Chapter 7
Jewish, Early Christian, and
Byzantine Art
Catacombs of Commodilla, Jesus the Alpha and
Omega
Rome, Italy 4th c. AD. fresco
Catacombs of Commodilla,
Jesus the Alpha and Omega
• This panel shows a bearded Jesus flanked
by two Greek letters: on the left alpha, the
first letter of the alphabet, on the right,
omega, the last letter of the alphabet. The
picture evokes Rev 1:8: "I am the Alpha
and the Omega, says the Lord God, who
is and was and who is to come, the
Almighty."
Menorahs and Ark of the Covenant, wall painting in a Jewish
catacomb, Villa Torlonia, Rome, 3rd Century.
Dura-Europos in Syria c.244-245 wall with the Torah
Niche, tempera on plaster
Detail of Niche at
Dura-Europos in Syria
c.244-245 wall with the
Torah Niche, tempera
on plaster
Finding of the Baby Moses, Wall painting Dura-Europos,
Syria. Copy in tempora on plaster 244-45 AD.
Maon Synagogue floor,
Eretz Yisrael, 530 AD.,
mosaic detail.
Menorah
• During the wanderings of the Children of
Israel through the desert, the artisan,
Bezalel, the son of Uri, was commanded
to fashion a seven-branched candelabrum
or menorah, for use in the Lord's
Tabernacle:
CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM
• Like Musical Notation, Christian
Symbolism illustrates that for which it
stands. And it adds a certain beauty and
mysticism to religion, speaking as it does
of an unseen world and a supernatural
faith. For the proper understanding of
Christian Art and Architecture some
knowledge of symbolism is absolutely
necessary.
Symbols
• The Dove represents the HOLY GHOST, under which figure the
Holy Spirit descended upon Christ at His Baptism.
• The Fish represents Christ - The Greek word "Ixthus" which means
"Fish," is spelled from the first letters of Greek words meaning,
"Jesus CHRIST, Son of GOD SAVIOR." This sign was used as a
secret symbol by the early Christians in the days of persecution.
• The Gospels are symbolized by the Figures of a Man, a Lion, an
Ox, and an Eagle referring to Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke
and Saint John, who respectively represented Our Lord as Man,
King, Priest and Victim and GOD.
• The Lamb typifies Christ as the Lamb of GOD symbolizing Christ’s
sacrifice on the Cross. It is usually seen holding a Banner and
Cross. The Good Shepherd also represents Christ. This is probably
the earliest of all Christian symbols. CHRIST is sometimes shown
with the Sheep in His Arms.
Symbol of the Cross
• The Cross represents the mode of
Christ’s Death. Though long antedating
Christianity it was early adopted as a
Sacred Symbol. Of the many forms of the
Cross, the Latin, the Celtic, the Greek and
the Maltese are those most generally
seen. The shape of the "True Cross" was
probably the Latin (or perhaps the "T")
Cross, having the lower arm longer than
the others.
Latin Cross The most
common
depiction of a
Christian
cross in
modern times.
Tau Cross This form of
cross
(resembling
the Greek
letter Tau)
predates the
Latin cross.
Greek
Cross - All
arms are
of equal
length.
St. Peter’s
Cross Representing
St. Peter’s
upside-down
crucifixion.
Catacomb Painting: Good Shepherd, Orants, and the Story of Jonah
4th century AD, Rome
Good Shepherd,
marble statue,
3rd century
19 ¾” H 16” W
Early Christian Architecture
• The invention of the Christian church was one of the brilliant-perhaps the most brilliant--solutions in architectural history. This was
achieved by a process of assimilating and rejecting various
precedents, such as the Greek temple, the Roman public building,
the private Roman house, and the synagogue.
• The Early Christian period saw the growth of Christianity, effectively
an underground Eastern mystery cult during the first three centuries
AD. It was established as the state religion of the Empire under the
successors of Constantine. Ecclesiastical administration set up
within the framework of the Roman Empire.
• Little change in social and economic order. Gradual split between
Eastern and Western Empire in state and church. Political and
economic breakdown of the West, ending in barbarian invasions.
• Early Christian Architecture: basilical church developed
from Roman secular basilica; centralized type from
Roman tombs. Basilical plan modified for liturgical
requirements; congregation and clergy segregated in
nave and aisles vs. transept and apse. Different variants
in East and West.
• In Rome, classical marble wall membering and
vocabulary, and emphasis on massive wall, gradually
replaced by broad, flat surfaces, evenly lighted; plain
brick exteriors; mosaic bands of interiors. Long planes
with little articulation, either horizontal or vertical.
•
Baptistry in Christian House, Dura Europos, miracles of
Jesus, Dura Europos, 3rd century AD., Syria.
• Following the Edict of Milan in 313 Constantine
began an extensive building program to provide
churches and meeting places for Christians.
Previously they met in private homes that had
rooms for worship.
The first Christian churches used Roman
structural and design elements.
The basilica evolved into the essential design for
the church that is still used today.
Basilica Plan Churches
Central Plan Churches
Reconstruction drawing of St. Peter’s, Rome c. 333-390
AD right: interior view of St Paul outside the Walls, Rome
c. 385 AD.
Old St. Peter's, Rome, c. 330, AD.
Santa Sabina, Rome, c. 422-432 AD.
Interior of Santa Sabina, Rome
CHURCH OF SANTA SABINA : Doors
Panel 17: Elijah taken to Heaven
Plan of Santa Costanza, brick, c. 350 CE, Rome right:
interior view of Santa Costanza.
Santa Constanza,
Rome c. 350 AD.
Second type of ancient
building – the Tholos. A
round structure with a
central plan.
Harvesting of Grapes, mosaic in the
ambulatory vault, Church of Santa Costanza
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, c. 425-26 AD.
• “Built between 425 and 433, this small mausoleum
adopts a cruciform plan, and the crossing is covered by
a dome. On the outside, the architect simply juxtaposed
masses. However, in contrast to Romanesque
architecture, the mausoleum walls give the impression of
being simple partitions designed to mark off the interior
spaces. Blind arcades are its only decoration. The inside
is relatively small and extremely simple. The mausoleum
was intended from the very start to be covered with
mosaics, and these are the oldest in Ravenna. The
principal scene depicts the martyrdom of St. Lawrence at
the moment when the saint approaches the red-hot
gridiron. The other niche represents the Good Shepherd,
and on the upper walls are the apostles.”
Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, lunette mosaic, Mausoleum
of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, c. 425-26 AD.
Good Shepherd, lunette mosaic, Mausoleum of Galla
Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, c. 425-26 AD.
Bookcase with the
Gospels in codex form
– Detail of a mosaic in
the eastern lunette,
Mausoleum of Galla
Placidia
Baptism of Christ,
with Twelve Saints;
dome mosaic,
Baptistry of the
Orthodox (Neonian
Baptistery),
mid-5th century A.D.
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. c. 359 A.D.
Detail from the
Sarcophagus of
Junius Bassus.
c. 359 A.D.
Early Byzantine art:
The First Golden Age
• The style of the Eastern Empire (called Byzantine)
begins with the re-naming of the capital and continues in
some parts of Europe and Russia well into the 15th
century A.D. Architecturally, the Byzantine style is
distinguished by an emphasis on centrally planned,
domed structures such as San Vitale. San Vitale is
located in Ravenna, a major Byzantine outpost in Italy. It
is a particularly good example of the style's mystical,
surging spaces: chapels seem carved out of the
radiating aisle, and the plan is a complex octagon-withinan-octagon shape. This church dates to the first great
flowering of Byzantine art, the First Golden Age, when
the Emperor Justinian ruled from Constantinople.
Isidore of Miletus: Hagia Sofia exterior, cross section, and plan
Cathedral built at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) under the direction of
the Byzantine emperor Justinian I
The Dome
• It was not always possible to have a
cylindrical base to support a dome. To
support a dome on a square base arches
could be built to bridge the corners and
create an octagonal base. These were
called squinches. An even more elaborate
system of transferring the thrust of a dome
to four points was to employ segments of
vaults which are called pendentives.
Plan, The Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547
The Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547
The Lamb of God supported
by Angels, 546-548, dome
apse mosaic, Church of San
Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547
The Church of San Vitale,
Ravenna, 530-547
San Vitale, aerial view, apse nearest viewer
Justinian and his Retinue, 546-548, mosaic, north wall
of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547
Theodora and her retinue, 546-548, mosaic, south wall
of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, 530-547
Apse mosaic of St. Appolinaris and Transfiguration of
Christ, Sant’Apollinare in Classe, ca. 550
The Archangel Michael
Right leaf of a diptych, early
sixth century. Ivory, approx.
17" X 151/2"
Constantinople, ca. 500
A.D. An ivory panel
depicting Saint Michael the
Archangel
Rebekah at the Wall
and Abraham's
Servant, page 13, The
Vienna Genesis, 6th
cent.
Detail of The Vienna Genesis
Illumination from the Rabbula Gospels
Syriac, AD 586, 33x26.7 cm.
Icon
Virgin and Child with
Saints and Angels
encaustic on wood
from St. Catherine’s
Monastery, Sinai, Egypt
late sixth century
Middle Byzantine Art
• The resolution of the Iconoclastic
controversy in favor of the use of icons
ushered in a second flowering of the
empire, the Middle Byzantine period (843–
1261). The arts flourished, Greek became
the dominant official language, and
Christianity spread from Constantinople
throughout the Slavic lands to the north.
• In 1204, Crusaders from western Europe
took Constantinople, founding the Latin
Empire, which lasted until 1261, when
Byzantine rule was reestablished. The
final great artistic flowering that followed
lasted until Constantinople fell to the
Ottoman Turks in 1453, more than 1,100
years after its founding. Long after its fall,
Byzantium set a standard for luxury,
beauty, and learning that inspired both the
Latin West and the Islamic East.
Icon
Our Lady of Vladimir
Egg Tempera on Wood Panel
12th century Byzantine faces,
with later restorations
45 x 27 in
Icons and Iconoclasm
• The term icon comes from the Greek
eikon, which means "image" or "likeness."
In a religious context, it refers to some
image or representation of important
religious figures, but especially divine or
semi-divine figures. Often, these images
are venerated in some fashion.
The Iconoclastic Controversy
• Occurred between the mid-8th century and the
mid-9th century in the Byzantine Christian
Church over the question of whether or not
Christians should continue to revere icons. Most
unsophisticated believers tended to revere icons
(thus they were called iconodules), but many
political and religious leaders wanted to have
them smashed because they believed that
venerating icons was a form of idolatry (they
were called iconoclasts).
• The controversy was inaugurated in 726 when
Byzantine Emperor Leo III commanded that the
image of Christ be taken down from the Chalke
gate of the imperial palace. After much debate
and controversy, the veneration of icons was
official restored and sanctioned during a council
meeting in Nicaea in 787. However, conditions
were put on their use - they had to be painted
flat with no features which stood out. Down
through today icons play an important role in the
Eastern Orthodox Church, serving as "windows"
to heaven.
• One result of this conflict was that
theologians developed the distinction
between veneration and reverence
(proskynesis) which was paid to icons and
other religious figures, and adoration
(latreia), which was owed to God alone.
Another was brining the term iconoclasm
into currency, now used for any attempt to
attack popular figures or icons (outside of
the strict religious sense of the word).
Saint Sophia
Cathedral in Kiev,
1037 - 46
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev,
1037 - 46
St. Nicholas Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois
Hosios Loukas Monastery: Phocis, Greece, c.1020 - 1040.
Hosios Loukas
Monastery: Phocis,
Greece, c.1020 - 1040.
Interior
The Crucifixion,
Church of the
Dormition, Daphni. c.
1090-1100
Interior of St. Mark's
Basilica, Venice. begun
1063
Objects of Veneration and Devotion
• During the second Byzantine golden age,
artists of great talent and high aesthetic
sensibility produced small luxury items of a
personal nature for members of the court
as well as for the church.
The Harbaville Triptych. Late 10th Century. Ivory
Multiple – dome church plans
• Domed Greek
Cross
• Greek Cross
domes over
square plan
• Quincunx domes
over square plan
• Expanded
quincunx
The Palatine Chapel (Italian:
Cappella Palatina) is the royal
chapel of the Norman kings of
Sicily situated on the ground
floor at the center of the Palazzo
Reale in Palermo.
The chapel was commissioned
by Roger II of Sicily in 1132. It
took eight years to build and
many more to decorate with
mosaics and fine art. The
sanctuary, dedicated to Saint
Peter, is reminiscent of a domed
basilica. It has three apses, as is
usual in Byzantine architecture,
with six pointed arches (three on
each side of the central nave)
resting on recycled classical
columns.
Marble and mosaic
decoration in the Chamber of
King Roger, Palazzo
Normano, Palermo, 1154-66.
The late Byzantine period (1204–
1453)
• Quite a number of buildings from the
late Byzantine period survive in
Istanbul, Thessaloníki, and throughout
Greece and the Balkans. In general they
are on a small scale and follow the plan
of those of the middle Byzantine
period.
Paracclesion of the
church of the
Monastery of the
Savior in Chora
Icon
Archangel Michael
silver gilt with enamel
and gemstones
late 10th or early 11th
century
Michael is one of the
principal angels in
Abrahamic tradition; his
name was said to have
been the war-cry of the
angels in the battle fought
in heaven against Satan
and his followers.
• The name of the church, "in Chora" means "in
the country" because the very ancient
monastery to which it was attached was outside
the walls of the Constantinian city; later when it
was included within the Theodosian walls, the
name remained the Holy Savior of Chora. The
mosaics and frescoes are by far the most
important and extensive series of Byzantine
paintings in the city and among the best and
most beautiful in the world.
Fresco of the Resurrection (Anastasis) in the Church in Chora
The Old Testament
Trinity Prefiguring the
Incarnation" by
Andrei Rublev,
c.1410, is painted on
wood, 56" X 45".
This late Byzantine
style can be seen in
the art of the west in
late Gothic and early
Renaissance painting.