Dogmatic Sarcophagus
The dogmatic sarcophagus is an early Christian sarcophagus of the 4th century, now held in the Vatican Museums. It was discovered in the 19th century during rebuilding works at the basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura.
It and the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus are two of the most important examples of Christian-Roman sculpture of the Constantinian era. It draws its name from its clear references to the dogmas of the Council of Nicea (325), in particular to Christ being consubstantial with God the Father, as shown (for example) by the scene of Jesus between Adam and Eve.
The front face is split into two registers, typical of the style of the time, with Old Testament and New Testament subjects and a central shell-shaped clipeus containing the portraits of the dead couple, embraced and wearing marital clothes typical of the 4th century (tunica manicata, dalmatina and toga contabulata by the man, who holds a rotulus in his hand, and tunic and palla by the woman). The heads are basic types, showing there was either no desire or not enough time to personal the sarcophagus.
In the upper register are fives episodes, two from the book of Genesis and two miracles of Christ:
- God the Father, enthroned, creating man, with a bearded figure (probably intended as Christ) behind the throne
- Christ between Adam and Eve, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
- Marriage at Cana
- Multiplication of the loaves
- Resurrection of Lazarus
In the lower register are six scenes, one linked to Christ's birth, two to the Bible and three to St Peter:
- Adoration of the Magi, with an enthroned Virgin and Child, and with Magi in oriental dress and Phrygian caps, and with Balaam behind the throne
- Healing the blind
- Daniel in the lions' den
- Habbakuk with the basket of loaves and the angel
- Peter denying Christ, with the crowing cockerel from the Gospel account
- Peter' arrest, by two soldiers wearing Pannonian caps
- Moses or Peter creating a spring of water in the presence of a centurion (with the latter wearing typical 4th century military dress)
The sarcophagus can be dated to between 330 and 340 due to the male hairstyles (apart from those of Christ and Peter), the squat square figures and the lack of calligraphic detail. There are echoes of the previous "plebeian" official art, which has led some to suggest that the sarcophagus is from the same workshop that produced and amended the reliefs for the Arch of Constantine, although there are already signs of a desire for classicism that only fully showed itself later (the arch is dated to 350, ten years later than the sarcophagus).
Bibliography
- Template:It icon Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli and Mario Torelli, L'arte dell'antichità classica, Etruria-Roma, Utet, Torino 1976.