Late Antiquity PDF

Late Antiquity ● ● ● ● ● Must remember the multiplicity of societies and cultures in Rome Religious significance cannot be overstated. Rome decidedly becomes monotheistic beginning in the 4th century We see the emergence of Jewish and Christian Art during this period However, despite religious con...

Late Antiquity ● ● ● ● ● Must remember the multiplicity of societies and cultures in Rome Religious significance cannot be overstated. Rome decidedly becomes monotheistic beginning in the 4th century We see the emergence of Jewish and Christian Art during this period However, despite religious connotations it is decidedly Roman How is this so? Late Antiquity Dura-Europos ● ● ● Distant outpost of Rome in Syria, important because it was abandoned following a siege in 256 Called the Pompeii of the desert, it reveals just as much about late antiquity and its art as did Pompeii The synagogue paintings are extraordinary? Why ○ ○ ● It’s a garrison town They depict biblical themes Originally they surprise scholars for it seemed the Jewish community there was defying the second commandment Late Antiquity ● ● ● ● Artistically, the story of these paintings is told through stylized gestures and not through motions as before Samuel, for example, is depicted as larger than the rest of his companions David is distinguished through his purple toga, a feature of significance that will reemerge in religious paintings The religious house is also significant as it gives a look into early Christianity ○ ○ ● Christianity was still outlawed during this time, Diocletian orders purges in 303-305 Christianity’s rise clashed with Roman state authority 313 Emperor Constantine gives Christianity official status through the Edict of Milan Late Antiquity ● ● ● ● ● Early Christian art is a very vague subject as we know so little Refers to art having Christian subjects and not references to Jesus Much like early Etrsucan art, we find most of it in tombs or catacombs In accordance with Roman law, Christians had to be buried outside of the city of Rome itself, usually done so by private associations called confraternities Best way to remember it - Roman Styles, Christian subjects ○ ○ ● I.e. Painted ceiling in the Catacomb of St.Peter and Marcellinus in Rome Very similar to apartment houses in Ostia They contain key portions from the story of Jonah in the Old Testament Late Antiquity ● Why Jonah? ○ ○ ○ ● Symbolism everywhere Mostly he serves as a prefiguration character for Jesus Old Testament miracles as foreshadowing for Christ are everywhere in Late Antique Art Another symbol is the calf bearer ○ ○ ○ Originally Greek and offered to Athena Now Christian symbol for Jesus and his flock This only happens after 380 when Christianity becomes the official religion of Rome Late Antiquity Sculpture ● ● ● ● Early Christians rejected cremation outright and favored elaborate marvel creations much like the Romans. Like the wall paintings we find most of them in Catacombs Like the rest there is a heavy feature of Early Christian themes from the Old Testament Santa Maria Antiqua ○ ○ ○ ○ Sarcophagus we once again see the story of Jonah Seated philosopher, that’s interesting Parts unfinished Why? They often built them to be sold and not at the moment of death Late Antiquity ● ● Again, we see images of Christ as the good shepherd and at his baptism Baptism is interesting in early Christianity period ○ ● Junius Bassus Sarcophagus ○ ○ ○ ● Often left very late Was a city prefect, baptized just before death in 359 Weird sarcophagus, decorated only on three sides He actually does not appear and instead it’s a mix of Old and New testament stories Christ, as always, has pride of place ○ ○ ○ ○ As a teacher enthroned Paul and Peter Entering Jerusalem Placement of both is key We even get Christ as an emperor like figure Late Antiquity ● The events of JBS are significant as they are all Old Testament precursors to the New Testament ○ ○ ○ ● What’s missing? ○ ● The Big One Why? ○ ● Garden of Eden necessitating the Redeeming quality of Christ Daniel, unscathed by Lions Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac Early Christians were obsessed with Christ’s divinity and not his humanity Statuette of Christ ○ ○ ○ Monumental sculpture increasingly becomes uncommon during this period They are mindful of the second commandment However, many Christians were Greco-Roman converts. They didn’t give up everything Late Antiquity ● ● ● Notice Christ’s head Noticeable because this was unusual for Romans In sum, this is a unique piece because of how little survives Late Antiquity Architecture and Mosaics ● ● ● Most Christian ceremonies take place in private homes for the first few centuries After Constantine, they realize they need Churches fast Constantine was the first major patron of Christian buildings ○ ○ ○ ○ ● First major Churches associated with Martyrs ○ ● Basilicas Mausoleums In Rome and Constantinople Bethlehem and Jerusalem as well All built outside of Rome Old Saint Peters ○ ○ ○ Begun in 319, largest work Constantine sponsored He thought this was where St. Peter was buried Capable of Housing 3-4000 parishoners Late Antiquity ● ● Resembles the Basilica Ulpia and the Aula Palatina They needed something big ○ ● Components ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ● Inside is where the action happened in terms of art Santa Sabatina ○ ● Nave Aisle Narthex Chancel Arch Transept Walls were Austere ○ ● Needed something for Congregation Gives us an idea of what Old St. Peters looked like Santa Costanza ○ ○ Demonstrates the central plan building Round or Polygon structures Late Antiquity Santa Maria Maggiore ● ● ● ● Illustrates the importance of mosaics Beautiful, but also vehicles for instructing the congregation. Usually through biblical stories and Christian dogma Maggiore first constructed in 432 One of the most famous panels details the separation of Abraham from his nephew Lot in Genesis ○ ○ ● Lot goes to Sodom Abraham goes to Canaan Each group gets represented using a shorthand device called a head cluster ○ Very dramatic staring happening everywhere. Late Antiquity Mausoleum of Galla Placidia ● ● ● Probably intended as a shrine to the martyred Saint Lawrence Housed a rich Mosaic ensemble Most notable is Christ asd the good shepherd Late Antiquity Sant’Apollinare Nuovo ● ● ● Functioned as the personal palace of Theodoric Dedicated to the savior, was a three aisled basilica Mosaics divided into three zones ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ● Only the upper two were contemporary with Theodoric Again we have scenes from the life of Christ The middle Mosaic piece stands in sharp contrast to the rest Jesus distinguished by his nimbus and facing the crowd directly. Again, the emphasis is on the divinity of christ Late Antiquity ● We must remember the importance of minor arts ○ ○ ● ● They had high status in late antiquity and the middle ages Case in point ○ ○ ● ● ● Always had a function alongside their larger contemporary pieces. Many of them often included the costliest materials Vatican Vergil Vienna Genesis Rossano Gospels Crucifixion of Christ Diptych of Symmachi Basilicas and their Adaptation for Early Christian Churches The original Constantinian buildings are now known only in plan, but an examination of a still extant early fifth century Roman basilica, the Church of Santa Sabina, helps us to understand the essential characteristics of the early Christian basilica. Architecture of the Church of Santa Sabina Like the Trier basilica, the Church of Santa Sabina has a dominant central axis that leads from the entrance to the apse, the site of the altar. This central space is known as the nave, and is flanked on either side by side aisles. The architecture is relatively simple with a wooden, truss roof. The wall of the nave is broken by clerestory windows that provide direct lighting in the nave. The wall does not contain the traditional classical orders articulated by columns and entablatures. Now plain, the walls apparently originally were decorated with mosaics. Contrasting Effects of Interior Decoration This interior would have had a dramatically different effect than the classical building. As exemplified by the interior of the Pantheon constructed in the second century by the Emperor Hadrian, the wall in the classical building was broken up into different levels by the horizontals of the entablatures. The columns and pilasters form verticals that tie together the different levels. Although this decor does not physically support the load of the building, the effect is to visualize the weight of the building. The thickness of the classical decor adds solidity to the building. The Vienna Genesis ● ● ● ● ● Wealthy Christian families living in the Byzantine world may have aspired to own a new kind of luxury object: the illustrated codex. Before the invention of printing in the 15th century, all texts were written or carved by hand. In the ancient world, manuscripts (texts written by hand) were found on a variety of portable surfaces. A more lasting solution was to use scrolls made of papyrus: fibrous reeds that were dried in overlapping layers and then polished with a stone to create a smooth surface. Authors of papyrus scrolls usually divided their work into sections based on how much text could be held on a single scroll, leading to the concept of "chapters." The Vienna Genesis ● ● ● All of these materials preserved texts for the few literate members of the population, but the limitations of the materials themselves made it difficult to add illustrations to the text. Some time in the first or second century, however, the parchment codex, a more durable and flexible means of preserving and transporting text, began to replace wax tablets and papyrus scrolls. The new popularity of the codex coincided with the spread of Christianity, which required the use of texts for both the training of initiates and ritual practices. The Vienna Genesis ● ● ● ● The Early Byzantine Vienna Genesis gives us a taste of what manuscripts made for a wealthy patron, likely a member of the imperial family, might have looked like. Genesis—the first book of the Christian Old Testament—described the origin of the world and the story of the earliest humans, including their first encounters with God. The Vienna Genesis manuscript, now only partially preserved, was a very luxurious but idiosyncratic copy of a Greek translation of the original Hebrew. The heavily abbreviated text is written on purple-dyed parchment with silver ink that has now eaten through the parchment surface in many places. The Vienna Genesis ● ● ● ● The top half of each page of the Vienna Genesis is filled with text, while the bottom half contains a fully colored painting depicting some part of the Genesis story. In the scene, Eliezer, a servant of the prophet Abraham, has arrived at a city in Mesopotamia in search of a wife for Isaac, Abraham's son. The artist has used continuous narration, an artistic device popular with medieval artists but invented in the ancient world, wherein successive scenes are portrayed together in a single illustration, to suggest that the events illustrated happened in quick succession. Rebecca is shown a second time offering Eliezer and his camels a drink, a sign from God that she is to be Isaac's wife. The Vienna Genesis ● ● The Vienna Genesis combines pictorial techniques familiar from the ancient world with content appropriate to a Christian audience, which is typical of Byzantine art. Though many of the details of this manuscript's production and ownership have been lost, it remains an example of how artists combined ancient modes of expression with the most current materials and forms to create luxurious objects for wealthy patrons.