Early Chistian Art
before and after 313
A.D.
The Middle Ages
• lasted from approximately 500 to 1500 AD
Gothic
Romanesque
Islamic
We are here Influence
Byzantine Art
Early
Christian Art
Byzantium
ROME
Early Christianity in
Rome
• Polytheism – Many Gods
• Pagan festivals were celebrated devoted
to different gods for different reasons in
various seasons.
• Before 313 AD public Christian worship
was banned and Early Christians were
prosecuted
• The catacombs were not only used to
bury their dead but were also places to
worship out of sight
• This meant that the symbols present in
their artwork were hidden messages to
convey belief in Christianity
The Roman
Catacombs
• The catacombs are underground
religious sites used for burial
which was common in Rome.
• Christians built them as well to
bury their dead as they were
opposed to the pagan practice of
cremation as they believed in the
resurrection of the body.
• The frescoes in these sites
reference the resurrection or
salvation by Christ
Early Christian
symbolism
• As Christian worship was banned,
their style of painting and its
influences were based on Roman art
styles with Christian symbols
hidden in their art.
• The good Shepard
• The dove
• The fish
• Loaves of bread
• The Chi Rho
Three Youths in the
furnace
•mid 3rd century, Catacombs of St
Priscilla.
•Three young men thrown into the
furnace by Nebuchadnezzar and saved
by an angel.
•The image depicts salvation by the
divine. The angel here is depicted as a
dove holding an olive branch above the
three young men.
•The figures are from chapter 3 of the
biblical Book of Daniel. In the
narrative, the three Jewish men are
thrown into a fiery furnace by
Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon
for refusing to bow to the king's image.
Fresco/Stucco
•Fresco is a mural painting
technique where pigment is directly
applied over wet lime plaster
•Stucco is when wet pigments are
applied directly to dry plaster.
•Plaster quickly absorbs water and
dries quickly meaning the paint
becomes part of the wall. This
means that you cannot remove what
has been painted without destroying
the plaster. It also means it dries
fast so paintings must be done
quickly
• Thick and bold lines
Characteristics of • Painting was done quickly and gesturally
• The works were more impressionistic
Early Christian Art • The symbols were incorporated (The good Shepard, Biblical scenes, etc.)
• They also borrowed visual characteristics of early Roman art as well
Early Christian Catacomb painting of Jesus and his disciples, pre-third century
Jesus predicting his own death building up to the final prediction of his crucifixion.
Matthew's Gospel adds a prediction, before he and his disciples enter Jerusalem, that he will be crucified there.
Depicted above
After 313 A.D.
• In 313 A.D. Roman Emperor Constantine
legalized the Christian religion and
public worship in the Roman Empire.
• Relocated the capital from Rome to
Byzantium later named Constantinople
(today Istanbul)
• The result was the flourishing
development of Christian art no longer
restricted to the catacombs. The works
we proudly displayed on churches which
were built in Roman Basilicas increasing
their prevalence and quality.
• Due to the growing number of publicly
displayed Christian images resulted in
detailed and finely crafted mosaics that
are emblematic of the Byzantine period.
Aisle
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Apse Nave Nave Apse
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The Roman Basilica and Early Church Architecture
Construction of the
Byzantine mosaics
• MOSAIC: a decoration on a surface made
by setting small pieces of glass, tile, or
stone of different colors into another
material so as to make pictures or patterns.
• Tesserae: small pieces of glass, stone,
ceramic, include gold leaf and precious
stones. That make up the mosaic.
• From 313 A.D. and onwards these mosaics
become more intricate and are made up of
more precious materials as time went on.
The same applied to frescoes.
Byzantine
frescoes
• Compared to the frescoes depicting
Christian allegories in the roman
catacombs Byzantine frescoes did
more literal depictions of Christian
figures and biblical scenes in
vibrant colours.
