1. THE ART OF EARLY CHRISTIAN TIMES
At the time of the birth of Christianity, polytheism was still prevalent in the European world, North Africa, Asia Minor and the Middle East (Syria, etc.). The official religion of the Roman Empire was also polytheistic and persecution of Christians was common in many periods of the early Christian years. As a result, the art of the early Christians was often symbolic. It represented, that is, things acceptable to the state, but which symbolized for the initiates their faith in the new religion.
Until the Edict of Milan, 313 AD, with which Constantine the Great established secularism in the Roman Empire, ending the persecution of Christians, both works of art were performed that were in accordance with the previous, polytheistic religion and with the new, monotheistic faith.
A typical monument of the first christian years, which served the old, polytheistic religion was the temple of Mithras in the ancient Ostia of Italy (early 3rd century AD). Inside, a beautiful mural stood out: "Mithras and the bull".
Another well-known mural of the same era and similar content is "The Worship of Isis".
In the 2nd-3rd A.D. centuries the early Christian frescoe of a symbolic character, in a temple of Palmyra, with the theme of Dionysus on a panther belongs. This is a work characterized by spirituality. In general, the new art, the early christian art, is not interested in external beauty. Beautiful for it can be something outwardly ugly, which, however, has a nice soul.
Another interesting work of the 1st AD. century is the relief depicting a procession of women and was found in a temple of Palmyra as well. This is a work characterized by hierarchy, with monotonous forms that are represented mainly frontally.
In the early Christian years there is still, on the part of the believers of the new religion, a respect for the subjects of the old, pagan art. For example, the figure of Hercules is revered by the early Christians and paralleled with that of Christ. A relevant characteristic work of art is the mural "Hercules with Cerberus and Alkestis", in the catacomb of Via Latina in Rome. In such works the figures still present the plasticity of the ancient works and at the same time are rendered more abstractly.
Other well-known catacombs of the early Christian period are those of Priscilla, Domitilla and St. Kallistos in Rome.
Catacomb of St. Kallistus
However, it should be noted that the first christian worship took place in homes. A well-known house with a similar use is that of Doura Europos in present-day northern Syria (230 AD). There was a special area for baptisms and frescoes in it. It was a middle-class residence, since it is located in the place of the city's walls.
Early Christian dwellings of a house with similar use have also been found under the Basilica of San Martino Ai Monti in Rome.
As already mentioned, most of the time the art of the early christians was symbolic, that is, the new faith was expressed through the depiction of old, pagan forms, in order to deceive the pagans. A characteristic work is a floor mosaic, which represents Orpheus - Christ with a musical instrument. It is a work where light and color dominate and today is in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul.
Another work of the same theme is a tomb sculpture representing Orpheus, from Sardinia (300 AD). Here Orpheus replaces the figure of Christ. Characteristic is the expression on his face, which shows intensity and the big hands of Orpheus. His clothes are shown falling on his body like on a hanger.
The early Christian frescoes of the catacombs, anyway, presented common ways of expression with well-known frescoes of the first Roman times. Characteristic is the work "Breaking the bread" (2nd century AD), in the catacomb of Priscilla, in Rome. This clearly presents the same expressive way as the pre-Christian frescoe: "Odysseus in the Land of the Laistrigons" of the end of the 1st B.C. century in Rome.
In Greece, the catacombs of Milos are a very important early Christian monument. Their architectural elements were carved in the limestone. Cubicula and loculi were created there. Arkosolia are also found there. These are arched tombs where the martyrs or the distinguished or the official christians were placed.
A very important artistic change that took place with the birth of the new religion, concerned architecture. The ritual of the Christian religion and especially the sacrament of the divine Eucharistia demanded the interior of a temple different from that of the pagan temples. Thus the extroverted ancient Greek temple gave way to the introverted basilica. In it, the older straight entablatures were turned into arches while the decoration of the temple now entered the interior of the building leaving a simple exterior.
Finally, great changes took place in the subject of busts, as a result of the difference of philosophies between the ancient and early christian world. Thus comparing a bust of Constantine the Great of 330 A.D. with an ancient one, of King Philip, it is observed that in the newer one the emphasis is on the huge eyes, those of the soul, while in the older one the naturalistic perception and the absolute symmetry prevail.
At the same time, the Neoplatonic school of philosophy was founded by Plotinus, who was a commander in Asia Minor and the author of the work "Nines". This school advocated that "both beautiful and ungly can be nice". In "The Nines" Plotinus spoke of the transparency of things and the need to approach the "is" and not the "appearance" of man.
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