AH208
Handout 3

ROME AND CONSTANTINOPLE IN THE FOURTH -FIFTH CENTURIES

Constantine continued Roman Imperial traditions in portraiture and building on a vast scale, in western Europe, Rome after he conquered it in 312, and his new capital Constantinople. Constantine legalized Christianity in the Edict of Milan, 313, participated actively in the affairs of the church, by calling the Council of Nicea and building monumental churches. He was baptized on his deathbed in 337. Under Constantine, monumental Christian architecture began.

Portraits of Constantine, c. 324
Coin of Constantine with Christian symbols

The City of Rome Plan of Rome, Model, Walls of Rome
St. Peter's Rome, 333-360
Santa Constanza, Rome, 350

The City of Constantinople Constantinople was laid out on the model of Rome, but Christian monuments occupied the heart of the city adjacent to the Great Palace from the beginning.

Plan of Constantinople, Maps, Views
Column of Constantine, Constantinople, 330

Under the Theodosian Dynasty Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state and the synthesis between imperial and Christian art became complete. Upon the death of Theodosius I "The Great" in 395, the empire was divided into eastern and western halves. The Theodosian Emperors expanded the flourishing city of Constantinople

Land Walls of Constantinople, early 5th century
Obelisk of Theodosius, 390
Fragments of Arches and Columns of Theodosius
Column of Arcadius, between 402 and 420
Missorium of Theodosius, 388
Portrait of Arcadius, 395-400
Prince's Sarcophagus, early 5th century

ART OF THE FIFTH CENTURY

In the fifth century, churches were built across the empire. The basilica predominated with local variations in plan and materials. Churches were integrated into the urban plans of cities across the Roman world.

Rome -

Santa Sabina with original carved cypress wood doors, 422-432
Doors have a complex arrangement of Old and New Testament Scenes

Santa Maria Maggiore, 434-444 Has an elaborate cycle of narrative images. In the nave are narrative images from the Old Testament stories of Abraham, Moses, Joshua. On the triumphal arch are images of the life of the Virgin and the childhood of Christ. The apse contained a depiction of the Virgin in majesty now replaced by a 12th century copy. The importance of the Virgin reflects the recent decision to elevate her status at the Council of Ephesus in 431.

Nave

Abraham and Melchizedek
Abraham and the Three Angels
Crossing the Red Sea
Joshua and the Angel

Triumphal Arch Annunciation Adoration of the Magi

Quendlinburg Itala Fragment, 425-450 Cycles of Christian scenes are developed for books, in this case an illustrated Book of Kings. Manuscripts shifted from the roll to the codex format. Instructions legible on these damaged pages told the painter what to depict, indicating that he had no model to copy from.

Vatican Vergil, 1st quarter 5th century. Classical text of the Georgics (bucolic poetry) and the Aenid (Epic about the founding of Rome). Very similar in style.

THESSALONIKI

Plan of City, with tetrarchic palace, hippodrome and palace
Hagios Georgios (a later dedication). A pagan mausoleum of the Tetrarch Galerius is converted into a church and decorated with mosaics C. 500, (date is controversial).
Basilica of St. Demetrius, mid 5th century

RAVENNA "Mausoleum" of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, 430-450
Orthodox Baptistery, Ravenna, c. 458

STOBI Town in Macedonia, north of Thessaloniki, seat of a bishopric, a Roman town that was quite prosperous in the 5th and 6th centuries. Roman city had a large theater, baths and a synagogue. Several lavishly decorated residences and an early Christian church built in the 4th century. During the 5th-6th centuries a Christian Church was constructed over the destroyed Synagogue; other churches were built inside the city and in a cemetery outside the walls. A monumental basilica was raised on a massive terrace It had a baptistery at a lower level on the south. Both were decorated with wall paintings, floor mosaics and elaborate architectural sculpture. On the west were colonnaded streets and a large public space with a sculpture of Theodosius--whose inscribed base survives.

Study Questions:

What factors influenced the creation of monumental Christian architecture?
What effects does Theodosius' acceptance of Christianity as the official imperial religion and the only legal religion have on art?
How are Christian and imperial iconography integrated in the base of the Column of Arcadius for example?
Analyze the relationship between image and architecture in the Orthodox Baptistery of Ravenna. How is the decoration organized? What symbolical and stylistic significance does this have?
Compare and contrast the various manners in which the dome can be decorated.
How are the cities we have discussed laid out?
Where do the churches tend to be located?