Introduction
This essay examines the documentary evidence presented at the beginning of Christian art. A summary and an analysis of the documentary evidence is undertaken with personal remarks on the significance of the documentary being made.
Terms Used
- Byzantium: “Byzantium is the name given to both the state and the culture of the Eastern Roman Empire in the middle ages” (Hasall 1).
- Renaissance: renaissance is associated with a time when there was a great thirst for knowledge; this is a time when knowledge expanded widely (Renaissance 1).
Summary and Critical Review of the Documentary
The art of eternity was a documentary presented by Andrew Dixon. Through the documentary, Andrew shed light on the beginning of Christian art. The documentary can be sectioned into three parts: the painting paradise, the glory of Byzantium, and when East Meets West. For the purpose of this review, only the first episode, painting paradise, is analyzed (BBC 1).
Painting Paradise
Basically, this episode of the documentary evidence was inclined to show how the early Christians tried to pass messages about Christianity. Under this section, the documentary shed light on how Christian art began at a time when the influence of Roman governance was weakening. Andrew carefully and effectively traced the beginning of Christian art in Egypt through the Coptic Church, in the Roman system and lastly in France. The presenter showed real evidence of early Christian art through the three regions, that is, Egypt, Roman Empire and France (Christian Art 1).
In Egypt, the presenter brought out the significance of the Coptic Church, especially the Coptic museum, which stocks some of the ancient manuscripts. The Coptic Church in Egypt is quite old and has a rich stock of ancient Christian art. Some of the images persevered in the museum belonged to the sixth century, which was a very long time ago. The presenter was of the view that some of the images were specially designed to evoke some sense of eternity. The presenter tried to show a vivid connection of the images at the Coptic museum and images that were located at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Through this section, Andrew effectively brought to light, great works of early Christians, most of which had been restored.
During the Roman Empire, Christians were not allowed to practice their faith, and therefore they only did it in hideouts to avoid calling attention to themselves. In some of their hideouts they left evidence which showed their attachment to the Christian faith – the images showed “Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrifice, Jonah being saved from the whale, Job raising up from the tomb among other” (Painting Paradise 1).
The presenter examined some more Christian artwork in two churches in France. The one dominant one was a huge cathedral church. At the entrance, the church has a pictorial message on the judgment day; in the image, people are resurrecting from their graves to face judgment. The windows of the cathedral were made of stained glass with bible stories being depicted on these glasses. The presenter also examined a second church which had early Christian artwork which had been restored. It was surprising that there were some artworks in the second church that was quite similar to the artwork in the Coptic monasteries in Egypt.
Discussion
Andrew did remarkable work in the documentary art of eternity. The outline of his coverage was significant, and it gave a systematic flow of events which makes it very easy for any person to follow through. The details of the coverage were great and enough. The presenter brought some new information to the public sector. For instance, Egypt is largely a Muslim nation, and the assumption that is easily made is that it cannot have such a huge connection to Christian roots. I was surprised that it is in Cairo that some of the greatest evidence of the early Christian works were preserved in the Coptic monasteries.
In accordance to the title of the documentary, the presenter tried to show why the early Christian artists chose to come up with a new way of creating Christian images instead of using the old and well established Roman way. Some claimed that it was because the early Christians artists were primitive or had forgotten the artistic styles of creating artworks, but the presenter argued that it was because of the dilemma that the early Christian artists faced – how do you present an eternal issue in an earthly way? The presenter believed that this was the reason why they used bright colours – the bright background on which the images were placed represented light or radiance, which is associated with eternal things.
Not many Christians can explain how it came to be that in most cases the image representing Jesus is placed at the front of the church – the significance of this was to show that Jesus was the judge. In the context of the Roman Empire, judges used to sit at the very front, and the early Christians switched this position of the judges with the image of Jesus to make it easier for the Roman people to understand the Christian values and significance of Jesus.
The documentary by Andrew has much public significance, especially to Christians. It is a source of strength and can jumpstart Christians into being more committed than they are. This is because they will know, through the documentary, that the early Christians despite being persecuted and restricted from propagating the Christian religion, they nevertheless braved on and were never intimidated.
Conclusion
Episode 1 of the Art of eternity is quite deep revealing. Andrew points out at the beginning of Christian art by carefully examining three regions: Egypt, France and the region of the Roman Empire. The documentary was greatly enriching and showed a lot about the kind of life the early Christians led. The art of eternity seemingly used bright colours in the images to represent an image of a man who is also a God. The bright colours would represent some aspect of God – light. Andrew carried out an exemplary task which had full details and no bias at all.
Works Cited
“Painting Paradise.” Art of Eternity. Presented by Andrew Dixon, 2007. DVD.
BBC. Art of Eternity. BBC, 2007. Web.
Christian Art. The Early Christian Art. Oklahoma University, 2011. Web.
Halsall, Paul. Byzantium. Fordham University, 2011. Web.
Renaissance. The Renaissance. The Tree Maker, 2011. Web.