Essay On Dura-Europos

follow. That was the first goal of icons. The second goal was to form an

Early Christian and Byzantine art started after Jesusí death in the first century ranging and ending to the fourth century AD. The art produced during this period was secretive because Christianity was not a formal religion but as a cult; the Romans and rest of Europe persecuted Christians so the artist disguised their work with symbols and hints of Christian aspects. Christianity was the first cult to not involve rituals of sacrifice of animals and refused to worship an Emperor causing the Roman Empire to make Christianity illegal. Byzantine art excelled in the Justinian period in the east during 520-540 AD. The art was produced in Ravenna, Byzantine, Venice, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. The

This essay aims to investigate two different time periods in the history of art. It will scrutinize the influence that the respective societal contexts had on the different artists, which in turn, caused them to arrange the formal elements in a specific way. I will be examining an Egyptian sculpture of the god Isis nursing Horus, her son, as well as the Vladimir Virgin icon, which dates from the Byzantine era. Experts vary on the precise ‘lifetime’ of the Ancient Egyptian civilization, but according to Mason (2007:10) it existed from 3100 BCE up to 30 BCE. The Byzantine era, which

Christian art and iconography began, about two hundred years after the birth of Christ. Western Christian art and religious iconography was based on the classical art styles and imagery by the Ancient Romans. Medieval art iconography began to relate more to text of the Bible. Religious Christian art was created in the form of illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, and fresco paintings adorned churches. The colors of art were generally muted except those used in manuscripts and stained glass windows. Figures varied in sizes in relation their importance. Unlike artists in the Byzantine period who avoided making sculptures at all costs, Romanesque artists made sculptures which were often large, made of stone, and

Briefly summarize the content of the lecture and the highlights of the Q&A session (if any)

Religious spaces, characterized by Thomas Tweed, are “differentiated,” “interrelated,” and “kinetic.” As a sacred city with spiritual significance in three major religions, Jerusalem is depicted thoroughly in the Hebrew Bible and illustrated as one of the spaces Tweed defines. The Bible emphasizes that Jerusalem was chosen by God and honored by Israelites, which differentiates it as a special, singular space; the description of Solomon’s Temple shows that the Holy City was interrelated to economic power and involved in the judgment of civil cases. Moreover, the conquest, development and destruction of Jerusalem illustrate the city as a kinetic space, reflecting the unsettled history of the Iron Age. These characteristics all make Jerusalem a religious and political center from the ancient Near East time to present day, guiding the footsteps of believers around the world.

At the council, 338 members met to rule on the use of images to depict religious figures and ideas. This assembly, including Emperor Constantine and Leo, rules that “the unlawful art of painting living creatures blasphemed the fundamental doctrine of our salvation—namely, the Incarnation of Christ, and contradicted the six holy synods” (Iconoclastic Council, 1). The Iconoclastic Council bans the use of images and pictures to depict religious ideologies and figures because they feared that worshippers honored the image over the actual person, place, or thing represented. To support their argument, the council recalls the Holy Book in which God states, “Thou shall not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath…They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,…and served the creature more than the Creator” (2). Unlike John, this council uses stronger textual evidence from the Holy Book in order to validate their argument against icons. Furthermore, they argued that “folly” painter constructed the icons to undermine the icons. Council members aimed to demonstrate the icons as evil creations because religious affiliates did not construct them. Nevertheless, the council banned all images, relics, and other representations of

The three treatises by Damascus, are aimed “against those who rejected the use of icons.” Damascus argues that “the theological fact of the incarnation of Christ provides a solid formation for the use of icons in devotion.” Damascus explains many different physical items, such as icons, in worship and adoration. An example of one of the physical items he used as icons is, “Was not the triply blessed wood of the cross matter.”

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 ).

The subject of religion has captured the attention of artists for centuries, working its way throughout the years, in and out of various of styles and movements. The artists of this era often found themselves reliant on this subject matter due to Churches being a steady Patron throughout the Renaissance all the way to the Baroque period. Whether it was because of the rich cultural impact to society or the enforcement of strong divine beliefs, depicting biblical narratives have struck an everlasting cord within this medium. Two particular ones, in fact: The Deposition from the Cross (Entombment of Christ) by Jacopo Pontormo and The Entombment of Christ by Michelangelo Caravaggio. Both of which provide an excellent example of how culture and artistic style combined can alter the message of the same iconic scene and still evoke different emotions.

The Jewish community started Christianity, but Christianity later spread and convert from all over the Greco-Roman world were attracted by this religion during the progress of the first century CE. Ideas, traditions, ways of worship and traditions were brought along by the new convert of Christianity and it was adopted by their faith. This is through art because Christians who were once pagans of the Roman Empire stick to their artistic heritage when they became followers of Jesus Christ. Roman artistic forms and motifs and also Roman architecture were being used by this new convert to express their new faith. In further explanation, we’ll see how Roman art influenced the developing art of early Christians.

Just as it’s human nature to believe in something larger or more powerful than oneself, it is also human nature to express that divinity through art, this is proven time and time again in human history. Picturing the divine is a type of testimony to show a cultures greatness. The painting Arhats Giving Alms to Beggars comes from the Chinese culture of the Southern Song period. Whereas, the mosaic Christ as Pantocrator comes from the Byzantine culture of the Greek Orthodox tradition. Although these paintings come from very different backgrounds both cultures show the divine and their pressure on mankind to follow the rules, such as giving away worldly desires. By doing so and letting go of material possessions, mankind can be hopeful of

In contrast to the noble figure of Augustus, the piece titled “The Good Shepard” (300-350 AD. Marble. Height: 39 inches) which resides as a wall painting in the Catacomb of Calixtus, is an early symbolic representation of Christ as a Shepard (Mueso, Rome Web 2014). Symbolic images like these were common for the period of Early Christian art. It compares nicley to the Greco-Roman sculpture ( 3rd Century b.c.e) piece of the same name. A similar depiction can also be found at Dura Europas(Ceiling piece, fresco painting-seen in image below), in an ancient Christian meeting house (Klein Fred S. pg 210). Christ the Good Shepherd of the Twenty-third Psalm was often depicted as a beardless youth derived from the pagan god Apollo and with other ties to many Mediterranean mythologies. It is significant to note that the style of this painting with its loose impressionistic style and suggestion of a landscape echoes a category of ancient painting called sacral-idyllic landscapes.

The book The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art reevaluates fundamental pieces of Late Antiquity art, facing off with what author Thomas F. Mathews dubs the “Emperor Mystique,” an inclination to link images of Christ in this period to imperial iconography. In the first chapter, author Thomas Mathews makes a lofty claim: Late Antiquity art blanketed under the Emperor Mystique must be reassessed since art historians have tawdrily abused the theory to oversimplify Jesus’ iconographic identity. The author structures his chapter one argument into three points. First, he criticizes the idea of an unbroken art narrative consisting of a gradual flow from pagan art to Christian art, resulting in the Emperor Mystique mix of imagery as a key transition point. Then, he considers the Emperor Mystique’s prevalence in Late Antiquity. Finally, he moves on to the art historians chiefly responsible for the theory—Ernst Kantorowicz, Andreas

This essay starts with the use of Roman architecture to practice Christianity. Then I will write about how the image of the Roman emperors became the inspiration for the image of the Jesus. Finally I will discuss the way Romans used the same iconography and narrative they already had as a formula to image the bible.