A Comparative Study Between Two Significant Early Christian Arts

A Comparative Study Between Two Significant Early Christian Arts
Your name
Subject’s name
Name of professor
Date of submission
Introduction
There are several artworks made during the time Christianity entered the Roman Empire. One of the works of art during this era is the Sarcophagus of Santa Maria Antiqua. The establishment of this artwork was at around 270 CE in Rome. The author of this paper seeks to conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis between the Sarcophagus of Santa Maria Antiqua and the Sarcophagus with Scenes from the Lives of Saint Peter and Christ.
Contents
The moment Constantine became a Christian through its baptismal rites, the religion was finally introduced into the empire. During the Christian Empire or the period of Late Antiquity, symbolic arts were made to serve as substitutes for classical naturalism as a way of emphasizing the spirituality of these people. This is the so-called anti-naturalistic style of art. The two artworks mentioned by the author were from the Early Christian Roman era. They highlight different scenes from the Christian faith. However, these images are examples of syncretism having varying interpretations in one picture. This was very important during the Early Christian period of the Roman Empire because the followers of this religion were still subjected to persecution. From the older art from 270 CE, the figures could either represent the Christian or Greek faiths. The latter marble-derived art was also from the Early Christian Roman. This can depict different scenes from the New Testament. This sarcophagus was made at around 300 CE, making it a newer art relative to the Sarcophagus of Santa Maria Antiqua. With that, both artworks involve the Early Christian stylistic period. The author suggests that both artworks were being used as a profession of the Christian faith by the Romans. But they are made to mask Christian imagery since the religion was only legalized in the year 313 CE.
There are approximately thirteen (13) significant figures that the older piece of art can show. The horizontal direction is the arrangement of these figures highlighting various interpretations. The left side of the artwork highlights the story where the great whale expels Jonah out from its gut. Next to Jonah is an Orant-praying figure. This may also represent a woman praying to the supreme beings of the Christian faith. After the Orant figure shows a man sitting. This can either serve a Greek philosopher or a wise man from the Christian faith as well. A man carrying a sheep on his shoulder can represent either Christ as the Shepherd of Men or an ordinary person who takes care of a herd of animals. On the rightmost side of the artwork is the image of John the Baptist performing a baptismal rite to a young boy. Looking at this sarcophagus, it can be seen that there is an unbalanced composition showing that the right side of the image is more substantial than the left. The mixture of these figures was made to hide the fact that the artwork is a representation of Christianity.
The newer art has both similarities and contrasts with the older one based on different parameters. These are the number of significant figures present, the direction of th...