"The deathbed of Queen Mother Anna Dandolo", wall painting (detail) Sopocani monastery, ca. 1265. Flanked by his elder brother, the future King Dragutin, and accompanied by family, nobility and clergy, Prince Milutin mourns the death of his grandmother. Wall painting (detail) St. Achilleos church, Arilje, 1296. King Milutin in his prime, at the time when a weakened Byzantine court switched its policy to one of cooperation and family ties with their rising Balkan neighbor. Wall painting (detail) Bogorodica Ljeviska church, Prizren, ca. 1309. By the time the church was decorated by master Astrapa, Milutin was already in his mid-to-late fifties - yet this portrait suggests a somewhat younger ruler. Incidentally, the light spots that cover this painting are holes made to carry a coating of plaster that was often used by the Ottoman Turks to cover the frescoes - in another attempt to eliminate the cultural heritage of the native Balkan Christian population. Wall painting (detail) King's church, Studenica, ca. 1315. By building this church next to the main endowment of his great-grandfather Stefan Nemanja, founder of the dynasty, Milutin was most likely underscoring the continuity of the dynasty. Wall painting (detail) St. Nicholas church, Chilandar monastery complex Mt. Athos, ca. 1320. Part of a larger composition showing Milutin presenting his charter for the monastery to his father-in-law, the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II. Wall painting (detail) Gracanica monastery, ca. 1321. The portraiture of King Milutin - at least that created during his lifetime - shows a remarkable degree of consistency, thus suggesting a rather realistic presentation of his actual features. In this, probably last lifetime portrait, the usually handsome monarch finally appears as a tired, if venerable, old man - juxtaposed to his vibrant, decades younger fourth wife, the Byzantine princess Simonide Paleologos. Silver dinar (detail) late 13th c. There is ongoing debate over which (if any) representations of Serbian medieval rulers on coins are meant to be real portraits. Likely - very few, as supported by the rather limited area available for their execution, and the rather modest engraving skills of most coin die-cutters (indeed, even the original Venetian models that Serbian coinage initially followed, show fully stylized ruler images, despite a high level of craftsmanship). However, the portait from a rare piece shown here may constitute an exception, as some features appear characteristic of the king. Wall painting (detail) St. Nicholas church, Chilandar, Mt. Athos, 14th c. Most portraits of Milutin done after his death depart from his features, as is the case with this somewhat stylized rendition. However, this is one of the rare references to the king by his vernacular (given) name, Milutin, rather than the customary royal names Stefan and Uros. Author: Radmilo Bozinovic rasha@serbianunity.net