L'iconografia cristiana delle origini come storia dell'esegesi. Un'ermeneutica codificata

What prompted the first Christians to experiment with the use of a figurative language? When is it possible to date the birth of the oldest “Christian imagery”? How should the most archaic Christian visual documentation be “read”? Is there a relationship between these figures and the biblical scriptures, between these images and the first so-called exegetical “patristic” traditions? This book tries to answer these questions by discussing a critical methodology for interpreting and studying early Christian visual culture. Through the analysis of different case studies - literary and figurative -, this book discloses a new perspective on the first “Christian art”, describing its nature and purposes, proving its originality and religious specificity and illustrating its extraordinary documentary potential for the reconstruction of Christian origins.