Early Christian, Byzantine, and

Islamic Art
Chapter 13.1
Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic
Art
 Do you know why early Christians used art to express
their religion? Have you ever seen a mosaic?

 The Roman Empire began to decline in the latter part of

the second century.

 The Christian Church gained power in the West. In the

East the Roman Empire became the Byzantine Empire.

 Christians, Muslims, and Jews developed a rich culture in

which the arts flourished.
Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic
Art
 In the wake of the Roman Empire, a new source of power
was born – the Christian Church

 The place of the Roman emperors was taken by popes: the

Church was to play the dominant role in the 500 years
following the decline of the classical period.

 The Church’s influence eventually spread to touch on

every aspect of life. Nowhere was this more evident than
in visual artwork.
Early Christian Art
 Formany years, the Christian religion was not
legal throughout the Roman Empire, resulting in
hardship and persecution from its many followers.

 Finally
in 313 AD, Christianity was made legal
when the emperor Constantine signed the Edict of
Milan.

 Pictureswith hidden Christian meaning were being

painted long before this time.
The Catacombs
 Many of those earlier
paintings were made on the
stone walls of narrow
underground passages.
Catacombs in Rome
 When persecuted by Roman
emperors, the Christians dug
catacombs, or underground
passageways, as places to hold
religious services and bury
their dead
 In time, the catacombs grew
into a vast maze of tunnels.
Early Christians
 The views of early Christians set them apart from those
who believed in the Roman religion.

 The Christians believed Christ to be the savior of all

people; they hoped to join him in heaven after death as a
reward for following his teachings.

 They had little interest in gaining fame and fortune in the

world. Instead they sought an eternal reward in the form
of life after death.
Characteristics of Early Christian Art
 In their paintings of people, early Christian art showed little
interest in the beauty, grace, and strength of the human
body, which were so important to Greek and Roman artists.

 Christian art was intended to illustrate the power of glory of

Christ. It was also meant to tell, as clearly as possible, the
story of his life on earth.

 Christ’s life story was important because it was the model

for people to follow as the surest way to attain salvation in
Heaven.
Symbolism in Early Christian Art
 The early Christians’ view on life on earth as preparation
for the hereafter is reflected in the artworks they
produced.

 Theseworks may have appeared Roman, but the beliefs

and ideas they passed on to other Christians were not
Roman beliefs and ideas – they were Christian.

 Christianartists used symbols as a kind of code. Familiar

figures or signs were sued to represent something.
Symbolism in Early Christian Art
 Catacomb paintings were filled with images of animals, birds,
ad plants, which are also found in Roman art.
 If there was a painting of a goldfinch a Roman just saw a bird
where as a Christian would have remembered that the
goldfinch ate thistles and thorns, plants that were on Christ’s
crown during his death.
 The goldfinch came to symbolize Christ’s death to early
Christians.
 Over time, birds, animals, and plants came to symbolize
different Christian ideas. A dog = faithfulness
 The artists main goal was to illustrate the Christian story as
clearly as possible to make it easy for others to comprehend.
Good Shepherd and the Story of Jonah
Artist Unknown
4th Century AD

 More than 1,650 years

ago, an unknown Christian
artist completed the a
painting on the rough
ceiling of a room in the
catacombs.

 Theartist who painted this

image borrowed heavily
from art forms seen all
over Rome, but were given
new Christian meaning.

Good Shepherd and the Story of Jonah

Symbolism in the Good Shepherd
 The great circle was painted to represent heaven. Within this
circle is a cross, the symbol of Christ’s death and
resurrection.
 The shepherd in the center circle represents Christ.
 The sheep around him symbolize his faithful followers.
 The lamb on Christ’s shoulders symbolizes those people who
needed additional help on the difficult road to salvation.
 The arms of the cross end in half circles in which the biblical
story of Jonah and the whale is told. The story shows God’s
power to protect the faithful.
 Standing figures with their hands raised represent all the
members of the Church pleading for God’s assistance and
mercy.
 Basilicas
 Not long after the catacombs painting was
completed, the status the Christians began
to improve.
 Christianity had spread rapidly across the
Roman Empire, ad the emperor Constantine
finally granted Christians the freedom to
practice their faith openly.
 A new kind of building was need for the Sant’ Apollinare. Ravenna Italy
large number of worshippers.
 Again the Christians borrowed from the
Romans in the use of the Basilica as their
model.
 Christian churches were intended as retreats
from the real world, and where worshippers
could take part in deeply spiritual events.
 Exteriors were relatively simple but
interiors were meant to be impact highly
dramatic.
 Mosaics
 When eyes strayed from the altar, they
rose to view the walls richly decorated
with mosaics.
 A mosaic is a decoration made with small
pieces of glass and stone set in cement.
 Christian artists placed mosaics on walls
where light from windows and candles
caused them to flicker and glow
mysteriously.
 From the few early Christian churches
that have survived, it is clear that they
served as a model for church architecture
in western Europe.
 Growth of Byzantine Culture (West)
 After the eastern capital was established in
Constantinople, the Roman Empire functioned as two
separate sections. East and West, both with their own
emperor.
 In the west the, the emperors slowly lost their influence
and prestige and after a long struggle fell to barbarian
invaders and marked the end of the Classical era.
 As the emperors lost their power as the Church assumed
its place as the central authority in the West.
 The Eastern part remained united and strong and came to
be known and the Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantine Empire
 Growth of Byzantine Culture (East)
 The Eastern part remained united and strong and came to be
known and the Byzantine Empire and continued to thrive
over 1,000 years.
 The city of Constantinople soon surpassed Rome in both
size and wealth. It became the largest city in the medieval
world and a cultural center with grand public buildings.
 In Constantinople, Roman, Greek, and Eastern influences
were blended to produce rich and brilliant art.
 Above all this art glorified the Christian religion and served
the needs of the Church. It set the standard for artistic
excellence in Western Europe until the 12th century.
Byzantine Architecture and Mosaics

 Thebest examples of the Byzantine style were

great churches.

 Western architects favored the hall-like basilica

plan for their churches.

 Eastern architects favored a central plan .

 Hagia Sophia
 Built in 6th century AD by the emperor Justinian
 The greatest of the central plan churches.
 Justinian hired two Greek math experts to design Hagia Sophia.
 The finished church beautifully blends the engineering skills of
the Romans with a Greek sensitivity for carefully balanced
 Most impressive feature is the huge dome which is almost 100ft
across and almost 31 feet higher than the dome in the Pantheon
 Instead of thick walls the dome sits on 4 piers – massive vertical
pillars.
 This allowed them to use thinner walls and add more windows
for interior light and has the appearance of weighing less.
Hagia Sophia (Interior and Exterior)
Istanbul, Turkey
532-37AD
 The Mosaics of Hagia Sophia
 Inside the dim lighting and shimmering surfaces combine to
produce a dreamlike setting.
 Walls of stone and marble are decorated gold, silver, ivory, and
gems.
 Churches like Hagia Sophia required special decoration on the
interior.
 Works of art had to be of bright colors and large enough to be
seen from a distance.
 Mosaics meet these special needs and became the trademark art
style of the Byzantine church.
 They were created to tell familiar stories from the Bible.
 The Virgin and Child
Mosaic from Hagia Sophia
Istanbul, Turkey

 In Hagia Sophia, one notable

mosaic shows the Virgin
(Christ’s Mother) and the Christ
child between two figures.
 Figure on the left is Justinian
and on the right is Constantine
both presenting a small church
and city.
 Shows the emperors proclaiming
their loyalty of the church and
state to the Virgin and Child.
Vocab and Quiz Review
 Catacombs – underground passageways
 Mosaic – decoration made with small pieces of glass and
stone set in cement
 Piers –massive vertical pillars