Early Christian Art

CATACOMBS
Originally just beyond
the borders of Rome
(it was technically
illegal to bury bodies
within the city limits).
Begun as sites for the
burial of pagan
Romans. Later, large
numbers of Christians
(amongst whom
burial
was by far the most
popular treatment for
the deceased) were
buried in them.

Early Christian Art: Catacombs

CUBICULI: small rooms or

chambers; often for family
burials. Frequently
decorated with wall
paintings.

LOCULI: wall niches in long

passageways for individual
burials.

Roman fourth-style wall

painting

Christian catacomb painting

Early Christian Art: Catacombs

Simple subject matter

(Orantes: mans
relationship with God)

Early Christian Art: Catacombs

Simple subject matter

(Christ as the Good Shepherd)

Early Christian Art: Catacombs

Christian Good Shepherd

Roman pastoral painting

Early Christian Art: Catacombs

Old Testament Scenes
Old Testament:
Moses draws
water from a
rock; saves
Israelites
New Testament:
Baptism
Both = Salvation
through water

Parting of the Red Sea,

Christian catacombs

Parting of the Red Sea,

Dura-Europos
Synagogue

Early Christian Art: Catacombs

Old Testament Scenes

Adam and Eve

(Book of Genesis)

Early Christian Art: Catacombs

Old Testament Scenes

Christ is dead for three

days and rises

Jonah is swallowed (dead)

for three days and rises

Early Christian Architecture

TRANSEPT (Crossing)

APSE

NAVE

BASILICA
CHURCHES

ATTRIBUTES: unique characteristics with identify

particular Christian saints
ST. PETER:
KEYS
(the keys to
the kingdom)


ST. MARY MAGDALENE:
OINTMENT JAR (annointed
Christs feet)


ST. ANDREW: X-SHAPED
CROSS (crucified on a
cross in this shape)

Ravenna

--In 395 the Empire was split

according to the will of
Emperor Theodosius I;
Arcadius was given the east,
Honorius the west.
--Due to incursions by
Visigoths, Honorius moved
his capital to Ravenna in 402,
which remained the western
capital of the Empire until
751.
--Due to its political
importance and favorable
position for trade, it became
the most prosperous city in
the west.

Ravenna: Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Constantinople (Istanbul): Hagia (St.) Sophia

Architects:
Anthemius of Tralles
and
Isidorus of Miletus the Elder
Construction: 532-537
Commissioned by the
Emperor Justinian

Constantinople (Istanbul): Hagia (St.) Sophia

Basilica style church (west)

vs.
Domed, central planed church
(east)

Constantinople (Istanbul): Hagia (St.) Sophia

--An early, wood-roofed

basilica, named for Hagia
Sophia (Holy Wisdom)
was built on the site in
360 AD. It was altered or
replaced in the early fifth
century.
--This church was
destroyed in 532 during
the Nike Revolt.

Constantinople (Istanbul): Hagia (St.) Sophia

Aftermath of the Nike Revolt:
--Justinian made building a
new Hagia Sophia his top
priority.
--He wanted a church which
would reflect the power,
grandeur, and faith of the
imperial office.
--Built in only five years
(532-37), utilizing a work
force of 10,000 (100 master
masons, each with a 100
man crew).

Constantinople (Istanbul): Hagia (St.) Sophia

When completed in 537:
--182 feet high, with a dome
102 feet in diameter,
supported by 40 ribs.
--40 doorways, and external
staircase towers providing
access to the upper
galleries.
--The worlds tallest
enclosed space.
The dome appeared to be
suspended from Heaven
by a golden chain.
Procopius

Constantinople (Istanbul): Hagia (St.) Sophia

First dome: collapsed
after an earthquake in 558.
A new, and smaller, dome
then built by Isidore of
Miletus the Younger.

Constantinople (Istanbul): Hagia (St.) Sophia

Original stonework on capitals and spandrels

Constantinople (Istanbul): Hagia (Aya) Sophia

Changes and modificationsconversion to a mosque

Conversion to a mosque:
--Constantinople
conquered by the
Ottoman Sultan
Mehmet II in 1453.
Mehmet II
(Mehmet the
Conqueror)

ICONS:
From Greek (eikon = image).
Often small paintings depicting
Christ, the Virgin Mary, and/or
saints. Painted on hard, wood
panels; the medium is usually
tempera (pigment/colors mixed
with egg yolk as a binding
agent), although early panels
often were painted with
encaustic (pigments in melted
beeswax). A gold leaf
background provides a
heavenly aura, signifying the
sacred nature of the
characters. Many icons were
painted in monasteries.

ICONS:
Not only are they formulaic in
form, they tend to adhere to
specific categories.
THEOTOKOS: God Bearer/
Mother of God (Virgin and
Child)

PANTOCRATOR,
CHRIST PANTOCRATOR:
All protector; he who rules over
everything

ICONS:
Most were intended as a
personal devotion, and
considered an important
medium of worship.
Begin as early as the 4th
Century AD, and become
increasingly popular during the
6th Century. Many worshippers
believed the icons had
miraculous powers.

Original icon from

MONASTERY of ST.
CATHERINE, MT. SINAI,
EGYPT

ICONOCLASM:
Destruction of religious
images

EMPEROR LEO III

ICONOCLASM
Second Commandment:
Thou shalt not make
unto thee a graven
image, nor any manner
of likeness, of any thing
that is in heaven above

ICONOCLASM
Some theologians held that
because in Christ two
natures, human and divine,
are united, icons involving
Christ should be rejected
they were simply material
images which separated his
divine from his human
nature, and were thus
tantamount to a form of
heresy.

ICONOCLASM
EMPEROR LEO III:
reigned 717-741 AD. In
726 he prohibited the
use of icons (religious
images) and began a
systematic destruction of
holy images, in part
because he had become
convinced that the
increasing threat of
Islam had been sent by
God as a punishment
for the Christians
idolatrous use of icons.

ICONODULES: Defenders of icons

ICONOPHILES: Lovers of icons
Defense of icons:
--Tradition and antiquity of their
use
--The nature of Christs
incarnation caused the Old
Testament commandment to be
revoked

ICONOCLASM
Iconoclastic programs
suspended by the Empress
Irene in 780 AD, and in 787 the
Seventh Ecumenical Synod in
Nicaea affirmed the veneration
of icons as positive.
Iconoclastic programs would
be revived, however, in the
early ninth century, and
only finally cease in 843.