Origins of Christian Art

Face of Jesus Icon by Christine Hales

ORIGINS OF CHRISTIAN ART

In my quest to create and fully understand sacred and holy images, I feel the need to go back in time and understand how the first Christian images were created- and why. I recently wrote an article for the American Association of Iconographers on this subject and I will pull a few quotes from it here. To read the entire article click here.

PANEL PAINTINGS

Ancient Panel paintings derived from the Egyptian panel paintings of gods and goddesses, therefore, the very early Christian panel paintings have similar compositions and figures replacing images of Egyptian gods with Christian imagery . As Christians found NEW WAYS OF VISUALIZING THE DIVINE, specifically in mosaics, Icons, and mural paintings for monasteries, icon panel paintings began to flourish.

The theological significance that Christians gave to their icons was in many ways more exalted than the ancient Egyptians had given to their sacred images.  As the Christian movement spread, naturally, each culture depicted Jesus as looking like them. To the Chinese, he looked Chinese, to the Indians, he looked Indian, to the Africans He is black, and so forth. The icons of early Christianity were expressions of beliefs and Biblical stories.

In the fourth century there was a move away from statuary. Icon painting, illumination, and mosaics  became the primary methods of representing the Divine.  Icons proliferated at this time, with many different styles of depicting Christ.

ICONOCLASM

By the seventh century, theological debate arose over the belief that the icon was incarnational- its holiness deriving from the fact that because God had assumed physical matter, the icons could be a valid representation of God’s presence also. The iconoclastic controversy arose at this time with heated debate and at times whole sale destruction of icons if they were perceived to violate the second commandment. It requires the second council of Nicea in the ninth century to resolve this issue. Icons were intimately connected with the origins and growth of Christianity itself.

Next month will be Part II, moving forward from the Nicean Council and Saint John of Damascus’ brilliant defense of icons to  present day developments in religious imagery that builds up the church.  I feel that a thorough understanding of the history of Christian art will be an invaluable aid to those of us creating icons and religious imagery today.

MY BOOK ON CREATING ICONS THAT COVERS MUCH OF THE HISTORY PLUS MORE!

I have written and published a book called “Eyes of Fire”, How Icons Saved My Life As An Artist” available on Amazon that also brings together knowledge and understanding of art and the Art Spirit through the ages, with a bias towards Byzantine iconography.

I HAVE ALSO RECENTLY given a talk to the Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota, Florida, on the subject of “Origins of Christian Art and the Images of Jesus”. Here is the you tube link for that talk: https://youtu.be/i_kKo9-Zbn0

Please comment if you have enjoyed this or the related materials or have questions.

Blessings, Christine Simoneau Hales