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Painting & Sculpture: Early Christian art
The Early Christian Art extends over the Late Antique period, Roman art and architecture (the late 2nd - 7th century), and the Byzantine art and architecture (from 5th - 7th century). The appearance of a comparatively large body of material from this period is a good testament to the dramatic growth of Christianity in this period. The newly won converts to Christianity were products of the classical culture of the Ancient world. Rather than reject their cultural heritage, the new Christians assimilated the classical culture into Christianity. Christian theology, literature, and art of this period bears the unmistakable imprint of this mixing of Christian and classical. For example, the Christian writer Clement of Alexandria, writing at the end of the second and the beginning of the third century, infuses his texts with a strong knowledge of classical literature, mythology, and philosophy. This is well illustrated by an excerpt from a text entitled The Protreptikos. Here we find references to Homer and Plato along side Biblical citations. The image of Christ the Word as the logos and teacher is derived from Greek philosophy.
Before the Edict of Milan (313), which made Christianity the Roman Empire's state religion, Christian art was restricted to the decoration of the hidden places of worship. Most early religious artists worked in manner that was derived from Roman art, appropriately stylized to suit the spirituality of the religion. These artists chose to reject the ideals of perfection in form and technique. They rather sought to present images which would draw the spectator into the inner eye of their work, pointing to its spiritual significance. An iconography was devised to visualize Christian concepts. The first Christians don't see in art a way of expressing beauty, but one of transmitting their faith and beliefs as well as to teach them.
After the fourth century, under imperial sponsorship, Early Christian architecture flourished throughout the Roman Empire on a monumental scale. Buildings were of two types, the longitudinal hall basilica, and the centralized building a baptistery or a mausoleum.
The exteriors of Early Christian buildings were plain and unadorned and the interiors contrarily, were richly decorated with marble floors and wall slabs, frescoes, mosaics, metal works, hangings, and sumptuous altar furnishings in gold and silver. Early Christian illuminated manuscripts are of an unusually high quality.
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