For this week I chose to talk about option #2 and compare the art produced by Early Christians and that of the Romans. These two artistic styles appear to be very similar and share few differences do to the time period of which they are created and also the growth of human civilization between the two time periods. In particular I chose to look at the Cubiculum of Leonis, Catacomb of Commodilla from the Early Christian art, (pg 224), and the Church of the Holy Cross from the Romans (pg 557). At first glance these two works of art look very different, but taking a closer look there are many similarities. The first similarity that stands out the most is the geometric design of the ceilings, both perfectly balanced and geometrical. Although one is constructed out of paintings and the other architecturally built, both give the same balance and cemetery to the viewer’s eye. Not only are the ceilings of both art pieces similar, but the walls as well, each complimenting its adjacent wall to create the same cemetery as the ceilings. I believe that the major reason for these similarities comes from the fact that the Roman lifestyle developed from that of the church and holds similar values, therefore the style of the art stayed similar in many aspects do to the belief that you don’t change the bible so why would other things change. In other words, why try and fix something that is not broken, it worked then and it will work now. But although these two time periods share many similarities they also have some differences. The biggest difference to the eye is the color. Early Christians used lots of bright vibrant colors in order to make things stand out and be seen, while the Romans developed somewhat of a gothic style in the church. This change by the Romans may have come because of violence and wars between the time periods creating a darker atmosphere and a fear in God. Another difference in these two periods when talking about art is the size. In early Christianity the churches were smaller and compact with short ceilings and narrow passage ways. Later the Romans decided to take the opposite direction and make things BIG. Cathedral ceilings were extremely tall in order to be easily visible from any spot in the cities; this created plenty of inside room and gave more of a spacious feeling while still inflicting the fear from the darkness of the style. In the end I believe that the reason for the similarities in the two come from historical significance and relation of church to church in the same religion.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Kyle. I think you might have been able to make more direct connections with a work of architecture that was created in ancient Rome, such as the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine (p. 211). I recommend this basilica because you can see some classical features (such as the Roman arch) appearing in both examples.
ReplyDeleteJust so you (and your classmates who read this post are aware), the Church of the Holy Cross is not from ancient Rome. It is a German church that was built in the 14th century (right at the end of the Gothic period, which we haven't learned about yet). But stay tuned! We'll learn about medieval and Gothic art in the weeks to come.
-Prof. Bowen
I like all the ideas you have. But it is a lot happening all at once, it kinda hard to keep up with. You have a lot of great reason to why they are similar and different but maybe separating them would make it easier to see and understand. Also spending more time expanding on each would help too. I google to Church of the Holy Cross so that helped because we have no read about it yet.
ReplyDelete