The catacombs and their small narrow corridors would have freaked me out to even go into, let alone try to hide in for a long period of time. People back then must have been much smaller then today.
In the early time of christianity the cross changes. You rarely see the crucifixion. When they did show the crucifixion of christ they seemed to be aiming the blame towards the roman empire. When one is crucified the body weight makes a persons muscles pop and pull out of place. :( That makes the thought of it much more gruesome then what you are taught in church. The art that shows crucifixion shows it as a peaceful divine way to die.
In class today we discussed Early Christian and Byzantine art. What I found most interesting about Early Christian art was the “Old St. Peters” pantheon. The pantheon is shaped like a cross and the “apse” gives the pantheon direction. The temple is located in the apse where the alter is. Inside of the pantheon there was only one light source, which was a window. Old St. Peters was burned down in 500 CE. As far as the Byzantine art goes the “Hagia Sophia” was the most interesting to me because it was shaped like a dome and appears to have more space and brightness to it on the inside because of its multiple windows which created more natural light. Hagia Sophia means “Devine Christian” which is a suitable name for such a sacred place for the Byzantians who were Hyper Christians.
I felt really wierd listening to the birth of Christianity in class. I am not a very religious person and did not care much for any of the information regarding Christ or crucifixions. However, the catacombs rang a bell of interest inside of me. I love the idea of death and burial and how creative it was to build an architecture with chambers holding the remains of the dead. The romans dictates that the dead should be buried outside of city walls for sanitary reasons. Another form of burial was in a sarcophagus, which is a tombstone, similar or I should say, referencing the Egyptian style.
The Crucifixion mosaic had an interesting meaning/ emotion being portrayed. It had a heroic appearance that makes the art more impressive. Looking at this gives off more of a emotional message rather than physical significance. I find it quite intriguing when art is formed in a language that is not verbally speaking to you, but you still understand the concept or expression. It reminds me of a person being inspired by something that allows them to see things through their own analytical lens that others wouldn't understand. This piece has that way of speaking to you on a deeper level.
I agree with Benny. I’m not a huge fan of talking about anything to do with Christianity, to be honest, being someone who grew up going to a private Christian school up until high school. Not because I don’t like it, but because I feel like there’s either, a lot of things left out and people who aren’t familiar with the stories get the wrong idea or information, or it’s more joked about than anything. But I did like seeing all of the art that went along with the Crucifixion, especially the piece that had Judas on the left and Christ on the right. Knowing the story, and having studied many throughout school, I could almost feel exactly what each of them was going through. I really connected with it. -Danielle Castellese
I felt it was a little uncomfortable to talk about Christianity during class, only because everyone has a different opinion and/or belief. Going to a Christian school for the past seven years, I felt a little more comfortable with it. I liked the catacomb of Santissimi Pietro e Marcellino, Rome, because of the more elaborate ceiling it had. It was nice to see the worshipers around the shepherd in what had been the standard pose of prayer (outstretched, raised arms). It made me feel a little more at home.
It was pretty cool knowing when the first christian arts began. I did not know that during the christian time their artwork would base on the christian stories such as Adam and eve. The catacombs was also something new and interesting to learn about during the christian times. I wouldnt have thought that the saints would be buried there. Also how the catacombs became a place where they would gather people, instead i thought it would be at a church.
I thought it was interesting how christian art has changed over the years. The cross also changed from a more square one, to a more elongated one now. I also liked how the image of Jesus has changed so many times over the years. Sometimes he looks all sweet and innocent, and others, he is all mean looking. Oh! and the catacombs were also super interesting. I think it would be amazing to go there...I wonder if I could ever get access down there. Have you seen that show on the history channel called "Cities of the Underworld?" It is like my favorite show! The guy goes around to different places in the world and shows the world the creepy cool places no one else can see! But overall, this lecture was interesting and I really remember that image of Christ being crucified and Judas being hung on the left. For some reason that is the image that has stuck out the most for me from this lecture.
I understand why people didn't like talking about religion in class but I feel like it was talked about in an apropriate way. In order to understand the images shown in the mosaics and architecture you have to know the stories behind it, you don't have to agree with it or even have an opinion about it. As far as the art itself I really liked the mosaics of Empress Theodara and Emporer Justinian. The many different colors and the way the people look realistic is impressive compared to art we studied before which wasn't so acurate and had limited colors used. In the architecture I see a lot of roman influece as far as the construction gos, but the Byzantine and Christian architecture focuses a lot on decoration.
The Middle Ages was the 1st and 12th century , during this era a gradual split between religion separated the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic church. During the Roman empire most sculpture demonstrated monumentality, portraying scenes from the old and new testaments of the bible. A relief carved in marble is the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, originated in Rome it signifies the writings of the bible. The Anastasis, a piece of Byzantine art in a church ceiling show Jesus before his resurrection holding hands with his father and the devil. Both Eastern and Western religion adorned their churches with ides of the birth and death of Jesus, the middle ages was mainly all art form literature of the bible.
Last week lesson, I learned about the Christian Era. In the Christian Byzantine period, the art was colorful and related to religion. The Sarcophagus of Junnis Bassus, was very interesting with the fact that it told stories in the bible. Then I see that we have many influences today from the Christian era. What amazed me the most was the Anastasis, this you see Jesus as a super hero saving his people from eternal pain to eternal happiness.
I do have to say that Christian and Byzantine art are not my favorite topics we've discussed in class. In comparison to other cultures and periods we've studied, this period in particular is limited it's subject mater so much that it seems that they valued and explored almost nothing other than stories written in the bible. With artworks depicting Jesus as a martyr and a punisher, I believe it was in this period that Christianity lost a lot of credibility.
So this week's topic was pretty fascinating. Although i have no background knowledge on this religion i thought it was really intriguing to see how their art have such history and story behind every work of art. One of the artworks that really caught my attention was the "Old St. Peters" pantheon. It's really cool how they took the roman basilica, and then added the transept along with the addition of the apse which made the entire structure directional. How creative! I also thought the Christ as sol invictus was pretty interesting as well. In there christ was being drawn by the horses.....uh how intense right?! Anywho, these are just some of the art works that i thought was pretty mesmerizing from this time period.
My favourite part of the lecture was learning about the background of Christian art. To gain knowledge of my own religion was interesting. The fact that most of what we perceive as common practice in modern Catholicism has only recently been practiced in the church, and that for thousands of years people worshiped in a slightly different way was so intriguing.
The art and architectural styles depicted during this period is truly remarkable and colorful, however, without the motivation of religion as the basis of interpreting different religious beliefs, there wouldn’t be much of any art in this era.
In last weeks lecture, of course looking art all the art work was very education and interesting. However, what I found I interesting was how the dad were buried. For the Christians burying the dead was a secret, for the most part, when the religion first started. Instead of burying the dead outside of the city limits they buried them under the city. What I find fascinating is how much you can learn about a person or group by how they bury the dead.
I really found Christianity in this time period interesting. The fact that Christians kept their religion a secret until Constantine and they worshipped in catacombs, which to me is odd. You would think that would be more funeral based. I can understand how Christians used Paegan beliefs in some of their art to attract more people to their religion. I also found it interesting about the Good Shepherd representations. They all look very similar, yet they all represent different religions.
When studying the the early Christian art the whole time I just wonder, "Did they really think that". All during class we hear from these scholars that they had these big significant meanings behind them. What if someone was just trying to show a story. For example the art of The Crucifixion of Christ and Suicide of Judas it had all these meanings behind how each person died. What if someone just made the sculpture and didn't have any meaning behind it other then to tell the story. Would it be a big piece of artwork if a some scholar hadnt thought up the idea? Just something I am always thinking during class.
I did enjoy learning about the Catacombs as did everyone else. It was interesting learning where people were being killed for the religion that I follow when years later it is the most accepted religion.
The most intriguing piece to me though was the Sarcophogus of Junius Bassus, the only reason I think I am so drawn to it though was because I had seen it in person at the Getty. After seeing something so masterful and then learing about it it really made it real for me.
It amazes me at how large Christianity has expanded over time. Once a persecuted religion, it soon became something that ruled over every aspect of life and society. It was also interesting to learn that the Christians were buried beneath the ground in the catacombs. However, it is a bit creepy that they had their secret meetings there too.
I thought our lecture was very intriguing. The Byzantine art movement started around 330 a.d in the eastern roman empire. Their art consisted of architecture,paintings, and other forms of visual arts. I loved how all the paintings were so colorful. The churches were richly colored of icons as well as decorations made out of mosaic tiles.I thought it was interesting and different how they made the churches constructed like the buildings in rome. They had mosaics all over covering the walls and domes.
The catacombs and their small narrow corridors would have freaked me out to even go into, let alone try to hide in for a long period of time. People back then must have been much smaller then today.
ReplyDeleteIn the early time of christianity the cross changes. You rarely see the crucifixion. When they did show the crucifixion of christ they seemed to be aiming the blame towards the roman empire. When one is crucified the body weight makes a persons muscles pop and pull out of place. :( That makes the thought of it much more gruesome then what you are taught in church. The art that shows crucifixion shows it as a peaceful divine way to die.
In class today we discussed Early Christian and Byzantine art. What I found most interesting about Early Christian art was the “Old St. Peters” pantheon. The pantheon is shaped like a cross and the “apse” gives the pantheon direction. The temple is located in the apse where the alter is. Inside of the pantheon there was only one light source, which was a window. Old St. Peters was burned down in 500 CE. As far as the Byzantine art goes the “Hagia Sophia” was the most interesting to me because it was shaped like a dome and appears to have more space and brightness to it on the inside because of its multiple windows which created more natural light. Hagia Sophia means “Devine Christian” which is a suitable name for such a sacred place for the Byzantians who were Hyper Christians.
ReplyDeleteI felt really wierd listening to the birth of Christianity in class. I am not a very religious person and did not care much for any of the information regarding Christ or crucifixions. However, the catacombs rang a bell of interest inside of me. I love the idea of death and burial and how creative it was to build an architecture with chambers holding the remains of the dead. The romans dictates that the dead should be buried outside of city walls for sanitary reasons. Another form of burial was in a sarcophagus, which is a tombstone, similar or I should say, referencing the Egyptian style.
ReplyDeleteThe Crucifixion mosaic had an interesting meaning/ emotion being portrayed. It had a heroic appearance that makes the art more impressive. Looking at this gives off more of a emotional message rather than physical significance. I find it quite intriguing when art is formed in a language that is not verbally speaking to you, but you still understand the concept or expression. It reminds me of a person being inspired by something that allows them to see things through their own analytical lens that others wouldn't understand. This piece has that way of speaking to you on a deeper level.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Benny. I’m not a huge fan of talking about anything to do with Christianity, to be honest, being someone who grew up going to a private Christian school up until high school. Not because I don’t like it, but because I feel like there’s either, a lot of things left out and people who aren’t familiar with the stories get the wrong idea or information, or it’s more joked about than anything. But I did like seeing all of the art that went along with the Crucifixion, especially the piece that had Judas on the left and Christ on the right. Knowing the story, and having studied many throughout school, I could almost feel exactly what each of them was going through. I really connected with it.
ReplyDelete-Danielle Castellese
I felt it was a little uncomfortable to talk about Christianity during class, only because everyone has a different opinion and/or belief. Going to a Christian school for the past seven years, I felt a little more comfortable with it. I liked the catacomb of Santissimi Pietro e Marcellino, Rome, because of the more elaborate ceiling it had. It was nice to see the worshipers around the shepherd in what had been the standard pose of prayer (outstretched, raised arms). It made me feel a little more at home.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty cool knowing when the first christian arts began. I did not know that during the christian time their artwork would base on the christian stories such as Adam and eve. The catacombs was also something new and interesting to learn about during the christian times. I wouldnt have thought that the saints would be buried there. Also how the catacombs became a place where they would gather people, instead i thought it would be at a church.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how christian art has changed over the years. The cross also changed from a more square one, to a more elongated one now. I also liked how the image of Jesus has changed so many times over the years. Sometimes he looks all sweet and innocent, and others, he is all mean looking. Oh! and the catacombs were also super interesting. I think it would be amazing to go there...I wonder if I could ever get access down there. Have you seen that show on the history channel called "Cities of the Underworld?" It is like my favorite show! The guy goes around to different places in the world and shows the world the creepy cool places no one else can see! But overall, this lecture was interesting and I really remember that image of Christ being crucified and Judas being hung on the left. For some reason that is the image that has stuck out the most for me from this lecture.
ReplyDeleteI understand why people didn't like talking about religion in class but I feel like it was talked about in an apropriate way. In order to understand the images shown in the mosaics and architecture you have to know the stories behind it, you don't have to agree with it or even have an opinion about it. As far as the art itself I really liked the mosaics of Empress Theodara and Emporer Justinian. The many different colors and the way the people look realistic is impressive compared to art we studied before which wasn't so acurate and had limited colors used. In the architecture I see a lot of roman influece as far as the construction gos, but the Byzantine and Christian architecture focuses a lot on decoration.
ReplyDeleteKathleen
The Middle Ages was the 1st and 12th century , during this era a gradual split between religion separated the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic church. During the Roman empire most sculpture demonstrated monumentality, portraying scenes from the old and new testaments of the bible. A relief carved in marble is the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, originated in Rome it signifies the writings of the bible. The Anastasis, a piece of Byzantine art in a church ceiling show Jesus before his resurrection holding hands with his father and the devil. Both Eastern and Western religion adorned their churches with ides of the birth and death of Jesus, the middle ages was mainly all art form literature of the bible.
ReplyDeleteLast week lesson, I learned about the Christian Era. In the Christian Byzantine period, the art was colorful and related to religion. The Sarcophagus of Junnis Bassus, was very interesting with the fact that it told stories in the bible. Then I see that we have many influences today from the Christian era. What amazed me the most was the Anastasis, this you see Jesus as a super hero saving his people from eternal pain to eternal happiness.
ReplyDeleteI do have to say that Christian and Byzantine art are not my favorite topics we've discussed in class. In comparison to other cultures and periods we've studied, this period in particular is limited it's subject mater so much that it seems that they valued and explored almost nothing other than stories written in the bible. With artworks depicting Jesus as a martyr and a punisher, I believe it was in this period that Christianity lost a lot of credibility.
ReplyDeleteSo this week's topic was pretty fascinating. Although i have no background knowledge on this religion i thought it was really intriguing to see how their art have such history and story behind every work of art. One of the artworks that really caught my attention was the "Old St. Peters" pantheon. It's really cool how they took the roman basilica, and then added the transept along with the addition of the apse which made the entire structure directional. How creative!
ReplyDeleteI also thought the Christ as sol invictus was pretty interesting as well. In there christ was being drawn by the horses.....uh how intense right?! Anywho, these are just some of the art works that i thought was pretty mesmerizing from this time period.
-Platini<3
My favourite part of the lecture was learning about the background of Christian art. To gain knowledge of my own religion was interesting. The fact that most of what we perceive as common practice in modern Catholicism has only recently been practiced in the church, and that for thousands of years people worshiped in a slightly different way was so intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThe art and architectural styles depicted during this period is truly remarkable and colorful, however, without the motivation of religion as the basis of interpreting different religious beliefs, there wouldn’t be much of any art in this era.
ReplyDeleteIn last weeks lecture, of course looking art all the art work was very education and interesting. However, what I found I interesting was how the dad were buried. For the Christians burying the dead was a secret, for the most part, when the religion first started. Instead of burying the dead outside of the city limits they buried them under the city. What I find fascinating is how much you can learn about a person or group by how they bury the dead.
ReplyDeleteI really found Christianity in this time period interesting. The fact that Christians kept their religion a secret until Constantine and they worshipped in catacombs, which to me is odd. You would think that would be more funeral based.
ReplyDeleteI can understand how Christians used Paegan beliefs in some of their art to attract more people to their religion. I also found it interesting about the Good Shepherd representations. They all look very similar, yet they all represent different religions.
-Amy Anvick
When studying the the early Christian art the whole time I just wonder, "Did they really think that". All during class we hear from these scholars that they had these big significant meanings behind them. What if someone was just trying to show a story. For example the art of The Crucifixion of Christ and Suicide of Judas it had all these meanings behind how each person died. What if someone just made the sculpture and didn't have any meaning behind it other then to tell the story. Would it be a big piece of artwork if a some scholar hadnt thought up the idea? Just something I am always thinking during class.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy learning about the Catacombs as did everyone else. It was interesting learning where people were being killed for the religion that I follow when years later it is the most accepted religion.
The most intriguing piece to me though was the Sarcophogus of Junius Bassus, the only reason I think I am so drawn to it though was because I had seen it in person at the Getty. After seeing something so masterful and then learing about it it really made it real for me.
It amazes me at how large Christianity has expanded over time. Once a persecuted religion, it soon became something that ruled over every aspect of life and society. It was also interesting to learn that the Christians were buried beneath the ground in the catacombs. However, it is a bit creepy that they had their secret meetings there too.
ReplyDeleteI thought our lecture was very intriguing. The Byzantine art movement started around 330 a.d in the eastern roman empire. Their art consisted of architecture,paintings, and other forms of visual arts. I loved how all the paintings were so colorful. The churches were richly colored of icons as well as decorations made out of mosaic tiles.I thought it was interesting and different how they made the churches constructed like the buildings in rome. They had mosaics all over covering the walls and domes.
ReplyDelete