Compare And Contrast Essay
Byzantine era placed a great importance on Christianity, and it is no wonder to see a lot of artwork produced related to the life that Christ. These painting were hung within the walls of the churches, and the viewers were given the chance to connect with the ideals they revered (Byzantine, 2011). The purpose of the essay is to compare the Lamentation over the Dead Christ and the Sinai Christ.
Lamentation over the Dead Christ, wall painting, St. Pantaleimon, Macedonia, 1164. When Roman Empire was moved from Rome to Constantinople in 324, the Byzantine Empire came into existence as the "New Rome". The arts and culture of this Mediterranean area flourished until the fifteenth century. The antique Greco-Roman world and its traditions set cultural excellence for the Islamic East and the Latin West. Byzantine art describes the artistic creations of the Byzantine Empire from the 4th century till 1453. There was a strong link of trade between Byzantine and Italy, and one can see a strong influence in the art. There are illustrations seen in the Bibles that resemble the wall paintings produced in Rome. Different Byzantium objects made their way to Italy and influenced the art there. The influence of Byzantine art on Italy can be seen particularly on their architecture in the 10th century and 11th centuries (Art in Tuscany, 2014).
Lamentation over the Dead Christ is by an anonymous Byzantine artist, and it was created in the Middle Byzantine period in 1164. The wall painting carries a more dynamic visual concept and emotions. The Virgin Mary deep in her emotion as embraces the deposed Christ and the disciple holding the hand of Christ in total grief, draw your attention immediately apart from the body of the Christ. The location and setting of the painting are very spatial.
The lamentation of Christ is an illustration of Middle Byzantine art. It carries a high emotional power and pictures passionate grief. The artist has been successful in capturing the attitudes, expressions and gestures of his subjects in the painting. Mary is seen, lying down and pressing her cheek against her dead son's face. She is holding him closely and cradling him like a little child (Byzantine, 2011).
Christ’s disciples are kneeling at his feet, and Saint John is clinging to Christ’s left hand. The stylistic approach of the peace makes an instant connection with the viewers. The Christ's death makes an intensified emotional impression and one feel strongly connected to the sorrows on the faces of Christ's followers. The painting is beautiful and the ways the color and design has been used. The body of Christ draws your attention first, followed by bodies surrounding Him. It seems they have been placed at the right angles so as to draw the main subject matter. Lamentation of Christ helps one to connect with the emotions of those who had loved and cherished Christ (Byzantine, 2011). The mind gets drawn to a more spiritual realm.
During the 11th century, such kinds of images were placed outside the tomb or at the foot of the empty cross. The Lamentations become a standard scene in Western Gothic art. The Lamentation of Christ is an artwork from the church of Saint Panteleimon near Skopje and is looked upon as an excellent example of 12th-century Komnenian art. The style shows a great love and passion color. Byzantium art and masterpieces were admired throughout the whole of the Christian world. From the 10th to the12th century, Byzantium has been a primary influence for the West in the field of art (Byzantine Empire, 2014).
Today, one can find the famous theme painted in almost all churches, but these representations may differ because of the iconographic as well as other elements. The theme primarily deals with the emotions of those framed and captures the grief and sorrow. Mary is painted as the common mother crying over her dead son and her expression of deep sorrow and pain.
St. Catherine's Monastery is one of the earliest Christian monasteries in the world and lies at the base of Mount Sinai in Egypt. It is said that Moses took the Ten Commandments from God at Mount Sinai. Though, there have been a wide range of theories put forward by the scholars and historians, related to the geographical locations of these biblical, there is still no particular evidence. However, one cannot deny the significance of these sites to the early Christian monks. St. Catherine's Monastery was a primary destination for pilgrimage in the Byzantine Era and remains today. UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site in 2002, because of its importance to the three major religions in the world – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism (St. Catherine's Monastery, 2014). St. Catherine's is well famous for its architecture and the collections of artwork. There is a wealth of frescoes and mosaics, and the Monastery is best known for its wide collection of icons (Splendor in the Sinai, 2014).
Sinai Christ is an encaustic image on wood that dates back to the mid-6th century. Emperor Justinian gifted this famous icon to the Monastery in the 6th century. The painting of Christ is done in the hot wax technique. Only a hand with a complete mastery of the media could have created such artwork. The colored waxes are handled with the help of Spatulas, and they wax fuses as it cools. The style of encaustic painting was common during those times, and there are many examples (Christ Pantokrator from Sinai, 2014).
Christ is shown dressed in dark robes that contrast beautifully with the gold. He is holding a jeweled Gospel in his left hand, and arm and his right hand is raised gently in blessing. The face carries a pale look, and it is perhaps to show the effect of light radiating from within. His features are set in an austere expression. The painted icon of exceptionally high quality and the iconographical style points that it was perhaps from the time when Justinian was ruler. One should remember that Justinian established the Monastery of St. Catherine and this icon was perhaps one of the many gifts he gave to the Monastery. Earlier, the icon was set to be from the 13th century, but further examination and analysis date it to the 6th or 7th century (Christ Pantocrator, 2013).
This is also the oldest known icon of Christ and survived, even when most images during Byzantine history were destroyed due to Iconoclastic disputes among the Eastern churches. Christ is shown holding the New Testament in his left hand and showering blessings with his right (Christ Pantocrator Sinai Icon, 2014). In Byzantine church art and architecture, we find the icon of Christ taking the space in the main dome of the church. It was developed in the Early Christian Church and remains the main icon of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Making comparison
As is evident from the description both paintings and art form, they are very different from each other. Sinai Christ is much older in history as compared to the Lamentation over the Dead Christ.
One can see the heritage of Greek and Hellenistic art beginning to get transformed, but still very much there in the Lamentation. Some specialists were already experimenting with shadow painting and color modulation to display the graphic elements. There was an attempt to make the impression of solid and round bodies set in a coherent spatial setting. Each figure in the art gets his space and interacts with others in the virtual space (Lima, 2008).
The Byzantine painters were paying more attention to the emotions of their subjects and Lamentation over the Dead Christ is a very good example. The anonymous artist has succeeded in capturing the emotions of grief, pain, and human bereavement in a coherent spatial setting. The painting is set against a slope of a hill under a blue sky (Kleiner, 2009). The artist has made a genuine attempt to show emotions of grief with fully modeled subjects. The art was clearly moving towards a more naturalist style that would soon be emulated in Italy.
In Sinai Christ, there is a difference in the right and left eyes of Christ. Often, one finds asymmetrical eyes were used to create the illusion of depth, but not in this case. The lack of symmetry in the eyes is due to a damage in the left eye. This could be possibly due to the nature medium used in the artwork and the use of colored beeswax (Christ Pantokrator from Sinai, 2014). It must have been difficult to correct the errors once made. The icon portrays Christ as Ruler, Judge, and Savior of the world. The right side of the face shows him as the Judge while the left side shows mercy from the viewer's perspective. The deep purple tunic stands for royalty (Schwager, 2009).
When looking at both the artworks, one can see a difference in the medium used for the artwork. There are sharper contrasts of colors in Sinai Christ as compared to the Lamentation over the Dead Christ, which has more of subdued colors. There are deep browns, dark purples and charcoals and grays used in Sinai Christ to lend a balanced tone to the image.
The emotions are much stronger in Lamentation painting as compared to Sinai Christ, which is almost expressionless. Christ is wearing a tunic that is draped over outer garment. The cover of the thick Gospel-book is decorated with precious jewels. A noteworthy feature of this art work is the imperfection shown in the eyes. As mentioned before, this is perhaps because of the medium of the artwork used and which in this case is wax. As we know, it is difficult to work with wax. The mouth carries a melancholy expression and the beard is short and carries an inward curve (Christ Pantocrator, 2013). While the Lamentation shows the grief of the subjects in the artwork over the dead body of Christ, Sinai Christ shows Him in a pensive mood. His face is thin and long. If you see the left side of His face, He is seen by those who will be convicted on Judgment Day. The right side of His face gives the right expression from those found righteous on that day. The art forms signify the change that began to take place in the styles Jesus was portrayed. His images appeared on icons, frescos, mosaics, coins, etc.
Lamentation over the Dead Christ is more about Mary and the followers of Christ, Sinai Christ stands for the central reality of the Christian faith. The icon reminds the Christians that He is the inventor and ruler of all the world and our redeemer. One can say that there is little similarity in both artworks, except the subject that relates to Bible. The style of art is different, the medium used is different and so is the time era of the artwork. Lamentation over the Dead Christ is from the Meddle Byzantine era while Sinai Christ is from the Early Byzantine.
Clearly, one can see the proto-Renaissance approach among Italian artists and the influence of Giotto, with their unique blend of humanity and tragedy in Lamentation over the Dead Christ.
References
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