Christian art includes all visual artworks that are intended to show and illustrate the teachings in Christianity. This includes sculptures, painting, mosaics and metalwork as well embroidery. Since the fourth century, Christian art played an important role in Western Art’s development and history.
Christian art has as its main subject the life and times Jesus Christ and his disciples. These artworks show the images of various beliefs and traditions and the world as it appears. The oldest known evidence of Christian art dates back to the 3000BC-500AD period. It consists of some ceiling and wall paintings of the 2nd Century in Roman catacombs (underground burial rooms). These walls and ceilings were decorated using a style derived largely from Roman impressionism in the 4th century. These records are important in demonstrating some aspects about the development of Christian subjects. Early Christian art dates back to the beginnings of Christianity. The symbolism of early Christianity includes the dove (or fish), the lamb (or cross), and symbolic representations such as the Four Evangelists or the Good Shepherd. The Catacombs are the place where the first visible representations for Christian figures occur. They display the evolution of Jesus’s depiction. There are many famous art styles from the Medieval period, including Gothic and Byzantine. One of the most distinctive and longest-lasting Western ears of art, the Byzantine was unique. It was most well-known for its greater variety, emotionality, and colour than previous styles. Gothic art got its complex style from Saint Thomas Aquinas’s philosophy at his university, which taught that every object in the universe is a part of God’s plan. Medieval religious artwork flourished through the Byzantine Iconoclasm. The most common religious artworks in medieval times were those depicting Biblical stories, holy figures, and Jesus, Mary, and other saints.
Byzantine Iconoclasm – which refers to the destruction icons – was criticised by artists for misrepresenting Christian figures as pagan gods. Any artwork in medieval churches depicting saints, angels, or other persons was taken by the Iconoclasts. These were considered unconstitutional and incompatible with the Commandments. However, the Iconoclasts had no problem with non-religious art. Artists moved away from Christian subjects slowly to make art that was peaceful and avoid any controversy. The Renaissance was an art period that spanned the 14th through the 17th Century. It created a cultural bridge between medieval history and modern times. Mannerism is perhaps the most well-known form of Renaissance. Mannerism is an art style that portrays its subjects in a graceful, light way. High Renaissance art flourished during the period of 35 years between the 1490s and 1527. Rome was then sacked by imperial soldiers.
The brief High Renaissance (1490-1520), which saw Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo transform Catholic art. They broke with the traditional iconography and created original compositions that were based on both artistic imperatives and Renaissance humanism. The Age of Enlightenment was a time of new appreciation for art. It led to the commissioning of more nonreligious artworks by non-religious nobles. The Enlightenment, which was a Western philosophical movement, obscured further searches for the essence Christianity. The Enlightenment advocated optimistic views regarding human reachability and perfection which challenged fundamental Christian beliefs about human limits.
The Enlightenment promoted a view on human autonomy and the use rationality in seeking truth. Enlightenment philosophers believed that reason was not required to respond to supernatural revelations such as the Old and New Testaments. Reason challenged the authenticity of these scriptures through historical and literary criticism. It is no longer necessary to rely on priests’ worldviews about essential Christianity.
