Late Roman ecclesiastical synthesis

Relief sculpture

	1. Marble relief of uncertain function showing Sermon on the Mount. Rome, ca. 270-310 A.D. (Rome: Mus. Naz.) Plebeian tradition. Christ in terms of the traditional theme of a saving philosopher surrounded by muses. Mechanically repeated figures, the relative size of figures, and the frontality of the central figure reflect hieratic influences, but the figure style basically Italo-Roman.
	2. Two Brothers Sarcophagus, Rome, first half 4th c. (Rome: Lateran Museum). Reflects growing wealth and sophistication of Christians in early 4th c. The two brothers, on a scallop shell symbolizing eternal life, are surrounded by biblical themes which represent Christian content in terms of a plebeian classical style.
	3. Detail from the Two Brothers sarcophagus, early 4th c. A.D. (Rome: Lateran Mus.) Christians appropriated the philosopher and his muses theme, then popular in expressive pagan art, to represent Christ with his apostles. Style is a naturalistic expressive classicism, with an informal open composition and expressive gesture. The figure style is Italo-Roman because Christianity was not yet a political ideology.
	4. Salona sarcophagus, ca. 320 A.D. (Split, Arch. Mus.) Further from the traditional political centers of Rome and Milan, Christian sarcophagi tend to be more hieratic, such as this example from the minor bishopric of Salona, in Yugoslavia. The three porticos constrain action. The Good Shepherd is flanked by Mary and Christ (?), with hieratic proportion.
	5. Marble sarcophagus of Junius Bassus with Christian themes, Rome, ca. 359 A.D. Mix of hieratic and classical elements. For example, figures are individuated but make up little centralized compositions within porticoes. Adam and Eve have the Italo-Roman figure style and are more naked than nude.
	6. Ivory relic capsella derived from the sarcophagus form. Christ as thaumaturge. Brescia, c. 360-370 A.D. (Brescia: Museo Cristiano). The narrative style of this Romano-Hellenistic work and the traditional focus on Christ as someone who will get you out of trouble reflects plebian tastes in a major work probably sponsored by a wealthy church. The glowing translucence of ivory challenged the traditional classical space-as-limit aesthetic, as does the chiaroscuro, and, in service to private and spiritual concerns, it is less monumental than stone relief.
	7. Another view of the above casket, 360-370 A.D. (Brescia: Museo Cristiano). The emergence of ivory carving as a significant art form is illustrated by this outstanding example. The sarcophagus was the model for this relic casket. Christian themes such as the trial of Christ, the four evalgelists, etc.
	8. The City Gate Sarcophagus: Christ as Teacher before the town gate; above a clipeus of a bridal pair and Adoration of the Magi, Milan, ca. 395 A.D. (Milan: Mus. of S. Ambrogio). Milan in the fourth century was the locus of the imperial court, and so it developed a distinctive style that manifested hieratic influences. Here, undifferentiated figures are isocephalic, and their compact forms provide rhythm and harmony. The distinctive Milanese figure style is slender figure and thin, with loosely hanging drapery.
	9. Detail from above sarcophagus, Milan, ca. 395 A.D. (Milan: Mus. of S. Ambrogio). Christ as lawgiver reflects absorption of Christ into Roman forms, at the expense of the traditional view of Christ as a saving magician (thaumaturge). Architectural background also links Christ to the Roman official world.
	10. Ivory panel: Women at the Sepulchre and Christ's Ascension, ca. 400 A.D. (Munich: Bayerische Nationalmuseum). 18.7 x 6 cm. This panel may have been the center section of a five-part polyptych. Close in style to pagan ivories, but less academic. A flowing of plastic values and chiaroscuro help convey the emotional intensity of the subject. The tradition of wax-coated informal writing tablets, which were hinged together so as to protect their delicate surfaces when closed, yielded to papyrus as an informal writing surface. When many papyrus leaves were bound between these wooden panels the result was a codex, which in the fourth century slowly began to replace the roll (rotulus). But another line of evolution was to use the waxed panels for encaustic images or ivory relief, and this led to the diptych, polyptych, panel painting and icon. This work shows a high level of technical and aesthetic refinement: the sedate composition of the sepulchre scene suggests sleep and death, but the ascension is aesthetically intense.
	11. Relief from the Sarigüzel sarcophagus found in Sarigüzel-Istanbul, end 4th c. A.D. (Istanbul: Arch. Mus.) Two angels support either a Constantian monogram, which is a superimposed chi rho ("XP") representing Christ, or else a six-armed cross, within a medallion. The sarcophagus is of an eastern type: lack of narrative; few figures; smooth ground; box space. But the manner is classical: plastic diagonal movement outwards gives a sense of projection in space; foreshortening of forms in a deep illusionistic rectangular niche; rippling drappery; and idealization.
	12. Wooden door panel showing Moses crossing the Red Sea, ca. 430 A.D. (Basilica Santa Sabina, Rome). The style probably close to the ivory carving tradition. Employs a bird's eye perspective.