Early Christian Art

The Architecture of Christian Worship: Basilica

• Adopt Roman basilica (public hall) for worship.

• Features: nave, aisles, apse, atrium, clerestory windows.

Key Early Basilicas:

• Basilica of Constantine: imperial patronage, Roman form

• Santa Sabina: simple, elegant interior with reused Roman columns

• Old St. Peter’s: large-scale worship, linked to Peter’s burial

Circular Plan Buildings

• Used for memorials, baptisms, and pilgrimage sites

• Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem): built over Christ’s tomb

• Baptistery of St. John Lateran: for Christian initiation

• Mausoleum of St. Costanza: imperial tomb turned church, central dome

The Art of the Catacombs

• Used for burial, not worship

• Catacomb of Priscilla: includes early frescoes of Christian themes

Painting and Sculpture Characteristics

• Early Christians cautious of idolatry

• Developed symbolic, narrative art to teach doctrine

• Rejects Roman realism

• Emphasis on symbolism

• Flattened figures and simplified space

Key Worlks:

• The Good Shepherd sculpture: marble, pastoral image of Christ, early icon

• Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus:

  • Combines Old and New Testament scenes

  • Symbolic and narrative

  • Sarcophagi (stone coffins) often reused Roman models with new Christian narratives