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Dr. Schiller: AP History of Art Early Christian and Byzantine Art: Pagans, Christians, and Jews Important Concepts You MUST Know About Early Christian Art: The Shift From ‘Realism’ to ‘Religion’ After the Fall of the Western (Roman Empire), the style of art changed dramatically. Creating ideals proportions took a backseat to teaching the narratives and symbolism of Christianity. The Parts of the Christian Churches The terminology of the churches is used throughout the AP Test. Know all of the terms associated with this presentation. Central Plan vs. Basilica Plan Originally, there were two basic types of Christian Church plans. Knowing these plans (and why they were designed as such) should aid you in learning how the needs of Christianity affected these layouts. Background: •Roman Empire is the dominant force during this period •So not surprising that the art forms in first few centuries are Roman •Christianity evolved out of Judaism - used a typology of Old Testament events foreshadowing New Testament events • Mirrored in other areas-*Plato's ideas about the ideal were used in Christianity. *Also, Romans were very organized, stoic ideals including concept of brotherhood of man – these ideas were also used in Christianity •so in Early Christian Art there was a unification of Greek/Roman, Jewish, and Christian beliefs. Greco-Roman Jewish Christian Early Christianity appealed to 2 types: 1. intellectuals 2. working classes (slaves) - all men equal in eyes of God Roman Jewish Christian Christianity during the 1st, 2d and 3rd centuries CE: •on very small scale for first few hundred years •At first, it was a sect of Judaism that believed the Messiah had come •Between 150-250 CE – increased in size, became more organized, more out in open, developing a hierarchy. •Meanwhile, disorder in empire. •Third Century Crisis: Emperors appointed by Senate, but degenerated to whoever had army behind them. Dura Europas, Syria, invaded and destroyed in 236 CE by the Sasanian Persians Early Christian Jewish synagogues contained almost no representational sculpture because Jewish law forbade praying to images or idols. Decorative paintings and mosaics were displayed on walls to denote religious concepts. Synagogue Floor, from Maon, Jerusalem. c 530. STOKSTAD PLATE 7-5 Interior of the synagogue at Dura Europas, Syria, with wall paintings of Old Testament themes, ca. 245-256. Tempera on plaster. Gardner plate 11-1 STOKSTAD PLATE 7-3 Niche for Torah •Jews were forbidden to make images that might be worshipped as idols •But this prohibition against representational art was applied primarily to sculpture in the round in early Judaism •Jewish art during the Roman Empire combined both Near Eastern and classical Greek and Roman elements to depict Jewish subject matter, both symbolic and narrative Abraham IN PACKET detail of floor mosaic, Beth Alpha Synagogue (The Galilee, 6th century CE) NOTE: the hand representing God's intervention. Dura Europas Wall painting NOTE: The hand representing God’s intervention •Notice that even when the subject is a narrative theme, the compositions have no action. •The artists tell the stories through stylized features • No haloes used in these early artworks •The figures, which have expressionless features, tend to stand in frontal rows During the later Roman Empire and into its decline, most pieces of Jewish Art were destroyed, and the Jewish people often faced special taxes, restrictions and even persecution. •Early Christians used catacombs under streets of Rome •not as surreptitious meeting places but burial sites •departure from Roman cremation. [Around time of Hadrian, Romans began to believe more in afterlife and switched to sarcophagi] •cubicula - burial chambers in a catacomb •on walls of catacombs were shelves (loculi) to hold the bodies of poor Christians •paintings on walls of cubiculum • The Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome have just reopened after years of restoration. • The complex is known as “regina catacumbarum” (queen of the catacombs) because of the great number of martyrs buried inside. • The decorations in the tombs depict many teachings of the New and Old Testaments, especially stories of salvation. • The Greek Chapel is particularly exceptional. It is a square chamber with scenes depicting the Last Judgment, the prophet Isaiah and the Madonna and Child. Catacomb of Priscilla. Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 200–400 C.E. Excavated tufa and fresco. •This Good Shephersd fresco is on the ceiling of the catacomb of Priscilla •also "good shepherd" figure in center Catacomb of Priscilla. Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 200–400 C.E. Tempera on plaster. The Good Shepherd figure goes back to Archaic Greek Art Calf Bearer Orant figure Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome,Italy 3th century fresco IN PACKET •Has story of Jonah in lunettes around the center •Also has an "orants" (praying figures) •Notice the cruciform shape other themes: fish (Christ as fisher of men) and bread (theme of multiplication of loaves and fishes) Early Christian symbolism (while they were still being persecuted) •fish: ICTHYS - each letter begins a word in phrase about Jesus. •fishermen - hesitant to represent Jesus as human because of "no graven images" so show him as fishers of men's souls •also show Jesus as Good Shepherd - bringing sheep back into the fold •Story of Jonah - salvation •placement of Good Shepherd in circle - cosmic reference (the Romans also used circles as a cosmic reference too) •painted style - cruder than Roman painting: •perhaps relaxation of standards or lower class people who were less accomplished artists •But not all Early Christian artists were inferior Sculpture: •small sculpture thought to avoid 2d commandment prohibition of graven images •Shows up first on early Christian sarcophagi. •After cinerary urns of Etruscans and then Romans, sarcophagi began to be used by Romans at the time of Hadrian, when more people started to belief in an afterlife. •Shift from cremation to burial. •Most popular scenes were classical mythology - glorify dead through analogy to legendary heroes •Next most popular were scenes of deceased life with moral overtones. Sculpture: •Remember the Battle between Romans and barbarians from the Ludovisi battle sarcophagus? •1st Christian sarcophagi were used images of the good shepherd, Jonah, etc., but within framework borrowed from the pagan Romans •For example: Good Shepherd Sarcophagus, from the catacomb of Praetextatus, Rome. Late 4th c.. Marble. •Then came the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus •STOKSTAD PLATE 7-21 Gardner plate 11-5 Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, from Rome, Italy, ca. 359. Marble. 3’ 10½” x 8’/ •Two registers, 10 panels of OLD and NEW Testament scenes… •Christ is depicted in center with Roman themes. •Colonnaded front divided into two rows of 10 compartments •Early Christianity stressed divine rather than human nature of Christ. Raising of Lazarus and Eve Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus from Rome, Italy ca. 359 marble 3 ft. 10 1/2 in. x 8 ft. Fall of Adam Christ Enthroned Christ Entering Jerusalem Christianity and Architecture •Unlike pagan temples, which were all about the exterior (in fact, ceremonies took place outside the temple), Christianity was the opposite and emphasized inner conversion •So new church forms spent all their “visual capital” on buildings' interiors •Inside Early Christian and especially Byzantine monuments, the solid Roman trappings of worldly power melted away to insubstantial color, light, and air •Common element of both basilica and central-plan church was to dematerialize a building's structure inside. •As an image of heaven, the church interior was intended to be transporting. Churches- 2 types: basilica and central plan Basilica-plan church Long, rectangular hall, adapted directly from the Roman meeting hall •Plain on the outside but sparkling inside, with gold and colored-glass mosaics, all surfaces adorned in some ways such as marble inlays, frescoes, painted and carved stucco sculpture •Constantine started imperial Christian architecture, e.g. Old St Peters, the greatest of the churches he built (Old St. Peter's was torn down in 1505 to build the current domed cathedral) •Built on the spot where people believed Peter, the first apostle and founder of the Roman Christian church, had been buried (there is a 2nd-century memorial excavated in the Roman cemetery beneath the church). This site is second only to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, believed to be the site of Christ’s Resurrection. •Peter was Rome’s first bishop and also head of the long line of popes that extends to the present •Old St. Peters was capable of housing 3000-4000 people at one time and was very expensive to built Old Saint Peter’s Basilica (restoration drawing) Rome, Italy ca. 320 Gardner plate 11-7 STOKSTAD PLATE 7-9 1. Nave 2. Aisles 3. Apse 4. Transept 5. Narthex 6. Atrium Old Saint Peter’s Basilica (plan) Rome, Italy ca. 320 Gardner plate 11-7 basilica •in atrium of St. peter's there were fountains for pilgrims to cleanse selves basilica •as you proceed, there is a progression of architectural experiences-•narthex basilica •then full amazing effect of nave basilica •triumphal arch separates nave from transept basilica •Bema is raised part of sanctuary, usually over crypt. "Bema" is also used for the raised part of the sanctuary in Jewish synagogues. basilica •Most churches had apse on east, facing Jerusalem. basilica •Clerestory-level of windows high up basilica An early Christian basilica was a temple turned inside out-*barnlike structure with solid exterior, brick wall and an interior series of colonnades *focus is all inside. Santa Sabina, Rome, c422-432 CE EARLY CHRISTIAN Santa Sabina Rome, Italy ca. 422-432 Gardner plate 11-8 Santa Sabina Plan Rome, Italy ca. 422-432 Central-plan church •Central plan church (sometimes octagonal) - originates from round shape like Pantheon, but could be round, octagonal or square on the outside •Sometimes called martyria because they originally enshrined martyr’ relics or burial grounds •They combine the basilica’s horizontal axis with the vertical accent of a dome •Frequently built on a Greek cross plan (a Greek cross has an upright crossed in the middle by a horizontal piece of the same length. •For Christian church, frequently built on a Greek cross plan (with two arms of equal length crossing under a central dome) •Could be round, octagonal, or square outside CENTRAL-PLAN CHURCH (East) See Hagia Sophia, Narthex Naos (not “nave”) Apse Central-plan •But a central plan poses problems for liturgy, just as theater in the round sometimes poses problems, because focus is in center •Was originally used as a martyrium, the cover the bones of martyrs •later mostly used for baptisteries and mausoleum •in mausoleum you're never seen again and in baptistery the old you is never seen again. Chronology of early Byzantine Empire Constantine moved his capital to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople. 330 Christianity becomes state religion 390 The Roman Empire split permanently after Emperor Theodosius I into two parts: The WESTERN EMPIRE (Roman) The EASTERN EMPIRE (Byzantine) 395 Rome is sacked by the Visigoths. 410 last Western Roman emperor, is deposed by Germanic tribe 476 Justinian becomes Eastern Roman emperor—high mark of Byzantine Empire 527 Justinian builds the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. 532-37 Byzantine Emperor Leo III orders all icons in the Byzantine Empire destroyed. 726 Icons permitted again 843 Ottoman Turks capture city and change name to Istanbul 1453 Christianity and Architecture •Unlike pagan temples, which were all about the exterior (in fact, ceremonies took place outside the temple), Christianity was the opposite and emphasized inner conversion •So new church forms spent all their “visual capital” on buildings' interiors •Inside Byzantine monuments, the solid Roman trappings of worldly power melted away to insubstantial color, light, and air •Common element of both basilica and central-plan church was to dematerialize a building's structure inside. •As an image of heaven, the church interior was intended to be transporting. Byzantium •in east: -Byzantine empire survived. Why? 1. handled invaders better (e.g. sent Ostragoths to Italy); 2. more common culture (Greek/Persian); 3. eastern half was always center of gravity of Roman Empire, especially in Constantinople and surrounding area from 320 CE on. 4. Emperor de facto head of church. Byzantium •In some ways, the split probably really began with Emperor Justinian (r.527-565) in 6th c. tried to reconquer west; he almost succeeded but didn't Map showing collapse of Western Empire and Justinian’s reign Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, c547. San Vitale Commissioned by Bishop Ecclesius when Italy was still under Ostrogothic rule, but only completed after Justinian’s conquest of Ravenna. Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, c547. Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, c547. Gardner plate 12-6 Plan of San Vitale, Ravenna, c547. Gardner plate 12-7/Stokstad plate 7-26 Dedicated by Bishop Maximianus in 547 in honor of Saint Vitalis, who was martyred at Ravenna in the 2nd century Most notable is the interior… Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, c547. Gardner plate 12-8, sort of../Stokstad plate 7-27 San Vitale Ravenna, Italy 526-547 San Vitale Ravenna, Italy 526-547 Gardner plate 12-9 • Justinian and Theodora are depicted in San Vitale • Old Testament people on ceiling are participating in sacrifices. • And Christ is presenting crown of martyrdom to S. Vitalis. So Old Testament, New Testament and contemporary times are all present and participating. The imperial court reflects theme of court of Heaven. Mosaics •Mosaic was known and used by Romans but mostly on pavements, not walls •Some of the world’s greatest art, in the form of mosaics, was created during the 5th and 6th centuries in Turkish Byzantium and its Italian capital, Ravenna •Mosaics are composed of bits of colored stone (tesserae) set into mortar •In Christian churches, they used colored glass a lot because it sparkled and created a shimmery surface •Mosaics were intended to publicize the now-official Christian creed, so their subject was generally religion with Christ shown as teacher and all—powerful ruler •Sumptuous grandeur, with halos spotlighting sacred figures and shimmering gold backgrounds, characterized these works Mosaics •Mosaic lends itself more to pattern than illusion of volume •Human figures were flat, stiff, and symmetrically placed, seeming to float as if hung from pegs •Artisans had no interest in suggesting perspective or volume •Tall, slim human figures with almond-shaped faces, huge eyes, and solemn expressions gazed straight ahead, without the least hint of movement. ROMAN MOSAICS EARLY CHRISTIAN/BYZANTINE MOSAICS Used opaque marble cubes Used reflective glass cubes Pieces had smooth, flat finish Surfaces left uneven so work sparkled Colors limited due to use of natural stones Glowing glass in wide range of colors Typically found on floor of private homes Found on walls & ceilings – especially church dome and apse Subjects were secular, like battles, games Subjects were religious, like Christ as shepherd Background represented landscape Background was abstract; skyblue, then gold north wall apse mosaic, ca. 547 Gardner plate 12-10/Stokstad plate 7-29 •Emperor Justinian is flanked by Archbishop Maximianus--same idea as consular diptych--they're there in proxy. •This idea was the basis for development of Byzantine icon--idea that if you had a representation of Christ or whoever, then that person was actually there. •Emperor (and Empress in another mosaic) are presenting the vessels for Holy Communion and are participating in mass in same way. style is flat and abstract Empress Theodora South wall apse mosaic, ca.547 Gardner plate 12-11/Stokstad plate 7-30 Justinian •codified laws since Constantine--whatever wasn't in code was discarded •Married prostitute Theodora and she turned out to be very capable ruler •Story: --there were 2 factions in administration. --Fighting, buildings around palace burned --Justinian trapped. --Didn't know if he could trust army. --But Theodora said "do not flee" so Justinian didn't and his army defeated the insurrection •His general, Belasarius, defeated the Vandals in Africa (they ceased to exist as culture) •Justinian stabilized frontiers and built many churches. Three Magi (or Kings) Saint Apollinare Nuovo Ravenna, Italy dedicated 504 Anthemius of Tralles & Isidorus of Miletus Hagia Sophia Constantinople, (Istanbul), Turkey 532-537 Gardner plate 12-3/Stokstad plate 7-22 The Hagia Sophia merged the vast scale of Roman buildings with an Eastern mystical appearance. --184 feet high! (41 feet higher than Pantheon) Gardner plate 12-5/Stokstad plate 7-24 Inside: --weight disappears --lots of glitter --illusion of unreality. dome seems to hover •dome seems to hover Virgin (Theotokos) and Child enthroned Apse mosaic, Hagia Sophia 867 [notice later date of mosaic] Gardner plate 12-16 longitudinal section of Hagia Sophia plan of Hagia Sophia Dome inserted into central plan church --Earliest existing monumental use of this. Gardner plate 12-4/Stokstad plate 7-23 •What causes that effect: --dome on pendentives --Dome inserted into central plan church Gardner p.332: domes supported on pendentives or squnches Stokstad p.272: pendentives and squinches Large, decorated pendentives inside the Hagia Sophia 40 arched windows encircle the Base of the dome, creating the illusion that it rests on a halo of light. This overhead radiance seems to dissolve the walls in divine light, Transforming the material into an otherworldly vision So successful was his creation, that Justinian boasted, “Solomon, I have vanquished thee!” Hagia Sophia, 532-537 Istanbul, Turkey. Byzantine pendentive Another way to support a dome: Squinch - Another means of effecting the transition from a square of the plan below to the circular base of a dome, by throwing small arches (or a series of such arches) across the four corners of the square to create an octagon which more closely approximates the circular base of the dome. Diagram at bottom shows squinches (in red) below a dome, Gardner p.332: dome supported on squinches EARLY CHRISTIAN/ BYZANTINE MANUSCRIPTS Vienna Genesis Early 6th century,tempera, gold, silver on purple vellum,12 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. Gardner plate 11-19 •The Vienna Genesis is the earliest wellpreserved painted manuscript containing Biblical scenes •Pages are sumptuous— fine calfskin dyed with rich purple, the same dye used to give imperial cloth its distinctive color, and the text is in silver ink. Genesis chapter 24:15 Rebecca Leaves Nahor Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well Vienna Genesis Early 6th century tempera, gold, silver on purple vellum 12 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. • The Vienna Genesis represents the somewhat uneasy transition from the scroll to the codex, from the old roll format, which favored continuous narrative, to the new bound book, with its series of individual pictures on separate leaves •The Vienna Genesis still employs the continuity of a frieze in a scroll, with 2 or more episodes of a story painted with in a single frame •This page illustrates the story of Rebecca and Eliezer in the Book of Genesis. •When Isaac, Abraham’s son, was 40 years old, his parents sent their servant Eliezer to find a wife for him. •Eliezer chose Rebecca because when he stopped at a well, she was the 1st woman to draw water for him and his camels. •The page shows Rebecca at the left, in the first episode of the story, leaving the city of Nahor to fetch water from the well •In the second episode, she gives water to Eliezer and his ten camels, while one already laps water from the well. •The artist painted Nahor as a walled city seen from above, while keeping some Roman pictorial conventions: --e.g. she walks along a colonnaded avenue of a Roman city --a seminude female personification of a spring is the source of the well water Everything necessary for bare narrative is present and nothing else Genesis chapter 32 Vienna Genesis Early 6th century tempera, gold, silver on purple vellum 12 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. Jacob travels to meet Esau Jacob travels over the Jabbok brook Jacob wrestles with the Angel Jacob blessed by the Angel Jacob’s 11 sons ICONS •icons were small wood-panel paintings believed to be special vehicles to God and the saints •The images of saints or holy persons were typically rigid, frontal poses, often with halos and staring, wide eyes •Icons supposedly had magical properties--According to legend: --one wept --another emitted the odor of incense •Ardent believers carried them into battle or wore away their faces by kissing them icons Earliest icons were painted with encaustic, like the Roman fayyum portraits: The Fayyum Mummy Portraits The dry desert air of Egypt preserved a collection of encaustic portraits of men and women, which were originally placed over their mummified faces on their sarcophagi; painted images of family to save as a memorial image. These date between the first and third centuries CE The impact of this style of realism with an emphasis on the eyes is clearly seen in the development of early icons, especially in the tradition of the Egyptian Coptic Christians. For example, Abbot Menas of Bawit Monastery stands with Christ in this 6th-century Coptic icon (57x57 cm) icons earliest Madonna: •from the monastery of St. Catherine at Sinai •flanked by servant and angels like consular diptych. Gardner plate 12-15/Stokstad plate 7-38 Virgin (Theotokos) and Child Between Saints Theodore and George, icon, 6th or early 7th century. Encaustic on Wood, 2/3” x 1’ 7 3/8” Among some of the finest icons were images of Virgin Mary, known as Theotokos (bearer of God). She was also known as the Seat of Wisdom, often holding a baby Jesus in her lap. During the iconoclasm of the 8th century, most icons like this were destroyed, but a few like this in Mount Sinai, Egypt, survived. How to paint icon panels: •start out with boards •smooth off surface •then apply gesso (sometimes reinforced with linen) •Underdrawing (because of frequent use of gold leaf in panel painting you need to put a kind of reddish material under it that gold leaf can adhere to - called vole) •can punch holes or apply extra gesso to make it reliefed (like having halo project out) •then apply layers of pigment - tempera (colors mixed with egg yolk - brilliant colors, not transparent but thick and matte – dries quickly). The Iconoclastic controversy •At beginning of 8th c., Emperor Leo III became involved in the iconoclastic controversy •Icons were replacing holy relics as objects of devotion from 6th c. on. •Icons believed to have been created miraculously. •Prostration before altars - close to idol worship. •In 726 Leo said no more icons!! He instituted an "image-breaking" iconoclasm that said all religious images were idols and should be destroyed. •This created 2 problems (other than destroying icons that some people revered and believed in): 1. undermined untaxed wealth and prestige of monasteries which had great collections of devotional art and drew thousands of worshippers. 2. created a tension with the papacy, defended veneration of images in the form of relics •The issue drove a wedge between eastern and western church. It was very serious--people were massacred over this. •Issue was not resolved till 843, when destruction of images was condemned as a heresy and restoration of images began Key Terms: Early Christian Art apse: The semicircular recess at the end of a Christian church opposite the main entry, or in a wall of a Roman basilica. It was here that the altar was placed. atrium (of a church): the open courtyard in front of a Christian church. baptistry: In Christian architecture, the building used for baptism, usually situated next to a church. catacombs: Subterranean networks of galleries and chambers designed as cemeteries for the burial of the dead. central plan church: a church in which the parts of the building radiate from a central point. Constantinople: former city of Byzantium, where Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire cubiculum (pl: cubicula): burial chambers in a catacomb cruciform: cross-shaped. gesso: Plaster mixed with a binding material and used for reliefs and as a ground for painting. Good Shepherd: A title of Jesus, based on a passage in the Gospel of John, where he says, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep,” and “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” The metaphor of God as a shepherd is also found in the Old Testament. The Twenty-third Psalm begins, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” and a passage in the Book of Isaiah says that God “shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm.” graven images: idols Greek cross: A cross formed by two bars of equal length crossing in the middle at right angles to each other. Hagia Sophia: Church built in Constantinople by Justinian; later turned into mosque and then museum. icon: a painted, low relief or mosaic image representing a sacred figure or event in the Byzantine, and later the Orthodox, church. Icons were venerated by the faithful who believed them to have miraculous powers. iconoclast: the destroyers of icons. “Iconoclasm” is the destruction of images, especially during the iconoclastic period in the Byzantine Empire from 726-843 when there was an imperial ban on images Iconoclastic Controversy: The Iconoclastic Controversy occurred between the mid-8th century and the mid-9th century in the Byzantine Christian Church over the question of whether or not Christians should continue to revere icons. Iconophile: opposite of iconoclast—lover of icons ICTHYS: The use of the ICTHYS symbol by early Christians appears to date from the end of the 1st century CE. Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ, Greek for fish) is an acronym, a word formed from the first letters of several words. It stands for "Jesus Christ, God's son, savior", in Greek. Used by early Christians as a secret symbol. Jonah: An Old Testament prophet who did not wish to become a prophet. So God caused a great storm to throw him overboard from a ship; he was saved by being swallowed by a whale that vomited him out onto dry land. Used as an early Christian symbol of salvation. loculi: shelf-like openings in the walls of catacombs to receive the dead. lunette: a crescent-shaped or semicircular space narthex: a porch or vestibule (roofed porch) of a church, generally colonnaded or arcaded and preceding the nave. nave: the part of a church between the chief entrance and the choir, demarcated from the aisles by piers or columns. [A choir is the space reserved for the clergy in the church, usually east of the transept but, in some instances, extending into the nave.] New Testament: the collection of the books of the Bible that were produced by the early Christian church, comprising the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation of St. John the Divine. Old Testament: the collection of books comprising the sacred scripture of the Hebrews and recording their history as the chosen people; the first half of the Christian Bible orants: In Early Christian art, figures represented with hands raised in prayer. Orthodox Christianity: Eastern Orthodoxy arose as a distinct branch of Christianity after the 11th-century "Great Schism" between Eastern and Western Christendom. The separation was not sudden. For centuries there had been significant religious, cultural, and political differences between the Eastern and Western churches. Religiously, they had different views on topics such as the use of images (icons), the nature of the Holy Spirit, and the date on which Easter should be celebrated. Culturally, the Greek East has always tended to be more philosophical, abstract and mystical in its thinking, whereas the Latin West tends toward a more pragmatic and legal-minded approach. pendentive: a concave, triangular piece of masonry (a triangular section of a hemisphere), four of which provide the transition from a square area to the circular base of a covering dome. Although they appear to be handing (pendant) from the dome, they in fact support it. prefiguration: In Early Christian art, the depiction of Old Testament persons and events as prophetic forerunners of Christ and New Testament events. representational art: recognizable as depicting something real in particular, squinch: an architectural device used as a transition from a square to a polygonal or circular base for a dome. It may be composed of lintels, corbels, or arches. theocratic state (or theocracy): For believers, theocracy is a form of government in which divine power governs an earthly human state, either in a personal incarnation or, more often, via religious institutional representatives (i.e., a church), replacing or dominating civil government Theotokos: is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Theodora: wife of Justinian. Theodosius: Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. After his death, the two parts split permanently. He is also known for making Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire.[1] Trinity: the Christian concept of God comprising 3 parts: God the father, God the son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. vole: a reddish substance applied under gold leaf so the gold leaf will adhere to it