchical power.
The theme of Christ blessing the monarch and his spouse and that of mystical coronation are
inseparably linked with each other, and even in some cases scholars find difficulty in discerning
the difference between them. Roslin's miniature, like donor reliefs on the church walls, depicts
the scene of presenting the Gospel to Christ.
The so-called wedding crowns on the heads of the newly wed couple are well known by
Byzantine monuments(9) . Their nuptial character is confirmed by the fact that Prince Levon
accepted the royal crown only several years later, on January 6, 1270. The wedding crowns and

the presence of Christ signify that Christ blesses the nuptials of Levon and Keran. The use of a
veil at the wedding ceremony of the Byzantines is not so well known as in the West. Along with
this, the veil is applied at Armenian wedding ceremonies even nowadays.
Medallions with figures of lions decorate the fabric of Levon's attire, and surely, the sun and the
moon should be seen here over the beast, but they are concealed by the edge of the mantle.
Specimens so dark in colour as the Prince's attire are extremely rarely encountered in Armenian
and in general, East Christian, also Western textiles. The further study of Levon's garment
convinces us that it is decorated in conformity with the traditions of silk weaving in the basin of
the Mediterranean Sea.
The similar ornamentation in the works compared points to the international character in
decorating textile products and to the fashion of the time. Simultaneoulsy, the fabric of Keran's
dress differs in the original details of the ornament, as for instance, crosscut
iridescent divisions in the bands, also the motif of sirens. This iridescent ornament is a
particularly national occurrence; it is repeatedly encountered in the Armenian miniature of the
11th-13th centuries, while sirens appear in the 9th-century Armenian sculpture and later on are
frequent in the Armenian works of art, and seldom in the Cilician book painting of the 13th
century. The patterns on Keran's dress prove that it was not imported and was made of locally
produced fabrics, designed in Armenian art traditions, however, with the consideration of
principles, established both in the Christian Orient and in the West.
Two miniatures, in our opinion, present closer analogies to the pattern in Keran's mantle . The
case in point is Byzantine empress Maria's attire in the miniature of the manuscript of 1078-1081
with the Homilies by John Chrysostom (Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, Coislin 79)(10) and the
cloak of Henry II, the king of England (died in 1189), in the scene of the coronation of his
daughter Mathilda and her husband Henry the Lion in the Gospel, commissioned by Hermann at
Helmarshausen (Austria, Gmunden, Fideikomisbibliothek, Royal Codex of Ernst August)(11) .
In the representation of the Byzantine manuscript the empress's attire is decorated with
cinquefoils, while quatrefoils are figured on the cloak of Henry II in the German miniature.
Actually, the same ornamental motif that appears on Keran's mantle is observed in the latter
instance only. However, in both cases, the floral pattern is taken into a square that is lacking on
the mantle of the Armenian princess. We are confronted with a rare form of illustrating the
fabrics.
Keran's halo is filled with crenellated crosses, which are outlined in blue against the gold
background. Those pieces, where haloes are decorated with the cross motif are most valuable to
study the portrait of Levon and Keran. Prior to the Cilician miniature, it may be observed in the
Byzantine icon of the Transfiguration of the end of the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th
century, in the collection of the monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai(12) , in the design of the
Byzantine manuscript with the Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus (the second half of the 12th
century) from the Sinai collection(13) , and in the haloes of evangelists Matthew, John and his
pupil Prochorus in the Greek Four Gospels of the third quarter of the 12th century. The latter
manuscript was created in a Greek monastery in Italy(14) . The peculiarity in question is not
typical at all for Byzantine art, and the above-mentioned specimens comprise exceptions. Yet in
our piece, the detail mentioned additionally emphasizes the sanctity of Levon's spouse. As in the
youthful representation of the Prince, here too, we have to do with a distinctive iconographical
program in the miniature, which pursues a definite ideological objective. In the portrait of the
married couple, with the means of the subject-matter, gestures and accessories, the artist
expresses the idea of Christ's support and protection of the newly-weds and the heavenly

provenance of the Prince's and his spouse's power on Earth. Miniatures of Toros Roslin have
numerous common features with the specimens of Byzantine monumental painting and book art.
Appealing to the entire extensive heritage of Toros Roslin, specially accentuating our attention on
a number of particularly significant themes in the miniatures of the master and having analyzed
their evolution in his codices during the course of his entire carrier, also having viewed his
creative activity comprehensively, in the context of history contemporary to him and in
connection with the art of his predecessors and contemporaries, it is possible to discern how the
outstanding Armenian master imbued his art with the century-old artistic experience of Armenia,
the experience of his teachers and the sum total of the knowledge, accumulated by the Hromkla
artists in the middle of the 13th century, also studied and embodied the traditions and
achievements of the art of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, Latin countries in the West,
in his works. The paramount role in the master's artistic development and activity, after the native
influence in his art, played the cultural heritage of Byzantium with many of its canons and
innovations. However, among the cultural phenomena, having influenced the artist, were many
works by Italian, Greek, French, Iranian and other masters.
However, absorbing into his artistic consciousness and creative activity much of the culture and
art of the surrounding world, this mighty and original talent in a way natural for him, synthesized
only the most important, worked it out artistically, developed, formulated new aesthetical
principles and worked out new themes and new iconographical types; on the one hand, he
adopted the stylistic peculiarities of the works perceived, and on the other, renewed them,
creating his own, unique manner. The art of the great Armenian master, who made an enormous
contribution into the treasury of Armenian art along with this, became a most characteristic
phenomenon in the artistic culture of the entire 13th century.
It goes without saying that within the frame of one article, it is impossible to embrace all
problems that still remain unsolved in the legacy of Roslin. It is obvious that each new time will
bring forth newer and newer problems in the study of the great master's creative activity.

1.Korkhmazian, Drambian, Hakopian, Armenian Miniatures..., ill.89.

2.Chookaszian, Remarks on the Portrait of Prince Levon (MS Erevan 8321), Revue des Etudes
Armeniennes 25 (Paris, 1994-1995) : 299-335.
3.G.Demay, Le Costume au Moyen Age'apres les sceaux (Paris : Librairie de D.Dumoulin & Cie,
1880), fig.399, 407-410, 412, 415, 422, 427, 432-435, 446, 452, 468-469, 472, 474, 480, 482483; J.Braun, Tracht und Attribute der Heiligen in der deutschen Kunst, 2. Lief. (Stuttgart :
J.B.Metzlerche Verlagsbuchandlung, 1943), Col. 129-256.
4.Ioli Kalavrezou, Imperial relations with the church in the art of the Komnenians.- In:
Byzantiume in the 12th Century, Canon Law, State and Society, Ed. by N.Oikonomides (Athens,
1991), fig. 7, p. 32, 36.
5.Chookaszian, Cilician Book Painting: Miniatures of Toros Roslin and Italian Art. Atti del quinto
Simposio Internazionale di Arte Armena, Venezia-Milano-Bologna-Firenze, 1988, 28 maggio - 5
Guigno (San Lazzaro-Venezia, 1992), p. 321-22.

6.Kurt Weitzmann, Icon Painting in the Crusader Kingdom, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 20 (1966) :
56, fig. 46, 17, 19.
7.A.L. Romaskevich, Izvajanija i izobrazhenija lvov v Irane (Sculptures and Representations of
Lions in Iran). - III International Congress on Iranian Art and Archeology, Reports, Leningrad,
September, 1935 (Moscow-Leningrad, 1939), p. 212.
8.Der Nersessian, Miniature Painting..., p. 154-156, ill. 640.
9.Christopher Walter, Marriage crowns in Byzantine iconography, Zograf 10 (Beograd, 1979) :
83-91.
10.O. von Falke, Kunstgeschichte der Seidenweberei, Zweiter Band (Berlin : Verlag Ernst
Wasmuth A.G., 1913) Abb. 224; I.Spatharakis, The Portrait in Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts
(Leiden, 1976), fig. 70.
11.Persi E.Schramm, Die deutschen Kaiser und Konige in Bildern ihrer Zeit, I. Teil, Bis zur mitte
des 12. Jahrhunderts (751-1152), (Berlin-Leipzig, 1928), Abb. 131.
12Weitzmann, Illustrated Manuscripts at St. Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai (Collegeville,
Minnesota, 1973), p. 23, fig. 30.
13.Ibid, p. 22-23, fig. 28.
14.P.Buberl, H.Gerstinger, Die byzantinischen Handschriften, 2, Die Handschriften des X-XVIII
Jahrhunderts, Illuminierten Handschriften und Inkunabeln der Nationalbibliothek in Wien
(Leipzig : Verlag von Karl W.Hiersmann, 1938), S. 50, Taf. XXV. 2, XXVII. 2; Victor N.
Lazarev, Istorija vizantijskoj zhivopisi (The History of Byzantine Painting), vol.1, (MoscowLeningrad, 1947), Text, p. 103, 228.