CHRIST IN ART. The representations of Christ are the most important part of Christian iconography (q.v.). In the early period art did not try to embody God the Father or the Holy Ghost in any human form—the former was sym bolized by a hand appearing out of a cloud, and then only seldom: the latter in the form of a dove. In all the acts of creation and in the Old Testament events embodying relations between Cod and man, it is always the Son who is repre sented by the artist. So far as art is concerned, the following categories are fairly compre hensive: (1) Portraiture of Christ; (2) Christ in the ()Id Testament; (3) Christ in the New Testament: His life on earth: (4) Christ after the resurrection: (5) ideal conceptions of Christ. In regard to Christ's appearance on earth. the controversy among early writ er: was extremely bitter; and, as lrenfeus tells us. in the Second Century, that no re liable portraits existed, there was room for any theory. There were, broadly speaking, two school:. One, mainly the African Church. main tained that Christ was ugly, in order to pro claim the triumph of mind over matter, of in ternal over external beauty, and out of hatred for the Hellenic and pagan worship of the beau tiful. The other, mainly the Greek fathers, re fused to see in Christ anything hut perfection. The Latin Church did not intervene forcibly on either side. These conceptions are reflected in art. In early Latin art, represented in the cata comb frescoes (Second to Fourth centuries) and sculptured sarcophagi (Third and Fourth). Ile is a youth, beardless. with long, curly hair —so young that by no possibility could it he sup posed to be the portrait of a man of thirty. Artists evidently wished to avoid being aecnsed of attempting any such thing. But before the close of the Fourth Century Saint Augustine speaks of the different types of portraits of Christ which artists were then attempting. of these types one survived all others, and, with modifications, was handed down to the Renais sance. It was purely conventional, and only later writers sought to base it upon early tradition, such as the description in the spurious 'Letter of Lentillus,' and the acheiropoetie images, or miraculous portraits, like the handkerchief of Veronica. This type had an oblong, oval face, with broad, smooth forehead, straight, slender nose, arched brows, hair parted in the middle and failing in long ringlets over the shoulders, a full beard of moderate length, and an expres sion grave but sweet. This bearded, poetic, and intellectual type originated with Greek Chris tian art, and was brought by it to Italy. Some examples of it appear in the catacombs; imper fectly in the sarcophagi (a fine example in the Lateran Museum) ; better in the frescoes (at Saint Calixtus and Saint Pontianus) ; coarsely at Santa Costanza ; more refined in the mosaics of Santa Pudentiana (e.400), Rome, and San Apol linare Nuovo (c.500-550), Ravenna. It is pri marily intended to represent the Christ tri umphant, transfigured, or in heaven, not the Christ of the earthly miracles. The beardless type became entirely obsolete before the close of the Fifth Century, and Christ was repre sented bearded and older, whether on earth or in heaven. This marks the close of the first period. from e.100 A.D. to 500, and during these centuries Christ had been portrayed mainly as follows: During the Second Century almost the only way of presenting Him in the catacomb frescoes was as the Good Shepherd, either carrying a lamb on His shoulders or in the midst of the sheep; then, in the Third Century, came the first use of the scene of the Adoration of the Magi, and perhaps even earlier the Baptism, the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Resurrec tion of Lazarus—subjects used as symbols and not as episodes. The commonest method was to present Christ under symbols that only the faith ful would recognize—as the Lamb, the Fish, the Vine. as Orpheus charming with his music. With the triumph of Christianity (312), a new stage opened, in which, on the one hand, the art of the catacombs is continued in the sculptured sarcophagi, and on the other the monumental art of the basilicas strikes a new note in repre sentations of Christ. Such episodes of the life of Christ as would be suitable were carved on the sarcophagi; but as yet no complete historic series of these episodes were attempted. Christ triumphant was enthroned in the apses of the new churches; enthroned or seated on a globe or standing among the twelve apostles, teaching them and giving Paul and Peter authority to preach and govern. The scene is in the Heavenly Jerusalem, and from beneath His feet flow the four rivers of Paradise. The spiritualizing of the scenes continued up to the Fifth Century the mosaics of Santa Costanza (c.330). Santa
Pudent iana ( e.440) Santa Ma ria Maggiore (c.436), and Saint Paul (c.450). all in Home. show how the visions of Saint John acquired more and more influence, until the eulmination is reached in the twenty-four elders casting their crowns before a radiant bust of Christ in a medallion. with the four living creatures on either side. While this spiritual element was being developed, art was beginning to construet, also under Greek influence, a complete series of pictures of the life of Christ, in three main groups: (a) Infancy: (h) Miracles; (e) beginning with (1) the Annunciation: (2) Adoration of the Magi; (3) Massacre of the ln noeents; (41 Presentation in the Temple; 15) Flight into Egypt. etc. The eollection of sarcoph agi in the Lateran Museum in Rome give the best series of subjects illustrating the miracles— the wooden doors of Santa Sabina (Fifth Cen tury), and the mosaics of San Apollina Ila V ell na, the most detailed series of the Passion scenes. which were still without any element of suffering. Christ even here was the triumphant King. In the Santa Sabina reliefs is the first known por trayal of the Crucifixion. The San Apollinare series of e.500 admirably illustrate their trans itional age. In the thirteen scenes from the Miracles, Christ is the hen•dless youth of the Christian sarcophagi (Fourth Century) : in the thirteen scenes from the Passion, Ile has the later more majestic bearded type of the heavenly and triumphant Christ. The favorite scene in the apse of the basilicas is Christ on a throne or a globe, His head surrounded by a nimbus. holding a book in His left hand and blessing with his right. accompanied by angels and saints, who replace the apostles of the Fourth Century. except oc casionally, though Peter and Paul are often re tained. Sometimes—as at Saint .John Lateran, Saint Paul, and San Venanzio—only a bust of Christ appears in the clouds. Until the Ninth Century the popularity of the Apocalypse and the scenes from the Heavenly Jerusalem caused the lamb to be retained as an emblem of Christ, even after a council of the Church had forbidden such pictures. The period from e.500 to SOO, therefore, while it witnesses the creation of a positively individual type of Christ. and gives artists the liberty of portraying all the events of ilk life—even those of the Passion—lays hut little stress on the humanity and the sufferings, much on the divinity and triumph, of Christ. The Ca rlovingian Age -( S00-100o ? inaugurated the idea of the terror - striking Christ. The Apocalyptic scenes were partly replaced by re alistic Last Judgments. The story of the painter-missionary Metbodilis terrifying the Bul garians into conversion by such a painting is typical. At the beginning of the period it is not universally so—witness the beautiful mo saics of Santa Prassede in Rome. The type of Christ, also, still breathes majestie sweetness and calm. Byzantine art probably invented at this time some of its most beautiful types of Christ. handed down since by tradlition—Christ winged as the Angel of the Divine Will, or as the High Priest. The illuminated manuseripts of this period. both Byzantine and Carlovingian. give the most varied material for study. A favorite new composition is Christ crowning the Emperor (or Empress) of the East or \Vest. In the Eleventh and Twelfth centuries Christ beeomes more and more the severe .Judge, with whom the Virgin and John the Baptist net as intercessor, though Ile is still surrounded by the four cheru bim evangelists. the twelve apostles, and some times the twenty-four elders. But Ile no longer appears seated on a globe or a throne with a few saints in the celestial sphere—He is almost always 'brought into immediate contact with human affairs. The frescoes of Ferentillo. San Tommaso in Formis, San Pietro in Grado. in Pisa the mosaics of Torcello, and innumerable other works of the Eleventh and Twelfth cen turies, show the increasing emphasis of the se vere side of Christ's character, and the theolog ical and dogmatic tendency. The growing asceti cism of the type of Christ is shown also in By zantine art, which, however, retains much beauty and serenity, which it does not lose until the Twelfth Century. The mosaics of San Marco in Venice, of the cathedral of Cefalft, of Mon tvale, andl the Capella Palatina in Palermo, are among the most important series of scenes and types of Christ. The Byzantine conception, as expressed in the Greek Guide to Painting, edited and translated by Didpm and Durand, should be read in the presenee of such medieval works, to show how traditional and carefully taught were all representations of the Saviour, as to type, age, garments, color, attitude, grouping with other figures, etc.