Early Christian and Byzantine Art


1. What type of Christian Imagery was produced during Christ’s lifetime?
2. Where do the first Christian images come from (geographically)?
3. How was Christianity first percieved when it first emerged as a religion?
4. What year was Christianity declared to be a lawful religion?
5. What was the Edict of Toleration?
6. When was Constantine converted to Christianity?
7. Why was Constantine’s conversion so important to the development of Christian architecture?
8. What was the Mithras cult?
9. What was a "house-church"? Where had Christians met previously?
10. What are the influences of the earliest Christian imagery?
11. What was the result of some of these first attempts to translate scripture into imagery?
12. What are the catacombs? What were their various functions?
13. Describe the "style/technique" of the typical catacomb imagery.
14. What are loculi? Cubicula?
15. What did the early images of Jesus in the catacomb look like? What are the origins of this image?
16. What is the origin of the basilica?
17. Describe the basic layout of Old St. Peter’s
18. What is a clerestory?
19. What was the idea for interior décor vs. exterior décor?
20. Know the parts of a basilica.
21. Know the difference between a round or octagonal plan and a longitudinal plan.
22. What was the centrally-planned church based on (plan). Why would this origin be appropriate for a church?
23. How were the early Christian mosaics different from those of the ancient Greeks and Romans?
24. What were the purposes of these new Christian mosaic programs?
25. Describe some of the stylistic attributes of the Byzantine mosaic artisans.
26. What does gold symbolize in early Christian art?
27. What is a codex? Vellum? Parchment?
28. What is a continuous narrative?
29. Why would the illustrations be more important than the texts in these early manuscripts?
30. What are the features of the "Constantinian style" with regard to sarcophagi?
31. Why is it appropriate to find an image of Jonah on the sarcophagus of Santa Maria Antigua?
32. What does the image of Jonah on that sarcophagus tell us about the source material?
33. What is the relevance of the images of the four seasons on the Good Shepherd sarcophagus?
34. What is a diptych?