ABPL90267 Development of Western Architecture

basilicas & martyria

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the state and the church

the Roman Empire AD 362

Colin McEvedy, The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History(Harmondsworth [Middlesex] 1988

[1967]), p 89

the advance of Christianity

c 200 many Christians in Rome313 Edict of Milan makes Christianity legal

314 Armenia becomes the first Christian state337 Christianity the official religion of the Empire

giant statue of Constantine from the Basilica (about ten times life size), now in the Capitoline Museum, Rome

Nigel Rodgers, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome (Hermes House, London 20108 [2004], p 35

principal forms of the Constantinian monogramDora Ware & Maureen Stafford, An Illustrated Dictionary of Ornament (London

1974), p 145

Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, 432-440, ceiling c 1500Scala 7622 (©1972)

Santa Maria Maggiore

planmodern view

reconstruction

James Fergusson, The Illustrated Handbook of

Architecture (2 vols, London 1855), II, p 490

Scala 7622 (©1972)Richard Krautheimer, Rome:

Profile of a City, 312-1308(Princeton [New Jersey] 1980), p

48

the catacombs

the catacombs(underground burial galleries)

loculus [pl loculi] – a long slot for a body

arcosolium [pl arcosolia] – an arched space with the body in a trough across the bottom

cubiculum [pl cubicula] – a room or burial chamber with a number of loculi or arcosolia, and possibly serving as a chapel

decoration often includes pagan iconography recycled with Christian meanings; also the orans, a figure with its hands

raised in prayer, representing the soul of the deceased

plan of the Catacombs of San Callisto [Callixtus]

Pontificia Commissione Archeologia Sacra CSC/21

Catacombs of S Callisto,

Rome: gallery with loculi

Lewis, Architectura, p 96

Catacombs of S Callisto, Rome: arcosoliumPontificia Commissione Archeologia Sacra CSC/24

arcosolium in the Coemeterium Maius, Rome, C3rdJean Lassus, The Early Christian and Byzantine World (London 1967), pl 7

cubiculum, Catacomb of Sant' Agnese‘chapel’ in the Catacombs of S Sotere, plan chamber, S Sebastiano complex, Via Appia

Miles LewisCecil Stewart, Early Christian, Byzantine and

Romanesque Architecture, p 2Bussagli, Rome, pl 179

catacomb chapels, Rome

Salita del Cocomero, Via Latina

Sant’ Agnese

R de Lasteyrie,l’Architecture Religieuse

en France à l’Époque Romane (2nd ed,

August Picard, Paris 1929 [1911]), p 61

serving new religions, especially Mithraism

sometimes with a nave and aisles, resembling a basilica

a mithraeum (temple of Mithras) is often underground, and commonly has benches down either side

underground basilica at the Porta Maggiore,

Rome, AD C1stinterior & plan

Nikolaus Pevsner, An Outline of European Architecture

(Harmondsworth [Middlesex] 1968 [1943]), pp 29, 30

underground basilica of the Porta Maggiore: vaulted ceilingMiles Lewis

Mithraeum below the Church of San Clemente, Rome, AD ?C2ndview and detail of altar

Miles LewisNo 21, S Clemente set

Mithraeum at Tiddis, Algeriathe symbol & the chamber

Miles Lewis

Mithraeum at Tiddis

the initiation chamber

Miles Lewis

Mithraeum, London, AD c 150: plan

Pevsner, Outline of European Architecture, p 30

house churchesearliest known at Dura Europos,

Mesopotamia, AD c 230

Roman tituli equitii (like parish churches)such as

S Martino ai MontiSS Giovanni e Paolo

scholae at PompeiiR de Lasteyrie, l’Architecture Religieuse en France à l’Époque

Romane (2nd ed, August Picard, Paris 1929 [1911]), p 368

house at Lagash, Isin Larsa period (2025-

1594): plan

house at Dura-Europos, A D c 230, axonometric

view

MUAS 14,621Jean Lassus, The Early Christian and Byzantine World (London 1967), p 10

Baptistery in the Christian house at Doura Europos, Syria, AD c 230

Lassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, p 10

SS Giovanni e Paolo, Rome

reconstruction of the domus ecclesia below the present church: a two story dwelling and a hall built for the cult in the C4th, shown

in red

plan of the church built in 410

Fabrizio Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas: the Early Christians in Rome

(Florence 1981)Matilda Webb, The Churches and

Catacombs of Early Christian Rome: a Comprehensive Guide (Sussex

Academic Press, Brighton 2001), p 102

S Martino ai Monti, Romecutaway isometric of the hall used in the C6th

plan of the hall and the later churchGrabar, Beginnings of Christian Art, p 6

Webb, Churches and Catacombs of Rome, p 73

the Roman basilica

the Roman basilica

the Roman basilica is a hall-like space, usually for public purposes such as

lawcourts, but the word can apply even to stables and warehouses

transverse (broad or eastern) type

longitudinal (Pompeiian or western) type

Basilica of Trajan, or Ulpian Basilica, AD 98-11unusually grand - double aisles, double apses

apses are screened by colonnades, so the space reads as rectangularentered from the long sides, not the end

Fletcher, History of Architecture, p 200

Basilica of Trajan, reconstructed interior view by Gorski & Packer James Packer, The Forum of Trajan at Rome: a Study of the Monuments (Los Angeles 1997)

late republican and early imperial basilicas of the 'broad' [eastern] type

J B Perkins, 'Constantine and the Christian Basilica', Papers of the British School at Rome, XXII (1954), p 73

Basilica Julia, Forum Romanum, Rome, reconstructionBodo Cichy, The Great Ages of Architecture: from Ancient Greece to the Present Day

(Oldbourne Press, London 1964 [1959]), p 22

late republican and early imperial basilicas of the

Pompeiian or western type

Pompeii

Corinth

Lepcis Magna

Perkins, 'Constantine and the Christian Basilica', Papers of the British School at

Rome, XXII (1954), p 72

the Christian basilica

the Christian basilica

longitudinal: it relates to the Roman ‘western’ type

plans of Roman basilicas of the western type (left); and Christian churches (right)E H Swift, Roman Sources of Christian Art (New York 1951), p 30

the Christian basilica

longitudinal: it relates to the Roman ‘western’ type

plans of Roman basilicas of the western type (left); and Christian churches (right)E H Swift, Roman Sources of Christian Art (New York 1951), p 30

basilica in the Flavian Palace (Domus

Augustana), Rome, by Rabirius, AD c 85plan and section

MUAS 15,434

S Crisogono, Rome, beginning of the C4th: reconstruction drawing

Richard Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture [Pelican History of Art] (Harmondsworth [Middlesex] 1965), p 1

S Sebastiano, Rome, 312-?313, excavation planWebb, Churches and Catacombs of Rome, p 224

S Sebastiano, Rome, 312-?313reconstruction

model

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 19Krautheimer, Early

Christian and Byzantine

Architecture, pl 6A

church and monastery at Tebessa, Algeria, plan, from GsellR de Lasteyrie, l’Architecture Religieuse en France à l’Époque Romane

(2nd ed, August Picard, Paris 1929 [1911]), p 31

cantharus in the atrium of the basilca at Tebessa, C4thMiles Lewis

nave of the basilca at Tebessa, C4thMiles Lewis

chancel of the basilca at Tebessa, C4thMiles Lewis

nave ordonnance

of the basilca at Tebessa,

C4th

Miles Lewis

Basilica Julia, Forum Romanum, Rome, reconstructionBodo Cichy, The Great Ages of Architecture: from Ancient Greece to the Present Day

(Oldbourne Press, London 1964 [1959]), p 22

THECIRCULAR TRADITION

the circular temple(rare)

the Roman herouma tomb of or shrine dedicated to an

important figuregives rise the Christian martyriumtomb of, or shrine dedicated to, a

martyr or importantChristian figure

a circular temple

the Pantheon,Rome, AD 120-124

view & side elevation

photo © Paradoxplace.comBussagli, Rome, p 117

the PantheonLewis, Architectura, p 224

Pantheon

section& plan

Henri Stierlin, Encyclopædia of

World Architecture (2 vols, London 1977), I, p 81

the heroum

Mausoleum of Diocletian at Spalato or Split, 284 plan & elevation

Robert Adam, Ruins of the Palace of the emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia (London 1764)

Basilica of SS Marcellinus and Petrus, Rome, with the mausoleum of St Helena (mother of Constantine) originally

intended for Constantine himselfWebb, Churches and Catacombs of Rome, p 280

a heroum / martyriumReconstruction of the Basilica of SS Marcellinus and Petrus,

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 40

a herooum /martyrium

Coemeterium Agnetis (cemetery of Sant' Agnese), with the

mausoleum of Santa Costanza, c 338-350,

and the church of Sant' Agnese fuori le

Mura, c 625-38

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 50

aerial view of the remains of the Coemeterium Agnetisand the mausoleum of Santa Costanza, c 338-350

photo Santagnese.org

Santa Costanza, Rome, c 360: views, section, plan

MUAS 15,445; Miles Lewis; E H Swift, Roman Sources of Christian Art (New York 1951), p 40

Santa Costanza, interiorLassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, pl 16

Santa Costanza

view in the ambulatory

Bussagli, Rome, p 167

Santa Costanza, apse mosaic in the sanctuaryLassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, pl 17

Santa Costanza, details of the ambulatory vault mosaicLassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, pl 14; Bussigli, Rome, p 305

Constantinian churches

the great Constantinian basilicas

St John Lateran, Rome313 onwards

the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehembefore 333

the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem328-336

St Peter’s, Rome333-360-390

eastern Christian sites, C4th-C6th, with the locations of the great Constantinian basilicas

indicated S15,417

Lateran Church and Palace, Romerestoration study as in c 1450 by K J Conant, with the

basilica at the top and the baptistery at the rightmodern view of Baptistery

K J Conant, Carolingian and Romanesque Architecture [Pelican History of Art] (Harmondsworth [Middlesex] 1959), pl VIIIB

MU Fine Arts c10097

Lateran Basilicabegun 313

isometric reconstruction as in 320

plan showing the foundations in relation to the

present building

Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, p 251Mancinelli, Catacombs and

Basilicas, p 11

detail of the apse mosaic from the church of Sta

Pudenziana, Rome, c 400

Lassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, pl 20

apse mosaic from Sta Pudenzianashowing the jewelled cross on Golgotha, Jerusalem, church of the Holy Sepulchre at

Jerusalem, and the church of the Nativity at Bethlehem

Arnold Toynbee [ed], The Crucible of Christianity (London 1969), p 192

Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, Jordan, 325-333 and laterinterior view & isometric reconstruction

Peter Bamm, The Kingdoms of Christ: the Story of the Early Church (London 1959), p 165Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, p 37

Church of the Nativity at

Bethlehem, nave elevation

R de Lasteyrie,l’Architecture

Religieuse en France à l’Époque Romane

(2nd ed, August Picard, Paris 1929

[1911]), p 11

basilican church on Golgotha(Church of the Holy Sepulchre),

Jerusalem, 328-336

reconstructed plan as in c 335isometric reconstruction of the rotunda

Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture,p 39

Charles Couasnon, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem (London 1974), pl XVII

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

plan & section 'as in the 4th century',

according to Lambert, including

the Anastasis Rotunda, c 350

reconstruction plan by Krautheimer, as

in c 335

Miohel Join-Lambert, Jerusalem (London 1958),

p 124Krautheimer, Early

Christian and Byzantine Architecture, p 39

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem,

328-336

reconstructed plan & sectional perspective as in c 335

Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, pp 39,40

pre-Constantinian necropolis on the site of

St Peter's, Rome

view of façades to the roadway

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 13

early C4th mosaic from a chamber in the pre-

Constantinian necropolis under the Basilica of St

Peter, Rome

Lassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, pl 13

shrine over the grave of St Peter, Rome, AD C2ndplan, with the adjoining tombs

reconstruction modelJ M C Toynbee & J B W Perkins, The Shrine of St Peter and the

Vatican Excavations (London 1956), p 139Bussagli, Rome, p 178

shrine over the grave of St Peter, Rome, AD C2ndreconstruction model, compared with a domestic shrine from Herculaneum

Bussagli, Rome, p 178; MUAS 840

St Peter's Basilica, Rome, isometric of the classical cemetery in relation to the structures of the lower church

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 15

St Peter's Basilica, Rome, 333-360-390longitudinal section through the foundations of the church; plan

Lees-Milne, St Peter's, p 71; MUAS 10,278

comparitive plans of the three

Constantinian churches which

combine a basilica and a martyrium

Perkins, 'Constantine and the Christian

Basilica', p 83

St Peter's, Romereconstruction view

as in ?c 400

MUAS 15,439

St Peter's Basilicainterior view from a fresco by Domenico Tasselli

reconstruction of the west end by LetarouillyX B i Altet [translated Lory Frankel], The Early Middle Ages from Late Antiquity to A.D. 1000

(Köln 1997), p 34 ; MUAS 14,807

St Peter's Basilica compared with the Church of the Nativity, BethlehemMUAS 14,807; Peter Bamm, The Kingdoms of Christ: the Story of the Early Church (London 1959), p 165

St Peter's Basilica, C4th apse mosaicas represented in a fresco in the present St Peter‘s

surviving fragment showing St PaulWalter Oakeshott, The Mosaics of Rome: from the third to the Fourteenth

Century (London 1967), pl 29, pl 19

St Peter's Basilica, one of

the original salmonic columns

Bamm, Kingdoms of Christ, p 118

St Peter's Basilica, one of the original salmonic columnsivory casket from Pola representing the baldacchino over the Shrine of St Peter

Bamm, Kingdoms of Christ, p 118 ; Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 15

St Peters Basilica, isometric reconstruction & plan of the C4th shrine, based uipon the casket

from Pola

Toynbee & Perkins, The Shrine of St Peter, p 202Lees-Milne, St Peter's, p 80

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 15

St Peter's Basilica: plan superimposed on the circus and necropolis, grottoes and present basilica

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 12