Artworks Depicting the Annunciation
Public-domain paintings, icons and sculpture of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel greets Mary, all free to download.
Shalone Cason
This site's editor-in-chief is a Catholic husband, father, and author. He loves sharing the Catholic faith through art and graphic design. Check out his prayer books and coloring books on Amazon.com
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Fragmentary Icon Panel, Christ in Glory (?) and Evangelists (8th century) - Public Domain Orthodox Stock Photo
In this extraordinary fragment with a rare background resembling woven silk patterns, two roundels in the corners display the busts of haloed Evangelists holding books and raising their right hands in a gesture of teaching. In the center, the large roundel preserves traces of an enthroned figure, pr
Altar Cross (1305) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
This cross is traditionally said to come from the Benedictine Abbey of Meherau on Lake Constance in today’s Austria. During the 12th and 13th centuries the abbey became wealthy through the acquisition of landed property. This beautiful cross would have likely embellished one of the abbey’s many alta
Columbarium Tomb Plaque with the Monogram of Christ (6th century) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
This thick clay plaque covered a burial niche that contained the remains of the deceased in a simple communal tomb complex called a columbarium. The chi-rho monogram of Christ identifies the deceased as a Christian. The monogram was seen as representing Christ’s victory over death, while the letters
Fragment of a Double Capital: Mary and Martha at the Raising of Lazarus (1155) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
The front face of this capital fragment presents the two mourning women identified by the inscription above: MARIA ET MARTA. On the left face appears the body of Lazarus in a sarcophagus bearing Christ's words: VENI FORAS ("[Lazarus], come forth" [John 11:43]). The Raising of Lazarus is one of the m
Two Standing Apostles, Probably Saint John and Saint Paul (1430) by Master of the Saint-Omer Apostles - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
The two sculptures come from an altarpiece in the cathedral of Saint Omer in northern France. Four other figures have been preserved there, and possibly one at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The workshop was probably located in Bruges, in what is now Belgium. Sculpture was the leading art genr
Daniel in the Lion's Den (1140) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
According to the Old Testament, Daniel was cast into a lion’s den as punishment for his belief in a single god, but he was miraculously delivered from harm on account of his faith. This story is related here, with Daniel flanked by lions and the angel sent by God to save him. Together with other dec
The Annunciation (1380) - Public Domain Catholic Painting
This small but opulent panel painting was once joined to another panel with hinges to form a diptych. Given its small size, its original function was for private devotional use. It could be folded like a book when not in use and was highly portable. The missing panel has not been positively identifi
Madonna and Child (1335) by Andrea Pisano - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
One of the most important and beautiful sculptures that still exist by this artist, this work is believed to be the only sculpture by Andrea Pisano in the US. The attribution to Pisano is based upon a comparison with his bronze reliefs for the Baptistry doors in Florence, fully documented examples o
Plaque from a Portable Altar Showing Christ and the Apostles (1075) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
This intricately carved ivory panel once decorated the side of a portable altar. One of three plaques, it depicts Christ's apostles and was one of the first major acquisitions of William M. Milliken, the museum's first curator of decorative arts and later director (1930–1958). As Milliken later reca
Double-Arm Reliquary Cross (1150) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
This elegant double-arm cross once contained fragments of four of the most important relics of Christ’s Passion, namely a portion of the True Cross, a piece of Christ’s sudarium (sweat cloth), and fragments of the reed staff and sponge used by Christ’s tormentors to mock him and give him vinegar for
Virgin and Child (1495) by Pintoricchio - Public Domain Catholic Painting
Bernardino di Betto, called Pinturicchio, is said to have acquired his nickname ("little painter") because of his small stature, and used it to sign some of his paintings. Born in Perugia, the provincial capital of Umbria, he trained under local artists, eventually becoming a paid assistant of the p
Ivory Diptych with Scenes from the Life of Christ (1360) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
Ivory diptychs (two panels hinged together) were used for private devotion by their aristocratic owners. The scenes represented here are Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem, the Raising of Lazarus, the Crucifixion, and Christ’s Entombment. They suggest choices made by the original owner who wished to cont
The Virgin Crowned by Angels (1450) by Stefan Lochner - Public Domain Catholic Painting
Two angels, barely visible against a dark background, crown Mary as the Queen of Heaven. Her slight features are made more substantial by her elaborately draped, brilliant crimson mantle. Holding the Christ child, she stands on a floor scattered with red and white roses, symbols of her purity. Green
Crucified Christ (1527) by Hans Leinberger - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
This sculpture is possibly the best of several crucifixes by this famous sculptor from the Bavarian town of Landshut on the Upper Danube. The pathos and graphic realism with which the artist has modeled the body of Christ ranks this sculpture as one of the artist’s finest works. Leinberger was, alon
Virgin and Child with a Bird (1350) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
The Virgin and Child represents one of the most frequent subjects for free-standing sculpture in 14th-century France, motivated by the developing cult of the Virgin and increasing veneration of Mary. Such sculptures were not restricted to churches, but were also found in roadside shrines, entrances
Mourning Saint John the Evangelist (1400) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
These small statuettes would have originally flanked a crucifix as suggested by this arrangement. According to the Gospels, the Virgin and Saint John were present on Golgotha at Christ’s death. Medieval artists frequently depicted them standing next to the cross. Medium: Gilt copper. Measurements:
Christ Taken before Caiaphas (1641) by Rembrandt van Rijn - Public Domain Catholic Painting
The first drawing purchased by the museum as a Rembrandt is now considered by experts to have been made by a follower of the Dutch artist. The scene depicts Christ being led to his first interrogation after his capture in Gethsemane (John 18:12–14), an unusual subject that may be paraphrasing the tr
Triptych with the Adoration of the Magi (1424) - Public Domain Catholic Painting
This small winged altarpiece, called a triptych, was undoubtedly made for private use. The donor and his wife are shown in the lower central scene kneeling before the Virgin, her mother Saint Anne, and the Christ Child. Above is the Epiphany with the Three Kings presenting gifts to a tightly swaddle
Corpus from a Crucifix (1135) - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
By the 11th century, monumental crucifixes carved from wood and painted were a common feature of church interiors. Placed on or suspended above the main altar, they reminded viewers of Christ’s sacrifice on behalf of mankind at the Crucifixion, an event reenacted every time Mass was celebrated on th
Standing Apostle, Probably Saint Paul (1430) by Master of the Saint-Omer Apostles - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
This sculpture comes from an altarpiece in the cathedral of Saint Omer in northern France. Four other figures have been preserved there, and possibly one at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The workshop was probably located in Bruges, in what is now Belgium. Sculpture was the leading art genre a
A Nun Seated at a Table Knitting (1862) by François Bonvin - Public Domain Catholic Painting
François Bonvin was a prolific watercolorist, and he developed a lifelong interest in modest religious subjects showing scenes of everyday life. This delightfully simple image of a nun knitting reveals the artist's appreciation for 17th-century Dutch artists such as Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), who
The Crucifixion (16th century) by Moderno - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
Moderno's Crucifixion demonstrates his ability to create rhythmic and dramatic compositions on a small scale. The writhing of the crowded figures and tortuous thieves is counterbalanced by the strong, classical body of Christ on the towering vertical of the cross. As the emotional and structural ape
Madonna and Child (1470) by Antonio Rossellino - Public Domain Catholic Stock Photo
This relief is one of several such painted stucco replicas cast after the marble original of about 1460–65 now in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. While this example has suffered old and obvious losses, it still conveys the overall composition and some of the subtlety of modeling of the marble