Christ and the Art of Agony
Nigel Spivey considers the roots of Christian art and iconography, discovering its roots in the cruelty of the Roman arena and the shame of crucifixion.
Two ancient mosaics to compare and contrast. The first from a Roman villa in North Africa. Repeated scenes of half-naked people being mauled by animals. In one vignette the victim is tied to a pole mounted on a trolley, so that his tormentors can gingerly propel him towards the beasts. In another, the bound victim is held upright by an arena stooge, as a leopard tucks into his face. Gashes and gargles of blood are graphically picked out by the mosaicist in trails of blood.
To compare: from the chapel-mausoleum of the Roman empress Galla Placidia at Ravenna, a lunette composition presumed to show the martyrdom of St Lawrence. The instrument of the martyr's death is central - a flaming gridiron; to one side of the fire is a display cabinet containing the Gospels; on the other, the figure taken to be the Saint. He is about to be roasted alive, but his fiery fate induces no evident fear in him. Lawrence goes gaily towards his ordeal as if he were on a Sunday school hike, the Cross on his shoulders a happily-carried knapsack.
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