Resurrection of Jesus in Christian art

The Resurrection of Jesus has long been central to Christian faith and Christian art, whether as a single scene or as part of a cycle of the Life of Christ. In the teachings of the traditional Christian churches, the sacraments derive their saving power from the passion and resurrection of Christ, upon which the salvation of the world entirely depends. The redemptive value of the resurrection has been expressed through Christian art, as well as being expressed in theological writings.

However, the moment of the Resurrection is not described as such in the Gospels, and for over a thousand years it was therefore not represented directly in art. Instead at first it was represented by symbolic depictions such as the Chi Rho, the first two Greek letters of Christ, encircled by a wreath symbolizing the victory of resurrection over death. Later various scenes that are described in the Gospels were used, and also the Harrowing of Hell, which is not. In Byzantine and later Eastern Orthodox art this has remained the case, but in the West the depiction of the actual moment of Resurrection became common during the Gothic period.

In the Catacombs of Rome, artists just hinted at the Resurrection by using images from the Old Testament such as the fiery furnace and Daniel in the Lion's Den. The period between the year 250 AD and the liberating Edict of Milan in 313 AD saw violent persecutions of Christians under Decius and Diocletian. The most numerous surviving examples of Christian art from this period are paintings in the Catacombs of Rome. The Christians shunned cremation and preferred the practice of interment, to preserve their bodies for the Resurrection of the Dead, as Christ was resurrected from the dead. The depictions of the stories of Daniel and Jonah and the Whale in the Catacombs served as historical and Judaic precedents of salvation.

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