Early Christian Architecture PDF

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Lecture by – Ar. Ketki Darp The vast Roman Empire spanning from the main lands of Italy, Greece extending up to England & France in the north, as well as encircled around the Mediterranean Sea confronting with Asia Minor & North Africa was subject to dismantling due to lack of central power....

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Lecture by – Ar. Ketki Darp The vast Roman Empire spanning from the main lands of Italy, Greece extending up to England & France in the north, as well as encircled around the Mediterranean Sea confronting with Asia Minor & North Africa was subject to dismantling due to lack of central power. ( GEOGRAPHICAL INPUT ) • The vast empire was divided into Western & Eastern empires. • The rich western province centered around Rome was obviously the target for invaders who destroyed the city. These confrontations resulted in the migration of artisans, craftsmen, masons to other developing countries – eastern province which were less hazardous. • Due to this fact the WP faced discontinuation of construction tradition & caused overall deteoriation in building skills. • On the contrary, the eastern province which accepted the migrated population was provided with continuation of Roman structural techniques.

• The western empire was centered around Rome while the Eastern empire flourished around Constantinople (currently, Istanbul), which was strategically located on trade route by sea – connecting Asia & North Africa by Europe.

• Christianity was born in Judea – a place in eastern province of the Roman empire, which spread towards the north & west

even against the backdrop of great opposition & ultimately accepted as state religion. • The formulation phase of Christianity & its architecture can be considered from Constantine period (300 AD) to Charlemagne (800 AD – French ruler). • The development of Christian Architecture thus can be divided into the following phases:

In these phases, ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCED the formulation phase, alterations & development in plans, profile surroundings & concluded with imitation of classical structures & mannerism. The development of Christian architecture in general proved beneficial in establishing new norms, new construction features, new materials, different types of façade treatments & also versatile construction analysis.The phases proved beneficial not only for the religious architecture but also for secular, domestic, commercial & Mediterranean development. GEOLOGICAL INFLUENCES may be said to have acted indirectly on Early Christian architecture for the ruins of roman building often provided the quarry where obtained. This influenced the style, both as regards construction and decoration. Columns and other architectural features, as well as fine sculptures and mosaics from older building, were incorporated into basilican churches of the new faith. North Italy has the CLIMATE of the temperate region of Europe . Center Italy is genial and sunny. Southern Italy is almost tropical. This variety of climatic condition is sufficient to account for diversity of architectural features and treatment in the peninsula itself . The climatic conditions in Roman provinces as Egypt , Syria, and North Africa where christianity was established were varied , and naturally modified the style in those countries where the fiercer sun and hotter climate necessitated small windows and other Eastern features.

E v o l u t I o n o f c h u r c h f o r m s….

FROM AGORA TO BASILICAN CHURCH • Greece – • Agora (Assembly or gathering place) • Served as a marketplace • Rome – • Forums – centre Roman public life • Venue for public speeches, criminal trials & gladiatorial matches. • Basilica – part of Forum. • Served as place for giving justice & transacting business. • The layout of Basilicas was, by extension used for Christian churches,having the same form.

A TYPICAL BASILICAN CHURCH Commonest form of the early church. Unlike the earlier Roman phase, the interiors were given more importance than exterior. Rectangular hall, timber-roofed with coffers & richly glided ceiling (hiding the roof truss) on nave. Usually with one or two aisles to each side of the central nave separated by rows of rustic marble columns, sometimes carrying flat entablatures & sometimes, rows of arches. The width of aisles was half that of the central nave. Apse at one end facing the principal entrances at the other end. Bema / Transept – a raised platform where altar was placed & from where the clergy officiated. A courtyard (atrium) having a central fountain for ablutions & surrounded by colonnaded ambulatory.

Interiors were given more imp.

Apse

Exteriors .

Coffers in the ceiling .

Bema / Transept

Atrium

A narthex – corresponding to entrance foyer, preceding the nave. The nave & bema receive light from clerestory above the aisles & were pierced with windows. Above aisles & between clerestory windows, the walls may be faced with marble, or mosaics made up from small tesserae of coloured glass. The nave terminates into a ‘triumphal arch’, perhaps having iridescent (brightly coloured & changing) mosaics. The semicircular walls of the apse ended into a dome, whose interiors had mosaics depicting narrative scenes from Bible or single figures seen against stylised landscapes or plain gold grounds. The flooring was of grey-white & black marble, inlaid with geometric patterns of coloured marble. The columns, capitals & similar features from old Roman buildings were frequently reused to enhance the liveliness of the interiors. In the new churches, arches were more often used to span between columns of a colonnade instead of flat entablatures.

Basilica of Old St. Peters . Rome Present day St. Peters in Vatican City – a rebuilding of a totally different design & on a substantially enlarged scale. Built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero under the rule of Emperor Constantine I in c. 320AD The original church survived without much change until towards the end of 15th Century & the nave for another century.Remains of old foundation are present below the present flooring but details of atrium are obscure. Dimensions: 110.0m long x 64.0m wide with double aisles on both sides. The nave was divided from aisles by 22 varied (size & colour), huge & antique marble columns with equally varied capitals supporting the nave walls on a horizontal entablature, while similar numbers of shorter columns carrying arcades divided aisle from aisle. It was built in the shape of Latin cross, with a gable roof, timbered on inside & at 30.0m high at centre. An atrium known as Garden of Paradise stood at the entrance with5 doors. The nave ended with an arch & the walls had parallel windows each with frescos.

S. Giovanni in Laterano church of the lateran (AD 313-320) A typical example of the early Christian church is S. Giovanni in Laterano Rome. • It was the first church commissioned by Emperor Constantine.

• It was built as the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome It was remodeled several times. • The church consists of a central nave flanked by two narrow isles and separated from them by a monumental colonnade. • The central nave rose above the isle roof, and the inner isle rose above the outer. • The nave terminated at an apse. The structure was of brick faced concrete covered with simple truss timber roof.

Alternative Church Form The rectangular basilica was not the only form adopted for the early church •Alternative more centralized plans, with a focus on a central vertical axis rather than a longitudinal horizontal one were also adopted occasionally. The centralized churches were of two broad types. •They were the completely circular church. •These had a circular or octagonal space surrounded by an ambulatory . Examples of these include Saint ConstanzaRome, the lateran Baptistery Rome and Saint Stefano Rotondo. The Baptistery of Constantine, Rome (A.D. 430–440) built near the Lateran Church by Sixtus III, and not by Constantine to whom it is generally attributed, is among the oldest of Italian baptisteries, of which it was probably the model. •It is octagonal in shape according to plan. • The roof is supported by a two-storeyed ring of eight porphyry and marble columns taken from old pagan buildings, while in the centre is an old Roman bath of green basalt converted into a font.

Round Alternative Form (St Constanza) This was a church originally designed as a mausoleum for Emperor Constantine’s daughter.

•It was designed as a centralized monument. •It is symmetrical in plan with a domed central space. •The domed central space was ringed by an arcade with 12 pairs of double colonnade. •Beyond the arcade is an encircling ambulatory. •A barrel vault is used to roof the ambulatory.

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE (JERUSALEM) •

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre enjoys a rich history and has extraordinarily distinguished artistic and architectural traits.

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It is revered as the site of the resurrection of jesus following his crucifixion, his suffering and death. According to christian belief jesus was buried (the sepulchre) in this church.

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When the first church was founded on this site during the Byzantine period it included four elements: atrium, basilica, open courtyard and the sepulchre or holy tomb.

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In AD 614 the Persians set fire to the church, badly damaging it; the church was repeatedly thereinafter partially destroyed and repaired over the next 400 years.

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Its present form is the result of several major reconstructions and adaptations by the crusaders who built the Gothic choir and the tall entance façade on one side .

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The basilica was shorter in relation to the its width and had galleries as well as double aisles on each side

Anastasis Rotunda...