LATE ANTIQUITY

1. LATE ANTIQUITY GARDINER CHAPTER 11-2 PP. 295-301

2. ARCHITECTURE AND MOSAICS • Regular church services took place in private community houses like that at Dura-Europos • Once Constantine granted Christianity imperial sponsorship there was a need to construct churches • New churches had to • Meet the requirements of Christian liturgy (the official ritual of public worship) • Provide a proper monumental setting for the celebration of Christian faith • Accommodate rapidly growing numbers of worshipers • Constantine was the first major patron of Christian architecture • Constantine constructs elaborate basilicas, memorials, and mausoleums in Rome, in Constantinople ( his “New Rome”), and in Bethlehem and Jerusalem

3. ROME – OLD SAINT PETER’S • Restored cutaway view of Old Saint Peter’s in Rome, begun 319 • The greatest of Constantine’s churches • Built on the western side of the Tiber on the spot where it was believed the Peter was buried • Could house 3000-4000 worshipers • Locate on a terrace on the slope of the Vatican Hill -> it enshrined the 2nd holiest site in Christendom, the 1st being the the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem -> site of Christ’s ressurection

4. The plan resembled a Roman basilica not a pagan temple -> Christians did not want their churches to look like pagan shrines • Unlike pagan rituals that took place outside the temple, Christians congregated inside the church • Wide central nave • flanking aisles • NARTHEX = entryway to the basilica • Unobstructed view across the nave to the altar in the apse at the other end • TRANSEPT = transverse aisle, area perpendicular to the nave and between the nave and the apse • Also contained an open colonnaded courtyard in front of the narthex -> ATRIUM • Exterior not decorated • Interior – frescoes, mosaics, marble columns, and costly ornaments • BALDACHINNO (domical canopy over an altar) – marble structure marked the spot of Saint Peter’s tomb

5. SANTA SABINA • Interior of Santa Sabina, Rome, 422-432 • Built a century after Old Saint Peter’s -> more modest proportions -> Early Christian in character • Corinthian nave arcade • Chancel arch • Apse • Nave is drenched in light coming from clerestory windows • Exterior had plain brick walls resembling those of the Aula Palatine in Trier

6. SANTA COSTANZA • Interior of Santa Costanza, Rome, 337-351 • Most Christian churches were of the rectangular basilica design • Early Christian architects also copied another classical architectural type -> the CENTRAL-PLAN building = the building’s part are of equal or almost equal dimensions around the center • Central-plan buildings -> mostly round or polygonal domed structures • Central-plan buildings would become the preferred form for Byzantine churches

7. Plan of Santa Costanza, Rome, 337-351 • Possibly built as a mausoleum for Constantine’s daughter • 1= narthex • 2 = ambulatory -> ringlike barrel vaulted corridor separated from the central domed cylinder by a dozen pairs of columns • Severe brick exterior • Interior richly adorned with mosaics

8. VAULT MOSAICS OF SANTA CONSTANZA • Detail of vault mosaic in the ambulatory of Santa Costanza, Rome, 337-351 • Scenes of putti harvesting grapes and producing wine -> motifs associated with Bacchus, but for a Christian it brought to mind the wine of the Eucharist and Christ’s blood

9. SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE • The parting of Abraham and Lot, nave of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, 432-440, mosaic • Mosaics used to provide a beautiful setting in churches, and instruct the congregation about biblical stories and Christian dogma • This scene shows the Old Testament scene of Lot leading his family to the evil city of Sodom and Abraham leading his family to Canaan • Cleavage of the two groups -> figures engage in sharp dialogue of glance and gesture -> simplified motion -> but still elements of classical heritage = figures in light and dark, cast shadows, loom w/massive solidity