Early Christian Art
The picture above is an early representation of Christ and the Apostles from the 4th century. This image was discovered in the Catacomb of Domitila , which is in Rome. I previously mentioned that early Christian art represented the idea of eternal life. However, the artwork posted above does not express the idea of being reborn. Instead, it conveys that Christ is the true teacher. This artwork expresses that Jesus is a true teacher because he is surrounded by students and disciples that are looking up to him. Another aspect of this picture that contributes to this piece's purpose is Jesus' pose. If you look closely, you can see that Christ is draped in layers of clothing, he is holding a scroll in his right hand, and his left hand is outstretched. This specific position is called the ad locutio gesture, or the gesture of an orator. I didn't know what the word 'orator' meant, so I looked it up by definition and it means a public speaker that is skilled. Therefore, it can be interpreted that an artist created Jesus to be in this position because he is believed to a person that many people look up to.
Reading and learning about Christian art was especially unique because it is a religion that is still prevalent today. I know this is not the case for everyone, but I grew up in a Christian home and it is obvious that this piece is similar to a lot of pieces that are still around. I can specifically compare this piece to another piece of artwork that is around today: the Last Supper. In fact, it is easy to misinterpret the artwork posted above for the Last Supper because they look almost identical. Additionally, many other Christian pieces portray Jesus to be a leader and a teacher, just like this one. It is inevitable that even though early Christian art glorified the idea of death and being born again, there are still many similarities of early art to modern Christianity.
1. Harris, Dr. Beth, Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker, and Dr. Nancy Ross. “Christianity, an Introduction,” 2020. https://smarthistory.org/christianity-an-introduction/.
2. Farber, Dr. Allen, and Dr. Allen Farber. “Early Christian Art.” Smarthistory, 2020. https://smarthistory.org/early-christian-art/.
Hi Amanda!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how in depth your blog post was, you really went into the history, how it can be interpreted, and how it affects the world today. A lot of people seem to only focus on the art piece it self and analyzing it rather than connecting it to both past and present, it's refreshing to see this. Great post!
Hey Amanda!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that came to my mind seeing this picture, was the scene from the Last Supper with Jesus Christ and his disciples! You wrote a very well- written background and introduction and comparison to modern Christian artwork. A couple things that I think went well with your blog is that you included the image early on and followed it by a direct link to your source. Something that I am intrigued by is the empty open space beneath this painting relief. Do you know if there was something once placed under it or is the presence of space intentional for this piece?
-Autumn Fink
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteLike Autumn put it, the first thing that came to mind when i saw this image was the Last Supper. I find it really interesting how even centuries before the famous mural was painted there are similarities between the artworks. I really enjoyed reading your blog about this piece and it was very well written. Like you said it is clear that the followers are all looking up at the central figure, Jesus. Its interesting how they use shaping and layering to show that someone is more important than the others.