on of humanity, an exaltation of
physical and moral perfections. It dealt with the material and the
tangible, and Greek art appealed directly to the sensuous and earthly
nature of mankind. The Hebraic faith or Christianity was just the
opposite of this. It decried the human, the flesh, and the worldly. It
would have nothing to do with the beauty of this earth. Its hopes were
centred upon the life hereafter. The teaching of Christ was the
humility and the abasement of the human in favor of the spiritual and
the divine. Where Hellenism appealed to the senses, Hebraism appealed
to the spirit. In art the fine athletic figure, or, for that matter,
any figure, was an abomination. The early Church fathers opposed it.
It was forbidden by the Mosaic decalogue and savored of idolatry.

But what should take its place in art? How could the new Christian
ideas be expressed without form? Symbolism came in, but it was
insufficient. A party in the Church rose up in favor of more direct
representation. Art should be used as an engine of the Church to teach
the Bible to those who could not read. This argument held good, and
notwithstanding the opposition of the Iconoclastic party painting grew
in favor. It lent itself to teaching and came under ecclesiastical
domination. As it left the nature of the classic world and loosened
its grasp on things tangible it became feeble and decrepit in its
form. While it grew in sentiment and religious fervor it lost in
bodily vigor and technical ability.

[Illustration: FIG. 18.--CATACOMB FRESCO. CRYPT OF S. CECILIA. THIRD
CENTURY.]

For many centuries the religious motive held strong, and art was the
servant of the Church. It taught the Bible truths, but it also
embellished and adorned the interiors of the churches. All the
frescos, mosaics, and altar-pieces had a decorative motive in their
coloring and setting. The church building was a house of refuge for
the oppressed, and it was made attractive not only in its lines and
proportions but in its ornamentation. Hence the two motives of the
early work--religious teaching and decoration.

SUBJECTS AND TECHNICAL METHODS: There was no distinct Judaic or
Christian type used in the very early art. The painters took their
models directly from the Roman frescos and marbles. It was the classic
figure and the classic costume, and those who produced the painting
of the early period were the degenerate painters of the classic world.
The figure was rather sho