by Curtis George

Created on: June 18, 2008

When we speak of "Early Christian art", some would link it back to its Jewish origin. It is true that many early Christian artworks depict stories in the Old Testament, such as Prophet Jonah; since Christians believe the Old Testament is pre-figuration of the New Testament. Saint Augustine confirmed such idea by stating "the New Testament is hidden in the Old; the Old is clarified by the New." However, Early Christian art actually refers to artworks produced by early Christians during the 3rd and the 4th century, especially in the Catacombs where saints met and were buried in. The word catacombs derives from the Latin catacumbas, which means "in the hollows." The ones in Rome are very extensive and run for approximately 60 to 90 miles with paintings and pictures on the walls and ceilings. One example is the painting of Jonah, in the 4th century, on the ceiling in the Catacomb of Saint Peter and Marcellinus in Rome, Italy. It depicts Jonah, a prophet in the Old Testament, being thrown off a boat and swallowed by a sea dragon, or possibly a whale, in whose mouth Jonah would stay for 3 days. Early Christians believed this foretold the Resurrection of Christ when He died on the cross and rose three days after his death.

The Christians before the 3rd century were prohibited to make sculptures or images depicting Christ. This form of practice would be deemed as making idols. However, it is possible that some used pagan icons to represent Christian meanings in order to avoid persecutions during that age when polytheism dominated. If so, such artworks could not be easily recognized as Christian. One example is the image of a shepherd. In pagan art, shepherds symbolize benevolence and philanthropy. In this case, it is possible that an early Christian painted this to represent Christ as a good shepherd by using a pagan icon. Other than that, Symbols such as the dove, the fish, and the Four Evangelist representing Mathew, Mark, Luke and John were found. The most obvious one of all is the Lamb which symbolizes Christ as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

After the Diocletian Persecution of Christians which peaked in 303, the Edict of Milan was declared by Emperor Constantine and Licinius. This allowed religious tolerance in the realm of Roman Empire. Christian artwork started to flourish in many sorts of media.

Mosaic, pictures created by putting small pieces of glass, was one of the magnificent forms. The monastery of Saint Catherin at Mount Sinai in Egypt has an apse that carries a mosaic depicting the Transfiguration of Jesus. In this artwork, Jesus stands in the middle with lights radiating outwards. Flanking Jesus are Old Testament prophets Elijah and Moses. At the feet of Jesus are disciple John, Peter and James who are frightened by Christ's transfiguration. The picture effectively portrays the reactions of the earthly towards eternal exposure.

Often in early Christian manuscripts, pictures were drawn to vivify scenes described in the text. The book Cotton Genesis, a Greek copy of the book Genesis in the 5th century, carried the drawing of Abraham meeting the angels before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

It is true when one says, "a picture is worth a thousand words." Though Christian doctrines and literatures were the backbones and the source of inspiration of these artworks, one can never ignore man's creativity when they conform their skills to their religion.

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