Early Christian Post

Wall with Torah niche, House SynagogueDura-Europos, Syria, 244- 45 CE

• Circa 30 CE – Jesus Crucified• 65 CE – Peter and Paul executed• 312 – Constantine Converts after the Battle of the

Mulvian Bridge• 313 –Edict of Milan (a legal religion)• 325 – Council of Nicea• 381 – The co-emperors Gratian and Theodosius

publish their edict that the doctrine of the Trinity is  to be the official state religion.

• 410 – Rome is Sacked• 430 - St. Augustine Dies• 476 – Last Western Emperor – Romulus Augustus

The dove holding an olive branch symbolizes the soul that reached divine peace.

The lamb represents the role of sacrifice in the death of Christ

The fish. In Greek one says IXTHYS (ichtùs). Placed vertically, the letters of this word form an acrostic: Iesùs Christòs Theòu Uiòs Sotèr = Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. Acrostic is Greek word which means the first letter of every line or paragraph. The fish is a widespread symbol of Christ, a motto and a compendium of the Christian faith.

Catacombs, Rome• Four million buried under

Rome alone• Galleries are 1 meter wide and

2-3 meters high• Loculi, cubiculum• Burial underground cheaper

than surface burials• Christian belief in burial

because Christ was buried

Early Christian Art

The Representation of Christ

Good Shepherd from Catacombs, c. late 3rd century

The Good Shepherd

Galla Placidia, Ravena

c. 425-26

St. Peter – The First Pope

St. Paul - The Convert who converted Gentiles

The Virgin Mary

Jesus Christ

The New Testament

• 4 Gospels – The Life and Works of Jesus• The Book of Acts – Histoy of the Early

Christian Movement• 21 Epistles (13 by Paul?) and including

Revelations (by John?)

Early Christian Art in the Age of Constantine

Old Saint Peter’s, Rome• Placed over the site where Saint Peter

may have been buried in a pagan cemetery

• Roman basilica• Axial plan• Atrium, narthex, nave, transept, apse:

each has a function• Longitudinal orientation with entrance

at one end leading directly to the apse, unlike Basilica of Constantine

• Roman arch over the altar• Wall space has arches, transept,

clerestory• Timber Roof• Lavish mosaics decorated interior• Replaced in the 16th Century

Reputed Burial Place of St. Peter

Built on the orders of Constantine c. 326

Early Christian Art in the Age of Constantine

Santa Costanza, Rome

• Centrally planned building with Tholos structure

• Altar in center• Aisles surround the altar and are

barrel vaulted• 12 column pairs and 12 clerestory

windows symbolize the apostles• Austere interior not original• Mosaic subjects stress salvation• Interlace patterns• Classical subjects incorporated

into Christian context• Mosaics adorn ceiling, in Roman

period they were used on floors

Santa Costanza, Rome

4rth Century CE

Temple of Portunus, 2nd Century BCE

The church of Santa Costanza in Rome was a mausoleum built for Constantine's daughter, Constantina (died 354):

Exterior of Galla Placidia Mausoleum (c. 425 – 426 Ravenna)

Built in Cruciform, or cross – shaped, with pendentive dome inside

• Contains shading to indicate depth & light source

• Hint of landscape and rocks

• Young adult with a halo

• Imperial gold and purple

• Long golden staff that ends wit a cross

The Good Shepherd

Galla Placidia, Ravena

c. 425-26

Arch of Constantine, c. 315 CE

From Trajan

From Marcus Aurelius

From Hadrian

Arch of Constantine

Relief freize from Arch of Constantine

Sarcophagi of Junius Bassus, c. 359 CE

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus in the Vatican, Rome, 359 A.D.

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus• Christ in the center seated as an

emperor• Sits on a personification of the

sky: Jupiter/Poseidon? with a veil over his head

• Christ seated in a heavenly Jerusalem

• Scenes not in narrative order• Classical elements in

pediments, arches and columns• Figures much larger than

animals they are next to

Text: The Codex and the Manuscript

From the Vatican Virgil

4th or early 5th century

Early Greek Codex of the Bible, 4th Century