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
Figuring Jesus would be worn down after 40 days and 40 nights of fasting, Satan tempts him three times (Matthew 4:1-11). Eagle-eyed viewers will find all three narrated here: Satan taunts Jesus to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger, plunge off a temple and be rescued by...
This plate from Israhel van Meckenem’s “Passion” series, illustrating Christ’s trials and triumph, incorporates three events. According to the Gospel of John, after Jesus’s arrest, he was first taken to the powerful politician Annas, for questioning. At left, the disciple Peter has been apprehended, but he raises...
This angel carries symbols of the Passion—the events associated with Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. The pitcher, basin, and cloth represent those used by Pontius Pilate to wash his hands of responsibility for Christ’s crucifixion.The painting belongs to a series of twelve angels carrying symbols of...
This painting illustrates a scene from the Christian Bible. A young maidservant accuses the apostle Peter, in the yellow cloak, of knowing Jesus. Fearing for his own safety, Peter denies the acquaintance. While working in Italy, the Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst earned the nickname Gerard of the Night for...
Jesus is seen dead on the cross while his mother, Mary, and his favorite disciple, the Evangelist Saint John, mourn below. This large-scale work embodies the characteristics of Romanesque sculpture in the medieval period, with its heavy stylized bodies, calligraphic depiction of hair, and linear, energetic approach to rendering the...
This scene depicting the Virgin Mary, her infant son Jesus Christ, and various saints and prophets also includes the kneeling figure of Louise de Bourbon (1495–1545), a member of the French royal family (Note the inscription LOYSE DE BOURBON on the hem of her dark habit). She was the...
Before rising from the dead, Jesus descended into limbo, on the edge of Hell, where the souls of virtuous people who died prior to the Crucifixion awaited the coming of the Messiah. Martin Schongauer presents Jesus Christ as a triumphant figure of divine light, carrying the banner of the Resurrection....
This painting is an altarpiece, a devotional image used in a Christian church, and many of the details are religious symbols. The walled garden, for instance, refers to the garden in the Bible’s Song of Songs and is associated with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. The...
Triptychs (hinged three-paneled works) such as this were often placed on or behind the altars of medieval churches and private chapels. The central panel of this triptych shows people mourning the death of Jesus. The city in the background is Bruges, where the artist worked. Saint John the Baptist and...
With extraordinary anatomical precision, this sculpture focuses on the suffering of Christ, who is shown still alive and in extreme physical pain. Ivory was the material of choice for depictions of Jesus, not merely because it was an exotic material imported at great expense from southern Africa, but also because...
Lucas Cranach the Elder worked in a time of religious upheaval. Martin Luther (a close associate of Cranach) led the Protestant Reformation challenging the Catholic Church, arguing that man could have a direct relationship with God without the need for a priest to intermediate. Cranach adapted familiar Catholic imagery to...
This angel holds a tablet inscribed “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin was placed on the cross, above Jesus. The painting belongs to a series of twelve angels carrying symbols of Christ’s Passion—the events associated with Jesus Christ’s suffering and death--which...
In the biblical story of the Massacre of the Innocents, King Herod orders the killing of all boys two and younger in Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace. Three magi (wise men) from the East had arrived in Jerusalem seeking the newborn king of the Jews, whose star they had seen. Taking this...
The figure of the Infant Saint John the Baptist was carved as a companion figure for the Infant Jesus Christ (on the opposite pedestal). source: artsmis.org Free DownloadThis image is in the public domain.download.jpg423 KBdownload-circle Please SUBSCRIBE or DONATE to help keep this site free!...
Mary, the mother of Jesus, insists you look her in the eye. She has long inspired intense devotion. Christians believed that a relationship with her would bring them closer to her son, and worshippers identified with her role as a mother. Segna portrays them both as very human and approachable—...
Looser and less formal than the portraits that made him famous, this work was completed shortly before Van Dyck began a six-year stint in Italy. It follows the biblical description of Jesus Christ’s betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, brings a band of soldiers...
Small etched scenes depicting the suffering of Jesus and the life of Mary (Gospels). Jacques Callot: 17th-century French printmaker famed for technical mastery in detailed etchings. Free DownloadThis image is in the public domain.download.jpg526 KBdownload-circle Please SUBSCRIBE or DONATE to help keep this site free!...
An ornamental title page featuring religious monograms and foliage for a series on Christ and Mary. Abraham Bosse: 17th-century French artist and master etcher known for detailed depictions of daily life and religious subjects. Free DownloadThis image is in the public domain.download.jpg1 MBdownload-circle Please SUBSCRIBE or DONATE to...
Ovals and Rondels from the Mysteries of the Passion: – Series of small etchings depicting the suffering of Jesus and the life of Mary (Gospels). Jacques Callot: 17th-century French printmaker and draftsman, known for technical innovations in etching and depicting crowded, highly detailed scenes. Free DownloadThis image is in the public...
German Nativity Scene (Krippe): – Elaborate 81-piece nativity featuring various figures, animals, and Baroque architecture. Unknown Artist: 18th-century German artisan, likely a carver specialized in religious folk art and complex multi-figure displays. Free DownloadThis image is in the public domain.download.jpg446 KBdownload-circle Please SUBSCRIBE or DONATE to help keep this...
Jesus and the Woman Taken in Adultery: – Jesus saving a woman from accusers by challenging their sin (Gospels: John 8). Georg Pencz: 16th-century German artist, known for detailed Northern Renaissance engravings and religious paintings. Free DownloadThis image is in the public domain.download.jpg670 KBdownload-circle Please SUBSCRIBE or DONATE to...
Christ asks the Samaritan woman to give him water to drink. She is taken aback because Jews did not associate with Samaritans. He speaks to her of the water of life that cures all thirst and reveals himself as the Messiah. The maker of this metalcut used punches, gouges, and...
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Jesus-Christ Donnant les Clefs a Saint Pierre: – Christ giving the keys of Heaven to Saint Peter, symbolizing his authority over the Church (Matthew 16). Robert de Seri: 18th‑century French etcher, known for reproductive prints after Renaissance masters like Raphael. Free Downloaddownload.jpg604 KBdownload-circle Please SUBSCRIBE or DONATE to help...
