Of the paintings and sculptures in the catacombs
There is no doubt that the early Christians, the painting have served. They disdained not to acquire everything that is beautiful, what was honest, innocent, and what the soul to divine things, brought to God. They sang hymns of praise and songs of thanksgiving and practiced the singing of psalms. In the same way they used and the painting in order to vote by the sight of beautiful, holy pictures her heart for worship and to draw from the same viewing edification and instruction. Even Tertullian, who lived in the second century (De Pudic. X. et V.) writes that Christians took advantage of his time, cups, decorated with the representation of the Good Shepherd. "It is certain," says St.. Basil (Oratio ad Julian) (379) "that the holy images of our Lord, St.. Virgin and the Apostles, which were painted in the beginning, have come from hand to hand on us. "The Christians wore pictures, painted on tablets of wood, or carved in ivory, with him. These panels, which you could combine like a book were called diptychs . That the first Christians and their tombs in the catacombs with paintings which have is beyond all doubt. this is because a large number of them in the grave chamber of the various cemeteries. The only question is whether these paintings already at the beginning of Christianity in Rome and during the period of persecution, or only after the fall of paganism and the victory of Christianity come about? Then, the renowned archaeologist give (Boldetti, Marchi, etc.) and those who dedicated their lives to the study of the Christian catacombs (De Rossi) the answer: "The first centuries of Christianity have us painting, precisely . those of consummate art form in the oldest catacombs - the course of their argument is as follows:
The first Christians had emerged not only from the poor people, but Christianity was already on his appearance in Rome input into the noblest families, even even at the imperial court -. Pudens who was the Holy Apostles Peter took up hospitality, a senator. the consul Flavius Clemens was the nephew of the emperor Domitian, who had him executed for the Christian faith, and Flavia Domitilla was a relative of the emperor, who sent them into exile. Was found in the catacomb S. Agnetis grave inscriptions in letters of classical form and with the name: Claudii, Aurelii etc. VIVATIS in Deo, all names of ancient Roman noble families. - As these noble Romans were still pagans, they decorated according to the fashion of their palaces and tombs with paintings. Become Christians, they renounced their love of art not, and even now their grave decorated chambers in the Christian cemeteries with paintings, with the difference that the objects that these paintings represented, the old and new testaments were taken. Christianity forbade even the pictures do not, it forbade only the immoral and idolatrous, which drove the nations with the images. And if the Christian artists, like the pagan monuments in the grave could affix various ornaments, such as animal figures: deer, lambs, birds, flowers, fruits, vines, so they shut it all out and put them under a pagan Christian thought.
Especially the oldest catacombs, close to which the discovered grave inscriptions, reach up almost to the time of the Apostles, have paintings of classic art form. They are in those days were, where the art was still in its heyday, during the period of the Emperor Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Antonin, Marc Aurel, etc. - your style, the method of execution is just like the style of the painting, which is in the Imperial palaces and in the buried by the ash of Vesuvius, and again sees the excavated Pompeii. -
The images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and the Holy Apostles in the catacombs, which date no nimbus, glory, to have the main, all from the period of persecution, from the first three centuries. Only at the pictures of the fourth and fifth century is the halo, and from then on common usage. - Finally
we notice the paintings of the fourth and fifth centuries clearly the decline of art, while the Christian art works are more beautiful and better the more they approach the first century. So it is an undoubted fact that start with the beginning of Christianity, the paintings in the catacombs. The images, usually taken from the Old or New Testaments, replaced the first Christians, the Holy. Writing, which was only in the hands of the few, and supported the teaching of the mysteries of the faith, had to die for them almost always ready. Looking at these pictures she had to constantly remind us of the truths which she got from the celebration of worship from the lips the bishop had heard. The sight as the Good Shepherd had their love for Jesus, Daniel's in the lions' den, the three youths in the fiery furnace consolation in suffering, of Jonah, as he emerges from the mouth of the sea monster, the raising of Lazarus infuse the firm confidence that their in torture mangled body will once again rise.
similar statues from the Old and New Testament can also be seen in the marble coffins "sarcophagus" carved, that the early Christians to bury their deceased loved ones served. Initially, the burial of corpses quite simple. - An unadorned grave (Loculus) sealed in the wall with a stone or brick, was their resting place. But there were already early exceptions. The famous martyr to put in marble coffins under an arched niche (Arcosolium) elicited in the wall or in graves of bricks. The Christians of noble civil uses for the funeral of their deceased also the marble coffins. The sides of the same, especially the front are mostly hl with raised images (relief) from the. Scripture and symbolic representations of "symbols" decorated. The first Christians had a special fondness for such symbols. - How is Christ the Lord, the beautiful parables served to make his heavenly doctrine to the people tangible, then appealed to the first Christians fact, their faith in Jesus, her love for him and hope of a future eternal blessed life symbolically represent. There was, however, this Christian symbolism a particular underlying cause, namely the Arcan-discipline or the rule of secrecy.
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