File:Monuments of the early church (1901) (14760546836).jpg

Identifier: monumentsofearly00lowr (find matches)
Title: Monuments of the early church
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Lowrie, Walter, 1868-1959
Subjects: Christian antiquities Christian art and symbolism Church architecture Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600
Publisher: New York, The Macmillan Company London, MacMillan & Co.
Contributing Library: New York Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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are a number of sub-jects in this list, particularlyin the latter series, which hereemerge for the first time inChristian art. From the listitself it is evident, and stillmore from the mode of repre-sentation, that the interest ispurely an historical and di-dactic one; this series is anexample of the • Bible of thePoor, designed to instructthe illiterate in the principalfacts of the Gospel history.Whether or not these pictureswere copied from Biblicalminiatures, they are very dif-ferent in point of executionform the historical series in S. Maria Maggiore; the composi-tions are better adapted to the mosaic art; even though thepanels are of smaller dimensions and are placed at a greaterdistance from the eye, they are more readily intelligible;the figures stand out in statuesque boldness, and the detailsare duly subordinated. Many of the pictures, especially ofthe first series, are plainly influenced by the types which werecurrent in Christian sculpture. A single disciple, as upon the
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 140. — S. Luke, mosaic in S. ViuRavenna. Sixth century. MOSAICS—S. Giovanniin Fonte 329 sarcophagi, usually accompanies Christ in the scenes which rep-resent his miracles. This is not a representation of S. Peter,nor of any one of the Apostles who were most constantly inhis company, but, by a principle which was well recognized inClassical art, the single tigure stands syncretically for the wholecompany of the Apostles. This device w^as here of great im-portance, for it enabled the artist to depict the scenes withgreater clearness and simplicity, and to represent the principalfigures distinctly and in large proportions. The fact that halfthe subjects here refer to the Lords Passion cannot be takento prove a greater interest in this theme, but they show thatthe early reluctance to represent it in art was passing away.Even here, however, it is to be noticed that the subjects whichrepresent our Lords physical agony — the scourging, the scof-fing, the crucifixion — are not de

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