Christianity as the Religion of Rome
Old St. Peter’s, Rome
At Old St. Peter's, one would walk up a staircase to a high podium and then enter into an open courtyard (which resembled the atrium of the Roman house) through what looks like a triple triumphal arch. Beyond the courtyard was the entrance to the church. On the outside, the church had plain brick walls. Notice that you can see the side aisles, nave, and clerestory windows on from the exterior of the church.
Plan of an Early Christian Church | Plan of a Roman Basilica |
Notice
that the nave and side aisles are separated by Corinthian
columns. At the end of nave, notice the
apse set within a “triumphal arch.” This
arch frames the altar and the seats for the clergy.
The architectural forms that we see are traditional, but the use is very different and the architecture is focused.
Santa Costanza, Rome, ca. 337-351 | Pantheon, 118 |
Although the basilica plan emerged as the favorite
church form within the Christian world, Early Christian architects also
experimented with the central plan. This
was an architectural form which the Romans used and you'll recall that the
Pantheon had a central plan with a hemispherical dome.
Santa Costanza, Rome, ca 337-351
Exterior view of Santa Costanza | Interior view looking into the central dome; the interior was filled with mosaics, though many are now lost. |
Interior view of the mosaics in the ambulatory. Not surprisingly, many scenes were from the Old Testament and the New Testament. However, there were also many pagan images. | Below is a detail of the portrait bust of Constantia. Around her notice the grape vines and putti gathering grapes. At the very bottom, the villagers are making wine. |
Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, 432-440
This is the interior view of the church of Santa Maria
Maggiore in Rome. As you can see, it is a basilican church.
Notice the nave
mosaics that are beneath the clerestory window. There depict Old Testament stories.
The parting of Lot and Abraham is an Old Testament story.
Abraham and Lot were in the desert with their family and cattle looking
for a place to call home. Lot decided to
move toward the city (Sodom) and Abraham moved towards the country.
How is the country represented? We see a tent and one tree.
The mosaic presents Lot and Abraham with exaggerated
gestures and emphasized eyes. The wedge driving them apart is gold, although
the sky is blue and the ground is brown.
Take notice of the use of gold in Christian art -- we will see this
developed into a norm when we get to Byzantine art.