Dr. Allen Farber

About Dr. Allen Farber

Dr. Allen Farber has taught at the State University of New York College at Oneonta since 1981. He has been responsible for teaching a range of courses including upper level courses in Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance art. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1980..

James Tissot, London Visitors, 1874, oil on canvas, 160 x 114 cm (Toledo Art Museum) — The architecture of museums has long been used to shape national identity, and to frame collective memory.

How museums shape meaning

San Vitale — Gold, glass, and marble dazzle the eye in this 6th-century church. High above us, Emperor Justinian presides.

San Vitale and the Justinian Mosaic

Basilica of Santa Sabina — This impressive church borrowed its plan and its columns from ancient pagan buildings.

Basilica of Santa Sabina, Rome

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, marble, 359 C.E. (Treasury of Saint Peter's Basilica) - detail — Made for a member of the Roman elite, this early tomb features Old and New Testament scenes in a classical style.

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus

Pediment above the door of Santa Pudenziana, 4th century C.E., Rome — A mosaic proclaims Christ’s rule over the Heavenly Jerusalem. Gesture, toga, and book signal imperial authority.

Santa Pudenziana

Santa Maria Antiqua Sarcophagus — The images on this stone coffin mingle Old and New Testament scenes—among the oldest examples of Christian art.

Santa Maria Antiqua Sarcophagus

Colossus of Constantine, c. 312-15 (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Musei Capitolini, Rome) — Even before Constantine converted to Christianity, his architects adapted imperial designs for Christian use.

Early Christian art and architecture after Constantine

Christ and the Apostles, Catacombs of Domitilla, 4th century C.E., Rome — Themes of death and resurrection recur in the first Christian images. But where are scenes from the life of Christ?

Early Christian art

Two figures, the apostle Paul and the Emperor Constantine, brought Christianity to the Greco-Roman world.

Early Christianity, an introduction