Realism was not their goal but to communicate religious ideas At first borrowed from the Romans but began to go their own direction Earliest surviving Christian art is found on frescoed walls of the catacombs of Rome ID: 663498
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Slide1
Early Christian Art
Christian art is symbolic
Realism was not their goal but to communicate religious ideas
At first, borrowed from the Romans but began to go their own direction
Earliest surviving Christian art is found on frescoed walls of the catacombs of Rome.Slide2
Catacombs
-underground burial places which sometimes had chapels
Constantine established Christianity
as the state religion which pushed for
new architecture
A church building campaign started
and lasted for centuries
They were built like the Roman
basilicasSlide3
The Archangel Michael
5
th
century Ivory diptych
16 ½” high British Museum, London
Diptych
-two pieces hinged together and usually placed over an altar (other part is lost)
Folds of robes are Classical yet naturalHis feet hover just above the stepsHe is a divine messengerProbably a copy of the winged Greek goddess, NikeHolds an orb in his right hand and a staff in his leftInscription reads “Receive these gifts, and having learned the cause.”Background is ornamental not a real space Slide4
Early Christian Frescoes
In the beginning of Christianity, it was outlawed in Rome
Christians built catacombs underneath the city as a place to escape persecution
They sometimes lived here but mostly they were used as a place to worship and bury the dead
There are as many as 4 million people buried underneath Rome
The earliest surviving Christian art frescoes on the walls and ceilings of the catacombsSlide5
The Good Shepherd
Ceiling frescoEarly 4th
century
Catacomb of Saints Peter and
Marcellinus
, Rome
Christ as Good Shepherd who gives life to His sheep
Half circles tell stories of the prophet, Jonah.Slide6
Jonah thrown from a ship
Emerging from the whale
Safe and dry on land
Missing section may have
shown
him in the belly of
the whale.
Shows God’s protection and careCircle represents the dome of heaven Connecting lines create a cross.