Jessica Slater
ART 304/ Berringer
Research Essay: History of Christian Art
November 13th, 2017
Section 1: Early Christian Art
The period of Early Christian art took place around the 4th through the 6th centuries. The Christians during that time would meet and gather at second hand houses. This was a great contrast to the grand temples that the Romans had. The groups of Christians were usually small. Often, people in the poorer classes would be attracted to the Christian groups since they liked the appeal of the afterlife. Because according to Christian beliefs, the poor and wealthy would be judged on equal terms. The depiction of Christ varied throughout this time. Prior to the time of the Early Christians, Christ was typically
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At that time, most of the artwork of that period was highly religious. Such artwork was displayed publically, and showed the power of the Catholic Church. The Catholics thoughts were that “Because the laity did not have free and private access to the Scriptures, the church believed that the purpose of music and art was to give the unlettered a base of knowledge about Christianity in a closely supervised manner” (“The Impact of the Reformation on the Fine Arts”). The Protestants, however, believed in a personal relationship with God, so they did not believe much in the group worship and viewing of public religious art that the Catholics had. Instead, the Protestants wanted smaller, personal art pieces to be viewed privately at home. Such pieces were often shown in Bibles as illustrations, or in scenes of diptychs or …show more content…
Since many people were looking for private artwork to display in their homes and to aid in worship, there was a demand for many smaller pieces of art instead of a few large pieces. As a result, more artists were being employed for these smaller pieces. In addition, since there was more artwork being completed, the artists also branched out into different themes. Instead of strictly religious themes and pieces, artists began to create scenes of everyday life, landscapes, and portraits. The Reformation took place in the 16th century, and what followed was a time of iconoclasm. Iconoclasm was and is the destruction of religious symbols and images. The Protestants started destroying many religious images, even including plain crosses. Many sculptures and paintings were destroyed, although some books and smaller illustrations were left alone since they were seen in a more private sense. As a result of the Protestant Reformation, The Catholics began the Counter-Reformation. It was meant to energize the Catholics of the time and to rejuvenate them in the faith. New art such as sculptures, fresco paintings, altarpieces, oil paintings, and architecture became popular during this time. Some of the main artists were Caravaggio, Bernini, Peter Paul Reubens, and Pietro da
throughout time there has been a lot of artist who have shown the history of the great leaders whether it is in a religious way or political way. There are many different viewpoints an artist can represent through a painting to help the viewer understand the beliefs and thoughts throughout that specific time. They can also illustrate the followers that led them into power. I wanted to analyze the followers of Christ and see how each era brought a new outlook on the life of Christ. Being that we have learned a lot about the rise of Christianity thought out the XIV century to the XX century. Reformation was a big thing during these centuries and many people contributed in the reformation in the 16th century. Luther, Calvin, Tyndale and the Anabaptists.
Art was viewed in a different sense in the fourteenth century. It had a more active role and was not just decoration, but a vital component of worship and pr...
Scientists started to study the earth and it’s positioning in the universe. This was a time when the people started taking more of an interest in astronomy and mathematical equations. During the time of the Catholic Reformation, artists began to challenge all the rules that society has set for artistic design. Artists starting with Parmigianino, Tintoretto, and El Greco began to add a wide variety of colors into their paintings, challenging the way things have been done in the past. These artists also added abnormal figures or altered the proportions in paintings.
First is Rogier Van der Weyden, “The Deposition” on which such terms Skull of Adam which explains reminder Christ died to redeem Adam’s sin and Symbol of Archer’s guild which tells tiny crossbows to act as a reminder that Ghent Archer’s Guild paid for Altarpiece in the painting. Another culture in France, which has one of the famous art pieces that explain the Disguised Symbolism, and is Limbourg Brothers (Pol, Herman, Jean) October 1413-1416. This painting describes "The Limbourg brothers expanded the illusionistic capabilities of manuscript painting with their care in rendering architectural details and convincing depiction of cast shadows” (Kleiner 571). My initial impressions of this painting are the functional calendar across the top and castle scene below complete with a horse. Within the bottom picture, I noticed the unfortunate individual in ragged clothes lower in the picture. The farming rows separate the landowner on horseback plowing then a hunter. Higher up is the river and fishermen, then individuals with fancier dress including hates walking a street. Highest in the bottom picture is the castle for nobility. The tallest tower touches the above picture of a god driving a chariot. The very top is the calendar month which shows pictures representing astrological signs of the
Imagine pondering into a reconstruction of reality through only the visual sense. Without tasting, smelling, touching, or hearing, it may be hard to find oneself in an alternate universe through a piece of art work, which was the artist’s intended purpose. The eyes serve a much higher purpose than to view an object, the absorptions of electromagnetic waves allows for one to endeavor on a journey and enter a world of no limitation. During the 15th century, specifically the Early Renaissance, Flemish altarpieces swept Europe with their strong attention to details. Works of altarpieces were able to encompass significant details that the audience may typically only pay a cursory glance. The size of altarpieces was its most obvious feat but also its most important. Artists, such as Jan van Eyck, Melchior Broederlam, and Robert Campin, contributed to the vast growth of the Early Renaissance by enhancing visual effects with the use of pious symbols. Jan van Eyck embodied the “rebirth” later labeled as the Renaissance by employing his method of oils at such a level that he was once credited for being the inventor of oil painting. Although van Eyck, Broederlam, and Campin each contributed to the rise of the Early Renaissance, van Eyck’s altarpiece Adoration of the Mystic Lamb epitomized the artworks produced during this time period by vividly incorporating symbols to reconstruct the teachings of Christianity.
The Renaissance was a time of rebirth, as its name entails. In Italy, more people were becoming literate and more books were being printed. More scientific discoveries were being made and therefore more theories were being published. In this time of intellectual prosperity, art also made a great leap. Perspective was the main change during this time period, and throughout the years, starting around 1400, it became more involved and more intricate. Eventually artists were so adept at using it, that it became the primary way to insert intimacy and feelings of emotion into a painting. This evolution of technique paved the way for later artists to play with new approaches to allow the viewer to experience an image in different ways.
The Early Renaissance which took place from c.1450 to c.1495. During this period three key artist emerged from the group these being Sandro Botticelli and Donatello. Each in there owns field painting and sculpture respectively.
It reflected the Counter Reformation by the Catholic church against the Protestants. Much of Baroque art were stylized from Mannerism and what was going on at the time. “To counter the inroads made by the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church after the Council of Trent adopted a propagandistic stance in which art was to serve as a means of extending and stimulating the public’s faith in the church. To this end the church adopted a conscious artistic program whose art products would make an overtly emotional and sensory appeal to the faithful” (Britannica). This led to a new interest in nature and the need for learning, encouraging the developments of science and exploring the world, where art was becoming more engaging and
There are many similarities and differences between Classical Roman and Early Christian Art. What particularly stands out to me is how much these two cultures have in common when it comes to their art and architecture. Romans were geniuses when it came to engineering and we can see that in the monuments they left behind. Many early Christian architectural styles and ideas were adopted straight from the Romans. Their communities became organized geographically much like those of the Roman provincial governments. Christian cultural styles derived straight from Roman visual traditions. Early Christian art features the adoption of Roman art forms for Christian purposes. Their art also featured recycling of images and sculpture to be used as early representations of Christ.
The Italian Renaissance included some of the greatest artists we have ever seen from Leonard Da Vinci, to Michelangelo, and Raphael. The Renaissance took place from the late thirteenth to sixteenth centuries and is know as the ‘rebirth’. The idea that the rebirth of the arts after being asleep for a thousand years is an amazing thing to grasp. This time brought back light to liberal arts, which were on the brink of being extinct. (Murray 2) What is also interesting about art during this time was that most of the art had Christian in its roots, for example, Botticelli’s The Allegory of Spring (Faure 1) is said to have had a Christian interpretation. (Murray) “Every Italian artist, willingly took the title of architect, sculptor, and painter” (Faure 2). At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Italian painters had asked the Flemish painters for their secret techniques because the Italians felt like the language of painting was one that was always meant for them. (Faure 4) The sculptors claimed their inspiration from ancient works. Lastly the Renaissance introduced idea of individualism, which helped the Italians get away from everything that was going on during that time. Art during the Renaissance included painting, sculpting and architecture, all of which were an important part in expressing the idea of individualism and making art what is is today.
Because of that , many people were driven away from the traditions of the church and sought more freedom of expression and individualism. As economies improved, there was more wealth and a desire for self improvement which greatly influenced the arts. While... ...
Art has gone through many significant developments throughout history. The most important turning point was the renaissance. Art took a huge turn before the 1500’s and even after. The Renaissance has assisted the world of art in breaking away from a classic structure and shaping it to what it is day. Prior to this cultural rebirth, artworks were mostly not made to scale. Paintings were unrealistic and disproportionate. Religious figures seemed to be the focus of many works. The Renaissance changed the old social context of art by introducing humanism, new themes and techniques.
The introduction of Christianity as a major religion followed the pattern of other ancient religions. Many of the great works of art were done for religious purposes. Some of the most famous artworks in history are religious. Just a few that come immediately to mind are The Last Supper, the ceiling of the Cysteine Chapel, and the Statue of David. Even during the period known as the Dark Ages art was inspired by religion. True, the art was generally dark and full of death and demons, but the art was based upon religious themes, mostly from the book of Revelations. As with the art that preceded it, the religious art of Christianity is full of symbolism. For example, a painting where the man is standing with two fingers upraised on his right hand is generally a religious leader such as a pope or Jesu...
Art is important to religion in many different ways. Perhaps none has analyzed how art and religion have influenced and affected each other through the ages. Pictures painted of past events that help to bring back the feeling and importance of the past have been forgotten by some. To the one’s that haven’t forgotten are able to see the event’s as the bible says they happened. Not only can you see the events, but it also allows the younger students of the church to understand the events. The use of images of God became widespread after the second century. This religious art has defiantly been around for centuries and plays an important role to the history of religion as well as the future.
In this complex world of the Renaissance were working artists, dreaming about the utopia and embodying their perfect world in their art. The artists of the Renaissance obtained the laws of perspective and Chiaroscuro, studied the proportions and anatomy. Painting ousted icons, sculpture revived the free-standing statues, such as horse statue, portrait bust, adding to them sculptural architectural tombstone, scenic terrain. The new demands faced art and caused its enrichment in the types and genres. Along with the pre-existing religious and mythological genres of painting, new genres of portrait, historical and landscape paintings found their place.