<P> All these mosaics are executed in the Hellenistic - Roman tradition: lively and imaginative, with rich colors and a certain perspective, and with a vivid depiction of the landscape, plants and birds . They were finished when Ravenna was still under Gothic rule . The apse is flanked by two chapels, the prothesis and the diaconicon, typical for Byzantine architecture . </P> <P> Inside, the intrados of the great triumphal arch is decorated with fifteen mosaic medallions, depicting Jesus Christ, the twelve Apostles and Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius, the sons of Saint Vitale . The theophany was begun in 525 under bishop Ecclesius . It has a great gold fascia with twining flowers, birds, and horns of plenty . Jesus Christ appears, seated on a blue globe in the summit of the vault, robed in purple, with his right hand offering the martyr's crown to Saint Vitale . On the left, Bishop Ecclesius offers a model of the church . </P> <P> At the foot of the apse side walls are two famous mosaic panels, completed in 547 . On the right is a mosaic depicting the East Roman Emperor Justinian I, clad in Tyrian purple with a golden halo, standing next to court officials, Bishop Maximian, palatinae guards and deacons . The halo around his head gives him the same aspect as Christ in the dome of the apse, but is part of the tradition of rendering the imperial family with haloes describe by Ernst Kantorowicz in the King's Two Bodies . Justinian himself stands in the middle, with soldiers on his right and clergy on his left, emphasizing that Justinian is the leader of both church and state of his empire . The later insertion of the Bishop Maximian's name above his head suggests that the mosaic may have been modified in 547, replacing the representation of the prior bishop with that of the Maximian . </P> <P> The gold background of the mosaic shows that Justinian and his entourage are inside the church . The figures are placed in a V shape; Justinian is placed in the front and in the middle to show his importance with Bishop Maximian on his left and lesser individuals being placed behind them . This placement can be seen through the overlapping feet of the individuals present in the mosaic . </P>

Whose portrait appears on the choir call to the right of the apse of san vitale ravenna