ART HISTORY AP JEWISH, EARLY CHRISTIAN, AND BYZANTINE

EARLY JEWISH ART

o Solomon: The First Temple of Jerusalem

10th c. BCE: constructed by King Solomon to house the Ark of the Covenant

spiritual center of Jewish life

courtyards, 2 bronze pillars, an entrance hall, a main hall, and the Holy of Holies (innermost

sanctuary housing the Ark and its guardian cherubim

586 BCE, the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar II, conquered Jerusalem= destroyed the

temple

Cyrus the Great of Persia permitted the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple=

2nd Temple

Herod the Great restored the 2nd Temple

Titus destroyed the Second Temple and all of Jerusalem

o Jewish Catacomb Art in Rome

earliest date to the Hellenistic and Roman periods

o Synagogues

emphasized religious learning

can be any large room where the Torah scrolls are kept and read publicly

Mosaic Floors

traditional Jewish symbols along with a variety of stylized plants, birds, and animals

EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

o The Early Church

Jesus limited his ministry primarily to Jews; 12 apostles- then took his teachings to non-Jews

formally recognized religion in 313 CE

organized by geographical units called dioceses

senior church officials: bishops

smaller units of parishes

bishops’ church: cathedral

bishop of Rome eventually became Pope of the Western church, bishop of Constantinople became

Patriarch of the Eastern church

1054, church split in 2

o Catacomb Paintings

almost no examples of specifically Christian are exists before the early 3rd century

syncretism: artists assimilating images from other traditions and give them new meaning

orant: figures- worshipers with arms outstretched- can be pagan, Jewish, or Christian depending on

the context in which they occur

Good Shepherd image

catacombs used for burials and funeral services

long rectangular niches in the walls called loculi: each held 2 or 3 bodies

affluent families had small rooms, buicula

constructed of tufa, soft volcanic rock= then plastered and painted with imagery

o Sculpture

mainly on sarcophagi

small statues and reliefs, mainly of the Good Shepherd

o House Churches

originally gathered in homes

IMPERIAL CHRISTIAN ARCHTIECTURE AND ART

o Architecture: The Church and Its Decoration

pagan basilica provided a model for the congregational church

tholos tomb provided a model for the baptistery and martyr’s shrine

o Architecture: Ravenna

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Baptistery of the Orthodox

o Sculpture

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus

EARLY BYZANTINE ART: THE FIRST GOLDEN AGE

o Constantinople: The Walls

o Constantinople: Hagia Sophia

o Ravenna: San Vitale

Justinian and Theodora Mosaics

o The Mosaics of Sant’Appollinaire in Classe

o Objects of Veneration and Devotion

The Archangel Michael Diptych

The Book of Genesis

The Rabbula Gospels

o Icons and Iconoclasm

eastern Christians prayed to Christ, Mary, and the saints while looking at images of them on icons

Basil the Great of Cappadocia and John of Damascus distinguished between idolatry (worship of

images) and the veneration of an idea or holy person depicted in a work of art

aids to meditation and prayer

often displayed in churches on a screen called the iconostasis

iconoclasts undertook widespread destruction of devotional pictures

Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels

Virgin of Vladamir

MIDDLE BYZANTINE ART

o Architecture and Mosaics

Kievan Rus: Santa Sophia in Kiev

Greece: Hosio Loukas

Greece: Mosaics of the Church of the Dormition at Daphni

Dormination=sleep // Mary’s bodily ascension

Crucifixion: appeals to emotional individuals

Venice: the Cathedral of Saint Mark

Objects of Veneration and Devotion

o The Harbaville Triptych

o The Archangel Michael

o The Paris Psalter

Sicily

Palermo: The Palentine Chapel

Palermo: King Roger’s Chamber

LATE BYZANTINE ART

o Constantinople

funerary chapel

Last Judgment

Anastasis (Christ’s descent into limbo to rescue virtuous people from Satan)

Trompe lieu

o Moscow

referred to as the 3rd Rome

relied on mathematical conventions to create ideal figures

invented an idea geometry and depicted human forms and features accordingly

relied on simple contours, elongation of the body, and a focus on a limited number of figures