Monuments of the early church . — Lid of a sarcophagus. Fourth century. The Three Children refusing to worshipthe image of Nebuchadnezzar: the star proves that they represent likewise the threeMagi refusing to obey Herod ; at the right the Magi offer their gifts to Jesus. saics. They were, however, not improperly reproduced upon thesarcophagi, since their eschatological reference was very of the minor characteristics of the art of the fourthcentury was an interest in portraiture, of w^hich there are hardlyany examples earlier. Almost all of the portraits in the cata-combs belong to t
Monuments of the early church . — Lid of a sarcophagus. Fourth century. The Three Children refusing to worshipthe image of Nebuchadnezzar: the star proves that they represent likewise the threeMagi refusing to obey Herod ; at the right the Magi offer their gifts to Jesus. saics. They were, however, not improperly reproduced upon thesarcophagi, since their eschatological reference was very of the minor characteristics of the art of the fourthcentury was an interest in portraiture, of w^hich there are hardlyany examples earlier. Almost all of the portraits in the cata-combs belong to that century, and the portrait busts whichwere common on the sarcophagi still exhibit something of theRoman genius for this branch of art. In the century follow-ing there was commenced in the basilica of S. Paul the in-teresting series of portraits or idealizations of the bishopsof Rome, and a century later this example was followed atRavenna in a series of portraits of the bishops of that city. SCULPTURE — Introductory 251. Fio. 90. — Bronze medal, and Paul. Fourth century. We may consider here, for lack of a more appropriate place,the distinctive treatment which was accorded in art to the twochief Apostles, Peter and Paid. Apartfrom the ideal representations of Christwhich were developed after the fourthcentury, there was no attempt at individ-ualizing any of the Biblical charactersexcept S. Peter and S. Paul. They aloneof the Apostles had been in Rome, andthere is certainly not excluded the possi-bility that a reminiscence of their personalappearance may have been preserved. Itis evident, however, that the frequencywith which these two Apostles are repre-sented together, constituted a practical necessity for distinguish-ing them, which did not exist in the case of other the sarcophagi alone they are represented some twenty-fourtimes, with or withoutthe rest of the Twelve,on either side of the en-throned Christ. In thesame way they are fre-quently
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectchristi, bookyear1901
