The Good Shepherd in Early Christianity — Hermes recast

(swing piano music) - We are in the part of the Vatican Museums dedicated to

early

Christian art. We have walked among sarcophagi, the tomb covers of the catacombs, and we have come across a rare example of

early

Christian sculpture. - Exempt early Christian sculpture. I mean, all we've been seeing, pretty much, are relief sculptures, and of course ancient Rome was known for its large freestanding sculptures, but Christians associated them with images of gods and emperors, so they weren't something So. the first Christians wanted to emulate. There was also the association of worshiping images in the Roman Empire. - This is a marble sculpture, approximately one and a half meters high, of the Good Shepherd. - The Good Shepherd is a theme that dates back to ancient Greece.

There are images of figures carrying sheep or goats on their shoulders to make a sacrifice to the gods. It continues through ancient Roman art, and even here in early Christian art, the meanings change as the images move forward in time. - This is a period of change, in which older traditions are being reformulated in a new Christian context, and some scholars have noted that the ancient tradition of Hermes was a perfect figure to readopt. In fact, if we look at this figure, it does have some very classicist elements. For example, he is standing contrapposto, his left leg is bent, his entire weight falls on his right leg, his right hip protrudes upward.

And the handling of carving the folds of his clothing reminds us of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. We often think of early Christian art as poorly proportioned and poorly carved, but this example shows that those were purposeful decisions, that when artists wanted to depict the figure in a naturalistic way, they could do so. You have a very sensitive representation of the drape of the fabric. There is a charming handling of the curly locks of Christ's head or sheep's wool. I love the way the artist has created a point where the Good Shepherd's curly hair meets the sheep's hair.

There is a wonderful intimacy between the two figures. I also love how this sheep's belly sticks out a little just behind its neck, there is a real sense of the mass of the animal. -And from a

shepherd

who is really taking care of this vulnerable animal, carrying it on his shoulders. And if we look at his back, we can see that it is completely carved and there is a beautiful turn in his hips that can be seen in the drape that extends towards his left leg, which moves forward. The figure is asymmetrical, not only is it contrapposto, but it turns its head to the left and looks into the distance in a very calm manner that suggests a perfect life in the countryside.

As we walked through the museum, we saw many images of the Good Shepherd, it is a very common motif on sarcophagi and relief sculptures from late antiquity. It is usually part of a bucolic, idyllic rural scene, which signified, in a sarcophagus, the idea of ​​a peaceful afterlife, an ideal afterlife. But it is now a Christian issue that, for believers in the 4th century, this first century when the practice of Christianity is legal in the Roman Empire, the idea that Christ would take care of them, that Christ was their

shepherd

, that death was not definitive. for Christians, but a step towards another world, a better world.

This is before the portrait of Christ we are most familiar with has been formed, with the older, wiser Christ with a beard. Even a little later, in early Christian art, we see images of a very young Christ, as a shepherd, where the sheep are representative of an extended Christian community. -That Christ takes care, like a shepherd takes care of his flock. He also leads them towards heaven. (swing piano music)