Early Christian, Jewish

& Byzantine Art

Map
Ancient Jewish People
Canaan
Mount Sinai & Moses
Ark of the Covenant
Temple 1
Second Temple
Christians
 General Beliefs
• Jesus of Nazareth
• From 30 – 33 most
influential
• Incarnation,
Crucifixion,
Resurrection,
Ascension
• Trinity
Council of Nicaea
Gospels
Constantine
 After 313
• Archbishops & “sees”
• Western Church – Rome
• Eastern Church – Constantinople
• Jerusalem, Alexandria, & Antioch
• To 1054 all united
Muslims
Jewish and Early Christian
Art
Early Jewish Art
Orants
Good Shepherd
Good Shepard, Orants, Story of Jonah,
4th Century, Early Christian
loculi
Cubiculum of the Catacomb of
Via Dino Compagni
Good Shepherd
Detail of a central medallion
Detail with Jonah
Orants
Sculpture
Jonah Swallowed and Jonah Cast Up,
3rd century, Early Christian
Early Christian
Architecture
Dura-Europa
Early Christian House-
Church
Roman Basilica
 Imperial Christian
Architecture and Art
Important Facts
• 313 – Edict of Milan
• 324 – Consolidation
of Empire and big
building program
• 404 – Vulgate Bible
Two Church Plans
Basilica Plan Church
Old St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome,
c.320-27
Floor plan
Outside details
Church of Santa Sabina, Rome,

422-32
Central Plan Churches
Santa Constanza, Rome,
1256
Harvesting of Grapes
Detail
Sculpture
 Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus,
c.359, Early Christian or Beautiful
Style
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
Detail – Christ Giving the
Law
Detail – Christ entering
Jerusalem
Detail
Byzantine Art
 Byzantine Periods
• Early Byzantine
Period – associated
with Justinian I

• Middle Byzantine
Period – worship of
icons accepted again

• Late Byzantine
Period – 1261-1453
Map of the City
Early Byzantine Art
Visigoths and Vandels
invading
Emperor Justinian and his wife
Empress Theodora
Map of Justinian’s Empire
Anthemius and Isidorus, Hagia
Sophia, 532-537, Byzantine
Hagia Sophia
Pendentives
Interior
Interior
Empress Logia
Ravenna
Church of San Vitale
Floor plan
Interior
Squinches
Interior
Mosaics
 Emperor Justinian and His
Attendants, c.547, Byzantine
Empress Theodora and her
retinue
 Ivories &
Manuscripts
Archangel Michael, Early 6th
century, Byzantine
Comparison
Manuscripts – key ideas
• Scriptorium

• Manuscripts

• Codex

• Vellum/Parchment
Clay & Wax Tablets
Papyrus
Parchment Making
Scrolls
Codex
Illuminated Manuscripts
Covers
Types of Manuscripts
Rebecca at the Well, Early 6th
Century, Byzantine
Middle Byzantine
Art
Iconoclast Controversy
• Iconoclasts –
against icons
(“breaking icons”)

• Iconophiles – for
icons

• Seventh
Ecumenical Council
Map
Macedonian Dynasty (867-
1056)
Virgin of Vladimir, 12th
century, Byzantine
Christ Pantocrater, c.1080-
1100, Byzantine
Archangel Michael, 11th
century, Byzantine
Archangel Michael, 11th
century, Byzantine
Manuscripts during
the Middle
Byzantine Period
 David the Psalmist, Paris
Psalter, 10th century, Byzantine
Joshua Roll, c.950,
Byzantine
 Late Byzantine Art
• 1261-1453

• New style in art –

church liturgy
important

• Use of trompe l’oeil

in the churches
Anastasis, c. 1315-21,
Byzantine