Exploring Symbolism in Christian, Byzantine, and Jewish Art Forms

This essay provides a comparative analysis of Christian, Byzantine, and Jewish art forms. It explores the symbolism, religious themes, and cultural contexts of each tradition. The study highlights the use of specific symbols such as the cross, Ichthys, and the Alpha and Omega in Christian art, the abstraction and symbolic meaning of the Byzantine art, and the use of “hiddur mitzvah” in Jewish art. It also examines the commonalities, such as the depiction of divinity and the use of symbols to convey religious teachings and mythological stories. The essay references various sources to support its claims and concludes by emphasizing the shared aspects and unique characteristics of these art forms.

Running head: ART
Art
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ART
The spiritual being is shown in different manners in three of the three different art forms
of Christianity, Byzantine and in the Jewish art. In the Christian art, the themes of imagery of
Christian teachings are portrayed in the art forms. The Byzantine form of art depicts the spiritual
beings in an abstract kind of a way. In the Jewish art, the form emphasizes on the beautification
of the images related to the spiritual beings.
The symbols used to convey divinity in the Christian art are cross or crucifix which
symbolizes the crucifixion of the Christ, Ichthys symbol which indicates the symbol of fish it
hold huge importance to the Christians (Walter). The Alpha and Omega symbol derived from the
words of Jesus himself, and other Greek symbols, the Christian art adopted many symbols and
ideas from the Greek art. The divinity in the Byzantine art is conveyed through a complex
combination of reasons, elements and beauty (Wescoat, Bonna and Ousterhout). The symbols
used in this form of art is taken from normal lives of the human beings but has deep religious
meaning, some of common symbols for example are the serpent, boats, Virgin Mary, the
Anchor, Chalice and other symbols related to the Christianity and the Roman mythology. The
symbolism used in the Jewish art to convey divinity use the teachings related “hiddur mitzvah”
or “beautification of the commandments”, the symbols include
“kiddush cups”, “mezuzot,” “candlesticks”, and other objects (Schürer, Vermes and Millar).
Symbolism can be found in all the three forms of art in Christianity the crucifix
symbolizes the sacrifice made by the Christ for the human kind, the chalice represents the blood
of the Christ. All the three forms of arts are connected with each other. Christian, Jewish as well
as the Byzantine art adopts certain amounts of Christian teachings and stories and worships God
through various forms and their symbolisms are almost similar with each other. The sacred
symbols has been used in the different forms of religions from the ancient period. “The Lamb

2ART
Triumphant” describes the struggle that exists between the God and the Satan himself. The
shepherd is used to refer to Jesus or God who is there to guide the humans as a shepherd guides
his cattle (Finney). The Dove is used to celebrate the Holy Spirit, it is related to the Holy spirit
that empowered Jesus. Christians, Jews as well as people of Byzantine have used the holy
symbols to preach about their faith and that has also been reciprocated in their art forms, yet for
most of the people symbols are mysterious and they do not understand the underlying meaning
of the symbols.
To conclude, it can be said that the forms of Christian, Byzantine and Jewish arts have a
lot in commons and they all depict the divinity through their art forms and use symbolism to
portray various imagery and mythological stories related to their respective forms of religions.

3ART
Reference List:
Finney, Paul Corby. The Eerdmans encyclopedia of early Christian art and archaeology. Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2017.
Schürer, Emil, Geza Vermes, and Fergus Millar. The history of the Jewish people in the age of
Jesus Christ. Vol. 2. A&C Black, 2014.
Walter, Christopher. The warrior saints in Byzantine art and tradition. Routledge, 2016.
Wescoat, Bonna D., and Robert G. Ousterhout, eds. Architecture of the sacred: space, ritual, and
experience from Classical Greece to Byzantium. Cambridge University Press, 2014.