Roman and Christian Art

 

During the Republican period a new way of portaraying the human face came about. Instead of having the look of the "perfect" human being, artists began showing the signs of age and imperfection. In the portrait Head of An Elder bust from 80 BCE Rome we see those signs of age in the wrinkles and creases in his forhead and on his face. This isn't only to show the man's age but also to show that he was a thinker and had a lot of knowledge. They had such a respect for their ancestors that they used their likeness in art. Instead of having images of their ancestors in things like death masks, they were now portraying them in more realistic forms such as the portrait Head of An Elder.Many pieces of artwork during this time had a lot of color and iconography. In the Church of San Vitale there is an image of Christ Enthroned in the sanctuary apse. Christ is seated on a purple orb in the middle and you can tell it's Christ by the cross halo behind his head. During the time period that this was made, Christ was not yet shown with a beard as you can see. Below on the ground you can see Lilys which represents the crucifiction of Christ showing an example of the iconography of the time. Christ is surrounded by angels and Bishop Ecclesius who is holding a model of the church of San Vitale to offer to Christ. 
Roman and Christian art relate to each other on a couple levels especially since they are so close to each other in history. Christian art was surrounded around being kind of somber and with an emphasis on the church. The image of Christ Enthroned at the Church of San Vitale is a good example of the somber and emphasis of the church. The lilys representing the crucufuction of Christ show the somber side while the whole scene shows the emphasis on the church. Roman art had an emphasis on their ancestors and the Portrait Head of An Elder is an example of that. Many of the faces were very similar to the ones of their ancestors. Both art types would prove to survive through time to give us a glimpse into what it was lije back then.