I. Jewish. — Under the Old-Testament covenant, the arts of architecture, music, poetry, dancing (and, to a limited degree, sculpture and the applied arts), were used in the worship of God. For Architecture, Mu- sic, and Poetry, see the separate articles, as in this article we treat of art mostly in its restricted, popular signification, embracing only the formative arts of painting and sculpture. That the second command- ment was not intended to prohibit the making of all artistic representations, as is often supposed, but that it referred to the mak'ng and worshipping of idols, is shown by the fact that Moses himself had images of cherubim made for the service of the tabernacle, and that in the Temple of Solomon the cherubim retained their place over the mercy-seat, and the molten sea rested upon twelve oxen, and the base of the sea was adorned with figures of cherubim, oxen, and lions, while carvings of cherubim, palms, and tiowers cov- ered many of the doors, pillars, and walls of the inte- rior of the temple. The golden candlestick was also adorned with knops of flowers, and the garments of the priests were richly embroidered. In short, no pains were spared to make the temple glorious, not only by its rich and gorgeous construction, but also by its truly aesthetic character. See Arts, Jewish (below).
II. Christian. — 1. First Period (1st to 4th centuries). — The earliest Christians made use, in their service,
: of only the arts of music, poetry, and oratory. In the second and third centuries they availed themselves of painting and sculpture in their retired places of wor- ship and burial in the catacombs. As the societies increased in numbers and wealth, and, by the cessa- tion of persecution, were permitted to build churches above-ground, and more especially on Christianity be- ing declared the religion of the state, architecture was used, and soon, in its most impressive forms, gave dig- nity and attractiveness to the house of God. The first period of Christian, as of all other arts, was one of symbolism. The letters X p and A 10 were placed en the tombs and the vessels of the sanctuary. Then appeared the mystical word i'x^i'C. afterward repre- sented by a fish carved and painted. See Ichthus. Christ was introduced as the Good Shepherd, etc. See Christ, Images of. The parables of the New Testa- ment were introduced with parallel scenes or subjects from the Old Testament, evincing a deep feeling for scriptural typos and allegory. Plants and animals were used symbolically, and symbols of Christian doc- trine and life were drawn from the pagan mythology of the Greeks and Romans. A study of the doctrine, customs, and spirit of the early church, as shown in its monuments of art, is a most useful complement to the stud}' of the writings of its great minds. See Archae- ology. The composition and execution of the paint- ings and sculptures in the catacombs are far superior to those of the immediately succeeding ages; but the
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artists lived among the finest works of Greek and Bo- 1 man art, and drew from them their technical knowl- edge. At the same time, they, were inspired by the deep emotions of the new Christian faith.
2. Second Period (4th to 12th centuries).— As church edifices were erected, the arts that had sprung up in the catacombs were transplanted to the stately house of God, and, though subordinate to the architecture, were developed into styles consistent with their mon- umental character and use, but not without remon- strance from some of the synods. See Iconoclast. Mosaic painting gradually supplanted the fresco style, and in the Byzantine churches was applied with all the splendor of the Oriental fancy. The Greek Church permitted no sculpture in its edifices of worship, but it developed a style of painting marked, in its best peri- ods, by the dignity of its composition, the grandeur of the outlines, and the expressiveness of its figures and the brilliancy of its colors. Later, the composi- tion of the mystic cycluses of painting that adorned the walls of the churches, and even of the altar-pieces, was prescribed by the theologians; the colors to be used had their symbolical doctrinal significance, and were also prescribed. This led to the stiffness of drawing, and the deadness of all art-feeling, that marks the Byzantine school after the eighth century.
In the Western Church painting and sculpture rap- idly sank to a most degraded technical condition. Among the most important works of the period are the mosaic paintings of Ravenna and Borne, and the bronze doors of Amain and Verona. Both in its tech- nical knowledge, and in the rules of its composition, the Byzantine school influenced the arts, not only of Italy, but of all Europe, especially that of South France.
3. Third Period (12th to lGth centuries).— The ex- traordinary activity of the twelfth century in Europe extended to every department of life, and gave a great impulse to the fine arts, as a means in the hands of the church to teach its doctrines. The purest religious feeling still animated the artists, who, for piety of life, were often reckoned superior to many of the priests or other persons in holy orders. Indeed the artists often were themselves of the holy orders. Gradually (first in Tuscany) the sombre color, the formal composition and stiffness of figure of the decadent Byzantine style, gave way to better drawing, freer treatment, and bril- liant coloring. In short, Christian art, for religious character and technical merits, reached its highest cli- max under such artists as Cimabue, Giotto, Orcagna, and Fra Angelico. In Italy fresco painting kept its predominance in the church edifice, and largely modi- lied the architecture. In other parts of Europe, espe- cially during the Gothic period, sculpture gained a large predominance over painting, and was confined mostly to adorning the windows with biblical scenes and subjects. The progress in sculpture was perhaps more tardy than that of painting. Its first works of excellence were carvings in ivory on vessels of the. sanctuary (often of complicate composition). The doors, doorways, columns, pulpits, altars, and baptis- mal fonts were covered with bronze or marble works, often of great merit. Giotto and the Bisanos (13th century) marked the first great epoch of progress in sculpture, and introduced a perfection of composition and execution hardly excelled in later times, and nev- er Burpassed for religious spirit.