Early Christian
It is customary to distinguish early Christian painting of the West or Latin part of the late Roman Empire from the Christian painting of regions dominated by the Greek language and to consider the latter as proto-Byzantine. The Western strain of early Christian painting may be said to have ended with the collapse of the empire in the West at the end of the 5th century. In the East, until the 6th and even the 7th century, painting in many regions followed the paths traced by Christian painting at its beginnings. Exceptions to the above schematization are Doura-Europus and early Christian paintings in Egypt (see below).
Early Christian painting did not have a distinct existence until about the end of the 2nd century ad. There are several reasons for this. First, there can have been few, if any, monumental churches before that time capable of taking decoration showing Christian themes. Second, Christianity did not at first make great headway among those able to afford large painted tombs where examples of Christian iconography might be expected to appear. Third, early Christianity was much closer to Judaism than in later years and may have retained the Judaic distaste for the painted image, especially if it referred to the Godhead. Lastly, even Christians prized classical education, which was, after all, the only sound basis for a public career, and they could appreciate classical works of art even if they rejected pagan subject matter. This was made easier for them by the concept of myth as allegory, according to which depictions of mythological scenes were not so much statements of a religious position as moral lessons whose messages could be appreciated by any educated man. Because most surviving early Christian painting is funerary, it is hardly surprising that purely Christian subjects at first made little headway in a field already crowded with edifying moral messages based on the Greek myths. These may have been pagan, but they did emphasize the common belief in life beyond the grave. It was only in the 3rd century ad, when the idea of Judaic or Christian allegories gained legitimacy, that any real development could begin. Even so, some rather odd compromises took place: representations of Christ as the victorious Sun God or as a philosopher occur in early Christian tomb paintings. Even the emperor Constantine, who by the Edict of Milan (ad 313) established toleration for Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and who himself professed Christianity, seems to have worshiped both in his lifetime.
The new elements, then, consisted not of form but of content. As the power of the church over public and private life grew, these new elements tended to gain in importance, but they never quite ousted the pagan scenes. The latter were often drawn undiminished from plays or epics whose prestige remained long after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
With the growth of Christian communities, the catacombs—underground burial places—became veritable subterranean cities, their rooms linked by corridors. The most important extant examples are in Rome, with others in Naples, Sicily, Malta, North Africa (specifically in what is now Tunisia), and Egypt. Pictorial decoration of the catacombs, limited to only a few rooms, followed pagan models. Delicate lines on the ceilings and walls trace circles and squares in which decorative motifs are inserted: garlands, birds, four-legged animals, cupids, images of the seasons, and figures of ambiguous significance (pagan or Christian)—praying figures and a shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders, generally called “The Good Shepherd.”
As early as the first half of the 3rd century, however, scenes of purely Christian meaning were added to these neutral subjects. The oldest are located in Rome in the cemeteries of Domitilla (the gallery of the Flavians), of Priscilla (the Greek Chapel), and of Calixtus (the Chapel of the Sacrament). Stories from the Old Testament are joined by stories from the Gospels. These images present examples of the succour brought to the faithful by God the Father and Christ the Son. Even the baptism and the adoration of the Magi can be interpreted in this manner; as revelations of Christ’s divinity, they announce man’s salvation.
The style and quality of these paintings vary. Some of those from the beginning of the 3rd century are light in touch and charmingly elegant (e.g., gallery of the Flavians), comparable to the best pagan paintings. In others (e.g., cemetery of Priscilla, mid-3rd century) there is a somewhat heavier element, with a passion of expression that seems to match the aspirations of the new faith. In the 4th century the style becomes firmly contoured.
The frescoes in the baptistery of Doura-Europus, executed between 230 and 240, differ only in style from those of the catacombs in the West. Scenes from the Old and New Testaments are used to explain the significance of baptism: the death of the old Adam and his rebirth to a new life through the baptismal bath. The back wall of the baptismal pool bears the images of Adam and Eve, recalling the Fall, as well as that of the Good Shepherd (who in this case is Christ, Saviour of souls). Illustrations on the longitudinal walls are of David fighting Goliath and of incidents from the Gospels—Christ walking on water, the healing of the paralytic, the holy women at the tomb, and Christ and the Samaritan—and were probably inspired by readings that accompanied the rite of baptism. Stylistic elements that recall the paintings in the Roman catacombs are the juxtaposition of scenes without apparent connection and the conciseness of the narrative.
Among the latest examples of early Christian funerary art are paintings dating from the 5th century in the tomb of el-Bagaouat at al-Khārijah, in Egypt.