Christian art consists of all visual works produced in an attempt to illustrate and portray the teachings of Christianity in tangible form. This includes sculpture, painting, mosaics, metalwork, embroidery and architecture. Christian art has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western art since at least the 4th century. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The primary subject matter of Christian art has been the life and times of Jesus Christ, along with those of his disciples, saints, and Old Testament events. These works of art are created to represent images of the different beliefs and traditions of the world and their appearance. In the ancient period between 3000 BC and 500 AD, the earliest identifiable Christian art consists of some 2nd-century wall and ceiling paintings in Roman catacombs (underground burial chambers), which continued to be decorated in a sketchy style derived from Roman Impressionism throughout the 4th century BC. They provide important documentation of some aspects of the development of Christian arguments. Early Christian art has survived since the origins of Christianity. Early Christian symbols include the dove, fish, lamb, cross, symbolic representation of the Four Evangelists, and the Good Shepherd. It is in the Catacombs of Rome that recognizable representations of Christian figures first appear in the largest group and show the evolution of the depiction of Jesus, a process that will not be completed until the 6th century, when the conventional appearance of Jesus in art has remained remarkably consistent.During the Middle Ages, Byzantine art arose in the 6th century. The Middle Ages has its share of famous artistic styles, two of the most significant being Byzantine and Gothic. The Byzantine artistic ear was one of the most long-lived and unique in the Western world. It was best known for being much more colourful, diverse and emotional than previous artistic styles. Gothic art owes its intricate style to the philosophy taught by St. Thomas Aquinas at his university: every single object in the universe has a part in God's plan. Medieval religious art flourished until the period of Byzantine iconoclasm. The religious artworks most frequently found in medieval times were those of depictions of biblical stories and sacred figures, such as Jesus, Mary, or saints. Byzantine iconoclasm, meaning the destruction of icons, criticized artists for depicting Christian figures as pagan idols. Iconoclasts continued to confiscate or ruin any artwork in medieval churches that depicted people such as saints, angels, and so on. They found these to be sacrilegious and against the Commandments. The iconoclasts, however, had nothing against non-religious art. Wanting to avoid controversy and create art peacefully, artists slowly began to move away from Christian subjects and towards secular ones. The Renaissance was an artistic period from the 14th to the 17th century that created a cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. The most famous style of the Renaissance is Mannerism. The term indicates art that depicts its subjects in a graceful and light manner. High Renaissance art flourished for about 35 years, from the early 1490s to 1527, when Rome was sacked by imperial troops, revolves around three towering figures: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo (1475 -1564) and Raphael (1483) -1520). The brief High Renaissance (1490-1520) of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael transformed Catholic art more radically, breaking with the ancient iconography that was.