Art History Notes10-9-14Christian Churches needed to be able to accommodate the growing number of Christians. Therefore they were modeled after Roman basilicas. Vocabulary associated with Christian churches (she hinted that this may appear on mid term in form of matching)1. Atrium: the open, colonnaded court in front of and attached to a Christian basilica.2. Narthex: a porch of a church, generally colonnaded and preceding the nave3. Nave: the central area of an ancient Roman basilica or of a church, demarcated from aisles by piers or columns4. Aisle: the portion of a basilica flanking the nave and separated from it by a row of columns or piers5. Transept: the part of a church with an axis that crosses the nave at a right angle (forms the Latin cross shape)6. Apse: a recess, usually semi-circular, in the wall of a building, commonly found at the east end of a church7. Crossing: the space in a cruciform church formed by the intersection of the nave and thetransept. (where mass and rituals take place)Old Saint Peter’s Basilica Continued- Baldacchino= a canopy on columns, frequently built over an altar. (In Old St. Peter’s, it marked St. Peter’s tomb)- Triumphal arch inside signifies how they took Pagan ideas and gave them new Christian meaningsSarcophagus of Junius Bassus, ca. 359 CE, Early Christian Era, Junius Bassus (patron), marble, Rome Italy- Bassus was a Roman official who grew up in a Pagan society and converted to Christianity at the end of his lifeo We know this because the inscription at the top of the Sarcophagus gives the date of his death- This particular coffin was inspired by the Etruscan culture people who occupied Middle Italy in the early Roman days, and their culture was absorbed into the Roman culture. - Bassus chose to be buried in a sarcophagus that depicts images from the Old Testament and the New Testament (Jewish and Christian biblical stories)o Christ is depicted in the center- Decorated on 3 sides (backside was probably pushed against the wall)- Sarcophagus is divided into 2 registers with 5 compartments. 10 different sceneso All are high relief- Scenes with various elements taken from Pagan imageryo Putto/putti= a cherubic young boy- Artist have taken convention from Greek and Roman art and converted it into a Christiancontext. The wheat and grapes of the classical motif would be understood in the Christian context as a reference to the bread and wine of the Eucharist (a holy sacramentaccepted by most Christians today; Christ is contained and offered under the appearances of bread and wine; signifies the body and blood of Christ)- Christ’s foot is placed on top of the head of the sky god symbolizes Christ as ruler of the heavens and the “new authority on Earth”- Beardless, youthful depiction of Christ is an earlier representation that seems to be pulled from depictions of Apollo.- Imagery in this piece is pulled from scenes of Roman emperors (Christ is riding a donkey instead of a horse like Marcus Aurelias)- Artist also chose scenes from the Old testament to foreshadow scenes in the New Testament- Old and New Testament together:o Early Christian theologians attempting to integrate the Old and New testaments saw in Old Testament stories precursors of New Testament stories Example: Depiction of Adam and Eve on the sarcophagus: shown covering their nudity after the Fall was intended to refer to the doctrine of Original Sin that necessitated Christ’s entry into the world and sacrifice through death/ resurrection in order to redeem humanity.- Pagan Elements: presence of the Sky God, putti, depicting Christ as a youthful boy following images of Apollo, Christ riding a donkey being borrowed from the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelias, the design (Greek Corinthian columns, triumphal arches placed over the scene of Christ entering Jerusalem, vines on thecolumns, entablature)BYZANTINE ART AND ARCHITECTURE - Constantinople was declared as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Justinian- Roman aristocracy was encouraged to move to this new capital- Major Periods in Byzantine Historyo Early Byzantine Period 333-ca. 700 CE 333 Dedication of Constantinople 527-565 CE Reign of Emperor Justinian Io Period of Iconoclasm 726-842 CEo Middle Byzantine Period 843-1204 CEo Late Byzantine Period 1261-1453 CE- Byzantine= a term used by art historians, not by Justinian and his subjects, who called themselves and their culture Roman- Justinian outlawed polytheism- Built over 30 churches his monuments define what we know as the “Byzantine Style” in Roman architecture- Reclaimed parts of the Roman empire that had fallen to invadersSan Vitale, Justinian (Patron), Brick with terracotta tile, Ravenna Italy- Dedicated to Saint Vitalis, a 2nd century martyr - The exterior is brick and mortar and the interior is faced with marble columns and mosaics- This church is centrally planned (a lot different from Old St. Peter’s)o Kind of like the Pantheon except it is an octagonal drum and dome on top, not circular- Pendentive = a concave, triangular section of a hemisphere, four of which provides the transition from a square area to the circular base of a covering domeo Provides the support to build higher- Mosaic= patterns or pictures made by embedding small pieces of stone or glass in cement on surfaces such as walls or floors- Tesserae= a tiny stone or piece of glass cut to the desired shape and size for use in forming a mosaic- Sheets of colored glass were layered in gold leaf and then fired this is what creates theshimmering effect- Floor plano Ambulatory= a passageway around the apse and the choir of a churcho Presbytery= the space around the altar; area of the church reserved for the elders- Church is decorated with Greek columns with intricate patterns and rounded arches (mixture of Greek and Roman elements)- Image of Christ depicted as a young man wearing purple on a blue orb flanked by angels- Saint Vitalis and the bishop are depicted next to ChristJustinian and his Retinue, 547 CE, Patron is Justinian, located right next to above picture- Depicts Justinian and a number of other individuals (soldiers, clergymen, etc.)- Justinian is centrally located and wearing purple (makes a visually connection between the Spiritual authority (Christ) and the earthly authority (Justinian)- Depicts Justinian’s role in the Mass rituals1. Stylization (purposeful