4th century Christian art

Jonah Sarcophagus, Rome, 3rd century, 2’x8’Lateran museum, Vatican

Jonah Sarcophagus, Rome, late 3rd century, 2’x8’Lateran museum, Vatican

Images from the story of Jonah in a Christian cubiculum at the Catacomb of Saints Peter and Marcellinus, Rome, early 4th cent.

Jonah Sarcophagus, Rome, late 3rd century, 2’x8’Lateran museum, Vatican

Orestes myth Sarcophagus, mid-2nd cent. CE

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Rome, 359

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Rome, 359

Asiatic sarcophagus, late 2nd cent.

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Rome, 359

Frieze from the Arch of Constantine, Rome 315: Emperor Constantine distributing largesse

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Rome, 359

Christ seated, from Civita Latina, ca. 350

“Old” St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, ca. 319reconstruction drawing

“Old” St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, ca. 319reconstruction drawing

New St. Peter’s Basilica today, begun in 16th cent.

Medieval sketch showing Old Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome.

Plan

Medieval sketch showing Old Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, built ca. 319.

Basilica Nova (Basilica of Constantine), Rome ca. 315

Medieval sketch showing Old Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, built ca. 319.

Basilica Nova (Basilica of Constantine), Rome ca. 315

Basilica has 3 different meanings:

1. Functional: A Roman public building, i.e. tribunal hall of an emperor, a law court, or public marketplace.

2. Functional: A Christian church serving as the cathedral church of a bishop.

3. Architectural: a roofed hall with 3 or more aisles, with an apse at one end. The central aisle (nave) is higher than the flanking aisles, allowing for a clerestory.

Interior of Santa Sabina, Rome, 422-432

Santa Costanza (Mausoleum of Constanza), Rome, 337-351

Santa Costanza, Rome, 337-351

Santa Costanza, Rome, 337-351: Mosaics in the ambulatory