Christian Art (Early Christian)

orant

1 : a female figure in the posture of prayer in ancient Greek art. 2 : a usually female figure standing with outstretched arms as if in prayer used in early Christian art as a symbol of the faithful dead.

folio

A book or manuscript of the largest standard size, its height 30-38 cm (12-15 inches), consisting of sheets of paper which have been folded once. What is called a "coffee table book" is often a folio. Folio is abbreviated Fo. Also see bookbinding, duodecimo, quarto, octavo, sextodecimo, signature, tricesimo-segundo, and vicesimo-quarto.

ambulatory

A continuous aisle around a circular building, or a semi-circular aisle curving around the apse of a church behind the main altar. Developed during the Romanesque period, it made it easier for large religious processions to move about inside the church. The addition of the ambulatory led to the construction of radiating chapels, each with its small altar for worship. Also, it may refer to a covered walkway outdoors, as in a cloister.

codex

A manuscript book, its text handwritten on a number of separate pages. A codex cannot be mechanically printed nor can it be written on a rolled scroll. The plural form is codices. The earliest known ones date from the fourth century CE. In Mesoamerican art, a painted and inscribed book on long sheets of fig-bark paper or deer skin coated with plaster and folded into accordion-like pleats.

transept

An aisle between the apse and nave. It cuts across the nave and side aisles to form a cross-shaped (cruciform) floor plan. Also see architecture, cathedral, and Gothic.

parchment

An ancestor to contemporary paper, parchment is a material on which to write or paint prepared from the skin of a sheep or goat. It replaced the use of papyrus during the ancient Roman period. Monastic scribes of the Middle Ages practically monopolized its use in Europe preceding the introduction there of papermaking techniques utilizing plant fibers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Parchment may also refer to paper made in imitation of this material.

illuminated manuscript

Before the invention of the printing press in Europe around 1455, all books were handwritten and decorated. The word manuscript is derived from the Latin words manus (hand) and scriptus, from scribere (to write). Illuminated, from the Latin illuminare (to light up), denotes the glow created by the radiant colors of the illustrations, as well as by real gold and silver. Illuminations took the form of decorated letters, borders, and independent figurative scenes, also called miniatures.

pre-figuration

In Early Christian art, the depiction of Old Testament persons and events as prophetic forerunners of Christ and New Testament events.

central plan

In architecture, a plan in which the parts of a building radiate from a central point.

lunette

In architecture, a semicircular (fan-shaped) opening (with the flat side down) in a wall or a door. The word comes from the French for half-moon. Also, "lunette" can refer to a semicircular painting set separately within a work's frame, as in the design of a fan. (pr. loo-net')

atrium

In architecture, an atrium (plural: atria or atriums) is a large open air or skylight covered space surrounded by a building. Atria were a common feature in Ancient Roman dwellings, providing light and ventilation to the interior

baldacchino

In architecture, an ornamental canopy on columns over a tomb, altar, or throne; sometimes portable.

loculus

Loculus (Latin, "little place"), plural loculi, is an architectural compartment or niche that houses a body, as in a catacomb, hypogeum, mausoleum or other place of entombment

cubicula

Small rooms carved out of the wall of a catacomb, used as mortuary chapels, and in Roman times, for Christian worship.

apse

The semicircular or polygonal recess at the end of a Christian church opposite the main entry, or in a wall of a Roman basilica. It was here that the altar was placed.

catacombs

Underground tunnels in which the early Christians in Rome and other communities buried their dead. Some catacombs also contained chapels and meeting rooms. The painted decorations found in the catacombs are the earliest known forms of Christian art. (pr. ca"ta-cohmz') Also see cubiculum and sarcophagus.

synagogue

a community house of worship that serves as a place not only for liturgical services but also for assembly and study. ... The oldest dated evidence of a synagogue is from the 3rd century BCE, but synagogues doubtless have an older history.

medallion

a large medal worn around the neck on a heavy chain, ribbon, or rope. Or, a relief sculpture resembling a medal, usually of circular or oval design, used as a decoration.

confraternity

a lay brotherhood devoted to some purpose, especially to religious or charitable service

diptych

a picture or bas-relief made of two panels hinged together, often an altarpiece. A diptych may also be any picture consisting of two individual surfaces, an ancient Roman or Early Christian two-hinged writing tablet, or two ivory memorial panels; a painting or relief carving made of two parts, which are usually joined by hinges. They are invariably small in size and, if an altarpiece, were used for private devotion. Diptychs are hinged so that they can be closed like a book to protect the interior paintings.

blind arcade

an arcade that is composed of a series of arches that has no actual openings and that is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element: i.e. the arches are not windows or openings but are part of the masonry face.

narthex

an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. ... By extension, the narthex can also denote a covered porch or entrance to a building.

relic

an object of religious veneration, especially a piece of the body of a holy person, or of an object associated with [the saint]. In the Christian tradition, relics were especially important throughout the Middle Ages; relic - An object or a custom that remains from a previous time or culture. Something prized for its age or historic interest, especially something that can be linked to a particular person, place or event. Or, an object of religious veneration, especially a piece of the body of a holy person, or of an object associated with one. In the Christian tradition, relics were especially important throughout the Middle Ages. In the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, relics of the saints and other holy persons, as well as bits of the crown of thorns, the true cross, and other objects associated with holy persons, are prized for those associations. A container for a relic is a reliquary, also called a feretory. A feretory is also the area of a church in which relics are kept.

vellum

fine parchment, originally calf-skin, used traditionally for manuscripts.

gallery

in architecture, any covered passage that is open at one side, such as a portico or a colonnade. More specifically, in late medieval and Renaissance Italian architecture, it is a narrow balcony or platform running the length of a wall. In Romanesque architecture, especially in Italy and Germany, an arcaded wall-passage on the outside of a structure is known as a dwarf gallery

side aisle

one of the lateral aisles of a building (such as a church, basilica, or theater) as distinguished from the central aisle or nave.

spolia

repurposed building stone for new construction, or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments, is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut, and used in a built structure, is carried away to be used elsewhere.

nave

the central part of a church building, intended to accommodate most of the congregation. In traditional Western churches it is rectangular, separated from the chancel by a step or rail, and from adjacent aisles by pillars.