Early Christian and Byzantine Art: Churches, Mosaics

Posted on Mar 23, 2025 in Religion

Early Christian and Byzantine Art

Introduction: Principles of Christianity

The religion founded by Jesus Christ, and extended by his followers, was based on a set of principles that were openly and fundamentally opposed to the religion and socio-political structure of the Roman world. These principles are:

  1. Monotheism or belief in one God. This principle was totally opposed to the Roman religion, not only because it was polytheistic, but because the exclusivity of worship to God was against the deification of the emperor and his cult. The Roman Empire had established the imperial cult and the dedication of certain temples to this cult, to exalt the emperor and establish the supreme power of belief itself. Christianity, with its monotheism, undermined the sacredness of power.
  2. Equality of all human beings. The economic structure of the empire was based on slavery and the social division between the patricians (members of the richest and most powerful families) and the commoners (the rest of the citizens). There were further distinctions between non-citizens and freedmen (former slaves freed by their masters). The establishment of a regime of equality, preached by Jesus and maintained in the first centuries of Christianity where all were brothers without social distinctions, produced the disruption of the empire.

Consequence: Clash with the Roman polytheistic religion and worship, and social subversion, resulting in imperial persecutions from the 5th century AD. In the year 313, Emperor Constantine allowed the practice of this religion by the Edict of Milan.

Catacombs served as places of burial and meeting until 313: e.g., S. Calixto, St. Priscilla, and San Sebastian.

The Early Christian Basilica

After the Edict of Milan, the basilica was used as a Christian church. The first was the Lateran, St. John Lateran Basilica.

Features:

  • Large proportions.
  • It was used in Roman times for the administration of justice and trade.
  • Three naves separated by columns and arches as an element of separation.
  • Rectangular, with a curved space or apse at one end.

The Christians adopted it as a temple because of its:

  • Power to accommodate a large number of faithful.
  • Separation of craft that enabled collective separation of the faithful.
  • Apse for sacred enclosure: the chancel.
  • Symbolic Space: Trinity and symbols of Christ.

Elements of the basilica: Patio, Narthex, Ships of the church, presbytery.

Other elements: Iconostasis.

Dependencies:

  • Sacristy or Diaconium
  • Prostheses
  • Baptistery to prepare for baptism

Major Basilicas:

  • From the 4th century AD: St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, Santa Ines and San Lorenzo in Rome.
  • Subsequent to the 4th century: Santa Maria Maggiore, San Clemente, and Santa Sabina.

Other religious buildings:

  • Burial of Saints: Mausoleum of Santa Costanza.
  • Holy Places: Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the House of Nazareth, and Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

The Byzantine Mosaic as a Decorative Element

Byzantine Empire 5th-15th century AD.

Common features:

  • The emperor’s absolute power, both civil and religious.
  • The administration, the army, and religion coalesce in the Empire.
  • In the 6th century, there was an attempt to recover the territories of the Roman Empire, creating the Exarchate of Ravenna.
  • In the 8th and 9th centuries, there was a battle between iconoclasts and iconophiles, destroying images.
  • Persistence of classical culture: Legislation, philosophy, and culture of artistic tradition: Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

Byzantine mosaics. Features:

  • Technical patches.
  • Sheets of gold, silver, pearl, and glass.
  • They appear in vaults or walls of churches, capitals, and arches.

Some examples:

  • Hagia Sophia: Leo VI before Christ (9th Century); Constantine IX and Empress Zoe (11th century); Virgin Theotokos.
  • Ravenna:
    • Church of San Vitale (6th century): Christ Cosmocrator; Justinian and his court; Theodora and her court.
    • Church of St. Apollinaris Nuovo (6th century): Procession of saints to Christ; Holy Procession to the Epiphany of Christ Magi.
    • Church of St. Apollinaris in Classe (6th century): Apse of St. Apollinaris.
  • Sicily: Monreale Cathedral, Church of the Martorana, Palermo: Church of Cefalu.
  • Venice: Venice’s Cathedral, Cathedral of Torcello.