Essay on Early Christian and Byzantine Art

The trinity is commonly symbolized by groups of three in many works of art. In this piece there are three archways shown inside the house, three vases next to Mary’s bed, and three lilies in a vase between the archangel and Mary that holds three white lilies that also represents the virgin’s purity. 1

Christian art has never been decorative nor has it been publicized instead it was only represented throughout funerals and devotionals. The bible was a way of picturing the word and how reading it opened the word for the people. Christianity relied solely on imagination and contradicted what art work is considered today which now relies heavily on visual images. In the roman empire the people saw things through mosaics, wall paintings, portraits etc. That is how they pictured their art. They were trying to set up the way art work they believed should be viewed. They had decorations on various monuments, churches, tombs etc. which represented the pagan aspect. They wanted more visual art work whereas with Christianity they visualized through their own mind and instead lived by

1. The Christ as the Good Shepherd mosaic located on the entrance wall of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy was made circa 425 AD. A mausoleum is a monumental tomb, usually meant for entombing the dead above ground. The mosaic is displayed in a lunette-a semi-circular wall of a vaulted room. Even though the image of Christ as the Good Shepherd was a common one in catacombs in previous centuries, the way that Christ was shown in art had changed since Christianity had been adopted as Rome's official religion and the image of Christ in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia was no different. Previously Christ had been shown as a simple carpenter, but in the Christ as the Good Shepherd mosaic he is shown in a fine Roman wear. At the time, Greeks thought that they could create order within their environments and thus create statues that were "perfect." This is what they believed they were doing with the way Christ was shown in the mosaic at the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia; creating a more worldly, powerful image of Christ. Christ is shown with a large golden nimbus (halo), a royal purple mangle over a golden tunic and holding a tall cross. Also depicted in the mosaic at the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a set of three sheep on each side of Christ, with him touching one on the nose.

Shortly after Rome made the transition from pagan practices to embracing Christianity as their formal faith, Christ's depiction in art went through various restorations. Some of the most widely popular illustrations were that of Christ sacrificed on the cross to his ultimate ascension into the Kingdom of Heaven after overcoming death. Since the image portrays Christ in luxurious attire resembling the Roman toga, the viewer can perceive that the mosaic was meant to present Christ in an imperialistic fashion. This is perhaps directed in part to the Byzantine emperors preferring to worship Christ in a way traditional and symbolic of their historical and early customs rather than how he really looked.

In the 4th century, the Roman Empire underwent major changes, becoming the Byzantine Empire. The Roman religion was replaced by Christianity, specifically the Eastern Orthodox Church, as the new state religion. Artists helped to spread this new religion by building churches and producing manuscripts. The artists imagined what religious figures looked like to portray them in art. But the Church criticized the visual representation of figures at certain periods during the Byzantine Era. Artists lost their creative freedom during these periods, called iconoclasm.

The legal, cultural, and structural developments during the Roman Empire (753 BCE- 476 CE) have had an effect on Western civilization. Influenced by the ideals of the ancient Greeks, the empire lived through many worldwide transformations that changed the way in which emperors governed and ruled the Roman people, and these adaptations can be seen in the style of artwork in each Roman reign. One of the most notable changes in art style is in the Late Empire Period, during the third and fourth centuries, where the change in government, from imperial rule to the tetrarchy, led artists to focus on the message of the piece rather than the individual represented, and become more abstract and geometric rather than classical and individualistic.[footnoteRef:1] Another notable period of change was under Constantine I, who overthrew the tetrarchy, and was the first Roman emperor to embrace Christianity. [1: Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren, Art History. 4th ed., Vol 1 (London: Laurence King Publishing, 2011), 207.]

With centuries between the two works of art known as Justinian and his Attendants and the Augustus of Primaporta¸ there is a notation of change in the citizens of the empire that encompassed around the Mediterranean Sea. From the rise and fall of the Roman Empire to the growth and fabrication of Byzantine, the art was the form of propaganda used by the elites to send a strong, clear message of power and undeniable righteousness. Augustus the General and Justinian made almost 500 years apart, completely different in style and empires, both wanted to create the same hype around their beliefs. They were the chosen ones, the leaders who had connections to the secular world. They were the representations on earth, in human form, of God or Gods themselves.

The church is very colorful. The columns, which were brought from all around the empire, are made from stone and marble of many different colors such as blue, green, and dark red. The floor is topped with marble mosaic and the walls sparkle with beautiful glass mosaics which have designs of vines and pomegranates. Below the central dome are pictures done in mosaics of

The portrayal of Christ has been developed throughout the centuries, and is very much influenced by the socio-political and cultural environments. The Byzantine Empire has become a great influence on the use of Christian religious art and architecture, which will be continually built upon and developed through history. Though still influenced by the Classical tradition, Christian art will evolve into a new and widespread style under the rule of Justinian and Theodora. Christ as the Good Shepherd in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, shows the development of the portrayal of Christ from a humble shepherd to a royal deity, that reflects the influence of the Byzantine Empire, and his role as a ruler over his people.

The early Byzantine art mainly followed the Roman arts. The work I chose was a

With the adoption of Christianity as the official religion, art was able, so to speak, to come above ground in the old pagan city of Rome, and painting, instead of being restricted to the decoration of the walls of the Catacombs or of small chambers and chapels, came into use on a large scale in the new churches that were at once set up. At the same time patronage moved from the hands of the poorer classes to the richer, and artists of outstanding quality came to be employed as well as those of obscurer character, who would work for small fees (www.religion-online.org). To wall painting was added the more luxurious art of mosaic; numerous sculptures were done, and minor objects, often in expensive materials, were in addition produced in the service of the Church, so that art production became at the same time both more extensive and more luxurious (www.religion-online.org ).

This mosaic was created in 547 and is located on the north sanctuary wall in the church of San Vitale located in Ravenna, Italy. In the mosaic you can see Justinian nimbed, wearing a large jeweled crown and a purple cloak, which represents him as the head of state. He is a carrying a golden paten, which is being donated to the San Vitale. On Justinian’s left, one would see Bishop Maximianus holding a jeweled cross as well as a churchman holding a jewel-covered book. To Justinian’s right, one will see government officials and barbarian mercenary soldiers (Stokstad and Cothren 175).

These religious views were depicted in many of their frescos, icons, mosaics, and ivory carvings. A fresco that depicts these religious aspects was Anastasis. It was created between 1310 – 1320 C.E. This particular fresco depicts “human mortality and redemption by Christ” (Kleiner, pg.351).

The legalization of Christianity under the emperor Constantine ushered in a new age for Byzantium and the rest of the western world. Christianity influenced the Byzantine Empire primarily through the religious beliefs of the emperors and consequently, was spread throughout the vast empire. The foremost leaders of the essential cities within Byzantium belonged to the church and the major architecture and art within cities primarily revolved around religious necessity. Christianity was often used as a political tool to further the wishes of some emperors. Due to the direct intervention of the emperors into the daily lives of their populations and the outside the empire, Christianity had a profound effect on the political culture of the Empire

Our first piece is the choir apse of San Vitale with a mosaic of Christ, Saint Vitale, and Bishop Ecclesius, Ravenna Italy, 526-547. During this period of time the emperor Constantine had previously arisen and founded Constantinople and later, which is where we will begin, the emperor Justinian arises. During the reign of Justinian we see the construction of the San Vitale church in which there lies our first piece of art to discuss. The mosaic depicts the second coming and it has Jesus sitting on the world and extending a wreath to the martyr Saint Vitalis. The artist here chose to add a small landscape, but Christ is not in it. We can infer that this shows that the artists has a more divine rendition of Jesus and we can see this also rendered in the separation of contact with the saints. Between them and Jesus are angels preventing direct contact and we can see that the saints hands are covered for the passing of the wreath as well. This piece shows the hardening of the Byzantine style and the distancing of Christ that contradicts the views of the Early Christian's. This is evident in the Byzantines choice of a gold sky over the Early Christians traditional blue one in Galla Placidia. The artist chose a movement towards the divinity of Christ and he represents this in the elevation. We can infer that this happened due to the imperial influences during the period and we can see these influences reflected in the artists choice for purple robes that represent royalty and present Christ as ruler of the