Early Christian Art and Architecture
Early Christian Art
does not depend entirely on the Roman art, but neither is a definitive break with respect to that, which is why some historians have spoken of him as a “baptized Roman art.”
Architecture. The basilica.
During the period of secrecy has its first expressions in the catacombs, no buildings can be held strictly. But from the fourth century (after the Edict of Milan in 313 that tolerate the Christian religion) when it first raised the need for a separate building for the celebration of liturgical ritual. The absence of the above examples leads to the use of the basilica as a prototype model for the new Christian church. No wonder, considering their functional and symbolic possibilities.
The basilica was conceived as a longitudinal rectangular building divided into naves separated by columns, the central fund-always taller and wider, is available to the apse for the altar. From a functional standpoint, the basilica allowed the partitioning of the space following the ranking Christian bishop, priests, deacons, laymen and women, from the ideological point of view, the rectangular became memories of the apocalyptic and heavenly Jerusalem the distribution of vessels in the way of salvation that Christianity offers and image of the cross, symbol of Christ. Is getting a double combination and ethical-aesthetic that gave rise to a “moralized architecture”, which similarly involved the architect and theologian, far from the ancient temples of the pagan celebrations.
In the West are built during the fourth century the basilica of S. S. John Lateran Peter’s Cathedral, the first fully remodeled in the Baroque era and the second shot down during the Renaissance to build a new one. The V century, during the pontificate of Sixtus III, include the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Sabina and St. Paul.
In the East, the remoteness of Rome giving rise to political and cultural models increasingly independent. Furthermore, the proximity of the holy places translates into innovative buildings that express the magnificence of the site on which they settle. Such is the case of the building of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which combines the concept basilica with the principle of circular mausoleum to express a moral axiom. Similarly, the monastery of St. Simeon Stylites, responds to a criterion of synthesis between the longitudinal and central leading to very complex architecture with little continuity in later examples.
Figurative art. The new iconographic repertoire.
The first two Christian centuries are characterized by the absence of representation of religious images following the iconoclasm expressed in the Old Testament and the opinion of authors such as Tertullian, for whom the pictures constitute “adultery of the truth.” From the third century, coinciding with the spread of Christianity begin to appear the first signs iconography in sculpture and painting.
The sculptural forms are attached to the front of coffins, you know a remarkable development because of the importance of adopting the Christian death as a transition to a better life. The images of these sarcophagi are thus transmitting a message of faith and hope for immortal life, though in many cases are indebted to the technique and style of classical Roman statuary. Is also observed in them an interesting evolution from strygilos sarcophagi, the organization in an imago clipeata frieze (portraits framed by a clypeus) or sheltering central scenes and figures on classical architecture.
Pictorial manifestations are often associated with the catacombs, whose images relate to real life, one that waits after death, upon reaching the divine justice. In a first time by ambiguous signs, such as fish, the peacock, the vid … that suggest a religious interpretation, or crismón, which is identified with the initials of Christ, later, with allegories mediating between heaven and earth, as the Good Shepherd, and finally through conceptual images-like-that identifies Praying with the church itself as a means for the salvation of souls