Early Christian Art

A presentation for a conference on
"Art and Religion"

At Hamadan University,
Iran

     Our story begins one fine day in 1849 when in a vineyard south of Rome a young man by the name of Giovanni Battista De Rossi found a fragment of an inscription which he rightly interpreted as coming from the tomb of Pope Cornelius who died in 252 AD.  From his study of the early written sources De Rossi knew that Pope Cornelius had been buried in one of the great cemeteries of the early church. He realized that this cemetery must be in the vicinity. 

      De Rossi soon succeeded in having the site excavated and gained access to the passageways of the underground cemeteries with their rich collection of early Christian painting.  Some of these paintings had been known through the earlier explorations and publications of such pioneers as Antonio Bosio in the 17th century.  Now however, following on from De Rossi’s systematic study of ancient sources, the paintings could be dated and the story of the emergence of Christian art be better understood.

        In these first discoveries there was a tendency (which is still with us) to date these catacombs back to the 1st century in the desire to see them as a witness to the life of the Church of the Apostles.  We now know that apart from some precious central nuclei of some cemeteries, the greater part and most of their paintings and sculpture, in fact date to the 4th and 5th centuries.  De Rossi’s discoveries began a study which has gradually cleared much of the confusion and built up a picture of how early Christian art developed. 

        The scenes we find in the catacomb are very often scenes from the Bible, Old and New Testament.   However it is evident that they are not simply illustration but have a symbolic significance.  They are scenes which convey a religious belief that tribulation and ultimately death would be overcome through faith in God as taught by Jesus Christ.  In this way we can understand the recent statement about Christian art by Pope Benedict “All sacred images are, without exception, in a certain sense images of the Resurrection, history read in light of the Resurrection. Early Christian faith was anchored in Christ’s Resurrection”.

          Some of the very oldest fresco painting of the vast repertoire of the catacombs is to be found in the area first explored by De Rossi.  The crypt in which Pope Cornelius was buried after his death in 252 AD was already an old Christian burial place.  So painting in one part of this crypt dates to before 252 AD and is usually dated to around 200 AD.  Here we have the symbol of the fish, which is Acronym for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.” Over the fish are the bread and wine symbolizing Christ’s presence in the Eucharistic bread and wine of the Christian assembly. 

      Paintings of the same early period, that is around 200 AD, are to be found just north of Rome in the underground cemetery known as the catacomb of Prisicilla.  Here we have the earliest known painting of Mary and the child Jesus, a scene which was afterwards to dominate the world of Christian art.  This remarkable painting has something of the quality of the later icons leading us to encounter the mystery of Jesus in the presence and through Mary. The prophet on the left indicates the star over Mary’s head. She looks down at the Child who looks out at us, drawing us into the mystery of the painting. 

     Nearby in another part of the same cemetery there is another crypt also dated to about 200 AD.  On the arch there is another scene of Mary and Jesus.  This time it illustrates the moment after the birth of Jesus when Magi came from Persia to pay him homage.  It is another scene which was to have a long history in the world of early Christian art.   In the story of the Persian magi, the Roman artist saw something highly significant as it proclaimed the universal nature of the Christian religion. It was not a religion exclusive to people of Jewish race but was open to everyone from any culture or nation.

        During the 3rd century many of the paintings of the cemeteries were laid out in the manner in which Roman buildings were decorated. The architectural perspectives and panoramic vistas which covered the interiors of houses in the 1st century had given way to geometrical patterns in which the individual scenes hang on a white background within the spaces created by the geometrical pattern.  Like the houses, the interior of Roman tombs are decorated in the same manner.  In the Christian tombs most of the vignettes are now scenes from the Bible which had particular resonance for early Christians.

       Such is the vignette where the Persian costume appears again in what was to become a frequent subject matter of early Christian painting. It is the event from the Book of Daniel when three young men are thrown into a fire because they refuse to worship false gods. Their faith in God enables them to survive the flames unharmed.

      From the same Book of Daniel we have the scene of Daniel in the lions’ den. It shows that his faith in God saved him from being torn apart by the lions.  It is a story of salvation from persecution which had particular significance for the early persecuted Christians.

 Noah in the ark is yet another scene of deliverance.  The ark is very summarily sketched while Noah also has his hands raised in the characteristic manner of early Christian prayer.  

         A recurrent image of early Christian art is the scene of Jonah being thrown from the ship and about to be swallowed by the whale.  It’s clear that the artist had never seen a whale and painted a sea monster as imagined in roman art! The story of Jonah was particularly apt for a cemetery as the image of being swallowed by a whale and escaping after three days was the image used by Jesus himself in foretelling his own resurrection. It speaks of life after death.

          Another frequent scene is the gospel story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  In a cemetery it reminded one that with the coming of Jesus, death no longer has the last word and he wants us to rise again and live.

            The Good Shepherd is one of the most well known images of the catacombs.  It is a composition with a long history in the pre-Christian classical world.  By the late Roman period the image came to represent rural or pastoral repose in the afterlife.  In the Old Testament, God is a Shepherd of his people and of the individual person whom He leads through danger to a place of repose.  Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd willing to lay down his life for his sheep.  The old classical image was used by Christians to represent Jesus in one of the best loved images of early Christian art.  In the early 3rd century examples, unless there is a clear Christian context, it is often difficult to say if this image is intended to represent Jesus or is simple meant to express the pastoral repose of the Roman afterlife.

     These precious remnants of early Christian art survived the ravages of time because they were painted in underground cemeteries which were later filled-in and forgotten.  But what of religious art outside the cemeteries?  Did Christians also paint such scenes in their house churches in the 3rd century?  We have a confirmation that they did in fact do so, from the evidence of the ruins of a House Church of the Roman Fortress town of Dura Europas in Syria (near modern-day Qal’at es Salihiye). These paintings are securely dated to the early 3^rd century as the city was overrun and abandoned about 256 AD.  Archaeological excavation discovered the church, which has among its painted wall frescos, scenes of the Good Shepherd, Jesus healing a paralytic and the three women visiting the tomb of Jesus to discover he has risen.

       It may indeed seem strange to have such a rich flowering of Christian art in the early church considering that Christianity came from a Jewish background which prohibited the painting of images.   Christians in the Roman world were influenced by the rich artistic culture which surrounded them.  It is interesting that in the Jewish catacombs of Rome and especially in the synagogue discovered in Dura Europos we also find the presence of painted fresco.  Praxis seems to have come before theory.  As happens in these situations, great dispute arose over the making of images among Christians, not only in the iconoclastic period but repeatedly throughout Christian history right up to the present objection to images in some protestant churches in our own day.

      For Christians the basis for continuing the ancient tradition of using images lies in the belief in the Incarnation; that God has assumed human nature and form in Jesus Christ.  In him we see the image of the unseen God and his saving work is revealed to us.  The decree asserting the validly of this ancient tradition of using images was promulgated in the second  Council of Nicea in 787 AD.

      Now churches were being built with imperial patronage.  No longer the small assembly hall of the community, these churches were kingly halls or basilicas. Their size and beauty was intended to communicate something of the majesty of God whose life we share when we participate in the life of the church.

        In keeping with the contemporary trend in architecture, the buildings were simple on the outside but breathtaking in the grandeur and beauty of their interiors.    For such a setting, new images were required.  The artists now turned to the world of the imperial palace and employed the kind of images which were used to express imperial majesty.

Now Jesus is portrayed in sovereign majesty surrounded by his apostles who appear as court officials.  This is the scene we see in the mosaic of the 4th century church of Santa Pudenziana in Rome.

       One of the images which is frequently encountered at this period is the scene depicting Jesus bestowing his authority on St Peter.  During the 4th century the scene is to be found repeated on sarcophagi, painting and mosaic.  Why did it become so popular at this time?  There are indications that what we have here is the subject matter of the original mosaic for the old St Peter’s church in the Vatican.  The origin of the scene in the world of imperial iconography can be seen in surviving examples of images in which the Emperor Theodosius framed in an arcade, flanked by his two co-emperors, Valentinian II and his own son Arcadius, gives a decree to a senior official.   This scene, known as the “traditio legis,” was used in the church to illustrate the great moment when Christ surrounded by “his officials”, the apostles, gave his authority to St Peter.  Often sheep are shown beneath the scene coming from the cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, representing the one flock of Christians who come from different origins and who are being put in Peter’s care.

Elements of this scene were to reappear throughout the history of church mosaics for the next thousand years.

      Another Basilica in which early Christian mosaics survive is the 5th century church of Santa Maria Maggiore.  In the nave of the church, a series of mosaics depict events of the Old Testament where the central characters such as Abraham, Isaac, Moses and Joshua are portrayed like Roman heroes. The mosaics narrate the epic history of God’s people as found in the bible, just as the stories of Virgil told the epic story of the Roman people.  Indeed in miniatures of contemporary 5th century manuscripts of Virgil’s history, we find images parallel to these Christian mosaics.   Such scenes as Aeneas supervising the building of the city of Carthage are closely paralleled in the mosaics of the nave of St Mary Major’s Basilica as they illustrate the story of the heroes of the Bible.

      In the mosaics of the nave we have what Christians saw as the narrative of the early history of God’s people.  They lead up to the 5th century mosaic of the triumphal arch of the basilica which proclaims the fulfillment of that history in the story of Jesus who is now revealed as Lord in Divine majesty.

     The layout of this mosaic on the arch at first seems somewhat puzzling.  A key to understanding is to be found in such imperial monuments as the base of the pillar of Arcadius in Constantinople.