386 Johnson
Conclusion
In summary, the artistic patronage of Theoderic and his successors demon-
strates that they saw themselves as the heirs to the Roman emperors who had
preceded them in ruling Italy. The only non-Roman artistic detail found any-
where in their patronage is the small carved frieze at the top of the wall on
Theoderic’s mausoleum. The influences that are expressed in their patronage
are strongly identifiable with Rome and Constantinople. The art and architec-
ture of the Ostrogothic rulers are not crude adaptations of these traditions, but
sophisticated works in their own right and in line with contemporary architec-
ture and decoration in Italy and the Mediterranean area. In their emulation
of earlier prototypes—the archictecture of early Christian baptisteries and
churches, mosaics in Roman churches, and the architecture of the late Roman
palaces and the imperial mausolea—these works express a continuity in artis-
tic tradition that is nearly seamless as Theoderic and his architects and artists
created the new in imitation of the ancient.
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Secondary Literature
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