Art Shift from Paganism to Christianity

Adam and Eve Reproached by the Lord, bronze panel from the doors commissioned by Bishop Bernward,  at St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim, Germany (1015 C.E.,)

    Key Takeaway- Italicized

As Europe shifted from Paganism to Christianity, the world of art began to shift as well. Art began to shift from realism and naturalism to forms of abstract art, focusing on gestures and facial expressions over muscles and depiction of the illusion that realistic art created. This wasn't a shift from intellect or forgetting how to create realistic art, but a way to convey a different message. Previously art was designed to showcase the beauty of humanity, to showcase precise and accurate details to show the public an ideal way of being human. St. Augustine believed that creating realistic art of figures such as God or Jesus was a way to lie to the public, for they were divine and unnatural beings and to create art of human beings was a symbol of idolatry. To avoid this, the art of the Medieval time period was designed to communicate religious stories, things that are deemed not of this Earth and unnatural. This was a method to not only allow artists to continue to produce art, but to avoid being denounced by the Church, as well as separating what was viewed as Pagan art from Christian art.

The sculpture above depicts the change between art styles. This sculpture is known as "Adam and Eve Reproached by the Lord", it is a bronze panel for doors commissioned for St. Michael's Church in Germany.  In contrast to naturalist/realistic artwork, there is no emphasis on Eve's woman-like features or the muscles of Adam, but instead, the focus is placed on the gestures to share the story of God interrogating Adam and Eve about eating the apple, before the expulsion from paradise. The passing of the blame of God pointing to Adam, Adam pointing at Eve, and Eve pointing to the serpent for why they ate the apple. A simplified art style serves the purpose of storytelling and communication, for you aren't looking at the artwork as if they are real people, allowing you to grasp the larger picture of the story instead. This method was a way to further spread the theology of the Christian church, which is why it is important to Art history as a whole. Art influences our society, not only reflecting the change of views of the society but during these changes art is used as a tool to further the change of views, instilling values that weren't there before. 

Sources: 

Dr. Nancy Ross, "A new pictorial language: the image in early medieval art," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, accessed October 3, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/a-new-pictorial-language-the-image-in-early-medieval-art/.

Dr. Nancy Ross and Dr. Jennifer Freeman, "Bronze doors, Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim (Germany)," in Smarthistory, December 11, 2015, accessed October 3, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/bronze-doors-saint-michaels-hildesheim-germany/.