Christianity in art: icons and mosaics. The role of Christianity in art

Christianity in art has played a significant role, because since its inception was written a great many icons, as well as mosaics on a religious theme. The history of Christianity is more than two thousand years old, and it is one of the three world religions. It had a huge impact on the worldview of man, for all this time, built a myriad of churches and temples around the world. Many great artists worked for their decoration, so we can safely say that religion and art are very intertwined here.

Art in the West

In fact, the spread of Christianity took place in different conditions in the East and in the West, and therefore in art there were certain differences. For example, Christianity in the art of icons and mosaics in Western Europe was more realistic, the artists there preferred to give their creations a maximum degree of truthfulness.

This led to the emergence of a completely new kind of art - art nova. It is characterized by the fact that the icon gradually became a full-fledged picture, but with a religious plot, because the icon painters told about the evangelical history, trying to accurately display everything, even the smallest details.

Art nova and Jan van Eyck

The flow of art nova also touched the art of the East of Europe, where the writing of icons and mosaics acquired an intuitive and religious-mystical connotation. This happened in the Netherlands in the 15th century. The first painter who decided to portray a painting that had nothing to do with religion was Jan van Eyck - he created a portrait of the four Arnolfini.

In fact, it was a real breakthrough of that time, because people were first portrayed in their everyday situation without any religious overtones. Until then, the separation of concepts such as religion and art seemed impossible. But nevertheless, if you look at the symbols depicted in the picture, you can observe the presence of the Holy Spirit in the smallest details of the interior. For example, on the chandelier, only one of the candles was lighted during the day, which is evidence of his mysterious and mysterious presence in the room of the newlyweds Arnolfini.

Symbolism in icons and mosaics

The role of Christianity in art can not be underestimated, because it formed the whole culture of past centuries and influenced the worldview of an ordinary person. At the same time, the style of writing icons and mosaics is somewhat peculiar, and it would be impossible to understand all the details, if not for the concept of psychology and features of that culture.

Symbolics are sometimes multi-layered and difficult enough to understand, because it is designed primarily to ensure that the viewer is actively perceiving it. Iconography - Christianity in art - is completely imbued with symbols that are not so easy to decipher, they should be understood on an intuitive level.

Explanation of symbols

In fact, if we are considering a common thing, then the symbol itself will "look" at us. In any case, it is necessary to take into account all Christian symbols, as well as the canons that reigned in the art of the Middle Ages. They turned to the feelings of man and to his subconscious, and not just to reason. Since there can be several values for one symbol, then, considering the icon, one should choose exactly that which will not contradict the style and spirit of this epoch, the general system, and also time.

For example, speaking of numbers, the number 7 means the symbol of completeness, as well as the completeness of the action. There are seven notes, seven deadly sins, seven days of the week, or seven virtues.

The meaning of colors in icons and mosaics

If we talk about the colors that are used when writing icons, then the blue color is a symbol of all spiritual, greatness, mystery mystery and depth of revelation. The golden color always symbolized the radiance of Divine glory, which descended upon all the saints. That is why the golden color has a background of icons, a radiance around Jesus that illuminates all its surrounding, halo of saints, or clothes from the Virgin, and also from Jesus. This, according to the painters, most successfully emphasizes their holiness and the fact that they belong to a world of unshakable and eternal values.

Christianity in art has given to the yellow color a certain symbolic meaning - it means the supreme power of the angels. Some researchers hold the view that it is simply a substitute for gold.

Even now, we have the opinion that white color symbolizes purity, as well as purity. This is the so-called involvement in the divine higher world, so the clothes of Jesus and all the righteous on any icon or mosaic were depicted in white. The most illustrative example in this regard will be the composition "The Last Judgment".

The opposite of the white color is black, so its meaning is also the opposite: it is the maximum distance from the Lord, involvement in hell, or black color can symbolize depression, despondency and sorrow.

Blue artists tried to convey purity, as well as righteousness, so it was also called the color of the Virgin.

Red color is always portrayed by someone who has power and great power. Red is a royal color, that's why the cloak of Archangel Michael, who was considered the leader of the heavenly host, and also Saint George who was the winner of the serpent was written. But such a symbol had more than one meaning, so it could also mean martyrdom or redemptive blood.

Often there was also a green color in the painted icons, because he is still a symbol of eternal life, eternal flowering. Among other things, it is attributed to the color of the Holy Spirit.

Gesture in icons

All painters paid special attention to gesturing the main characters of their icons and mosaics. Christianity in art - the discussion of this topic took a lot of time for the specialists, therefore, not only the colors used, but also the gestures, their spiritual and sacral meaning were touched upon.

For example, if the hand is pressed to the chest, then it always means a heartfelt empathy. If it was raised upwards, it was a silent call or a call to repentance. If the hand was drawn forward, with the palm open, it is a kind of sign of obedience, as well as obedience. If the hands were stretched forward and raised slightly, it could be a prayer for peace, for help, or for a gesture of request.

If both hands were pressed against the cheeks, it meant that the person is experiencing sadness and sorrow. Such gestures are the most common, but, of course, there are a lot of others that are often difficult to describe even for experienced professionals.

Christianity in art was very sensitive to even the subjects that were portrayed in the hands of the heroes of icons. For example, the apostle Paul was most often portrayed with the Gospel in his hands. He was much less likely to be portrayed with a sword in his hand, which symbolized God's Word. It is characteristic of Peter that he was portrayed with keys in his hands from the kingdom of God. Plants - the symbols of Christianity in art - also occur quite often, so, the martyrs were depicted with a palm branch, because it is a symbol of belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven. Prophets usually hold scrolls in their hands with their prophecies.

Language of the icon

Art from the point of view of Christianity is a "continuation" of the Gospel. All the gestures, objects and colors that are depicted on the icon are connected to an ineffable gamut of energy that it radiates. This is a peculiar language of the icon, through which the masters of the past address us, trying to get a glimpse into the depths of the human soul and to ponder over the mystical meaning of the Christian faith. Since ancient times it was believed that the eyes - this is the mirror of the soul, so the artists are actively used.

To make their characters more expressive, they deliberately distorted the proportions of the face, making the eyes bigger than they should be. In their opinion, this will put an emphasis on the eyes, and the viewer will feel that they are more heartfelt.

Changes in the image of the saints' face

Already since the 15th century, in the Rublevian times, this practice has ceased. But, despite the fact that the eyes were already portrayed by masters not so big and heavy, they still received a lot of time and attention. Among other things, there were several innovations. For example, Theophanes the Greek depicted the saints on their icons with empty eye sockets, or simply with their eyes closed. This is how he tried to show that the saints' eyes are always directed not at worldly existence, but at contemplation of the higher world, on inner prayer, they seem to realize the divine truth.

Figures of saints on icons and mosaics

Each person, looking at the icons, noted to himself that the saints seemed somehow very light, they seemed to hover in the air. Such an effect was achieved by the artists due to the fact that they depicted the figures of the saints less densely than all those around them, they drew them in a slightly layered manner, and they were specially lengthened and extended.

This method created an impression of the lightness and lack of corporality of the saints' bodies, and their volume was overcome. According to the idea this led to the fact that they seem to soar above the earth, and this should be a direct expression of their transformed state, as well as spirituality.

Background of the icon and its meaning

Despite the fact that the central part of the picture was always occupied by a man, the background, which is depicted behind him, is also important. As a rule, the artists tried to put their own meaning there, thereby pushing art lovers to long reflections on the mystery they wanted to convey to them.

The most frequently depicted mountains, chambers, various trees, which in the general composition form a picturesque landscape. If you plunge headlong into the symbolic load of all this, the mountains denote the difficult and thorny path of man to the Lord God. In fact, the separately depicted trees were given secondary importance. But, nevertheless, the oak, which was often depicted, was always a symbol of eternal life. The vine and bowl on the background were considered symbols of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Formation of the symbolism of Christianity

Many believers argue that the sacraments of Christianity itself were created from the all-consuming chaos of paganism. That is why the art of Christianity has not been able to get any uniform form. It seemed to have been created from a multitude of smallest pieces. Some symbols were taken from the pagan faith, from Islamic art. Therefore, medieval masterpieces can now be classified not only in such parameters as Eastern and Western Europe, but also in many others. The fine arts of that time in no way could not abandon the heritage of antiquity, gradually turning it into something completely new. Sources of the theological tradition of the sacred image must have been forever lost to us in history, in the gloom of the pre-Constantine era. Among the prototypes that are directly related to this tradition, the image of Christ on the Shroud or on the Mandylion is called, which was lost in Constantinople during the plunder of his crusaders. No less important is the image of the Mother of God, which is attributed to St. Luke. The authenticity of such images is of great doubt, but, nevertheless, they have been successfully used for many centuries. Jesus and the Mother of God are depicted as described in the numerous works of the martyrs of past centuries - it is in this that Christianity and anti-Christianity in art are similar.