History of Arts Research Paper

Art and the Bible, written by Francis A. Schaefer, is a short, simple to the point book regarding how a Christian should approach art. The book is divided into two sections. Section one is title Art in the Bible and section two is titled Some Perspectives on Art.

Our world is filled with many different forms of art that portray a vast variety of perspectives of our universe, religion, groups of people, animals, and much more. Is there an intersection between the Christian faith and Art and if so, is there a purpose? If the Christian faith and art overlap, then does that mean that there is such a thing as Christian Art? Answers to these questions vary from person to person, which is why they are questions that are still being asked today. In my opinion, I believe that the Christian faith and Art intersect and that they overlap for very specific purposes. These specific purposes is what also makes me believe that there is such a thing as Christian art.

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

The quality and quantity of details in Adoration of the Mystic Lamb are embodied by van Eyck’s mastery of oil, which suggests that his altarpiece is the greatest representation of Christianity in a piece of art.

Constantine the Great was a solo emperor who fostered the growth of Christianity in the Roman empire. To begin with, art of the Christian world focused on stylization, stiffness, and the symbolic (conceptual imagery). There was no interest in the human form or emotions shown through naturalism and illusionism because the art’s main focus was that it had aspects of faith and spirituality. This was displayed through themes that correlated with the bible, like the death and resurrection of Christ. Constantine used the Early Christian wall fresco titled Catacomb of St. Peter and Marcellinus to touch base on themes and symbolism that Christian art resonated with.

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 use of icons, nevertheless, steadily gained in popularity, especially in portions of The Roman Empire. Towards the end of the 6th century and in the 7th, icons became the object of an officially encouraged cult, often implying a superstitious belief in their animation ("Iconoclastic Controversy | Byzantine History."). Although the materialistic expression may be quite controversial, they have brought a lot more attention to the Christian religion. They had the power of bringing people together with what was being worshipped, and have also brought amounts us 2 addition branches of Christianity that include both the Catholic church, and the Orthodox church. Some of these images are worshipped worldwide throughout the Christian churches for all the right reasons. They bring the individuals together with the material expression and give them an image to their head such as Jesus Christ being painted as

During late Byzantine art period, there was art of Christ in Chora, which is typically in the apse of parekklesion. In addition to this, Christ as savior in Macedonia in early fourteenth century was notable

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

Art in the Medieval Times was dreary and bland. Many works of art were solely about God or holy figures. The most obvious change from the Renaissance to Medieval Times was the arts, according to Document A and also that “One begins to know the names of the artists ... feel stronger emotions in the subjects”. This shows that Renaissance art not only changed in style, in changed in how it made the viewer feel when seeing the art. Similarly, in Document A, Renaissance art is described as “new artistic styles would echo the broader movements and interests of the new age.…”. As compared to Medieval Times, the style of art became something similar to the time that people could relate to. In the Medieval Times, art was just meant to extol God’s many feats. People who viewed the painting were supposed to put that style of art on a pedestal. Medieval art was supposed to be worshipped, not so much understood. The individual in the Medieval Times was supposed to take away from the painting that the only thing that mattered in their life was the Roman Catholic church and God already had a plan for their lives. But in comparison, Renaissance art was supposed to empower and help people of the time to understand themselves and the fact that they can change their own lives.

The Byzantine Empire had many advances in art, specifically images dedicated to the Christian religion. Within the Byzantine empire there was a lot of time and dedication to making art dedicated solely on the christian religion. Some of the first pieces of art done in this time was mosaics in churches depicting god or other idles of the christian religion .

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

     Examples of Romanesque sculpture are dated back to the last decade of the eleventh century and then first decades of the twelfth. “The primary source of artistic patronage was provided by the monastic institutions, for whom sculptors executed large relief carvings for the decoration of church portals and richly ornate capitals for cloisters” (Cleaver 156)

While some religion’s art displays a figure in full others such as Muslim artists do not. Due to the belief that creating a representation of a living thing will lead to punishment on Judgement Day these artists deface the subject matter of