Early Christian Art (pt. 13)

Giotto de Bondone was an Italian artist who made flat, unrealistic elements of style.  He made natural-looking figures who appear to take action in real space.  The Lamentation Pietà is set up much like a scene in a play, with the expressions and gestures of figures showing emotions like despair and grief.

Giotto's Pietà is a fresco, which is a painting created when pigment is applied to a wall spread with fresh plaster.  The fresco had to be completed before the plaster dried.  If there was a mistake, the whole thing had to be redone.  Because it dried so fast, it had to be done quickly, and there wasn't always time to add everything.  Fresco means "fresh."

Early Christian Art (pt. 12)

Duccio di Buoninsegna created a panel painting for the altar at the Cathedral of Sienna, which was called the Maestà ("majesty") Altarpiece.  It shows the Virgin Mary (or Madonna) enthroned as the Queen of Heaven (…yep, definitely Catholic…) as well as scenes from Christ's life.

Notice all the gold; this is typical Byzantine style, along with the intense colors, 2-dimensional figures, and shallow space (by shallow space I mean: look how crowded everyone is up there).  However, this altarpiece is more realistic and solid and not as stiff as some other examples of art during this time.  There appear to be emotions on the figures' faces, making them slightly "more human and less holy."

Early Christian Art (pt. 11)

Justinian was the Byzantine Emperor from 527 to his death in 565.  Wanting to be like the early Roman emperors, he decided to build a great church in Ravenna that would be the greatest in the world.  The church, San Vitale, became the most important church in that time period.  Inside San Vitale, artisans made two mosaics (among others); they are breath-taking.  One shows the Emperor with the archbishop, deacons, soldiers, and attendants.  The bodies of the more important people overlap those of lesser ones, but the archbishop's leg is in front of a part of Justinian's cloak, symbolizing that the church was supreme.

On the other wall of San Vitale, facing Justinian and his attendants, is Justinian's wife, the empress Theodora, and her attendants.  The empress is dressed in magnificent robes and wears the imperial crown.  She is shown to be equal to any saint in Heaven and also wears a halo.

The figures seem to float in space before a gold background (used to add a supernatural, heavenly glow to the scene).  A feeling of weightlessness is heightened by the lack of shadows and by the position of the feet, which all hang downward limply as if they really were suspended in the air.  But, if you ask me, most striking of these mosaics are the eyes.  Deep, penetrating eyes they are, n'est-ce pas?

Early Christian Art (pt. 10)

…Eh, so this is all labeled "Christian art," but there's a mighty great number of Virgin Mary's here, and it'll stay this way for pretty much the rest of history (everything is "Madonna with Child," etc.).  These churches were labeled "Christian" churches, but this was the time of the Holy Roman Empire…which is Catholic.  And naturally, a Christian is a follower of Christ, is somebody who has turned his/her life over to Christ, trusting in Him for forgiveness from sins and the hope of Heaven…but historians use the term "Christian" usually to just describe a sect of people, like the ethnicity of the Western, church-going folk.  The textbook connotation of a "Christian" is very poor, but this is textbook semantics—don't get me started!  So, when I say that these are "Christian" churches, built by "Christians," in the "Early Christian" era…you know what I'm talking about (wink, wink).  I should say Catholic, because that's more or less what it is, but that could become confusing, since the name given for it is Christian.  Christians (in the true sense of the word) believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way to salvation and atonement with God.  So I have no idea why the Virgin Mary, a very human being, is inserted EVERYWHERE like she was equal or even better than God's own Son, but then again there are a lot of Catholic doctrines I don't get, so nothing new under the sun…

Early Christian Art (pt. 9)

The mosaics inside Hagia Sophia caught the light and would shimmer, making for even more dramatic lighting to emphasize the message of God's greatness.  The mosaics had to be large and clearly visible, as well as brightly colored, and they had to be recognizable Bible stories.  As stated before, the Byzantine artists' intention was to glorify Christianity (actually, it's very Catholic, but I'll get to that later); their works are flat, stiff, and unrealistic because it was necessary to portray clear and simple religious lessons to the illiterate.  They did not aspire to create beautiful and graceful figures like the Greeks.  Their pictures were meant to be humble, paying homage to God for salvation, and clearly presenting the Gospel message without giving any attention to superfluous and irrelevant aesthetic elements.

Here is a mosaic from the interior of Hagia Sophia: the Madonna and Child with the Emperors.  (Madonna is another name given to the Virgin Mary).  This is a bad photo of it, but the actual mosaic shows both Justinian and Constantine proclaiming their loyalty and dedicating their church and state to the Virgin and Child.  By showing royalty in the otherwise religious images, it sent the message that even the wealthy and powerful still need to turn to God and the church for salvation.

Early Christian Art (pt. 8)

As for the Byzantine Empire, they quickly grew in wealth and predominance.  Some say they were only a continuation of the Roman Empire since they were the Eastern half of the earlier Empire that continued after the schism; however, the differences are notable.  Byzantine art took to glorifying Christianity and serving the needs of the church (not a very Roman ideal).  During this time, in fact, the church probably had the most power of anyone.  As Christianity became more popular under Constantine, it became necessary to build more churches.  Byzantine architecture preferred a central plan to the Roman basilica model, and it utilized piers (massive vertical pillars).

Byzantine builders also made their churches to be "Houses of Mystery" with dramatic lighting, mosaics, and an overall dreamlike setting.

This is a photograph of the interior of Hagia Sophia, a giant church in Istanbul, issued in the 6^th century A.D. by the emperor Justinian.  For this masterwork, Justinian hired two Greek math experts, resulting in a blend of Roman engineering with Greek balance and proportion.  The dome is 100 feet across—31 feet higher than the Pantheon.  The dome's height is matched by four piers on the outside.

The walls of Hagia Sophia are thin with more windows to make for a more luminous interior.  The streaming light from all the numerous windows acted as symbolism for the church-goers, who recognized that Jesus is the light of the world.  From here on, light is almost always a symbol of God's presence, and it comes from the lighting in Early Medieval churches.

Early Christian Art (pt. 7)

I mentioned earlier there was widespread church construction occurring at this time.  Christians borrowed from Roman basilica designs to create their churches, designed to fit a large number of church-goers.  A Campanile (a freestanding bell tower) and Westworks (towers framing the end of a church) were added to the design.  Exteriors were plain (contrary to when we get to Gothic architecture), and the focus on these early Christian churches was the interior.  Interiors were designed for dramatic effect, to bring a sense of awe to worshippers—in fact, a nickname for churches built at this time was "Houses of Mystery."  The church builders put in mosaics, which were decorations made with small pieces of glass and stone set in cement.  The mosaics themselves were like visual sermons, complete with symbols for Christ's majesty and goodness, for viewers to admire when they were not looking at the priest.  Many of the mosaics were placed next to flickering candles, the light of which would cause them to glow.  "Houses of Mystery."

Early Christian Art (pt. 6)

Monasticism was a way of life in which individuals gathered together to spend their days in prayer and self-denial.  Monks were common during the Medieval Period.  They separated themselves from the warfare and chaos around them to devote their lives to holiness.  They built monasteries like this Monastery of San Juan de la Peña in northern Spain, deep in the forests covering the foothills of the Pyrenees and tucked away from the rest of the world.

It was built right into the cliff side.  The outside looked like a fortress, and the inside was mostly dark and only lit by torches.  There was an upper story that opened to a cloister (an open court or garden surrounded by a walkway) next to the cliff overhead.

In these monasteries, the primary activity of monks was copying ancient texts (usually the Bible).  These had to be done by hand, since this is before the printing press.  The monks wrote their books in Latin.  Along with hand-copied books, manuscript illuminations became the most important paintings in Europe for a thousand years.  They are the most classic example of Early Medieval art.  Manuscripts were decorated with gold and silver leaf, and for those who could not read the text (since, as I mentioned earlier, literacy was quite low), illustrations were put in.  A typical example of an illuminated manuscript looks something like this.

Gospel manuscripts were illustrated with small paintings of the four apostles, and symbols were given to each of them: Matthew, an angel; Mark, a lion; Luke, a bull; and John, an eagle.  This is a painting from a 9^th century book in Reins, France, showing the apostle St. Matthew seated at a small table or podium.  He is holding a pen and an ink container in the shape of a horn.  He frantically records God's words to him, as his Gospel was divinely inspired.

Early Christian Art (pt. 5)

One of the reasons why the Early Medieval Period was so "dark" is that literacy was at an all-time low.  The average number of books to be found in a Medieval library was twenty.  However, during this time we see a brief glimpse of advancement.  The Carolingian dynasty emerged but only survived less than 150 years.  It was responsible for efficient government and renewed interest in learning and the arts.  Charles the Great (Charlemagne) was the best of the Carolingian dynasty.  He was King of the Franks and then elevated to the papacy on Christmas Day in the year 800 and then made the first Holy Roman Emperor.  His domain included almost all of the Western half of the old Roman Empire, and he tried to rebuild the splendors of Rome, starting at his capital, Aix-la-Chapelle in Germany.  Much like the Romans who imported Greek artists, Charlemagne brought in scholars from other countries to teach in the new schools he was constructing.  Learning and the arts sparked to life, but then Charlemagne died in 814, and the strong, central government collapsed again, sending Europe back into feudalism.

Here is a small statue that was made at the time.  It depicts the great Holy Roman Emperor, crowned, riding on a horse. Notice what he's carrying in his hand?

Early Christian Art (pt. 4)

In the 4^th century A.D., Rome was on its way to total disillusionment.  The Eastern Empire became the Byzantine Empire, with Constantinople for its capital.  The West fell to barbarian invasion, and the emperors lost their power.  The fall of the leaders in the West led to the rise of the church, and in the West we see widespread construction of churches in this area during the Early Medieval Period.  (I'll get to the churches in a bit…)

The Medieval timeline is split into three parts: (1) Early Medieval, (2) Romanesque, and (3) Gothic.  The Early Medieval Period starts with the fall of Rome.  Strong, central government is gone; the ruling influence during this time is uncertainty, conflicts, open warfare, and apparent chaos.  Feudalism is pretty much the only system of order, and it entails a system in which weak noblemen gave up their lands and much of their freedom to more powerful lords in return from protection.  Serfs were the poor peasants who had no land.

Early Christian Art (pt. 3)

We know from the first-hand accounts of Paul and the other New Testament writers that the church was growing from the time of our Lord's ascension.  It was not until the year 313, however, that Christianity was legalized by the Edict of Milan under Constantine.  Before 313, Christians suffered unspeakable persecution at the hands of the Romans and consequently took much of their ministry underground.  Church services were held in catacombs (underground passageways), also where the dead were buried.  Skulls and bones are frequently found in catacombs (you can see some at the bottom of this photo) as well as murals.

These murals are what are considered Early Christian art, though in actuality it is far more than just art.  Christian art was intended to illustrate the power and glory of Christ; beauty or aesthetic principles were of no concern.  The images are symbols, almost like a form of code, since the Christians were in hiding from the Romans.  In fact, the official strategy was to use Roman symbols to tell Christian stories.  So we see images of animals, birds, and plants—for example, a goldfinch.  Goldfinches appeared in Roman art as merely a bird; however, it was a known fact that goldfinches ate thistles and thorns, and so to the Christians, the bird was a reminder of Jesus' crown of thorns.  Other such symbols were dogs (to represent loyalty) and ivy (to represent eternal life).  Here is a mural from a catacomb: an image of a shepherd feeding his sheep.  To Roman guards, the image is harmless, but Christians remembered Jesus' words that He is the good shepherd, and that He lays His life down for His sheep (John 10:11).

Early Christian Art (pt. 2)

"Et tu, Brutè?  —Then fall Caesar."  Shakespeare penned this famous line as the dying words of the great Julius Caesar, and if you're more interested in Roman culture, government, and history—or if you just enjoy excellent poetry—I highly recommend the play.  Julius Caesar was murdered by the famous group of conspirators (including Cassius and Brutus) on March 15, 44B.C.  He was stabbed 23 times in a back room of Pompey's Theater in Rome.  Octavian became the next Caesar and eventually changed his name to Augustus Caesar (which meant "exalted one").  Remember, he was the statue with Cupid clinging to his robe.  He claimed divine right kingship, but only after having achieved the throne with the help of the murdered Julius Caesar's will.  Augustus ruled until 14A.D., after which time Tiberius, Augustus' adopted son and heir, took the throne, as Luke records in his Gospel.

The Romans occupied Palestine at this time.  You will remember that the Roman Empire was so vast that it had long since become necessary to administer rulers for the different regions.  The Roman Senate, with Augustus Caesar's and Mark Antony's support, elected Herod (known today as Herod I or Herod the Great) to be King of the Jews in Palestine.  His reign as such lasted from 37B.C. to 4B.C.

Approximately 6B.C., Jesus is born in Bethlehem, Israel, and Herod the Great tries to kill Him.  Jesus and His family escape to Egypt until Herod dies from a terrible illness in 4B.C.  After Herod the Great's death, Palestinian rule was divided among his three sons: Archelaus, Philip (Philip II, known as the Philip the Tetrarch), and Antipas.  Herod Archelaus was quickly removed from office by the Roman authorities and replaced by Pontius Pilate.  Herod Antipas is the man who married Herodius, his brother's wife.  (The brother was Philip I, not to be confused with Philip II, the Tetrarch).  John the Baptist confronted Herod Antipas on this wrongful act, and Antipas had John executed.  Antipas is also the Herod who questioned Christ on the night before His crucifixion in 30A.D.

Early Christian Art (pt. 1)

Now, we have looked at Roman art as it was seen above; but, as you know, there was another world underneath Rome during the Empire.  This is called Early Christian art.