WEEK 7-8
EARLY CHRISTIAN, JEWISH & BYZANTINE ART
CHAPTER 7
Through the study of the world's most important religions, it becomes apparent that each culture fashions its images around certain basic assumptions with regard to its personal and communal relationship with God. Some religions find images competing with God's power. Others find images as a way to teach or path to follow to find God. Even though we will be just covering Christian art at this time, the conflict between portraying images of religious figures or not, each culture wrestled with the same controversies. As images become spiritual again, a trend toward abstraction and symbolism emerge. Images are still a form of visual communication. The meaning becomes more important than the subject. Keep in mind that polytheism is the worship of multiple gods, and monotheism is the worship of one god. Iconoclastic refers to the representing of religious images as being against the will of God.
BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY: JUDAISM
This was a society that was very nomadic in the beginning and developed a rich oral and music tradition. Therefore, permanent structures and art were not evident. During periods of stability and economical growth, we do find permanent structures and visual representation, though. As your book points out, "the Jews had the Temple in Jerusalem, but they also had buildings where they gathered, later known as synagogues." A synagogue could be any large room as a place for prayer and study. Judaism was the first religion to develop with an absolute belief in one God. Two other religions followed--Christianity and Islam. All three are monotheistic; followers hold that only one god created and rules the universe, and are religions with written records of their God's will and words. The Jews were also iconoclastic. Art for religious ceremony was reduced to calligraphy and ornamentation of the Torah. However, one art history book does point out that "the Judaic prohibition of representational images in worship did not prevent artists from creating work for everyday enjoyment."
EARLY CHRISTIAN
The beginning of the history of the Christian faith that was of the "gentiles," places us in Rome around 70 AD. Remember these are Romans who were brought up in a polytheistic society. When they embraced the Christian faith, they ended the strict iconoclasm of the beginnings of the Christian Church and accepted visual images as a form of narration and communication. Before Christianity was recognized by Constantine the Great in 313 AD, the Christians were persecuted by the Romans for their faith. The earliest examples during this period of Early Christian art were found in the catacombs, underground burial chambers. Sculpture was created at first (Good Shepherd), but because it occupied three-dimensional space and would be too closely related to "idol worship", it slowly disappears. Painting (Catacomb Paintingseems to fair much better since the image was an illusion and not a duplication of experience. This is why we see figures becoming more and more flattened and a decrease in the illusion of depth in space (Roman art). Many of the symbolic images associated with Early Christian art (see page 294) found in the catacombs were camaflagued and could have duplicate meanings in Roman mythology (Christ as a shepherd could also be Apollo, the patron god of shepherd.) Architecture includes the catacombs during the age of persecution, and the Churches built after the year 313 when Constantine recognizes Christianity and the Christians can worship wherever they please. These early churches were built to inspire and control the masses. They used the Roman basilica plan. You need to know the floor plan of the basilica (p. 298), and the location of the atrium, nave, clerestory, transept, apse and aisles. Early Christian churches were very plain on the exterior, had few windows with opague yellow glass that seemed to glow on the inside like candle light. Some of them you entered through a portico (porch area), then passed through an atrium courtyard, before entering the main basilica church (Old St. Peter's basilica, p. 297). This was an attempt to remove the individual from the exterior world into the spiritual one inside the church. The walls and ceilings were covered with beautiful mosaics and the interior was bathed with candle light. The main altar would be located at the end of the church in the apse area. The central-plan church (p. 298 and 301) was also used.
Christian Catacombs of Rome
Early Christian Architecture (images)
BYZANTINE
After splitting the Roman Empire into two regions, the Emperor Constantine moved his capitol to the eastern city of Byzantinum, which he called Constantinople. Art that is found in this eastern region (Turkey, Russia, Yugoslavia, northern Italy, etc.) is referred to as Byzantine art. A brief summary on the history of Byzantine art is found on an interesting web site maintained by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Three good examples of Byzantine architecture are Saint Apollinare, Hagia Sophia and San Vitale. Hagia Sophia exemplifies the beginning of the Byzantine era. It had a dome with 40 windows udner it. Inside many mosaics covered the walls and marble tile was on the floors. This gave the appearance of mystical light when filled with candle light. The dome, symbolizing the Heavens, seemed to float or hover over the center section of the church. Today it is a Turkish Mosque, so all the Christian mosaics and symbols have been removed. The mosaic images are flat (no sense of perspective or depth in space), 2-dimensional, stylized, and symbolic. The eyes are enlarged on the figures much the same way as the Worshipping Idols from the Ancient Near East. They were hyptnotic, in a way, and could be interpreted as "windows to the soul." I always can tell Byzantine figures by the large eyes, small rose-bud mouth, and elongated nose. No figure seems to stand on real ground. This would be too close to the figure representing idol worship. Icons are painted images of religious figures. You should know the definition of cloisonne, also.
Iconoclasm: In studying the Iconoclastic Controvery, it is important to see the struggle these people went through in their beliefs. Should images of religious figures be allowed in the church? Sculpted figures would be too close to idol worship, for sure. However, what about the images on the mosaics, cloisonne, weavings or illuminations? An advocate of visual images were called iconophiles. Advocates against visual images were called iconoclasts. Emperor Leo III, an iconoclast, banned the use of icons of Christ or saints in worship in the 8th century. This held until John of Damascus, an iconophile, promoted the appreciation of visible beautiy by saying it was a necessary step or path to guide the worshiper toward God. These images were important in that they commuicated stories and were not the "actual" saint or religious figure in body. They were a poor prototype. This seemed to be a compromise that worked, and visual images were again permitted in the churches. Eventually, even sculpted images will emerge during the Romanesque period.
Early Byzantine History
Byzantine Architecture (images)
Byzantine Architecture (text)
Byzantine Monuments in Istanbul
Understanding Russian Icons (text only)
Byzantium
Updated 9-26-2000
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