Chapter Seven Examples
Religious Conviction
Art timeline images for discussion and study.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
The evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews, xi, i
I should be able to…
7
• Explain why during the Christian era, art shifts from earlier Greek
and Roman tradition or realism toward a strong use of symbols
• Understand that under Justinian, the Byzantine Empire moved to the
East in 527 and that the emperor was extremely influential in
fostering the art of his reign.
• Comprehend that during the seventh century, the rival faith of Islam,
which began in Arabia, spread rapidly to the near East and the
southern Mediterranean.
• Describe Islamic art and explain why it relied heavily on geometric
and abstract forms.
• Understand that early medieval art was made by nomadic tribes until
Charlemagne fostered a revival of Classican culture in the late
eighth and early ninth centuries.
Art History Learning Targets
I should be able to…
7.1
• Explain why early Christian art used figures and images
symbolically.
• Understand that before Emperor Constantine made Christianity the
state religion in 313, frescoes of Christian sub were painted on the
ceilings and walls of secret, underground tunnel-like catacombs.
• Comprehend that the legalization of Christianity gave rise to new
architecture and highly crafted objects.
• Describe the typical plan of an early Christian church and
understand its origins in Roman basilicas.
• Understand that the T-shaped basilica plan became the general
basis of European churches for many centuries.
Art History Learning Targets
7.1 VOCABULARY
Diptych (dip-tik)
rotunda (ro-tun-dah)
Catacombs (kat-i-komz)
sarcophagus (sar-koff-ag-gus)
Atrium (ay-tree-um)
Nave
Apse
Baldachin
Transept
Crypt (kript)
Ivory Panel showing an Archangel (and reverse side)
c. 525 – 550
Constantinople, Turkey
The Good Shepherd, from the Catacomb of Saints Peter
and Marcellinus, Rome
4th century
Fresco
Sarcophagus with Old and New Testament Scenes,
Santa Maria Antiqua, Rome, Italy, c. 270.
23.25 inches by 86 inches.
Marble
Apollinare in Classe
533 – 549, Ravenna, Italy
Apollinare in Classe (interior)
533 – 549, Ravenna, Italy
Basilica floor plans
St. Apollinare in Classe,
533 – 549, Ravenna, Italy
floor plan
Floor plan, Old St. Peters
Panoramic view of interior
Santa Maria Maggiori
431, Rome, Italy
(Christ as) The Good Shepherd
270 – 280, Asia Minor, Phrygia (Central Turkey)
Calf Bearer
Greek, Early sixth century BCE
Chalice of Antioch
350 – 500, Syria
Silver and gilt
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
c. 359, Museo Petriano, St. Peter’s, Rome
marble
Church of San Vitale
525 – 547, Ravenna, Italy
Christ between the Virgin and
Saint John the Baptist (detail)
1261, Constantinople
I should be able to…
7.2
• Understand that the Roman Empire was divided into two after the
death of Constantine in 337, and Constantinople become the
powerful seat of the Eastern sphere.
• Describe the Golden Age of Byzantine art and culture that began
under the emperor Justinian.
• Describe how Byzantine art stresses symbolism over naturalism as
a means of communicating spiritual ideas.
• Explain that Byzantine architecture and mosaic decoration spread
throughout Eastern Europe and eventually to Russia.
• Comprehend that in the early eight century, a controversy disrupted
the development of Byzantine culture for over 100 years as
iconoclasts, who wanted to destroy religious images, fought those
who felt it important to keep religious depictions.
• Explain that Byzantine icons (religious images) were painted on
wood panels and were used both in worship centers at home and in
church interiors.
Art History Learning Targets
7.2 VOCABULARY
Tessera (tess-ah-rah)
Pendentive (pen-den-tiv)
Pier
Icon (eye-kon)
Iconostasis (eye-kon-ah-stah-sis)
Triptych (trip-tik)
Church of San Vitale (interior)
525 – 547, Ravenna, Italy
The Emperor Justinian and Attendants
c. 547, San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy
mosaic
Empress Theodora and Attendants
c. 547, San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy
mosaic
Hagia Sophia
c. 532 – 537, Constantinople
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletos
Hagia Sofia link
How did they build this
Hagia Sophia (interior)
c. 532 – 537, Constantinope
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletos
Christ between the Virgin and
Saint John the Baptist (detail)
1261, Constantinople
St. Mark’s Church
1063, Venice, Italy
Cathedral of St. Basil
1554 – 1566, Moscow, Russia
Enthroned Madonna and Child
13th century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
egg tempera on panel
Harbaville Triptych, (Christ Enthroned with Saints)
c. 950, Louvre, Paris, France
ivory
I should be able to…
7.3
• Describe how Islam began in Arabia during the seventh
century and quickly swept across the Near East and the
southern Mediterranean, India, and the southern portion
of Western Europe.
• Comprehend that Islamic culture rivaled Christianity and
influenced medieval Europe.
• Understand that Islamic art is based primarily on ornate
abstract and geometric designs.
• Explain that as the Islamic faith spread, architects built
new structures and also converted old Christian basilicas
and churches for use as mosques.
Art History Learning Targets
7.3 VOCABULARY
Arabesque (ar-uh-besk)
Stucco (stuk-oh)
Mosque (mosk)
Minaret (min-ar-et)
Miniature (min-ee-a-choor)
The Alhambra
1354 – 1391, Granada, Spain
The Alhambra (courtyard)
1354 – 1391, Granada, Spain
Dome of the Rock
Late 600s, Jerusalem, Israel
Great Mosque
706 – 715, Damascus, Syria
Laila and Majnun at School,
Islamic Book Illustration
1524 – 1525, Metroplitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
I should be able to…
7.4
• Explain that between the fifth and seventh centuries, various
Christian and pagan European tribes carried small, portable
art treasures with them as they searched for permanent
homes after the collapse of the Roman Empire.
• Describe the geometric designs and animal motifs that were
popular elements of pagan art.
• Comprehend that elegant and delicate manuscript illumination
became an important art form as Christian missionaries tried
to establish their religion among the nomadic groups.
• Describe how the arts prospered in the late eighth and early
ninth centuries under Charlemagne, who brought stability to
the north.
• Understand that Charlemagne stimulated a revival of
Classical art, studies and language.
Art History Learning Targets
7.4 VOCABULARY
Illumination (i-loo-mi-nay-shun)
Vellum
Gospel of St. John the Evangelist,
Lindisfarne Gospel
698 – 721, British Library, London
Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne
792 – 895, Aechen, Germany