The Sacrifice of Isaacc. 1100stone capitalCathedral, Jaca (Aragón)

Romanesque

Abraham and Isaac1200-1210north transept Chartres CathedralChartres, France

Gothic

Lorenzo GhibertiSacrifice of Isaac

1401-1402 competition panel for the east doors of the Baptistery of Florence Cathedral

Early Christian, Jewish,

and Byzantine Art

Judaism

Christianity

Islam

How are these three religions different?

see pages 290-291

Dream of ConstantinePiero della Francesca fresco cycle The Legend of the True Cross Bacci Chapel, Church of San Francesco, Arezzo1454-1458

Big Ideas•syncretism: artists assimilate images from other traditions, giving them new meanings

•iconoclasm: 726 Emperor Leo III launched a campaign of iconoclasm (image breaking), decreeing that all religious images were idols and should be destroyed

•icons: often were believed to have been created miraculously and all were thought to have magical protective and healing powers

•typological exegesis: Old Testament themes illuminate events in the New Testament; for example, Abraham and Isaac predicts the sacrifice of Christ, Jonah and the whale predicts the resurrection on the third day

Hinton St. Mary Mosaic

central panel of a Roman mosaic found at Hinton St Mary (Dorset, England)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/VfupdXVjTM6crACGDU-6uA

Christ Catacomb of Commodilla late 4th century

Good Shepherdmosaic in the lunette over the west entrance, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Baptism of ChristBaptistery of the Orthodox, Ravenna, Italy early 5th century

Emperor Justinian and His Attendants c. 547 mosaic on the north wall of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna Italy

Empress Theodora and Her Attendants c. 547 mosaic on the south wall of the apse, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna Italy

Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/XsjCBZguRku8XhN8icN3GA

Christ Pantokratormosaic in the central dome Church of the DormitionDaphni, GreeceCentral Domec. 1080-1100

Hagia Sophia532-537

YouTube Video: R. Steves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zxRjx4Z5uU&edufilter=-UYcvQGRLktRabtXL3Eq1w

Hagia Sophia532-537

Hagia Sophia532-537

St. Marks Cathedralc. 1063-1073

St. Marks Cathedralc. 1063-1073

St. Marks Cathedralc. 1063-1073

St. Marks Cathedralc. 1063-1073

Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy526-547

Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy526-547

Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy526-547

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/VfupdXVjTM6crACGDU-6uA

This mosaic is probably one of the oldest surviving depictions of Christ. It comes from a Roman villa in Dorset. Christ is portrayed as a fair-haired and clean-shaven man wearing a tunic and cloak. Behind his head are the letters chi (X) and rho (P), the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ - Christos. Christ's head is a part of a larger mosaic, also containing pagan elements. These include the Greek hero Bellerophon riding Pegasus and slaying the monstrous Chimera.

When did the Roman Empire become Christian?

In AD 312 the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and the religion began to spread freely throughout the Roman Empire. Britain was at that point a far-flung province of the empire that would be abandoned 100 years later. This mosaic may have come from a villa's dining room or house-church owned by one of Britain's long-established Roman aristocratic families. Combining Christian and pagan imagery was common in this period and Bellerophon slaying the monster may represent Christ's triumph over death and evil.