More From My Art History Class in Medieval Art--Early Christian Art

In the third century AD, Christians in Rome were persecuted and so had to be careful about displaying images relating to their religion.  They buried people in decorated sarcophagi in catacombs.  Since images that depicted Christian scenes and symbols would have been dangerous, they used images that would have been acceptable to non-Christians, but could be interpreted as Christian.  For example, the detail image above depicts Jonas being pulled back into a boat after escaping from the belly of the whale.  It would have been perfectly acceptable as traditional Roman art, which accepted the Old Testament, but early Christians might have used it to convey the idea of resurrection, or Christ rising from the dead.

It was a period of transition in art.  As our instructor described it, there was Christianizing of Roman Art and Romanizing of Christian Art.  Another image from about this time is bread and fish, suggesting the Sermon on the Mount. Those images could also be interpreted as a Roman symbol of bounty, which would have been perfectly acceptable in Roman culture. The fresco below is in the Catacombs of San Callisto, which were originally dug out at the end of the 2nd century.  We are free to interpret it as we want, but I gather most scholars think it is covertly an image to convey thoughts of Christ.

Another fresco depicts a group of men, who Christians might see as Jesus and the disciples at The Last Supper, but this type of scene would also have been a common Roman image of a scholar and his students.

The persecution of Christians ended with what is known as the Edict of Milan, issued by Emperor Constantine in 313 AD.  He was Roman Emperor and also a Christian,  According to the Edict, no one could be persecuted because of religion.   That meant that images of Jesus and other religious figures could be openly executed and displayed.  In 325 AD, the Nicene Creed was adopted and Jesus was deemed to be divine.  Paintings of him began to emerge with halos.

Constantine also moved the Eastern Capitol  of the Roman Empire to Byzantium in 330 AD, renaming it Constantinople.

Theological ideas were also in a transition,and Christianity became the official religion of the Romans under Emperor Theodosius in 380 AD.  Many Roman statues of gods were destroyed at that time because they were "pagan."  In 431 AD, the idea of Mary as the Mother of God, or "Theotokos," was established by the Third Ecumenical Council.  So, images of Mary holding Jesus, with both of them having halos,emerged.

As travel between the East and West developed, the Port of Ravenna became an important center.  Ravenna is known for its mosaics and the churches built there feature mosaics that tell stories from the Old and New Testaments.  One of the most well-known, and interesting, of these is "Christ in Majesty" in San Vitale (527-548 AD).

Jesus is on a "blue throne, with a halo and in a golden background rather than in a natural setting. (Apologies about the copyright notice--I am not doing this for money, so I think it is OK here) There are two angels and  and the two other figures are San Vitale, on the left, being handed a martyr's crown and Bishop Ecclesius, on the right, with a model of the church.  San Vitale was an early Christian martyr and Ecclesius is the founder of this church.  I have seen this mosaic in Ravenna and it is stunning...even when I didn't understand it.  It is high in the apse and has a golden glow because of the golden mosaic background.  I have always been intrigued by Ravenna and now I understand it a little more.  One of the reasons it survived is because it was a port that became "silted in" and wasn't used and so was kind of forgotten.