Early Christian, Jewish, and Byzantine Art

c. 300-1100

Early Christian, Jewish, and Byzantine Art

Example: •  Dura-Europus was a

Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman village near Euphrates river

•  Here Jews and Christians lived in peace side-by-side for years

•  The synagogue was filled with scenes from scripture surrounding niche

Dura Europos Synagogue, c. 244 A.D.

Early Christian Art Themes: •  Christ as good

shepherd, emperor •  Old Testament

prefigurations •  Appropriated Roman

symbols for new use Forms: •  Stylized forms, non-

illusionistic •  Conceptual, not optical Miracle of the loaves and fishes mosaic,

Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, ca. 504.

Early Christian Art Dates and Places: •  3rd and 4th centuries CE •  Rome

People: •  Monotheistic •  Co-exist with

polytheistic Roman religion

•  Christianity legalized by Constantine in 313 CE

Interior, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, dedicated 504.

Early Christian Art Example: •  Christ as Good

Shepherd •  Old Testament

prefiguration, Jonah •  Orants (figures in

posture of prayer) •  In catacomb of

Christian burials •  Adapt Roman

iconography for secret symbolism Christ as Good Shepherd, Catacomb of Saints Peter

and Marcellinus, early fourth century. Fresco, Rome, Italy.

Early Christian Art Example: •  Conventionalized,

stylized forms like Arch of Constantine

•  Christian disinterest in the body

•  Christ as emperor •  Old Testament

prefiguration •  New Testament

redemption Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, ca. 359. Marble, Treasury of Saint Peter's Basilica.

Early Christian Art Example: •Christ as good shepherd

• Humble roots

• Christianity illegal until 313 Edict of

Milan (Constantine)

• Christ as calf-bearer

• Dressed as young Roman in toga

• Christians have to worship underground secretly

• Use symbols and codes

• Borrow imagery from Judaic and

Roman tradition Christ as Good Shepherd, catacomb of Priscilla, 2nd-3rd century. Fresco, Rome.

Early Christian Art •  Images of Christ in Early Christian art modeled after Ancient Greek

and Roman icons, including the Calf-Bearer or Shepherd Boy

Christ as Good Shepherd, catacomb of Priscilla, 2nd-3rd century. Fresco, Rome.

The 'Calf-bearer' (Moschophoros) Attic workshop, c. 570 BCE. Marble, 5’6.” Acropolis

Museum, Athens.

Early Christian Art •  Images of Christ as a calf-bearer or good shepherd, both benevolent

beings, is very common in Early Christian art. •  Taken from Luke 15:4-7 and John 10:11-16

Christ as Good Shepherd, catacomb of Priscilla, 2nd-3rd century. Fresco, Rome.

The Good Sheperd, c.300-350. Marble, 3’, high, legs restored. Pio Cristiano Museum, Vatican.

Early Christian Art Example: •  After Constantine legalizes

Christianity (and possibly converts), he begins to build churches

•  Adapt Roman basilica for growing congregations

•  Nave, aisles, apse, atrium, narthex

•  On site of Peter’s burial •  Principle church of

Christianity, pope as Peter’s successor

Plan and cutaway, Old Saint Peter’s, begun ca. 319.

•  The Roman Basilica serves as model for Early Christian churches to accommodate numbers of new parishioners after legalization

•  Early Christian architecture based on Roman example

Remains of the Basilica Nova, or Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine in Rome, 308-312.

Plan and cutaway, Old Saint Peter’s, begun ca. 319.

Plan and cutaway, Old Saint Peter’s, begun ca. 319.

Reconstruction for the plan of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine in Rome; Rome 308-312

Early Christian Art Example: •  Central-plan adopted from

Roman architecture •  Used for mausoleums,

baptisteries, chapels •  Ambulatory surrounds

central domed cylinder •  Mosaics inside

Plan, Santa Costanza, ca. 337-351.

Interior views of the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, Rome, c. 350; consecrated in 1254

Harvesting of Grapes Mosaic, from the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, Rome, c.

350; consecrated in 1254

Christ in Majesty, from the Church of Santa Pudenziana, apse mosaic of (Rome), 402-417 CE (Late Antique)

Early Christian Art

Example: •  Ravenna capital of

Western Roman empire •  Earliest and best

preserved of all mosaic monuments

•  Building designed in shape of Greek cross

•  Cupola entirely mosaic •  Plain exterior, colorful

interior

Exterior of Galla Placidia Mausoleum,425-430. Ravenna, Italy

Early Christian Art Example: •  Mosaic, tesserae •  Plain exterior,

colorful interior •  Art advertises faith •  Christ as Good

Shepherd and emperor

•  Imperial iconography •  Illusionism Christ as the Good Shepherd mosaic, Mausoleum of

Galla Placidia, ca. 425.

Early Christian Art

Example: •  Small art objects continue

classical aesthetic •  Formed back of diptychs=wax

writing tablets, sometimes used for people to announce election to government position

Resurrection and Angel with Two Marys at the Tomb, panel of a diptych, found in Rome, c. 400

AD. Ivory, 14 ½” x 5 ⅜.” Castello Sforzesco, Milan

Resurrection and Angel with Two Marys at the Tomb, panel of a diptych, found in Rome, c. 400 AD. Ivory, 14 ½” x 5 ⅜.”

Castello Sforzesco, Milan

Symmachi–Nicomachi diptych, Priestess on right celebrates rites of Ceres and Cyble and the

one on the left, the rites of Bacchus, ca. 400. Ivory, 11 3/4" x 5 ½.” Musée de Cluny,

Paris and eVictoria and Albert Museum, London.

Byzantine Art

Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletue, Hagia Sophia, 532–537.

Byzantine Art Example: •  Central plan with nave •  Dome over crossing,

influence of Pantheon •  Pendentives and

semidomes support •  Mystical light •  Plain exterior, lavish

interior •  Separation of sexes Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletue,

Hagia Sophia, 532–537.

View of the columns from the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Virgin and Christ Child flanked by Justinian I and Constantine I Hagia Sophia, c. 990. Mosaic, Istanbul, Turkey.

Byzantine Art

Dates and Places: •  4th century to 1453 CE •  Eastern Christian

Roman Empire •  Eastern Mediterranean,

capital Constantinople

People: •  Emperor head of church •  Period of iconoclasm

San Vitale, 526–547.

Byzantine Art Example: •  Byzantine church on

Italian peninsula •  Centrally-planned church •  Mosaics of emperor and

empress •  Christ and Justinian,

imperial iconography •  Stylized, timeless,

weightless, frontal figures

San Vitale, ca. 547.

Floor plan Basilica of San Vitale, c. 526-547

Justinian and the Byzantine Style Example •  Christ transformed into

Roman emperor type; wears purple=color of nobility

•  Flanked by angels, St. Vitalis and Bishop Ecclesius who holds model of church for dedication

•  Stylized landscape, drapery (some hints still of naturalism in landscape and shading of body but it is not the primary concern!)

Christ in Majesty, apse mosaic from San Vitale in c. 547. Marble, Ravenna, Italy.

Justinian and the Byzantine Style Example: •  Representation is more

conceptual than natural •  Attention not on the

natural representation of the body but on the otherworldly or spiritual quality of the space=gold background

•  Mosaics $$$ uneven glass helps to contribute to that spiritual presence

•  Halo=round gold circle, Christ’s has cross

Christ in Majesty, apse mosaic from San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy; c. 547

Empress Theodora and her attendants, ca. 547. Mosaic, San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

Emperor Justinian and his attendants, 547. Mosaic, San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

Byzantine Art Themes: •  Icons of Christ, Virgin

Mary, and Saints

Forms: •  Static, timeless •  Gold backgrounds •  Conventionalized

figures •  Centrally planned

churches, domes Empress Theodora and her attendants, ca. 547. Mosaic, San Vitale,

Byzantine Art Example: •  Byzantine Icon •  Encaustic and gold on wood •  Active art: transmit prayers, work

miracles •  Conventionalized figures,

timeless, static •  Iconoclasts destroy icons in 8th

century Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George, sixth

or early seventh century. Encaustic on wood, 2' 3" x 1' 7 3/8,” St. Catherine's Monastery,

Sinai, Egypt.

Byzantine Art

Example: •  Christ as Judge •  Mosaic in dome •  Connect viewer to

Heaven through Christ •  Stylized forms, patterns

of drapery, timeless gold background

Christ as Pantokrator, ca. 1090–1100. Mosaic, Church of the Dormition, Daphne,

Greece.

Byzantine Art Example: •  Byzantine church in

Venice •  Central plan, cruciform

(Greek cross) •  Dome on pendentives

over crossing •  Mosaic program •  Stories from life of Christ •  Non-illusionistic Interior, Saint Mark’s Basilica, begun

1063.

Byzantine Art Example: •  Small devotional objects

used for private worship •  Iconoclasm •  Elegant, finely crafted

works for elite secular and clerical audience

•  Classical references •  Byzantine style= brings

together Roman imperial and Christian notions of authority, visual vocabulary and aesthetics

The Harbaville Triptych, mid 11th cent. Ivory, 9” x 11.” Louvre Museum, Paris.