The Artistic Canon of the Roman Imperial Cult and Christian Art
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18688/Keywords:
Early Christian Art, sarcophagi, adoration of the Magi, entry of the Lord, ascension of Jesus, imperial cultAbstract
The article is devoted to the study of the assimilation of scenes and symbols associated with the Roman imperial cult in early Christian art. The object of the study was three scenes: the Adoration of the Magi, Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem, and Jesus’ Ascension. They received new meanings and in some cases were radically rethought in a new context, sometimes in an anti-imperial sense. The article analyzes these changes and, based on literary sources, demonstrates that it was fully recognized by contemporaries. It is not feasible to claim that these scenes and symbols were mechanically borrowed and assimilated for political purposes, as certain researchers have posited. The Christians adapted a visual language that included elements of imperial iconography to their cultural context. The means of transmission may have been similar, and their messages were interconnected at the initial stage of their existence, but over time they diverged more and more. We must take into account several factors when studying the mechanism of assimilation of these elements by early Christian art. The primary factors include the evolution and Christianization of the imperial cult, the difficult relations between Christians and the Roman Empire in the first centuries, the struggle between the Orthodox and the Arians, and finally, the personal experiences of the customers of these monuments, who survived the Great Persecution.
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