Face of Faith
Face of Faith. A Short Guide to Early Christian Images (2011)
The art of the early Christian communities conveyed the strong message of a revolutionary faith, which would use already existing instruments to spread a new vision. This vision helped shape Western civilization. Christian artwork has evolved in style and substance over the course of 2,000 years, yet many of the symbols used in paintings or sculptures can be traced back to the early Christian period, between the third and fifth centuries AD. This guide provides a detailed study of the topic while remaining simple and user-friendly and providing an extensive range of photos. It focuses on the meaning of images and presents them in connection with non-Christian traditions. It also quotes the early sources that inspired many of these images, in a systematic and schematic way.