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Course: Medieval Europe + Byzantine > Unit 4
Lesson 2: Early Christian architecture and sculpture- Basilica of Constantine (Aula Palatina), Trier
- The Good Shepherd in Early Christianity — Hermes recast
- The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna
- Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (quiz)
- Santa Maria Maggiore
- Santa Sabina
- Santa Sabina (quiz)
- Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome
- Santa Maria Antiqua Sarcophagus
- Santa Maria Antiqua Sarcophagus
- Santa Maria Antiqua
- Santa Pudenziana
- Santa Pudenziana
- Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
- Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus (quiz)
- Basilica of Santa Sabina, Rome
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Santa Maria Maggiore
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, 5th century A.D. Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Smarthistory.
Want to join the conversation?
- At2:37. Is Jesus holding the Lamb's Book of Life, or the Bible?(7 votes)
- I have read that it may be one of the gospels.(1 vote)
- If the highlight of this church is the 5th century mosaics, why are they in depth discussing a 13th century mosaic preceding the Renaissance? I am confused.(4 votes)
- hmm, maybe this video should be moved to "Late Gothic Art"?(2 votes)
- I keep seeing "images" of Christ and Mary and others...if this is in fact a 5th century Basilica, then how come these would not have been destroyed during the "iconoclast" era to follow?(3 votes)
- iconoclasm was a movement in the Eastern Church, and these buildings are located in the territory of the Western church.(4 votes)
- why does it look like marys a queen with the crown(2 votes)
- Mary could be shown as both the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven, which is fairly common(4 votes)
- Most of the audio was for me illegible, with Mr. Bowen seeming to mumble, along with his accent making the audio very hard to decipher, is this just me?(2 votes)
- I am sorry to hear you had difficulty with the audio. Mr. Bowen does indeed have a marvelous accent to my ear. I just listened to some of the video and was able to hear each word clearly. You might try clicking on the CC button at the bottom of the video so that you can read along with the captions if the sound continues to be an issue.(2 votes)
- What are Byzantine elements?(2 votes)
- Overview of extant monuments. Early Byzantine architecture drew upon earlier elements of Roman architecture. Stylistic drift, technological advancement, and political and territorial changes meant that a distinct style gradually resulted in the Greek cross plan in church architecture.(2 votes)
- Why is this art so different to other art at the same time? He did say the art was heavily restored and so how accurate can this art be for the time?(2 votes)
- At3:00, the British man says, "What I think when I look at this...with the Roman art from the latter part of the 13th century..." and then goes to refer to painters Cimabue and Giotto because that their use of depth and space hint toward the Renaissance to come. His point about Giotto and Cimabue is true; but this mosaic is from the 5th century not the 13th century. Certainly there is a similarity that could be compared in their use of space, but his chronology makes this a flawed comparison because this 5th century mosaic work does not at all hint toward the Renaissance, but rather precedes iconoclasm and an even greater abstraction to come during the middle ages. Why would he say this? Any thoughts?(2 votes)
- Is this a church or a cathedral? I thought it was a cathedral.(1 vote)
- A cathedral is a church. A cathedral is given its name because it is the church that is the seat of a bishop, these are usually the largest churches in their area, but not always, and are quite commonly also basilicas. So a cathedral is always a church, and can also be basilica.(1 vote)
- Why Do Bishops Wear Robes ?(1 vote)
- @Arthur. No, they were robes to show their authority in the church, and they are not actually enough to keep them warm because I serve with a priest ever week, and that robe is made of polyester.(1 vote)
Video transcript
(gentle music) - [Steven] We're in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, one of the great churches of this city and one of the oldest. - [Beth] By legend, the church was founded in the fourth century when
the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to a Pope and also
a prominent wealthy citizen and his wife and the Virgin
Mary said, "In the morning "I'm going to cover a site with snow "and that is the place that
you should build a church "in my honor." - [Steven] The remarkable thing is that it was August, and so the idea of snow
was most improbable, but the church we're
standing in is believed to have been constructed in the fifth century. So this is a very ancient space. - [Beth] But one that's been renovated and restored and expanded
many, many times. - [Steven] This is such a broad, open, and bright space, and it's a reminder that the early Christians borrowed a type of ancient Roman building
known as the basilica. Those ancient Roman structures were administrative buildings. And here that architecture
has been translated to a Christian structure - [Beth] And it was an ideal
type of building for some of the first churches because
it could hold large numbers of people and focus one's
attention at the altar. - [Steven] But let's look at some of the mosaics, some of which are among the oldest in this city, the mosaics that line the nave walls. These are stories that
come from the Jewish Bible. - [Beth] This kind of
thinking of the relationship between the Old Testament
and New Testament is referred to as typology, understanding
the Old Testament figures as types or figures that
foreshadow the figures and the stories of the New Testament. - [Steven] Let's take a
look at one of the mosaics and see how this typology works. The separation of Lot
and Abraham shows Abraham on the left and Lot, his
nephew, on the right. - [Beth] Abraham holds out his hand and points to his son Isaac,
who has not yet been born but both Abraham and Isaac are so critical to the Christian story that
Isaac appears here anyway. - [Steven] Isaac is a reference to Christ. He is a type. Abraham will be asked and willing to sacrifice his son Isaac just as God is willing to
sacrifice his son Jesus Christ. - [Beth] The mosaic
makes the story so clear. Even this far below we can read this separation between Lot and his people and Abraham and his people. We can see this empty space
with blue sky and a tree and gold in the middle of
the two groups of figures. And on the left, what
looks like a basilica, similar to the one that we're standing in, referring to the idea of the church as the legacy
of Abraham and Isaac. - [Steven] And there are echoes of the ancient Roman tradition, sometimes referred to as
the classical tradition in these figures, in their clothing, but especially in the easy
movement of these figures. - [Beth] There are parts of the mosaic however that are treated
less naturalistically. We do see light and dark in
the drapery of the figures, the description of their bodies underneath, even light and shadow in their faces that make them
appear three dimensional. But if we look behind them,
we see heads stacked up almost like grapes, a symbolic way of
indicating crowds of people. - [Steven] We are so lucky to be able to enter into an ancient church and see remnants of its
original decorative programs. But one of the most interesting parts of this church is that mosaic
is used over centuries. Let's take a look at the mosaics in the apse which were added to the church many centuries later. Framed by the baldacchino,
the large canopy over the high altar, is this incredible apse mosaic. This dates to the 13th century. It is spectacular. There's just so much gold,
so much reflected light. - [Beth] Here we see a
scene that was very popular and that is the coronation
of the Virgin Mary in heaven. Christ is on a throne with Mary and placing a crown on her head - [Steven] Crowning her Queen of Heaven. - [Beth] And the throne that they're sitting on is so elaborate. We see red pillows and gold
and jewels and golden stars in a blue field so that we
know that we're in heaven. - [Steven] Just below them are emblems of the sun and the moon, the moon for Mary, and
the golden sun for Christ. - [Beth] And then surrounding them in this beautiful field of gold
are scrolling vines, birds, this sense of the paradise of heaven. And both Christ and Mary
look quite substantial. We can see the folds of the drapery that describe their knees and their laps and the
forms of their arms. The smallest figures represent
the patrons, in this case a pope and a cardinal, and then the three figures beside each of them are saints. Most interestingly, two saints, Saint Francis and Saint Anthony of Padua. Saint Francis, the founder
of the Franciscan Order, and Saint Anthony, an
important Franciscan, and the reason these figures
are here is that the Pope at this time, Nicholas IV,
was the first Franciscan Pope. - [Steven] The sun has just
broken through the clouds and it is now illuminating the mosaic with the most brilliant light. - [Beth] As the light
reflects off the gold, these figures seem so
palpable, so present. - [Steven] And it seems as
if the Light of Heaven is in this church. (gentle music)