Unit Three- Early Christian
Saint Sabina (outside and inside): Function
1) Left and Right: a place of large group of worshippers 2) Left: A) The windows create a matching rhythm that the columns do, leading eyes to the apse B) Plain outside was to contrast the elaborate Greco-Roman temples with their statues in the pediment. 1) It was to make sure that all knew that it was not the same type of religion. 3) Right: a) Timber-roofs are an important hallmark of early churches. b) It is not until the Romanesque period that they will be replaced with stone (which is a hallmark of the starting of the Romanesque Period) c) The door, which have been restored much, is the start of a tradition of carved doors on churches. 1) Door would be the first item that a worshipper would come to, and 2) here, you would get the first affirmation about the power of Christ, building up the faith of the believers even before entering the building. 3) The crucifixion shows that by the 5th century, the life of Christians had changed and one could show the suffering of Christ because it was not a daily reminder of daily life. a) Interestingly, there are no crosses on the scene so that his suffering is more symbolic than literal b) the change happened but it was not totally allowed to show the suffering full blown. C) Whatever the form, it was now a powerful message about the salvation that Christ offers through his suffering. 4) Yet there were prefigurations on the door, which also confirmed that Christianity, although new, had a long history, which showed that God had a long and correct plan for humans. 5) The Corinthian columns produces a steady rhythm that leads the eye up and then down, up and then down, all the way to the Chancel arch and the apse which would contain the most important items of worship. a) Therefore the architecture leads you to the place of the most importance. b) The Corinthian columns were Spolia (definition: ) from a second century pagan building, providing a powerful message: c) a new religion is here, and has literally conquered the old by destroying and then reusing the buildings of the old religion and culture. 6) The chalice and the paten were images of the most sacred liturgy the Eucharist. a) The worshippers would see it on holy days and remember the promise of Jesus that he would bring salvation to all. b) It was also a physical reminder when the high priests would bring out the Eucharist every Sunday because it is the essential equipment for that rite taking place at the altar. 7) The Clerestory (not glass, but gypsum) would have given light onto the Frescoes and mosaics which were once between the windows and the arcade (Notice the rejection of any classical entablature. Why?). a) The frescoes and mosaics and other costly ornaments were to show the worshippers physically that they were on the correct path. b) The first two would have stories about Jesus and God that showed why the worshipers should follow the new religion (ultimately salvation and a great afterlife). c) The other costly ornaments were to provide the worshippers a feeling of awe when they entered the church. 1) This must be the correct religion because everyone donates so much wealth to it and it has some much wealth. 2) Also the believers would get the feeling that God must be great because there are physical reminders of that greatness. 3) The donors would, of course, get glorious reputations. 8) The apse would be the center of worship, a) which is why the Nave had an unblocked view of the Apse no matter where you sat b) a longitudinal axis provides that. c) The head priest would 1) give the sermons there about the power and glory of Christ and God, 2) pass out the Eucharist (after he reenacted the sacrifice (blood and body) and then was resurrected), 3) stand behind an altar. 4) The Apse is where the judges and Emperors would stand in old Roman public buildings, so that the message would be that God was the new Emperor of the Christian world and his priest was an important part of that new world. a) Since by now Christianity was the official religion of empire, this association with the Emperors only brought more honor to religion. The official religion should be connect to the rulers. 9) The overall feel is one of little weight because there was more light in a space like this than that of the Pantheon. a) The light would have hit the glass tiles of the mosaic, and this would create a shimmering effect. b) The reflections would cause the humans to not clearly see the wall, which would cause it to float and shimmer (This is not seen now because of the loss of the mosaic). c) This effect and the light were the symbols of the divinity of Christ. 1) Not only was Christ thought as a light leading out of the darkness to salvation, 2) but the destruction of the physical world (the walls were figuratively breaking apart) created a more spiritual world for the worshipper to pray in. 3) This is the start of this: see the Hagia Sophia below.
Saint Sabina (outside and inside): Form
1) see above 2) Timber-roof with wooden beams to hold it up.
Catacombs (Good Shepherd Fresco): Content
1) The good shepherd in the middle with a) his lost sheep on his shoulders b) with two lambs and c) 2 tree in a landscape with birds. 2) There are four orant figures (see above), praying for the deceased. 3) the figures around them are the story of Jonah and the whale (see above for meaning). The Jonah story is almost identical to another one which is better preserved: a) Sailors throw him from his ship; b) he emerges from the "whale" (Greek: Ketos, a sea monster); c) on the bottom, Jonah on land contemplates the miracle of his salvation.
Catacomb of Priscilla: Context
1) After the death of Jesus, the Christians were lumped in with the Jews, 2) but in 50 CE, the Christians broke off from Judaism, causing the Romans to see it as illegal religion, a) mainly because Christians would not sacrifice to the genius (spirit) of the Emperor. b) This caused major attacks on the Christians that they were slaughtered or used in the games. 3) Because of this, they were forced to worship in Catacombs (underground cemeteries that have networks of galleries and chambers, literally ad catacombas, to the hollows), where they focused on the a) central "mystery" (Miracle) of the Incarnation (god turning into human), and the promise of Salvation. b) The Christians (and to the lesser extent Jews) were buried in them. c) The Christians were the ones who made them by tunneling tufa, like the Etruscans did. d) Yet they were less elaborate, but they run for miles (up to 90 in one case). e) Under Rome, it is thought that there were 4 million bodies showing what was happening in Roman culture—the Romans were turning from Polytheistic to Monotheistic. 4) Confraternities (burial associations) were made. a) People would pool money together, and could draw on the money when someone died. b) In the galleries' walls, they cut loculi (stacked opening like shelves), to receive the bodies of the dead who were 1) wrapped with a shroud, and 2) then walled up. c) Then they started to carve Cubicula (bed chambers) to serve as a mortuary chapel. d) After the original perimeter was totally filled, the builders would go down a level. 1) The largest one is 5 levels deep. 5) When Christianity was made legal, churches were placed on top of the catacombs, so that Christians could worship above the burial site of some of the earliest martyrs (men and women who chose to die rather than deny their religious beliefs). 6) Jesus in the beginning was shown as the best model of a a) teacher/philosopher, b) miracle worker, or c) good shepherd. d) We have multiple statues and frescos showing Jesus as the Good Shepherd (See next slide), the teacher, or the miracle worker. e) His suffering and death at the hands of the Romans were not shown because it would remind the worshippers what they had to live with in their daily life. The crucifixion does not appear. 7) There were symbols known only by Christians a) the fish is best because in Greek ICHTHYS is an acronym for the corresponding Greek words that mean: 'Jesus Christ, the son of God." b) The anchor, as another example, represents the idea of safe harbor (salvation). 8) Important Art History Concept: Here, we see two new studies coming about: Typology, and prefiguration. a) Typology: the study of the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament, seeing Types. b) Prefiguration is the idea that certain stories in the old testaments are types and predict the events or aspects of Christ or his revelation. 1) For example, Jonah is a type and predicts Christ because he emerged from the whale's belly and from death in three days just like Christ rose from death in three days. 9) Catacomb of Priscilla sits on the Via Salaria, and is covered by the convent of the Benedictine Sisters of Priscilla. a) It is mentioned in the most ancient documents on Christian topography (place writing) and liturgy (customary public worship, for example the Eucharis, also known as the Holy Communion or Mass) in Rome. b) It was the queen of the catacombs because of the great number of martyrs buried there. C) Priscilla, a member of the noble Acili Glabrii (whose family tomb is in the catacomb and who was one of the oldest families in Rome), granted the Church the use of the property. (Her day is January 16th in the liturgy calendar). 10) The Greek chapel is one of the oldest sections in the Catacomb because it is near the basement of the original house on the land.
Catacombs (Good Shepherd Fresco): Function
1) Another example of adopting a Pagan symbols for Christian beliefs to aid understandability. a) The pagans had a ram-bearer motif, which turned into the Good Shepherd. b) In the Bible, Jesus states in the parable of the lost sheep: "I am the good shepherd. A good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." c) Therefore, we have a physical representation of scripture like above. d) Jesus like a good shepherd will protect his flock (Christians) so that they will reach salvation, even if that means he will carry his lost sheep (that is, taking their burdens) or die for them. e) Here the sheep is not a sacrificial offering, but a sinner who has strayed and been rescued by the Good Shepherd 2) Jesus is in an idyllic (serene) lush landscape with two lambs and a tree with birds, a) which is very common with the Good Shepherd motif b) because it most likely represents fertile Paradise that awaits believers (See Islamic architecture); c) the calm atmosphere is no different than the Augustus Prima Porta because it gives worshippers the idea that Jesus as the son of God can handle all without worry. d) Finally Jesus is a) clean-shaven, b) non-haloed, c) as he is in all early Christian art because he is 1) the idealized youth who is 2) strong and 3) powerful just like Augustus. 3)The style is Roman: Notice: a) contrapposto in Jesus' stance; b) foreshortening in the lambs; c) the modeling in all three; d) the toga on Jesus; e) the placing the figures in an landscape (tree and grass) sothey naturally interact with it; f) the allegory 1) the sheep represent the whole of believers; 2) the tree and grass, paradise; 3) the birds the fruitfulness of paradise.
Merovingian looped Fibulae: Function
1) Fibulae are used to fasten their garment. a) There is no reason to believe that this was NOT functional. b) Although the context of its being elaborate points to the fact that it was made for special occasion use. c) The fibula is one of the most common objects found in grave sites of this period. d) Although common, we can see the diverse and distinct cultures living within larger empires and kingdoms, which is common during the Middle Ages, because the multiple Fibulae are as varied as they could be. 2) It is an example of what we have from this Migratory culture: a) small portable, and b) a status symbol. c) Yet as it was found in a burial, the woman who owned this wanted it to accompany her into the afterlife. 3) We will see Fibulae, although plain, fastening the outer garments of the attendants flanking the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (See mosaics at San Vitale, Byzantine, below). a) Yet like the fibula of this high ranking lady, that of Justinian is as elaborate, clearly showing the idea that this could be a status symbol. 4) the decorations show and amplify the form and structure of the Fibula, becoming a natural part of the pin itself. a) The Cloisonne would make the fibulae sparkle in the torch light that this would be worn in, adding to the beauty of the piece and the awe of the viewer. 5) Here we will the eclecticism of the Middle Ages. a) The form and at least one of the animals (the eagle was used by the Imperial Roman army) are Roman concepts, b) but the technique is definitely the Non-Classical Intertwining Animal style. 1) In fact the Intertwining animal style is one of the Middle age styles that is from Germanic, pagan (?), northern European, and non Greco-Roman tradition. 2) It is decidedly unlike the classical Mediterranean figural traditions (it is not the world of Augustus, but of Beowulf). 3) This will be co-opted (see next slide) into Christian objects just as the naturalism of Roman art in the catacombs were: it was a familiar technique that could be used to help explain Christianity in a familiar form.
Saint Sabina (plan): Context
1) In 313 CE, Constantine made Christianity legal, which made another problem: 2) What should a church look like since up to this time it was illegal to meet? 3) Constantine was the first Christian emperor (on his death bed) because he thought God had helped him be victorious in becoming a Roman emperor. 4) He was also the first major Christian patron. a) built elaborate churches, memorials, and Mausolea (tombs) all over the Roman world. 2) There were some guidelines. A) Churches should stand on sites associated with the graves of Christian Martyrs, which means they were all on the city's outskirts, which was good for Constantine because there would not be any major confrontations between pagans and Christians; b) they rejected the polytheistic shrines for two reasons: 1) they did not want to be associated with the Polytheistic shrines and Pagan Roman gods; 2) Liturgy had to happen in the church and the traditional Greco-Roman temples could not accommodate large amounts of worshippers because a) it only held the cult statue in the cella and b) a treasury. c) Also it was only a backdrop to the ceremonies that took place outside; c) the desire to hold many worshippers pointed architects to the Roman basilica because of the center Nave could hold a large congregation for the main purposes of group worship 1) initiation of new members, 2) group worship, 3) private prayer, 4) burials and 5) public worship; d) This is last point won them over. 1) The first churches were based on the basilica in elevation (height of the building) and plan. They would have a) a nave b) with flanking aisles c) an apse on the east end d) framed by a chancel arch (arch that separated the apse from the nave). e) a clerestory f) above the nave arcade (a row of arches surrounding the nave going down to the apse). g) Sometimes they would have a doorway on one long side opening onto an aisle. h) The west side would have a narthex (a vestibule/doorway) . 3) This solution dominates the Western Christian world even up today. 4) The Eastern world had another solution (See San Vitale below). a) That is not to say that one could not find the other solution in its non-traditional section of Europe. b) Yet the earliest churches that are not modified greatly are from the 5th century. 5) Santa Sabina was constructed by Bishop Peter of Illyria (a region of the Balkan Peninsula) between 422-432 CE, and appears as much as it did in the 5th c.
Catacombs (Good Shepherd Fresco): Context
1) In another part of the catacombs is Good shepherd Fresco. 2) Near this is a mother nursing child. a) It is considered the oldest representation of Mary and Jesus (it is older than above)
Lindisfarne Gospel (St Matthew and Luke): Context
1) In the Northern part of Europe, Christian missionaries were establishing monasteries which were producing some of the most distinctive Christian artwork, which was very different from the contemporary art work of Italy and the Byzantine Empire. 2) The Monasteries in the British Island were different from those in mainland Europe. Although technically under the control of the Church of Rome, the monks selected inaccessible and inhospitable places to live. By doing that, they would be far from worldly temptations and distractions. 3) The art of these monasteries, the most famous is on the Scottish island of Iona, are a) known by names Hiberno-Saxon or Insular, and b) is known for one particular type of art world: Illuminated Manuscript. 4) Illuminated Manuscript: In Codex form (see above) was the paramount art form in Christianized Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. They were books with pictures in them, either showing the text, or just in Native tradition (see below). 5) The Lindisfarne Gospel was produced in the Monastery on Lindisfarne Island. a) According to the Colophon (an inscription, providing information regarding a book's manufacture), Eadfrith, bishop of Lindisfarne between 698-722 wrote the Lindisfarne Gospel "for God and Saint Cuthbert" (see function below). b) Cuthbert's relics (see below) had been recently placed in the church at Lindisfarne. c) It could mean that he did it himself, and was not only a patron.
Catacomb of Priscilla: Content
1) Left (Greek Chapel) a) It is lit by a light shaft coming from the ceiling. b) It is named for two Greek inscriptions, painted in the right niche (indention) which were the first things that the discoverers saw. c) There are three niches and a long seat d) The painting in the central arch at the back, on a red background shows a feast in a lunette (crescent-shape). 1) There are 7 people seated at the table, the first of which is breaking the bread and stretching out his hand, 2) while there is a wine cup in the center and fish on the table. 3) At the sides of the table are seen seven baskets. e) There are several episodes of the Old Testament: 1) Noah on the ark, 2) Moses making water run from the Rock, 3) the sacrifice of Isaac, and 4) three miraculous deliverances from the book of Daniel a) Daniel from the lions, b) the three children in the furnace, and c) Susanna accused of adultery. f) From the New Testament: 1) resurrection of Lazarus, 2) healing of the paralytic, 3) the adoration of the Magi (wise men who came to visit the baby Jesus). 2) Right (orant): a) In another Lunette, there is a young woman 1) wearing a purple garment and a veil on her head, 2) lifting her arms in prayer (Orant=one praying). 3) She is surrounded by the images of a) a teacher/philosopher with pupils on the left, and b) a woman holding a child on her lap on the right (But see below). b) Around this lunette are: 1) Jesus as the Good Shepherd (see next slide); 2) prophet Jonah is emerging from the mouth of a sea-monster; 3) the sacrifice of Isaac, 4) the Three children in the furnace in Babylon
Lindisfarne Gospel (St Matthew and Luke): Content
1) Left: a) Carpet page-a full page with 1) neither text 2) nor illustration, 3) but only for pure embellishment 4) It is a hallmark feature of Insular book illumination. 5) We can see the outlines for the pictures as well because they did underdrawing before that made the design. 6) They resemble textiles, and 7) are made up of decorative abstract panels 8) and animal forms. b) The carpet pages of this Gospel are considered the highlight of Hiberno-Saxon style. 1) The patterning and detail are much more intricate than earlier manuscripts. 2) the interlacement of fantastic animals in tubular form devouring each other so much so that it is very difficult to see them, a) making the viewer have to study it closely in order to appreciate their variety and movement; 3) animals (snakes-like) curling over and returning on their writhing, elastic shapes; 4) regularity of the design, seen in the four sections around the 5) inscribed cross. C) we have detailed 1) symmetries (notice the areas look the same), 2) repetitions (the green vs the reddish spirals and knots), and 3) reversals (the spirals and knots are in opposite poses to one another through the page). D) The color (sapphire blue; green; sandy gold) is rich yet cool (usually to show recession in a picture, but see below) 2) Right: A) Luke's Portraits. Portraits of the evangelists (one who announces good news) were very common. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the authors of the four Gospels). B) Along with the portraits, they had symbols. 1) The symbol of Luke, who was thought to be a doctor and a painter of a portrait of Mary and Jesus, was the ox because his Gospel opens up with the priest Zacharias sacrificing an ox. a) The ox is a blue-winged calf with its eyes turned toward the viewer b) while the body is in profile. c) It clasps a green parallelogram between two forelegs. C) We see: 1) curly-haired, bearded evangelists 2) on a red cushioned stool 3) against an unornamented background. 4) He holds a quill in his right hand, poised to write the words on 5) a scroll unfurling from his lap. 6) His feet hover above a footstool supported by red legs; 7) he wears a purple robe streaked with red as a Roman philosopher; 8) we have a gold halo D) We see a naturalism as well. 1) The top of his body and foot stool (a little bit) attempts 3dness with foreshortening. 2) the clothes on the top are more naturalistic with its folds E) We see a non-naturalism as well. 1) The drapery folds are a series of sharp, regularly spaced curving lines filled in with flat colors (especially at the bottom). a) Notice how the toga ends abruptly above the tunic and does not lose its shape; 2) the chair and footstools do not match his body: a) The chair is profile, b) the stool has a bit of foreshortening, c) but his body's pose does not fit them well. d) The feet seem to float, e) while the top of the body is very awkward; 3) notice the foreshortening of the top is gone at the bottom as the feet are in profile; 4) there is no background—it is just blank. F) The writing is a mixture of Greek and Latin. 1) The letters are Latin, 2) but the actual words are in Greek (Hagios) and Latin (Lucas). Saint Luke
Saint Sabina (outside and inside): Content
1) Left: a) The very plain outside: we can see clearly the apse, and the clerestory with later additions. 2) Right: a) The original wood doors that have decorations of them including 1) the crucifixion of Christ and 2) other scenes from both the New and Old Testaments. b) Once inside, 24 fluted marble Corinthian columns in the nave arcade with white marble. c) In the Spandrels (definition: ) are marble image of the Chalice (wine cup) and Paten (bread plate) d) A clerestory for light illuminating the white stone, frescos, and mosaics.
Merovingian looped Fibulae: Form
1) Made of silver gilt with garnets and other stones 2) Technique: a) filigree--ornamental work of fine (typically gold or silver) wire formed into delicate tracery (delicate branching pattern. See Gothic period for stone tracery). b) Cloisonne: 1) solder (combine, by melting one metal onto another) small metal strips (cloison) with edge up, to a metal background; 2) fill the compartments with semiprecious stones, pieces of colored glass, or glass paste fired to resemble sparking design. 3) Cloisonne is the step between mosaic and stained glass window (See Gothic period).
Merovingian looped Fibulae: Context
1) Middle age art was the result of three streams: a) classical heritage of Rome's north-western provinces, b) the cultures of the non-Roman peoples north of the Alps, and c) Christianity. 2) The Power of Rome waned and those "barbarians" of the north began to fight among themselves for control. One would gain control, but another migratory group would push into that area, displacing the first group. For example the Visigoths controlled part of Italy and southern France, but they were pushed into Spain by the Franks. 3) The isle of Britain was no better: Anglo-Saxons ruled, but was dislodged by the Vikings in some areas from Scandinavia 4) Non-Roman culture's art and architecture is not fully known because of all this movement. a) Large structures and art work were probably not made because it was too difficult to carry it along with the movement. b) The typical pieces are: 1) weapons, and 2) items of personal adornment (bracelets, pendants, and belt buckles from lavish burials). 5) Early Art Historians thought that these pieces were inferior to the Renaissance because: a) small scale; b) utilitarian (functional) nature; and c) abstract ornamentation, rejecting the classical idea that naturalism must be paramount. 6) Yet the actual owners of them thought of them as treasures, which enhanced their owners' prestige and showed the status of the owner. 7) The epic Beowulf states that Beowulf's body was a) cremated (an indication that the people moved around), b) buried in a tumulus with "rings and brooches in the barrow; all those adornments that brave men had brought out from the hoard after Beowulf died. They bequeathed the gleaming gold, treasure of men to the earth" 8) We see one of those items: a fibula, from a find of jewelry of the mid-sixth century, when the Merovingian kings, (name derived from their ruler Merovech), ruled large parts of what is now France. a) They are one of the few items we can use to reconstruct the culture because of the lack of written documentation. 9) This may be a NON-CHRISTIAN piece. If so, it is the only one in this section.
Lindisfarne Gospel (incipit page): Context
1) Monks would enlarged the initial letters of an important passage of sacred text and transform those letters into elaborate decorate patterns
Saint Sabina (plan): Form
1) Outside plain brick 2) elaborate mosaics and frescoes inside. a) In fact, these two facts are very common in very Early churches: plain on the outside, elaborate in the inside 3) It is so early that it does not have a Transept (a hallway that cuts across the nave), making the church look like a cross to represent the cross of Christ.
Saint Sabina (outside and inside): Context
1) See above 2) The church is not the largest built during this time. a) It is on the Aventine hill with a distant view of St. Peter's the first major church built under the new Christian order by Constantine over the tomb of St. Peter.
Lindisfarne Gospel (incipit page): Function
1) See above in Function under the last slide. 2) The initial letters would definitely tell the reader that an important passage in the Word of God was coming. a) These important signals (like bolding or underline in modern text) would emphasize some idea that was needed for Salvation. b) The word has literally exploded across the page. 3) the crosses have the same meaning here as well. 4) the Chi-Rho represented Christ (first two letters of his name). 5) Lucas and vitulus (calf in latin) was for St. Luke and matched the St Luke's portrait page. 6) Again we see a non-classical native style here. a) The large initial letter was a truly native style—no precedence is in the Greco-Roman books. b) For this, we can see that the artists were independent from the classical tradition. 7) The native style comes out to the left of the "Q" and the border. a) The left of the "Q" looks like a mini-carpet page, b) while the border, the letter "Q" (both inside and on), the areas of some of the letters are in that native style. 8) The red dots envelop words, except they don't always. 9) The letters "Niam" of "quoniam" are composed of the vellum itself. a) It is one of the first use of negative space because the artist uses the negative space to create the letters themselves. b) Yet some of the letters are surrounded by little yellow boxes, looking like the Gold found on pieces like the Fibula.
Lindisfarne Gospel (incipit page): Content
1) The left side before the "Q" and the inside the "Q" itself shows that same intertwining animal style that we see in the carpet page. We see a) animal life, b) spiraled forms, and c) swirling vortexes, all geometric and abstract. d) The knots reveal themselves as snakes that move in the letter's boundaries. e) There are the same crosses as on the carpet-page, just buried more. 2) The middle and right has the text: a) we see the large "Q", and b) then the letters get smaller and smaller as they go down the page, reverting back to the tradition size of the letters. c) The text is: Quoniam quidem multi conati sunt ordinare narrationem (Because many certain people tried to order the story). d) In the "Q" we will the repetitive circles found in the native style. e) In the middle of and on some of the other letters we see the knots and spiraled forms. f) The border has the same geometric and abstract patterning 3) There is other animal life than just the snakes—we see birds; a) one knot enclosed in tall rectangle on far right turns into a blue heron's chest as a comma. b) This shape is repeated vertically down the column making a cat's forepaw at the bottom. c) The cat, who just consumed the eight birds that stretch vertically from its head, pressed off this appendage to turn its body 90 degrees. 1) It starts at the words -re Narrationem 4) There are red dots in the words. 5) At the very top left written in letters of gold a chi-rho, then the words lucas and vitulus.
Catacomb of Priscilla: Form
1) Tufa and fresco. 2) We see a arcosolia a tomb for the upper class that has paintings of religious subjects. 3) It has painting and stuccos in the typical Roman style.
Saint Sabina (plan): Content
1) You see the result of the necessities that the early Christians thought they had to have. 2) It is called the Basilican plan with its longitudinal plan (long and narrow) that has a) a dominate central axis that leads straight from the entrance to the apse. 3) Two flanking aisle with a) a long large nave b) ending in a chancel arch and c) an apse 4) ) You can see the sanctuary screen that separates the sanctuary from the nave, adding to the separation of a holy area. a) Yet the screen is a later addition (about 400 years). b) Like all sanctuary screens, it was richly decorated with images from the Old New Testaments.
Merovingian looped Fibulae: Content
1) a Fibula (a pin favored by the Romans (and the Etruscans before them)) to fasten their garments, which consisted of a a) body, b) a pin, and c) a catch. 2) Decorative patterns that fit the basic shape of the object cover all of it 3) Intertwining (Animal) style (also known as interlace style): zoomorphic elements placed into a) well-organized, b) abstract, c) geometric decorative designs. d) By this, the animals are almost no existent. 1) For example, there are Fish above the center of each pin, and 2) the looped forms at the top and around the edges are stylized eagles' heads with red garnets forming the eyes. a) The eagle was a very popular motif in Barbarian art. b) Some have argued that this style can be found in the early Iron Age of N. Europe.
Saint Sabina (plan): Function
1) place of worship for large amount of people. 2) It is over the supposed tomb of Saint Sabina 3) Its location matched the locations of the Great Pagan temples which pointed to the ideas that a) a new religion had come to the area and b) was as powerful as the old ones. 4) Notice the apse, altar, and sanctuary (all the important areas of a church because those are where the services are conducted) are on the East side because Christians believed that Christ would return from the East to bring a better world. a) Therefore they pray to the East, hoping to be the first to be rewarded.
Lindisfarne Gospel (St Matthew and Luke): Function
1) the main purpose of the book was to bring the word of God to a predominantly illiterate population through pictures and the words (whose meaning would have to be read to them). a) During this period even some of the wealthiest people could not read. b) It would be read during the mass, and c) it would be displayed on the altar or carried in a procession. 2) The sumptuous decorations were to fill the readers (only elite, and not even then all of the elite because books were very scarce) with awe so that the word of God seems to be greater. a) It is no different than the churches we saw—the word of God looks great; b) therefore it is great, and it must be the correct path to Salvation. c) For the non-elite or the elite who could not read it was powerful symbol of God. 1) They would have heard the stories in it, 2) seen other similar symbols of status on their peers and elite. 3) they might even have glimpsed a view of it on a high holy day or in a procession. 4) Such objects were thought because of their elaboration to protect the people from enemies, predators, diseases, and all kinds of misfortune. 3) The decoration of the book clearly shows devotion in the artists to God. a) Remember you have monks, hunched over in candle-lit rooms with no central heat or air, working for 12 hours on the books in labor-intensive conditions. b) They have to make sure the text is correct; c) the pictures are perfect and glorious to the word of God. d) They worked like this for 12 hours a day Monday to Saturday (on Sunday they have to have a day of rest in which they eat and pray). e) They only interrupt the working day for meals, bathroom breaks, and prayers at specific times. 1) Therefore they only interrupt the work for the basics of living, and more devotion to God. f) There is no fun here in the monasteries—only the pure work to show love to God and to create works of perfection to help spread the word of God so that all could be saved. g) In fact, although we know that the monks produced other books (Greco-Roman works, history and science, theological treatises, to name a few), they contained less illustrations than the other religious texts because those played such important role in the medieval Church and needed to show their prominence. 4) The Monks who worked on them were specialists and worked in a scriptorium (place of writing). The text was the Bible (Old and New Testament, originally in Greek, and then Latin). 5) The material only could be the most expensive because that was the only proper way to show piety to god. a) Very few medieval monasteries possessed a complete bible—Monks were commonly commissioned to do a few books of the bible only because that is what the patron could afford. b) Examples of this were: 1) Pentateuch (first 5 books of the bible); 2) the gospels (the 4 books of the life and death of Jesus with concordances, a list of corresponding passages of the four Gospels); 3) Lectionaries (passages of the Gospels reordered to appear in the sequence that priests read them during the celebration of Mass daily recitations); 4) sacramentaries (prayer for the priest to say in Mass); 6) Left: a) The carpet page of beautiful decorations must have lent prestige to the books and patrons like Eadfrith just like the ornamental jewelry of the same style show status of those who wore it. b) the intertwining animal form produced a rhythm of expanding and contracting forms would have effect of motion and change; c) Yet the regular form and cross would have held in check the movement because the viewers' eyes and the animals' forms are stopped by the borders of the sections and the crosses (they don't leave the main border which is another check). 1) The cross is a foil because it is heavy immobile compared to the motion. 2) This would be as the Queen and Pharaoh, emphasize the movement of the animals. 3) The cross of course is the all-important symbol of Christianity, showing the concrete evidence that Jesus died for his believers for salvation. 4) The lack of body does not lessen the message, but actually increases the message because it is a more sophisticated spiritual symbol. a) As Gregory the Great stated, Christianity should worship with "images the illiterate read." 5) Yet it could be showing the historical reality of the time: the cross is asserting itself over and in the world of native intertwining animal style. Christianity is coming into the Pagan world to conquer it. d) Although we associate cool colors in helping to create a 3d space, the artist adjusted his space and color so that the page looks truly 2d with a smooth and perfectly even surface. e) It is the perfect example of the native desire for small, infinitely complex, and painstaking designs, which may have helped 1) a monk "lose" himself in the word of God as he had to contemplate the forms. 2) In this sense, it could work like contemplation in Eastern religions (See Buddhism Unit 7)—a way of focusing on the religious subjects to gain "enlightenment," or here, becoming one with God. f) We see in this page the two of the three main streams in Middle Age Art: it is both Hiberno-Saxon and Christian. It only lacks the classical tradition. 7) Right: a) The ox appears because it was his symbol. People would know it was instantly Saint Luke who appears 1) because of the ox and 2) his halo which shows his divinity. b) The parallelogram is a reference to the Gospel, itself. c) The Ox can symbolize Christ's sacrifice on the cross, because Oxen were normal sacrificial animals. d) It is clear that the artists had access to an imported Mediterranean book (probably one that a Christian monk brought with him from Italy). 1) This book was probably from the Greek speaking world, and then transported to Italy: a) Remember the writing in two different languages, which has been suggested that it lends prestige of two classical languages to the book: 1) Latin being the Language of the Church, 2) Greek the language of the New Testament; B) what little naturalism there is points to the a Mediterranean model as well C) Author portraits and seated philosophers or poets writing or reading were very common in Mediterranean manuscripts. Seated philosophers were bearded like St Luke above. e) The artist's goal was not to copy the model faithfully. 1) We don't see an emphasis on volume, shading, and perspectives. 2) We see the subject in terms of line and color (See above with the discussion of clothing). a) Remember that the profile of the chair does not fit the pose of the body. b) The blank background makes him look like he is isolated in a very weak framed house. c) We are not looking through a window here. d) We are moving into the idea that naturalism will be suppressed. f) The placement of the St Luke page was important: 1) it was a frontispiece (an illustration facing the title page of a book) to his respective Gospel, lending their authority to the accounts of Christ's life, death and resurrection. 2) It would reinforce the belief held in the Middle Ages that the Evangelists were eyewitnesses and the best true source for holy words. a) Notice that he is writing (and capturing) the events as if the words of his Gospel are happening at that moment, which the Christians believe even today are both eternal and contemporary. b) It truly is a physical representation of the belief of his being an eyewitness. g) His writing is important for the Monks as well. 1) They become associated with the great Evangelists because they too write the books of the Holy Word. 2) It is a way for the Monks who, as we have seen above, work in horrendous conditions to know that their work is important although they suffer. 3) They become a type of Evangelists most of whom suffered to bring the word into the world. 8) Both: a) Again, we see the mixing of native and imported traditions. 1) The carpet page is definitely in the Intertwining Animal style as seen on the brooch, 2) while St. Luke is more of a classical tradition. 3) The monks wed a) the abstraction of the northern European early medieval personal adornment (as seen in the cross-inscribed carpet page) b) with the Christian pictorial imagery of Italy and Byzantium (as seen in the portrait of St. Luke). c) On one side, we have a rejection of the classical naturalism in 3d space (remember the colors and their flatness), and d) on the other is the adoption of the classical naturalism in 3d space. e) The fusion of the two styles show a very fruitful atmosphere in which the monks used two styles to spread the word of God more easily by using two techniques that would be familiar to the audience. 4) Also we see the Hiberno-Saxon style moving into a new realm A) it is leaving the Pagan migratory realm, and b) coming to the Christian world, where we have a vivid new vision of Saint Matt.
Lindisfarne Gospel (St Matthew and Luke): Form
1) vellum (fine parchment, made from the skin of a calf). One of the most expensive materials in the Middle ages (See below) 2) Gold (expensive material), and 3) ink (an expensive material; some of it coming from the Himalayas).
Lindisfarne Gospel (incipit page): Form
1) vellum (fine parchment, made from the skin of a calf). One of the most expensive materials in the Middle ages (See below) 2) Gold (expensive material), and 3) ink (an expensive material; some of it coming from the Himalayas).
Lindisfarne Gospels: St. Matthew, cross-carpet page; St. Luke portrait page; St Luke incipit page
Early medieval (Hiberno Saxon). Europe. C. 700 CE. Illuminated manuscript (ink,pigment, et gold on vellum)
Merovingian looped Fibulae
Early medieval Europe. Mid-sixth century C.E. Silver gilt worked in filigree, with inlays of garnets and other stones.
Catacombs (Good Shepherd Fresco): Form
Fresco and tufa
Saint Sabina
Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. C. 422-432. Brick et Stone, wooden roof.
Catacomb of Priscilla
Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 200-400 C.E. Excavated tufa and fresco.
Catacomb of Priscilla: Function
a) Left (Chapel) 1) The three niches were for sarcophagi, 2) while the long seat for a funeral banquet, called Refrigeria or Agapae, which were held at the tombs in the honor of the dead. 3) The painting in the central arch is most likely a reference to the banquet of the Holy Eucharist, which was one of the major rituals in Christianity (See above). a) It is derived from the Last supper where Jesus converted the wine into his blood, the bread into his body: b) "Take this wine; it is my blood; Take this bread; it is my body". c) The man breaking the bread is not Jesus (There are not enough people for the last supper), but could be a religious leader, which means it is part of the Liturgy. d) The Seven baskets and the fish are a reference to another miracle of the loaves and fishes, when Jesus fed all the guests at a wedding when there was not enough food. There too he promised bread of eternal life. e) Both are Jesus as the miracle worker, and f) both are of salvation. 4) All Old Testament stories were prefigurations of Jesus and the church. a) The Noak and the ark story prefigured Baptism (the ritual dipping into water to clean sin). b) The sacrifice of Isaac was very important to early Christians because it was a prefiguration of Jesus' sacrifice for mankind. Isaac was almost sacrificed as Jesus was sacrificed for the salvation of mankind. c) Moses' miracle was the prefiguration of Jesus' miracles (healing the sick and baptism). d) The deliverances in Daniels were prefigurations of how Jesus would deliver believers from sin. 5) New Testament stories. a) The resurrection of Lazarus was power of Jesus over death; b) the paralytic was over sin; and c) adoration of Magi was a symbol of the universal salvations because they were the first pagans to adore Christ. 6) Here we see two of Jesus' major portrayals in Early Christian art A) the miracle worker, and b) the good shepherd who takes care of his flock. 7) We also see something else: we see adoption of pagan symbols to represent Christian symbols. a) The feast, for example, could be easily a pagan feast or a Jewish Sedar (meal at Passover) because of the iconography, but given its context in a Christian burial site, we think it is the Eucharist. b) In other frescoes of the same celebration, we see grape vines and grape clusters to represent the wine; c) yet those are taken from the symbol of Bacchus, god of wine. d) Important Art History Concept: 1) The early Christians (no matter where in Europe—see intertwining animal style below) used pagan symbols to teach their messages by co-opting them into Christianity. 2) Like the Greek adoption of Egyptian culture to rule the country better, the Christians used pagan symbols that the non-converted would know to spread the word of God. 3) To say the blood of Christ is like the wine of Bacchus would make it instantly understandable for a Roman pagans (non-believers). 8) The style of all the frescoes in this part of the catacombs follow naturalistic Roman painting. a) Basically, it is Roman painting with a Christian subject matter. b) Early Christians were not concerned with suppressing naturalism so that it does not interfere with the message. c) This makes sense because they were trying to convert Pagan Romans—one should use an art style that is easily readable. 1) The communists in Russia reverted to Naturalism for the same reason at 20th c. beginning d) Not only is it readable, but it is a style that is typical, again showing how Christianity is not that different from Roman religion and culture. 9) The walls are done in the 1st Pompeiian wall style (Imitation of Marble). a) Clearly the patrons wanted a sense of wealth, b) most likely to connect it to the wealth that Jesus brings to the word through salvation. c) It was a way of respecting Jesus and God—they spent money on it to show their devotion. b) Right: 1) The story of Jonah, Isaac, and The Three children from the furnace are all prefigurations. For all see above (Isaac, and Three in Children in Function; Jonah in the Context); 2) The woman is praying to two sets of figures. A) The teacher/philosopher, in this Christian context, is clearly Jesus teaching the good word to his students so that they will be saved. 1) If the pupils are young (it is hard to tell), this is equally important because the Christians wanted to emphasize that their message was for all, not just adults as in some other religions. 2) This would be a draw for parents who would be worried that they would get salvation, but their children would . 3) Again it is one of the three ways that Jesus is portrayed in Christian art; B) The woman and child are clearly Mary and Jesus. 1) She sits on a simple seat, 2) not a throne like she will do during the Gothic period. 3) Therefore she is the Theotokos (mother of god) here 4) not the queen of heaven as in the Gothic period. C) The woman is veiled to show that she is performing a holy ritual like typical Romans. d) All three are derived from classical themes: 1) teacher/Philosopher; 2) Mother and Child; 3) Roman veiled and praying, 4) again using traditional iconography to teach a new religion. 3) Some scholars have argued that the three scenes contain the SAME woman. a) The teacher is not a teacher, but a bishop marrying her and her husband; b) the mother and child are her and her child. c) So it shows her in various stages of life, which means it would be the woman who was buried here. d) The Orant figure (no matter what interpretation) is supposed to represent the woman resurrected after death. Her eyes look upward to heaven 4) a) Style and its reasons are the same as Left above. b) Some examples of Roman naturalism: 1) the modeling for 3dness; 2) the foreshortening in the woman (although her hands are too large for her body) and the teacher; 3) in togas. Here the togas are important—all Early Christian art show Jesus and his family in Roman clothes; 4) the landscape (here the seat) is natural and the figures interact with it naturally. 5) Again it uses the familiar to teach the unfamiliar; 6) the symbolism and Allegory (the wine cup)
