The Crucifixion Of Mosaics In Early Christian Art

Early christian art was a very important part era of art. It really signified the change that constantine brought to the entirety of christian art, especially in the churches where it was now free to worship without judgement. Due to this, church mosaics, architecture, and relief sculptures really started to flourish. Fantastic mosaics such as Santa Pudenziana Apse mosaic were created at this time, and this is all due to bring attention to the churches and to bring churchgoers into a place that seemed heavenly. In a lot of cases church mosaics would tell narratives from the bible. This was largely done for many of the illiterate people at the time that wanted to read the bible but could not. This was an alternative way of reading the holy bible and would tell people stories from the bible such as the crucifixion of christ, resurrection of christ, and as well as many other stories from the bible. The Santa Pudenziana Apse is a mosaic of great beauty during this era, but what makes it beautiful? Two excerpts from Ernst Kitzinger and Thomas Mathews do an excellent job of this. However, they both very different views on the mosaic itself. …show more content…
Ernst Kitzinger writes about the overall picture of the mostic and the depth of it, whereas, Thomas Mathews points out the Christ and the aspects that make him heavenly or Christ like. Both make very valid points and describe all aspects that I can completely agree with. However, if I was to appreciate one article more it would have to be Ernst Kitzinger. This is due to him focusing more on the overall painting rather that just one specific detail of the mosaic. Whichever view I appreciate more is irrelevant, however, because they both do a great job of pointing out very important aspects of the