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Art pieces exemplifying the birth of Christ
Artwork from the Church History Museum Collection & Exhibits
- “A Precious and Chosen Vessel,” by Connie Lynn Reilly
“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. . . . Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.” Luke 1:28–31
- “The Annunciation,” by John Scott
Unto Us a Child Is Born
- “The Light of the World,” by Jay Bryant Ward
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” 2 Nephi 19:6
- “For unto Us a Child Is Born,” by Lynne Millmam Weidinger
Tidings of Great Joy
- “The Witness,” by Cynthia Dell Ellis
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. “ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. “ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. “ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. “ And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8–12
- “Birth of Jesus Christ,” by David Lindsley
“When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” Matthew 2:9–10
Medieval Europe + Byzantine
Lesson 1: Beginner’s guide to Early Christian art
Early Christianity, an introduction
Early Christian Art
Classicism and the Early Middle Ages
Early Christian art and architecture after Constantine
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The beginnings of an identifiable Christian art can be traced to the end of the second century and the beginning of the third century. Considering the Old Testament prohibitions against graven images, it is important to consider why Christian art developed in the first place. The use of images will be a continuing issue in the history of Christianity. The best explanation for the emergence of Christian art in the early church is due to the important role images played in Greco-Roman culture.
As Christianity gained converts, these new Christians had been brought up on the value of images in their previous cultural experience and they wanted to continue this in their Christian experience. For example, there was a change in burial practices in the Roman world away from cremation to inhumation. Outside the city walls of Rome, adjacent to major roads, catacombs were dug into the ground to bury the dead. Families would have chambers or cubicula dug to bury their members. Wealthy Romans would also have sarcophagi or marble tombs carved for their burial. The Christian converts wanted the same things. Christian catacombs were dug frequently adjacent to non-Christian ones, and sarcophagi with Christian imagery were apparently popular with the richer Christians.
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, marble, 359 C.E. (Treasury of Saint Peter’s Basilica)
Junius Bassus, a Roman praefectus urbi or high ranking government administrator, died in 359 C.E. Scholars believe that he converted to Christianity shortly before his death accounting for the inclusion of Christ and scenes from the Bible. (Photograph above shows a plaster cast of the original.)
Themes of Death and Resurrection
A striking aspect of the Christian art of the third century is the absence of the imagery that will dominate later Christian art. We do not find in this early period images of the Nativity, Crucifixion, or Resurrection of Christ, for example. This absence of direct images of the life of Christ is best explained by the status of Christianity as a mystery religion. The story of the Crucifixion and Resurrection would be part of the secrets of the cult.
While not directly representing these central Christian images, the theme of death and resurrection was represented through a series of images, many of which were derived from the Old Testament that echoed the themes. For example, the story of Jonah—being swallowed by a great fish and then after spending three days and three nights in the belly of the beast is vomited out on dry ground—was seen by early Christians as an anticipation or prefiguration of the story of Christ’s own death and resurrection. Images of Jonah, along with those of Daniel in the Lion’s Den, the Three Hebrews in the Firey Furnace, Moses Striking the Rock, among others, are widely popular in the Christian art of the third century, both in paintings and on sarcophagi.
All of these can be seen to allegorically allude to the principal narratives of the life of Christ. The common subject of salvation echoes the major emphasis in the mystery religions on personal salvation. The appearance of these subjects frequently adjacent to each other in the catacombs and sarcophagi can be read as a visual litany: save me Lord as you have saved Jonah from the belly of the great fish, save me Lord as you have saved the Hebrews in the desert, save me Lord as you have saved Daniel in the Lion’s den, etc.
One can imagine that early Christians—who were rallying around the nascent religious authority of the Church against the regular threats of persecution by imperial authority—would find great meaning in the story of Moses of striking the rock to provide water for the Israelites fleeing the authority of the Pharaoh on their exodus to the Promised Land.
Christianity’s canonical texts and the New Testament
One of the major differences between Christianity and the public cults was the central role faith plays in Christianity and the importance of orthodox beliefs. The history of the early Church is marked by the struggle to establish a canonical set of texts and the establishment of orthodox doctrine.
Questions about the nature of the Trinity and Christ would continue to challenge religious authority. Within the civic cults there were no central texts and there were no orthodox doctrinal positions. The emphasis was on maintaining customary traditions. One accepted the existence of the gods, but there was no emphasis on belief in the gods.
The Christian emphasis on orthodox doctrine has its closest parallels in the Greek and Roman world to the role of philosophy. Schools of philosophy centered around the teachings or doctrines of a particular teacher. The schools of philosophy proposed specific conceptions of reality. Ancient philosophy was influential in the formation of Christian theology. For example, the opening of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God. ” is unmistakably based on the idea of the “logos” going back to the philosophy of Heraclitus (ca. 535 – 475 BCE). Christian apologists like Justin Martyr writing in the second century understood Christ as the Logos or the Word of God who served as an intermediary between God and the World.
9 Artworks that Show the Evolution of Jesus Through Art History
Jesus of Nazareth is undoubtedly one of the most famous men who ever lived, and his likeness has been transcribed on paintings, sculptures, and every other artistic medium one can possibly think of. As art developed over the centuries, images of Jesus reflected the characteristics, trends, and values of the artistic periods they were created in. By following the evolution of Jesus in art, we can analyze the progression of art itself.
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Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Photo: Dnalor 01, CC-BY-SA-3.0.
Early Christian Art
Unknown, Jesus and his Twelve Apostles, c. 1st – 5th Century CE. Roman Catacombs of Domitilla.
The most notable characteristic of early Christian art is its scarcity. Early Christianity generally operated more like a secret cult than an organized religion. Fearing Roman persecution, early converts were compelled to limit the amount of tangible evidence linking them to the faith. There were also doctrinal reasons for the lack of early Christian art. The Old Testament’s prohibition of graven images meant that early Christians were hesitant to create artwork depicting Jesus. The early Christian art that does exist is largely concentrated in Roman catacombs as pictured above. It was common for wealthy Roman Christians to bury deceased family members among images of their faith.
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Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Byzantine Art
Christ Pantocrator, c. 1261. Mosaic. Hagia Sofia, Istanbul.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century, Christian art flourished in the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire. When Constantine I adopted Christianity, he ushered in a new, more open, era for the religion. Despite its classical roots, Byzantine art generally abandoned the classical emphasis on realism in favor of a more stylized approach. The image of Christ pictured above is one of the only surviving Christian mosaics in the Hagia Sophia, the grand cathedral in Constantinople that was later transformed into a mosque under Ottoman Rule. Stylized and symbolic Christian art would also become the norm in Medieval Europe. It would not be until the Renaissance that Jesus would again be depicted naturalistically.
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Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Renaissance Art
Leonardo Da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495 – 98. Tempera on gesso, pitch, and mastic. 15 x 28.8 feet. Milan, Italy, Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The Renaissance era of European history saw a renewed interest in classical learning, literature, and art. Many pieces of artwork during the Renaissance would portray religious images, but perhaps none of these are more iconic than Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Depicting the moment in which Jesus reveals that one of his apostles would betray him, Da Vinci illustrates the anger and shock in the faces of the apostles. The masterful use of light and shadow in the painting is a testament to the growing popularity of naturalism in Renaissance art, emphasizing accurate and precise details to portray things as they are.
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Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Baroque Art
Peter Paul Rubens, Descent from the Cross, 1612 – 14. Oil on panel. Antwerp, Belgium, Cathedral of Our Lady.
This painting by one of the most influential Baroque artists, Peter Paul Rubens, depicts the removal of Christ from the Cross. Decent from the Cross exemplifies several aspects of Baroque art, including a continued emphasis on naturalism. The figures appear very lifelike, their expressions look genuinely human. And, perhaps the most important characteristic of Baroque art, drama is masterfully created by the artist’s use of stark lighting, exaggerated pose, and depth of emotion.
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Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Rococo Art
Sebastiano Ricci, The Resurrection, 1715. Oil on Canvas. London, Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Rococo art would evolve directly out of the Baroque period. Though similar to Baroque in some aspects, Rococo was very much the antithesis of the previous style. While Baroque artists generally used darker colors, dramatic lighting, and depicted somber scenes, Rococo utilized brighter colors, soft lighting, and focused on images of happiness and love. This distinction is easily recognizable when comparing Sebastiano Ricci’s The Resurrection and Peter Paul Ruben’s Descent from the Cross, as the two paintings give very different impressions from one another.
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Courtesy wikimedia Commons.
Neoclassical Art
Jacques-Louis David, Christ on the Cross, 1782. Oil on canvas. Mâcon, France, Church of Saint Vinent.
The Neoclassical period, much like the Renaissance, was another revival of classical culture and influences. Inspired by Enlightenment ideals, the subject matter in Neoclassical paintings commonly emphasized morality or virtue and sported a minimal use of color. These characteristics of Neoclassicism were a response to the decadence and exuberance displayed in Rococo pieces and likely helped contribute to the French public’s growing contempt for the aristocracy that culminated in the French Revolution. Jacques-Louis David was the quintessential Neoclassical artist, and his work Christ on the Cross was one of the few pieces of religious artwork he created. The piece exemplifies Neoclassical art with its muted colors, simplicity, and emphasis on the moral virtue of Christ by focusing on when he died on the cross for other’s sins. Religious artwork during this period was rare, as Neoclassical artwork was generally secular and would use Greek and Roman myths and history as its primary subject matter.
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Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Romantic Art
Joseph von Führich, Der Gang nach Emmaus (The Walk to Emmaus), 1837. Oil on canvas. Germany, Kunsthalle Bremen.
The Romantic era, of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, was a reaction against the prominence of rationalism during the Enlightenment period. Romantic artists sought to emphasize emotion rather than virtue and reason in their work and generally rejected classical influences in favor of medieval ones. Although most Romantic art was secular, there was a small movement among a group of German Romantic painters set on reviving their spirituality through art. This would later be named the Nazarene Movement, and the painting above by Joseph von Führich depicting Jesus’s walk to Emmaus was one of the many pieces of religious artwork this group created early in the nineteenth century.
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Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Photo: Michel Temer, CC-BY-2.0.
Modern Art
Paul Landowski, Heitor da Silva Costa, Albert Caquot, and Gheorghe Leonida, Christ the Redeemer, 1931. Soapstone. 125 x 92 feet. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Corcovado mountain.
Christian influence over society has waned significantly over the past century, and as a result, so has its influence on the Western art world. Religion has taken a back seat in many people’s lives as the world grew more complicated and interconnected, meaning that secular subject matters in art resonate more with average people than religious ones. In spite of this, one of the most iconic statues of Jesus ever was created in the early twentieth century. Christ the Redeemer was part of the international Art Deco movement, where it was common for patrons to commission the construction of decorative statues of historical figures for public spaces.
