Early Christian Art
After 200 AD to early 5th Century
New Vocabulary-Catacombs
Altar
Nave
Apse
Narthex
Transept
Codex
•323 AD, Constantine moved the Roman Empire to Byzantium,
Greek town that became Constantinople and then Istanbulacknowledged new power of Eastern Provinces and was
symbolic of the Empire’s newfound Christianity
•Split empire in half- Western half fell to Germanic tribes
•Split Church in half- Pope in Rome and Patriarch in
Byzantium- Catholicism v. Orthodox Church
•Pope was dependent on civic authority while the Patriarch was
both political and religious leader
•Must look at art under two headings- Early Christian Artprior to the splitting of the church (first 5 centuries AD)
•Byzantine Art- Eastern part of empire, a certain style- became
an artistic differentiation- Western Empire art became the
Middle Ages
Eastern Art- became more and more oriental, not included in
Middle Ages art- more Greek
Painted Ceiling, 4th C. AD. Catacombs of SS. Pietra
•Early Christian art found mostly in Catacombs- Christian underground tombsusually not found in Rome, but in older Christian strongholds in North Africa and
Near East
•Catacomb paintings are similar to Roman painting, but a much more symbolic
meaning
•Circles suggest the dome of heaven, inscribed with the cross- Shepherd in the
middle stands for Christ, old testament imagery mixed with new testament
Section, Old St. Peter’s, Begun 333 AD
•The Basilica served as a model for new Churches
•Constantine focused on building many new churches for new
Christians!
•Basilica is a combination assembly hall, temple, and private
house
•Similar to Roman model- long nave flanked by aisles and lit
with Clerestory windows, apse, wooden ceiling
Plan, Old St. Peter’s
•Old Roman Basilica
served as a fitting
example because of its
large, uninterrupted
interior spaces for a
large number of
Christians and an
Imperial feel that linked
Christianity with its new
role as state religion
Interior, Old St. Peter’s (no longer standing)
•The building had to be given a new focus to make it appropriate for Christianitythe altar, which was placed in front of the apse at the eastern end of the nave,
entrances were moved from the side to the western end- became a single
longitudinal axis
S. Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, 533-49
•Plain,unadorned exterior, just a shell for the interior- this is the exact opposite of
the Classical Greek idea of the Temple
•Interior of the church is completely opposite the outside
Interior, S. Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, 533-49
•Pure light and color, have left behind the everyday world
•Mosaics and marble surfaces
•Domed buildings popularround or polygonal
buildings topped with a
dome- taken from Roman
bath design- became
baptisteries (bath was a
sacred rite) and funerary
chapels
•Sta. Constanza
(Constantine’s daughter)domed cylindrical core lit
by clerestory windows,
ring shaped aisle or
ambulatory
Sta. Constanza, Rome, c 350
•4th C. Building of churches- huge areas to be decorated, little is left to know
about paintings, but more masterful than catacomb artists- paintings spread
over nave walls, triumphal arch, and apse
•Mosaics- great new art form –composed of small pieces of colored material
set in plaster- used by the Sumerians, Greeks, Romans (Battle of Issus)- these
were floor mosaics- color lacked brilliance since colors were limited to those
found in nature
•New mosaics made from colored glass (not seen before) – far greater color
range and intensity- glass was shiny and became tiny reflectors of light
•Greco-Roman- guiding principle of architecture was of balance of opposing
forces (contrapposto)- sculpture fit this principle
•Early Christian- weightiness of architecture- thickness was hidden- bland,
expressionless walls needed mosaics like Greek architecture needed sculpture
•surface is denied to create an illusion of unreality (Roman painting- more of
an illusion of reality)- a realm of the symbolic
•narrative scenes show the illusionistic traditions being transformed by new
content- condensing complex action into a visual form to be read at a distancelike column of Trajan- but because these are biblical scenes of holiness, the
reader of the artwork is already expected to know the story- so it can be more
symbolic than realistic
Prototypes of mosaics were
illustrated manuscriptsduplication of holy text on a
vast scale
-parchment became available
in Greece (before that,
papyrus was used in Egypt)more durable- strong enough
to be creased – a bound book
is called a Codex
1st-4th century vellum codex
replaced parchment scrollsbecause there was no unrolling
and rolling, illustrations could
survive longer
Vienna Genesis, 6th C, AD
Vienna Genesis•Written in silver (now
turned black) on purple
vellum), with brilliantly
colored illustrations•shows sequences of events
in each illustrationprogression of space
becomes progression of
time•called continuous
narration- goes back to
Egypt and Mesopotamiapermits spatial economy
Vienna Genesis, 6th C. AD
Sarcophagus of Julius Bassus, 359 AD
•Sculpture took a secondary role during early Christian art due to prohibition of
graven images in the bible- seemed too Pagan- became less monumental-smaller
scale
•Early sculpture found on sarcophagi
Detail, Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, 359 AD
•Colonnaded front split into compartments of old and new testament scenes
•All scenes stress the divine Christ rather than the human nature of Christsuffering is only hinted at
•Has a classicistic feel to it- in the Greek tradition, but doll-like quality like the
arch of Constantine
•Diptych designed for private ownership•pagan subjects, reproduced but no longer
understood- borrowed subject matter, but
seen in relationship to Christ•Very classicist in nature- Paganism was still
in the culture, still aware of their pagan roots
Priestess of Bacchus, 390-400
•Monumental sculpture was still popular
with the emperors.
•Continued he tradition of portraits of
high officials
•Interest in individualizations, but more
interested in spiritual ideal rather than
physical self- became more idealized
and expressive
•This reminds of us late Roman portraits
but has a much more other-worldly
quality- emphasized by the abstraction
•Last gasp of Greek sculpture in the
round
Portrait of Eutropios,C. 450