Upload
joshua-harris
View
8
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Stokstad
Citation preview
Archaeological Institute of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journalof Archaeology.
http://www.jstor.org
Review: Understanding and Enjoying the Earliest Christian Art Author(s): Marilyn Stokstad Review by: Marilyn Stokstad Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 112, No. 3 (Jul., 2008), pp. 533-541Published by: Archaeological Institute of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20627489Accessed: 02-04-2015 11:33 UTC
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of contentin a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MUSEUM REVIEW
Understanding and Enjoying the Earliest Christian Art
MARILYN STOKSTAD
Picturing the Bible: The Earliest Christian
Art, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, 18
November?30 March 2008, curated by Jeffrey
Spier.
Picturing the Bible: The Earliest Christian
Art, by Jeffrey Spier, with contributions by Mary
Charles-Murray, Johnnes G. Deckers, Steven Fine, Rob
in M. Jenson, and Herbert Kessler. Pp. 309, b&w figs. 40, color figs. 263. Yale University Press, in asso
ciation with the Kimbell Art Museum, New Haven
and Fort Worth 2007. $65 (cloth); $40 (paper). ISBN 978-0300-11683 (cloth); 978-0-912804-47-7
(paper).
By calling this excellent exhibition Picturing the Bible: The
Earliest Christian Art, the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth,
Texas, has created a welcoming public invitation to what is,
in fact, a scholarly and focused view of the origins of Chris
tian pictorial art. A worthy successor to The Age of Spiritual
ity, held 30 years ago at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York, and to Aurea Roma, held at the Palazzo delle
Esposizioni in Rome from 2000 through 2001, Picturing the
Bible is more modest in scale but similarly concerned with
presenting both the latest scholarship and a larger vision of
Early Christian art. Although focused on the fourth and fifth
centuries, the exhibition includes artworks from the early third to the mid seventh centuries, from a coin of 217-2181
to the silver David plates of ca. 628-630.2
The installation of Picturing the Bible is remarkable. Black
and-white photograph murals suggest the original architec
tural context of the art: the synagogue at Dura Europos, San Paolo fuori le Mura in Rome, the apse mosaics of Santa
Costanza and Santa Pudenziana, and the carved wooden
doors of Santa Sabina. The photographs so harmonize with
the Kimbell's travertine walls in tone that they seem to merge with the setting. This muted scheme enhances the glitter of gold glass and silver and bronze objects. The exhibition
concludes with a blaze of color in the Rabbula Gospels3 and
the Vatican's jeweled reliquary of the True Cross,4 known as
the Cross of Justin II. In general, the labels in the exhibition
are good, and many have useful visual aids, such as drawings of objects in an earlier condition.
On the entrance walls of the exhibition, selections from
the famous Wilpert Collection of watercolors, created before
the invention of color photography, evoke the art of the cata
combs. These watercolors are the product of a monumental
Vatican project. Beginning in 1897, the German priest and
archaeologist Josef Wilpert started to use the relatively new
art of photography to record the paintings in the catacombs.
Pompeo and Renato Sansaini, a father and son, took black
and-white photographs, which Carlo Tabanelli then painted over with watercolor to reproduce the original colors. Today, the most popular and often reproduced catacomb paintings have deteriorated, but these watercolors capture the appear ance of the originals as they could have been seen a century
ago.5 In Picturing the Bible, these photograph watercolors flank
the black-and-white, mural-sized photograph of the reliquary Cross of Justin II. Here, then, is the alpha and omega of the
exhibition, for the last work on display is the Vatican's True
Cross, with its veiled relic,6 encrusted with (later) jewels in
barbaric splendor.
Leaving the catacombs, the viewer enters a darkened gal
lery (fig. 1). This darkness will come as a surprise for many
visitors, as the museum, designed by Louis Kahn (1901-1974) and established by Kay Kimbell and Velma Fuller Kimbell in
1964, is renowned for the classic simplicity of its design and
for the innovative use of natural light in its galleries. Kahn
included skylights, which he described as "narrow slits to the
sky." When combined with perforated metal reflectors that
spread the sunlight over the underside of curving ("cycloid
shaped") vaults, these skylights permit daylight to illuminate
the walls and works of art. How, then, did the exhibition's
designer, Tim Dawson, supported by operations manager
Larry Eubank, control or eliminate this natural light? They
simply covered the skylights with an opaque material. The
material is virtually invisible to the viewer because it rests on
the outer surface of the vaults. The covered skylights can be
seen between rows of spotlights in figure 1.
The works of art also presented challenges beyond prob lems of light. Their sensitivity to changes in temperature and
1 Spier 2007,171, no. 1 (New York, the Dr. Jay M. Galst Fam
ily Collection). 2 Evans et al. 2001, 34-6; Spier 2007, 285-87, nos. 84a,
84b (New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. nos.
17.190.398,17.190.397). 3 Cod. Plut. 1.56; Spier 2007,276-82, no. 82 (Florence, Bib
lioteca Medicea Laurenziana). 4 Spier 2007, 283-85, no. 83 (Vatican City, Treasury of St.
Peter's). 5 Spier 2007,173-83, nos. 3a-c, 4-11.
6When the relic leaves the Vatican, it must be covered (i.e.,
veiled).
533 American Journal of Archaeology 112 (2008) 533-41
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
534 MARILYN STOKSTAD [AJA112
Fig. 1. Installation view of the exhibition section "The Emergence of Christian Art": foreground, marble statuette of the
Good Shepherd, ca. 280-290, Asia Minor (Cleveland, the Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1965.241);
center, silver dish and cup from the Water Newton Treasure, late fourth/early fifth century, England (?) (London, British
Museum, inv. nos. P&EE 1975.10-02.7, P&EE 1975.10-02.5); background, marble sarcophagus with Moses and the Isra
elites crossing the Red Sea, last quarter of the fourth century, Rome (Vatican City, Vatican Museums, inv. no. 31434); marble sarcophagus with Jonah, late third century, Rome (Vatican City, Vatican Museums, inv. no. 31448) (courtesy Kimbell Art Museum).
humidity, and of course their physical security, required the
construction of dozens of special cases in order to meet the
specifications imposed by the lenders.
The examples of Early Christian art based on Old Testa
ment and even pagan Roman themes displayed in the dark
ened gallery are often types of objects that are difficult to
appreciate. Unforgiving and uncompromising, tiny engraved
gems?sometimes set in rings, broken bowls, and fragments of gold glass?are things easily bypassed in the permanent installations of great museums, where monumental painting and sculpture attract the viewer's attention. But here, they are emphasized through the use of somewhat old-fashioned
but effective museum installation techniques. This is an ex
hibition of masterpieces, the designers seem to say, where
individual objects are isolated in cases and illuminated with
strong, focused light. These lighting effects, which visitors
may take for granted, are not an easy task for the designer, who must consider the different reflecting qualities of gold
glass, gems, and silver, as well as the different possible an
gles of the viewer's vision. The dramatically lit sculptures of
Jonah7 and the Good Shepherd8 illustrate the way familiar
works can take on new life and importance thanks to their
isolation and dramatic highlighting. These striking sculp tures in fact establish the first major theme of the exhibition:
the Old Testament origins of Christian iconography. This
exhibition, after all, is about the Bible, not simply about the
New Testament.
The viewer's attention moves back and forth between the
individual motif of the Good Shepherd and the story of Jonah swallowed and regurgitated by the sea monster/whale. Thus, at once, the major themes of the exhibition are established.
In subject and form, the Old Testament provides a basis for
or prefigures the New Testament, while pagan Rome lingers in the background. Images may focus on individual motifs
or be continuous narratives. Viewers may tend to identify the Good Shepherd, for example, as either the shepherd of Psalm 23 in the Old Testament or as Christ of the New
Testament with his promise of salvation. But the sculpture
7 Fourth century, Asia Minor; Spier 2007, 186-87, no. 15
(New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 1876
[77.7]).
8Ca. 280-290, Asia Minor; Spier 2007,190-1, no. 21 (Cleve
land, the Cleveland Museum of Art, inv. no. 1965.241).
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
2008] THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN ART 535
could also represent the Greek god Hermes carrying a lost
sheep on his shoulders. Or he could simply be a shepherd of Roman genre?no more, no less. The Jonah relief could
be part of a lively story shown with a classical sea monster, as
in pagan Roman narrative sculpture, rather than the whale
of folk song. To early Christians, Jonah's ordeal prefigured the resurrection of Christ. These brilliantly lit sculptures thus
give substance and focus to a gallery filled with tiny, glitter
ing gems and gold glass fragments. Visitors can also focus on the truly extraordinary gold glass
bowls and engraved gems, treasures so battered by time that
they stand in fragmentary isolation?an isolation imposed both by their exhibition cases and by their unique survival.
An engraved glass bowl that depicts Adam and Eve, found
in Cologne9 and a star of the earlier exhibitions in New York
and Rome, also provides an appropriate opening salvo. The
bowl has been broken into so many pieces, however, that the
join lines glitter in the light, rendering the image difficult to
"read." A mere fragment of a second bowl decorated with gold
glass10 is even more difficult for the amateur to understand.
Its walls were originally covered with small gold glass medal
lions of Adam and Eve; Jonah, Daniel, and Abraham about
to sacrifice Isaac; and possibly Christ as a miracle worker?all
continuing themes of the exhibition. Engraved gems seem
to resonate with many Fort Worth viewers, captured as they are in a gallery that is intimate and personal. These engraved
gems?with images the size of a fingernail?come alive. Two
women standing beside me on my first visit were gesturing and talking together as if they were in a jewelry shop. They seemed quite ready to try on, purchase, and walk outwearing these miniature treasures, hardly thinking whether they were
wearing symbols of their?or someone else's?faith. And this
response, I propose, is not frivolous; it is the genius of this
exhibition. Difficult and usually ignored treasures are made
important to people who are not trained as archaeologists or art historians or even versed in religious art.
Picturing the Bible is organized in long, subdivided galler ies into two principal sections: "The Emergence of Christian
Art" and "The Christian Empire." As we have seen, "The
Emergence of Christian Art" begins with Adam and Eve, the
Good Shepherd, andjonah, followed by displays of Christian
symbols, especially the fish (ichthys in Greek; for the early Christians, meaning Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior) and
the monogram of Christ, which is formed by combining the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P) and is known as the
Chi-Rho Christogram. This is the symbol that the emperor
Constantine placed on his soldiers' shields before the fate
ful battle for control of the Roman empire. For this exhibi
tion, the British Museum loaned two rare and important
pieces?a silver cup and a dish dating from the late fourth
or early fifth century?that belong to a hoard of silver and
gold known as the Water Newton Treasure from its findspot in Cambridgeshire, England (see fig. I).11 On the cup is
inscribed "Relying on you, Lord, I honor your holy altar";
the donor's name, Publianus, is engraved on the base. The
imposing dish (diam. 33.5 cm) is lightly engraved with the Chi-Rho and an omega.
On the wall nearby is one of the most fascinating objects in the exhibition: the late third-century tombstone of Licinia
Amias12 that was found on the Vatican Hill. It is engraved with
an epitaph, two fish, an anchor, and a wreath. The inscrip tion "fish of the living" must refer to the Christian acrostic,
ichthys, although the wreath and the inscribed letters "D(z's)
M(anibus)" ("to the sacred spirits of the dead") at the top are standard pagan usage.
In an alcove, Jewish art is recalled by the photograph mural
of the synagogue at Dura Europos, the limestone relief of a
menorah,13 and coins and gems.14 That Jews of this era ap
preciated and employed figurative works of art is no longer in question. The discovery of the synagogue of Dura Euro
pos, for example, demonstrated a rich tradition of narrative
painting with its murals. Notable in this small section of the
exhibition are the silver shekels (fig. 2) from the time of the
First Jewish Revolt, beginning in 66 C.E.15 On the obverse, these beautiful coins depict a chalice with a beaded rim and
a base raised on projecting feet, with the date "year 2" (67
C.E.) or "year 3" (68 C.E.) and the inscription "shekel of Is
rael." On the reverse, one finds the inscription "Jerusalem the holy" and a branch bearing three fruits that look like
pomegranates; these fruits would be appropriate because
they decorated the columns of the Temple of Solomon and
the robes of the high priest.16 The rich symbolism of the
temple, with its golden menorah and showbread table, can
be seen on other coins and engraved gems from the time of
the Second Jewish Revolt, early in the second century.17 In
the catalogue, other aspects of Jewish art are recalled in the
excellent essay by Fine.18
Having established the sources of Early Christian art in
the Graeco-Roman and Jewish artistic traditions, the first
section of the exhibition turns to "The Path to Salvation."
An imposing collection of marbles?sarcophagi and epi
taphs?concludes this section and introduces "The Church
9 Mid fourth century, found in the Roman necropolis of
Luxemburgerstrasse, Cologne; Spier 2007, 184, no. 12 (Co
logne, R?misch-Germanisches Museum der Stadt K?ln, inv.
no.N340). 10 Second half of the fourth century, Rome or the Rhine
land; Spier 2007, 184-85, no. 13 (London, British Museum, inv. no. MME 1881.06-24.1).
11 Spier 2007, 200-1, nos. 31a, 31b (London, British Muse
um, inv. nos. P&EE 1975.10-02, P&EE 1975.10-02.5). 12 Spier 2007,196-97, no. 27 (Rome, Museo Nazionale Ro
mano-Terme di Diocleziano, inv. no. 67646). 13 Spier 2007, 204, no. 35 (Berlin, Staatliche Museen, inv.
no. 4691). 14 Spier 2007, 202-3, nos. 32-4 (coins: New York, the Amer
ican Numismatic Society 1944-100.62978 [no. 33a], 1944
100.62994 [no. 33b], 1944.100.63042 [no. 34a], 1944.100.
63049 [no. 34b], 1944.100.63091 [no. 34c], 1944.100.63100 [no. 34d]; 204-5, nos. 36, 37; gems: New York, the American
Numismatic Society 0000.999.36807 [no. 36] [E.T. Newell
Collection]; Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Muse
um of Archaeology and Anthropology, inv. no. B-5110 [no.
37]). 15 Spier 2007,202-3, nos. 33a, 33b; supra n. 14.
16 Spier 2007,203. 17 Spier 2007,203.
18 "Jewish Art and Biblical Exegesis in the Greco-Roman
World" (Spier 2007, 25-49).
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
536 MARILYN STOKSTAD [AJA 112
Fig. 2. Silver shekel dating to the First Jewish Revolt (67 C.E.), 2.2 cm, Jerusalem. New York, the American Numismatic So
ciety 1944.100.62978 (courtesy Kimbell Art Museum).
Triumphant" in the second section. Casual viewers may take
this installation of sarcophagi for granted, but it is important to realize that we are looking at literally tons of fragile and
precious marble relief sculpture. The loan and installation
of eight complete (or partial) sarcophagi and three epitaphs is a testament to the determination and skills of the registrar
Patty Decoster, who was responsible for shipping and insur
ance, and the art handlers under the direction of Eubank, who had to manipulate objects weighing as much as 1,500 to 2,500 pounds.
At the far end of the long gallery (fig. 3), one sees first the
Red Sea sarcophagus19 and, behind it on the end wall, the
Jonah sarcophagus,20 one of the best known in the history of art, although only the front panel survives. In the case of
Jonah, the strong lighting calls attention to the damaged condition and extensive restoration of the sculpture; it looks
like the work of an 18th-century sculptor rather than that
of an unknown third-century carver, and Bartolomeo Cava
ceppi (1716-1799) has been identified as the restorer. The
Red Sea sarcophagus (see fig. 3) is one of the most elaborate
examples of Roman continuous narrative: the Jews escape from Egypt, Pharaoh and his men perish in the waters of
the Red Sea, and Moses and his followers enter gates that
belong either to paradise or to the heavenly Jerusalem. The
sculpture recalls the well-known and widely reproduced
fourth-century Constantinian reliefs on the Arch of Con
stantine. But the catalogue essay presents only a literary in
terpretation without mentioning the sculpture's formal or
technical qualities. Across the gallery stands a child's sarcophagus from the
first quarter of the fourth century that, poignantly, is less
than 3 ft long. At the right, the Magi bring gifts to Mary and
the Christ Child.21 At the left, Ezekiel stands in the Valley of
the Dry Bones watching a beardless adult Christ gesture with
a magic wand to bring the fleshed-out skeletons to life. The
authors of the catalogue focus on the interpretation of the
themes and the relationship between Jewish and Christian
iconography; however, I found myself studying the techni
cal aspects of the carving, especially the use of the drill?not
only the running drill work in the draperies but also that
in the facial features. What as a student I found distracting and even unpleasant (or worse, amateurish), I now find
exciting. This is surely the origin of certain techniques em
ployed during the 11th and 12th centuries, such as those by the Romanesque Cabestany Master who was featured in an
exhibition in Barcelona in spring 2008.22
The presence of the Virgin in the Magi scene highlights one of my few reservations about the exhibition, which is the
lack of attention paid to women, who were certainly impor tant in the Early Christian community. The Adoration/Eze kiel sarcophagus has an imposing image of the Virgin Mary seated in profile on a throne with a footstool. And since this
image is in the context of a narrative scene, surely, I thought, we will soon have the iconic version (e.g., the Cleveland Mu
seum of Art's Coptic textile with the Virgin and Child with
angels) ,23 But no. Mary does appear again in the exhibition
but always in the context of the life of Christ. What about
the life of Mary herself? What about the female followers
of Christ? What about the Early Christian saints? St. Tecla
is included but only as listening to St. Paul.24 Where are the
imposing images of the saint herself with her lions?
In "The Christian Empire," the second part of the exhibi
tion, works of art from the fourth to the seventh centuries
express the triumph of the Christian church. Here, Spier has assembled a distinguished array of masterpieces ranging from the well-known Passion sarcophagus25 to the contro
versial Andrews diptych (which, now seen in the context of
Early Christian art rather than in its "home" in the Victoria
and Albert Museum, I am tempted to call Carolingian in
spired by Early Christian)26 to the magnificent ivories from
the British Museum with scenes of the Passion, formerly called the Passion ivories and now known as the Maskell
ivories (fig. 4).27 The sarcophagus from ca. 350, with scenes of the Passion,
can be seen in the center of figure 3. Alternating arches
and lintels supported by spiral carved columns frame the
five scenes that combine narrative and allegorical treat
ments of the Passion. At the right, the youthful, beardless
Christ is brought before Pontius Pilate who turns away as he
washes his hands; at the left, a Roman soldier crowns Christ
19 Spier 2007, 211, no. 43 (Vatican City, Vatican Museums,
inv.no. 31434). 20
Spier 2007, 207, no. 39 (Vatican City, Vatican Museums, inv. no. 31448).
21 Spier 2007, 209, no. 41 (Vatican City, Vatican Museums,
inv. no. 31450). 22 El Romanic i la Mediterr?nia (29 February-18 May 2008,
the Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya). For the Cabestany Master, see Litde 1993,313-14, no. 161 (The Calling of Peter
and Andrew) (Barcelona, Museo Mares, inv. no. 654). 23 The Virgin Enthroned, sixth century, Egypt; Weitzmann
1979,532-33, no. 477 (Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art,
inv. no. 67.144). 24 St. Tecla with Lions and Angels, fifth century, Egypt;
Weitzmann 1979,574-75, no. 513 (Kansas City, Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art, inv. no. 48.10); see also Ward and Fiddler
1993,125. 25
Spier 2007, 219-20, no. 46 (Vatican City, Vatican Muse
ums, inv. no. 31525).
26Spier 2007,225, no. 52 (London, Victoria and Albert Mu
seum, inv. nos. A.47-1926, A.47A-1926). 27
Spier 2007, 229-32, no. 57 (London, British Museum, inv. no. MME 1856.06-23.4-7).
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
2008] THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN ART 537
Oy
.4
Fig. 3. Installation view of the exhibition section "The Christian Empire": foreground, detail of marble sarcophagus with Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, last quarter of the fourth century, Rome (Vatican City, Vatican
Museums, inv. no. 31434); center, marble sarcophagus with scenes of the Passion, ca. 350, Rome (Vatican City, Vatican
Museums, inv. no. 31525); background, marble sarcophagus with Christ performing miracles and Peter's denial, third
quarter of the fourth century, Rome (Algiers, Musee National des Antiquites d'Alger, inv. no. 238) (courtesy Kimbell
Art Museum).
with jewels instead of thorns while Simon of Cyrene carries
the cross. In the central image, a complex allegory on the
theme of resurrection replaces the Crucifixion. The cross
becomes the victorious Constantinian Chi-Rho surrounded
by a victor's wreath. It seems to be carried heavenward by an eagle flanked by the sun and the moon. Doves perch on
the horizontal bar, and the sleeping soldiers below remind
the viewer of the empty tomb of the risen Christ. The sculp ture is unusually fine and well preserved; only the wreaths
at each end are replacements. A contrasting, simple narrative interpretation of the bib
lical passages occurs on the British Museum's four ivory
plaques, carved ca. 420-430.28 These plaques, with scenes
from the Passion, once may have formed a reliquary box.
They quite literally "picture the Bible." Here, Christ carries
the cross, Pilate washes his hands, Peter tells the maid that
he does not know Christ, and the cock crows. The three
additional plaques include the Crucifixion, with Christ as
a heroic youth alongside the suicide of Judas; the Resurrec
tion, indicated by the empty tomb and the two Marys with
sleeping soldiers; and the appearance of Christ to Doubting Thomas and the aposdes after the Resurrection.
These plaques were acquired by the British Museum in
1856 from the collection of William Maskell (ca. 1814-1890), an Anglican churchman and antiquarian. As chaplain to the
Bishop of Exeter, Maskell became involved in the religious debates that effectively split the Episcopal Church into an
Anglo-Catholic faction and a determinedly Protestant Church
of England. The high relief and the monumental yet de
tailed execution of the Maskell ivories are truly remarkable.
While the original panels are only about 7.5 x 9.8 cm, in
Fort Worth, a plaque enlarged on a giant billboard retains
its affective beauty. The so-called Maskell ivories exemplify the difference 30
years have made in Early Christian studies. The entries in the
1977 catalogue for The Age of Spirituality emphasize the physi cal description and condition of the ivories.29 The descriptive text of the catalogue for Picturing the Bible emphasizes the
beauty of the carving. Scholars in 1977 sought to identify and
locate a school or workshop and to establish relationships with other objects of similar style and technique, including those in different media, such as manuscript illumination.
They hoped to define a Roman fifth-century school of ivory
carving, and in the exhibition, they gathered associated pieces
28 Supra n. 27. ^Weitzmann 1979,502-4, no. 452.
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
538 MARILYN STOKSTAD [AJA112
Fig. 4. Ivory plaque with Christ carrying the cross, Pilate washing his hands, and Peter's denial, ca. 420-430, 7.5 x 9.8 cm, Rome. London, British Museum, inv. no. MME 1856.06-23.4 (courtesy Kimbell Art Museum).
for comparison. Today, scholars appear to be more concerned
with literary and theological interpretations. One might say that we have here a contrast between an archaeological ap
proach and a literary or even theological one.
A few modifications or refinements in dating have been
proposed for some of the pieces that were also in the New York
show in 1977. For example, the silver reliquary with Christ
and the aposdes30 is dated to the early fifth century rather
than to the fourth, and the ewer with the blind man,31 now
specified as late fourth century Roman, had been identified
as simply western Mediterranean, fourth or fifth century. In the exhibition galleries of the Kimbell Art Museum,
examples of gold glass continue to lure viewers onward. I do
not think I have seen a better selection or collection of late
fourth-century gold glass. A notable example is a medallion
with the bust of a youthful, beardless Christ?identified by the inscription "Cristus"?surrounded by four youths, dis
ciples, or saints (fig. 5).32 Other subjects include Daniel and
the Dragon of Babylon and Christ as a miracle worker and
as the Good Shepherd.33 And while the meaning of these
pieces is discussed in expert detail in the catalogue, I ex
pected a better discussion of the nature of gold glass itself,
including its technical possibilities and difficulties. This frag ile, delicate medium consists of a sheet of cut and engraved
gold leaf sandwiched between two layers of glass. Examples
typically have a diameter of 9 cm but sometimes as much as
12.5 cm. Such medallions originally formed the bottom of
a bowl or cup. They were broken away and plastered into
tombs in the catacombs.
The True Cross merits a special section in the catalogue,
although in the installation, the Passion cycle, the Crucifixion, and the True Cross flow together easily. The True Cross is
represented by two splendid examples. The first is a bronze
staurogram (after stauros, Greek for "cross"), formed by the
Greek letters tau and rho, from which hang the letters alpha and omega, signifying "I am the beginning and the end."34 A
second cross, from ca. 500, is made of brass but was tinned so
that it would gleam like silver and be far less expensive.35 It
30 Spier 2007, 251, no. 74 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Mu
seum, Antikensammlung, inv. no. VII760). 31
Spier 2007, 244, no. 67 (London, British Museum, inv.
no. MME 1951.10-10.1). 32
Spier 2007, 219, no. 45 (London, British Museum, inv.
no. MME 1863.07-27.6). 33
Spier 2007, 222-23, nos. 48 (London, British Museum,
inv. no. MME 1863.07-27.1), 49 (Vatican City, Vatican Muse
ums, inv. no. 60750), 50 (Vatican City, Vatican Museums, inv. no. 60705).
34 Spier 2007, 233-34, no. 58 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches
Museum, Antikensammlung, inv. no. VI612). 35
Spier 2007, 235-36, no. 59 (Munich, Christian Schmidt
Collection, inv. no. 155).
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
2008] THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN ART 539
is engraved with images of angels and Daniel with the lions, an Old Testament type of Christ.
The designer creates a break in the onward flow of the
exhibition with a side gallery that looks out onto a courtyard and the only one lit by daylight. This space is dedicated to
"The Apostolic Succession and Traditio Legis," which is the
passing of authority over the Christian community from Christ
to the apostle Peter, who, as bishop of Rome, became the
first pope. The theme is represented in bronze, gold glass, silver, ivory, painting, mosaic through photograph murals, and in the monumental sarcophagus from Aries.36 Visitors
delight in two bronze lamps made in the late fourth century. On one, Peter performs the miracle in which he brings wa
ter from the rock in his prison cell to baptize prisoners and
jailors;37 the imagery of this scene is based on the Old Testa
ment theme of Moses drawing water from rocks to sustain the
Israelites. The second lamp is a double lamp in the form of
a ship in full sail, with Peter seated in the stern steering and
Paul standing at the prow guiding.38 The ship is a traditional
symbol of the church or of the Christian community. In a special category for depictions associated with "com
plex exegesis" are found some of the masterworks of the
exhibition. Christian exegesis, meaning "interpretation,"
goes beyond simple explanation and involves sophisticated
allegorical interpretations of events and passages from the
Bible. Among the treasures of Early Christian art are a ewer
from Scodand with biblical scenes,39 an ivory book cover with
garnet enhancements from the treasury of the cathedral of
Milan,40 the remarkable reliquary with Old and New Testa
ment scenes found beneath the high altar of the church of
San Nazaro in Milan,41 and an early fifth-century ivory dip
tych with Adam naming the animals on one panel and the
miracles of St. Paul on the other.42
The occasion for the creation of the Adam/St. Paul dip
tych and the person honored are unknown, although such a
valuable tablet must have been a presentation gift, perhaps made in an imperial workshop. Adam and St. Paul are linked
by their power over animals. Adam?still in the gardens of
paradise and recalling the classical pagan image of Orpheus
charming the animals with his music?is commanded by God
to name the animals, and thus he gains control over them.
In the New Testament Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul con
fronted by pagans on Malta is unharmed by a serpent's bite.
The carving of the two diptych leaves represents two major
stylistic tendencies in Early Christian art: the one (Adam) derived from classical art, the other (Paul) looking toward
the abstract art of Byzantium. Experts suggest that the pan els may have been carved by a single master who depended on different sources. The Adam panel is often reproduced
Fig. 5. Gold glass medallion with bust of Christ, late fourth
century, 7.8 x 9.0 cm, Rome. London, British Museum, inv. no. MME 1863.07-27.6 (courtesy Kimbell Art Museum).
alone, and the Kimbell exhibition affords the viewer an op
portunity to study the contrasting styles of the two panels as
well as the rich possibilities for interpretation. The last major genre of Early Christian art included in
the exhibition is the illustrated Bible. The British Library loaned four fragments of the Cotton Genesis.43 Dating from
the late fifth century, these precious fragments are from our
earliest illustrated Bible. The Sinope Gospels44 are housed in
the National Library in Paris, the Rabbula Gospels45 are from
the Laurentian Library in Florence. All were in The Age of
Spirituality. Important conclusions from Massimo Bernarb?'s
forthcoming study of the Rabbula Gospels are presented in
the catalogue; this is another example of the inclusion of
groundbreaking, recent research that characterizes this exhi
bition. Bernarb? will demonstrate that the illustrations were
inserted into the manuscript and in fact come from Greek
gospels contemporary with Rabbula's script.46 The exhibition concludes, triumphantly, with the Cross
of Justin II (Byzantine emperor from 565 to 578), on loan
from the Vatican,47 and two of the silver David plates from the
Metropolitan Museum.48 The David plates make an excellent
finale, bringing attention back to Old Testament sources of
Christian art. However, I confess to less than complete enthu
siasm for the reliquary Cross of Justin II. The repousse work
36 Spier 2007,242-43, no. 64 (Arles, Musee de P Aries et de
la Provence Antiques, inv. no. FAN.92.00.2487). 37
Spier 2007, 241, no. 63 (Florence, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, inv. no. 1674).
38 Spier 2007, 249, no. 72 (Florence, Museo Archeologico
Nazionale, inv. no. 1671). 39
Spier 2007, 253-55, no. 75 (Edinburgh, National Muse
ums of Scotiand, inv. no. GVA1). 40
Spier 2007,256-58, no. 76 (Milan, Tesoro del Duomo di
Milano). 41 Spier 2007,259-63, no. 77 (Milan, Museo Diocesano, inv.
no. MD 2004.115.001). 42
Spier 2007, 264-66, no. 78 (Florence, Museo Nazionale
del Bargello, inv. no. 19-20 C). 43
Spier 2007, 268-70, no. 80a-d (London, the British Li
brary, Cotton Ms. Otho B.VI). 44
Spier 2007, 271-75, no. 81 (Paris, Bibliotheque Natio
nale de France, Ms.suppl. gr. 1286).
45Supran.3.
46Spier2007,276. 47 Supra n. 4.
48 Supra n. 2.
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
540 MARILYN STOKSTAD [AJA112
on the back of the arms seems to me to be of high quality,
although not everyone agrees. Beckwith, writing about the
cross in his Early Christian/Byzantine volume for the Peli
can History of Art series, called the imperial portraits and
the busts of Christ "hunched little puppets."49 The central
medallion of the lamb also seems awkward. On the front of
the cross, the container for the relic is obviously modern, and the catalogue identifies it as an addition of Pope Pius
IX (1846-1878). But how much that we see today is the
work of 16th-century artists who restored the cross after the
looting of Rome by the troops of Charles V in 1527? Are the
gems even later? In short, I am very uncomfortable with the
piece (which I have never examined outside the museum
case), and I look forward to the detailed study of the gems and the promised publication of documentary evidence by Denise Allen.
It is a shock to move from the exhibition into a special exhibition shop occupying precious space that could have
been so much better used as a didactic gallery and/or a
reading room. Some museums, typically the Metropolitan,
provide large and comfortable exhibition reading rooms
for their visitors. Today, much of the best art publishing is
by museums and university presses such as Yale University
Press, which published the catalogue for Picturing the Bible.
The catalogue presents authoritative yet accessible, well
written essays, and it should be made readily available to the
exhibition's visitors.
Finally, a visitor to even a great exhibition wants both di
dactic materials and artworks. The catalogue does an admi
rable job of filling in literary and biblical background, but
I would have liked to see more architectural, liturgical, and
social context for the artworks in the display. The Aurea Roma
exhibition made very good use of digital imagery, including a
simulated walk-through of the Early Christian Roman church
of Santa Maria Maggiore. In Picturing the Bible, the orienta
tion gallery could have explained straightforward technical
matters. Just how does one make gold glass images? Where
did the artists get their materials? How is ivory worked?
A few faces would have humanized the show. The obvious
choice might have been one of the pairs of portrait busts
found with the Cleveland Good Shepherd.50 The portrait of
Constans would have added an imperial dimension, if it is in
deed that of the youngest son of Constantine, known to have
been a devout Christian.51 Or I might choose the woman hold
ing a scroll, from the late fourth/early fifth century.52 This
portrait evokes maturity and dignity and seems to express the
woman's Christian piety. To increase female presence in the
exhibition, I could see Cleveland's The Virgin Enthroned or
a saint such as the Nelson-Atkins Museum's Tecla as welcome
additions. To enrich the sources of Christian iconography, I would have included pagan Roman art. The Priestess of
Bacchus from the Victoria and Albert Museum may not have
been available,53 but an even better choice might have been
an imperial apotheosis.54 The Jewish heritage could have
been reinforced with the gold glass image of the Torah ark
that Fine reproduces in his catalogue essay.55 Finally, I would
have at least hinted at the developing Christian ritual in order
to place the themes of cross and crucifixion, sacrifice and
hope, in a liturgical context. The Antioch chalice from the
Metropolitan Museum56 (with Christ seated in a vine) and
the Riha paten (with the communion of the apostles) from
Dumbarton Oaks57 would have been welcome here. My list
may not seem very creative, for the Torah ark, the Coptic
Virgin Enthroned, the Antioch chalice, and the Riha paten were all exhibited in The Age of Spirituality.58
For all our emphasis on material culture and our constant
ly changing ideas of social and historical accuracy, we must
never forget that we are dealing with what for generations have been considered objects of spiritual as well as physical
beauty. Our changing attitude over the last 30 years seems
to be expressed even in the titles of the two great American
exhibitions: The Age of Spirituality and Picturing the Bible.
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
13OI MISSISSIPPI STREET
LAWRENCE, KANSAS 66045 [email protected]
Works Cited
Beckwith J. 1979. Early Christian and Byzantine Art. The Pelican
History of Art. Rev. ed. New York: Penguin Books.
Evans, H.C., M. Holcomb, and R. Hallman. 2001. The Arts of
Byzantium. Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 58(4). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
49Beckwith 1979,18. 50 Busts of men and women, ca. 270-290, eastern Mediter
ranean; Little 2006, 124-27, nos. 47-52 (Cleveland, Cleve
land Museum of Art, inv. nos. 1965.242, 1965.243, 1965.247,
1965.245). 51 Ca. 337-340, Eastern Roman empire; Evans et al. 2001,
21; Little 2006, 128-29, no. 53 (New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 1967 [67.07]).
52 Late fourth/early fifth century, Eastern Roman empire; Evansetal. 2001,18-19;Little 2006,131-33, no. 55 (NewYork, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection,
inv.no. 1966 [66.25]). 53 The ivory leaf (diptych leaf of the Symmachi) was to be
shown at the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the time of the Kimbell exhibition (see Weitzmann 1979,
187-88, no. 166 [London, Victoria and Albert Museum, inv.
no. 212-1865]). 54 Diptych leaf with apotheosis of a deceased emperor, sec
ond quarter of the fifth century, Rome; Weitzmann 1979, 70
1, no. 60 (London, British Museum, inv. no. 57.10-13.1). 55
Spier 2007, 24, 36-7; supra n. 18. 56 The Antioch chalice, first half of the sixth century, Syria.
Silver cup in a silver-gilt shell, possibly a standing lamp rath
er than a chalice; Weitzmann 1979, 606-8, no. 542; Evans et
al. 2001, 21 (New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the
Cloisters Collection, inv. no. 50.54). 57 The Riha paten, 565-578, Constantinople (?); Weitzmann
1979, 611-12, no. 547 (Washington, D.C., the Dumbarton
Oaks Collection, inv. no. 24.5). 58 Twenty-two works seen in The Age of Spirituality and five in
the Aurea Roma exhibition were included in Picturing the Bible.
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
2008] THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN ART 541
Little, CT., ed. 1993. The Art of Medieval Spain, 500-1200.
New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Harry N. Abrams.
-, ed. 2006. Set In Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of
Art and Yale University Press.
Ward, R., and P.J. Fiddler. 1993. The Nelson-Atkins Museum
of Art: A Handbook of the Collection. New York: Hudson
Hills Press.
Weitzmann, K., ed. 1979. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and
Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century. New York and
Princeton: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in associa
tion with Princeton University Press.
This content downloaded from 192.231.59.35 on Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:33:52 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions