The Routledge Handbook of Early Christian Art surveys a broad spectrum of Christian art produced from the late second to the sixth centuries. The first part of the book opens with a general survey of the subject and then presents fifteen essays that discuss specific media of visual artcatacomb paintings, sculpture, mosaics, gold glass, gems, reliquaries, ceramics, icons, ivories, textiles, silver, and illuminated manuscripts. Each is written by a noted expert in the field. The second part of the book takes up themes relevant to the study of early Christian art. These seven chapters consider the ritual practices in decorated spaces, the emergence of images of Christs Passion and miracles, the functions of Christian secular portraits, the exemplary mosaics of Ravenna, the early modern history of Christian art and archaeology studies, and further reflection on this field called early Christian art. Each of the volumes chapters includes photographs of many of the objects discussed, plus bibliographic notes and recommendations for further reading.
The result is an invaluable introduction to and appraisal of the art that developed out of the spread of Christianity through the late antique world. Undergraduate and graduate students of late classical, early Christian, and Byzantine culture, religion, or art will find it an accessible and insightful orientation to the field. Additionally, professional academics, archivists, and curators working in these areas will also find it valuable as a resource for their own research, as well as a textbook or reference work for their students.
1. Introduction: The Emergence and Character of Early Christian Art,
Robin M. Jensen;Part I: Media;
2. Catacomb Painting and the Rise of Christian
Iconography in Funerary Art, Norbert Zimmermann;
3. Christian Sarcophagi from
Rome, Jutta Dresken-Weiland;
4. Early Christian Sarcophagi outside of Rome,
Guntram Koch;
5. Freestanding Sculpture, Heidi J. Hornik;
6. Christian Wall
Mosaics and the Creation of Sacred Space, Sean V. Leatherbury;
7. Christian
Floor Mosaics: Modes of Study and Potential Meanings, Rina Talgam;
8. Gold
Glass in Late Antiquity, Susan Walker;
9. Engraved Gems and Amulets, Jeffrey
Spier;
10. Reliquaries and the Cult of Relics in Late Antiquity, Erik Thunų;
11. Ceramics in the Early Christian World, John J. Herrmann, Jr. and Annewies
van den Hoek;
12. Panel Paintings and Early Christian Icons, Katherine
Marsengill;
13. Christian Ivories: Containment, Manipulation, and the
Creation of Meaning, Niamh Bhalla;
14. Textiles: The Emergence of a Christian
Identity in Cloth, Jennifer L. Ball;
15. Early Christian Silver: Sacred and
Domestic, Ruth Leader-Newby;
16. Early Christian Illuminated Manuscripts,
Dorothy Verkerk; Part II: Themes;
17. Early Christian Art and Ritual, Michael
Peppard;
18. Picturing the Passion, Felicity Harley-McGowan;
19. Miracles and
Art, Lee M. Jefferson;
20. Secular Portraits, Identity, and the
Christianization of the Roman Household, Mark D. Ellison;
21. The Mosaics of
Ravenna, Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis;
22. Early Christian Art and Archaeology
in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Rome, Janet Huskinson;
23. Early
Christian Art, Robert Couzin; Index
Robin M. Jensen is the Patrick OBrien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, USA, and a member of the faculty of Medieval Institute and the Department of Art, Art History, and Design. Her published work explores the intersection of early Christian iconography, ecclesial architecture, ritual practices, and theological discourse.
Mark D. Ellison is an associate professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, USA. He received a Ph.D. and M.A. from Vanderbilt University, USA, in Early Christianity and Early Christian Art, and an M.A. from the University of South Florida, USA, in Religious Studies (Biblical Archaeology).
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