Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/351

 x] BYZANTINE PAINTING 333 are, on the one hand, those of decay and barbarizar tion as well as of intentional discarding; while, on the other, they consist in modes of human growth — the development of intellect, sentiment, and emotion, the acquisition of faculty and knowledge, the maturing of artistic thought, and the clarification of ideals. The Christian revival of art in the fourth and fifth centuries has been spoken of. In the East, the artistic centre being Constantinople, this revival re- sulted in an art distinct in style from the antique. In Italy and the countries of the West, having part in Roman civilization, the Christian revival of art yielded to advancing barbarism and the prevailing decadence. The influences of Byzantine art tended to preserve the art of Italy from barbarization and to stamp a certain impress upon it, until the artistic capacities of the emerging Western culture were suffi- cient to conquer antique and Byzantine lessons, and move on to the great religious art of the Middle Ages with its essential oneness and manifold local differences. The antique style, which is retained and ennobled in the great mosaics of S. Pudenziana in Rome (fourth century) and the mausoleum of Gaila Placidia in Ravenna (fifth century), cannot properly bo called Roman or Italian.^ One may speak of Roman archi- 1 The same may be said of the oldest Christian mosaics in Italy, those of 8. Ck>8tanza, a circalar memorial church built and deco- rated in Ck>nstantino's time. Those remaining in the vault are taken from pagan decorative designs. The decorations of the apses are Christian : in one, Ood gives the Old Law to Moses ; in the other, Christ gives the New Law to Peter (De Rossi, Mu$aici CrUtiani, Faao. XVII, XVIII). These two composiUoni have been