Christian Art

Early Christian art survives from dates near the origins of Christianity. The oldest surviving Christian paintings are from the site at Megiddo, dated to around the year 70, and the oldest Christian sculptures are from sarcophagi, dating to the beginning of the 2nd century. The largest groups of Early Christian paintings come from the tombs in the Catacombs of Rome, and show the evolution of the depiction of Jesus, a process not complete until the 6th century, since when the conventional appearance of Jesus in art has remained remarkably consistent. Until the adoption of Christianity by Constantine Christian art derived its style and much of its iconography from popular Roman art, but from this point grand Christian buildings built under imperial patronage brought a need for Christian versions of Roman elite and official art, of which mosaics in churches in Rome are the most prominent surviving examples. Christian art was caught up in, but did not originate, the shift in style away from the classical tradition inherited from Ancient Greek art to a less realist and otherworldly hieratic style, the start of medieval art.

Christian art is sacred art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity, though other definitions are possible. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of religious image, and there have been major periods of iconoclasm within Christianity. Images of Jesus and narrative scenes from the Life of Christ are the most common subjects, and scenes from the Old Testament play a part in the art of most denominations. Images of the Virgin Mary and saints are much rarer in Protestant art than that of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

My Reaction about the dominant style and its subject matter is " I'm amazed". I not only amazed by the art itself but what message it wants to convey. Usually paintings in this era is more realistic and its all about the great gospel. In every medium, they show the story behind the life of Christ. The era has influenced me when it comes to my style. Sometimes, I tend to do some mosaics which started in this era of art. But i'm too busy now, so that i can't do any mosaics anymore. I guess i could do if it is a must.

Ancient and Classical Arts

Ancient art refers to the many types of art that produced by the advanced cultures of ancient societies with some form of writing, such as those of ancient China, India, Mesopotamia,Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The art of pre-literate societies is normally referred to as Prehistoric art and is not covered here. Clear and simple lines combined with simple shapes and flat areas of color helped to create a sense of order and balance in the art of ancient Egypt.

Classical art dates back to as early as 500 B.C. during the rise of the Greek Empire. The Greeks celebrated the human figure through sculpture in highly naturalistic detail. This is one of the eras defining qualities. After the Romans conquered the Greeks they still regarded Greek culture and art as superior to any other. The Romans imported thousands of original Greek artworks and had them copied in even greater numbers. In fact, much of what we know about Greek art, we only know through Roman copies. Ancient architecture in Greece and Rome are also considered classical works of art including: The Pantheon, The Parthenon, The Arch of Constantine, and the Column of Trajan.

My most striking impressions about the Ancient and Classical Art are about the fact that they're actually not to art but they made art for communication. It may be accidental...but I believe that it is on purpose. I believe that these two different eras of art really influenced me in my style of art. It may not be the same as it should be but you can still see the very foundation of it. During those times, i also have been interested in their artistic style and subject matter. For example, the Stongehenge it started the things how architecture should be. And in the classical art era, the Architecture became more complex each part of it is made wonderfully and all functional. It is easy to create artworks inspired of these eras. Because, This things are the foundation. We might not know that we're inspired by it. But it is really there. And I think it's very impossible to create a more complex figures if we did not know how to create its foundation.