Alexandra Medennikova
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
The sarcophagi are the most important testimony of Early Christian sculpture. They survive in great number to the present day. Among the most sumptuous are the sarcophagi decorated with architectural elements.
Early Christian art was formed during the first centuries AD when Roman art was still flourishing. The transition to Christianity influenced the artistic development in many ways. New faith changed people’s worldview. In spite of that the forms were still pagan. Therefore there was a strong need to change the meaning of these forms. The aim of this paper is to distinguish different meanings of architectural elements in Early Christian sarcophagi.
We shall consider some columnar sarcophagi. The main element used in these sarcophagi — a column — is very important for the culture of Antiquity. In Greek and Roman architecture and sculpture it was understood as a tectonic element and also as a metaphor of the human body. In Early Cristian art these meanings change.
The perception of sarcophagi as “micro-architecture” was lost in Early Christian time. That’s why columns don’t have tectonic function anymore. But allusion to human body is still present in the most ornate sarcophagi.
However, there are some new meanings of columns that appear in Early Christian epoch. Firstly, colonnade serves as a separator of figures or scenes. So the main aim of this element is to organize rhythmically an ornamental surface. As example of substitute for purely decorative columns we can point to the group of sarcophagi called “ad alberis”. Secondly, the symbolic meaning of columns becomes very significant: they can be metaphors of the Apostles as “columns” of the Church.
So, in Early Christian sculpture columns combine different meanings of that element. They remain metaphors of human body and gain new decorative and symbolic meaning.