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Thayer frequently used family members as models for his angels, most notably his daughter Mary, blending portraiture with allegory. His technique for these works involved manipulating paint with brooms, scrapers, and even his hands to create soft, ethereal effects. The resulting images have a notable sense of serenity and idealization—...
The image depicts Hezekiah, known from the biblical accounts as a reforming king who deeply trusted the Lord and oversaw a revival of faith in Judah during his reign. Flandrin’s work emphasizes dignified, contemplative expression, aligning with the broader 19th-century French religious art movement. Free DownloadThis image is in...
Icon depicting Archangel Michael, a typical example of Coptic art from the 17th century. It was donated by Antonis Benakis together with other Coptic artworks to the Byzantine and Christian Museum. Free DownloadThis image is in the public domain960px-Archangel_Michael_%28Coptic_icon%2C_Byzantine_and_Christian_Museum%29.jpg313 KBdownload-circle...
Fugel is recognized for his ability to convey narrative and emotion in Christian settings, and he produced many works illustrating stories like the Prodigal Son—typically capturing moments of repentance, forgiveness, and divine compassion. Dramatic compositions, vivid detail, and a profound sense of spirituality characterize his style. Free DownloadThis image...
The Baptism of Jesus Christ is an essential subject in Coptic Christian art and liturgy, and a notable icon depicting this event is found in the Coptic Church of Saint Mercurius in Old Cairo. This church, also known as the Church of Abu Sayfayn, is one of the most historically...
In the Tawahedo tradition, Moses the Black (also known as Abba Moses the Black or St. Moses the Ethiopian) is revered as a significant ascetic and monastic figure. He was originally a slave and leader of a band of robbers in Egypt but experienced a profound conversion after encountering the...
In this humanizing yet idealized depiction of the Virgin Mary embracing the baby Jesus, Sandro Botticelli conveyed the sacred beauty of maternal love. Mary, her expression soft and her skin luminous, nuzzles her son’s chubby cheek as he grasps the nape of her neck. An angel, smaller in scale,...
Christ’s expulsion of the money changers who were desecrating the temple in Jerusalem was a popular theme in Italy in this period. To Catholics, the image symbolized the purification of the Church through internal reform and the expulsion of Protestant heretics. El Greco depicts a chaotic swirl of figures...
The Dormition is a major feast in Eastern Christianity, celebrating not just Mary's death but the promise of bodily resurrection for all believers. Coptic icons follow Byzantine iconographic conventions but often feature distinctive Egyptian stylistic elements and color palettes. Free DownloadThis image is in the public domainCoptic_icon_...
Gebhard Fugel (1863-1939) was a German painter who specialized in Christian religious subjects. Wikipedia Peter's Pentecost Sermon is a color lithograph Bridgeman Images depicting the biblical scene from Acts 2, where the Apostle Peter delivers his first sermon after the Holy Spirit descends upon the disciples at Pentecost....
A gifted landscape artist, Jean-François Millet was a master of the middle ground, able to evoke boundless space in the narrow strip between the foreground and the horizon line. Here he depicted lush green pastures, a flock of grazing sheep, a lone shepherd, a man driving a farm cart, a...
The Ethiopian Pantocrator icon represents a unique synthesis of Orthodox Christian theology expressed through a distinctively African artistic tradition, combining traditional iconographic themes with vibrant Ethiopian aesthetics and Old Testament imagery. Free DownloadThis image is in the public domainEnlightened-man.jpeg798 KBdownload-circle...
This small panel was once part of an altarpiece depicting the life of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, along with a Nativity scene now in the Rijksmuseum and a depiction of the Annunciation, now in the Glasgow Art Gallery. Forty days after the birth of a male child,...
Ceramic vessels with monochrome painting in a similar style are typical of Christian Egypt. Birds and other animals are often found depicted on them. The meaning of the composition seen on this example is unclear. Free DownloadThis image is in the public domain1200px-Coptic_-_Dish_with_a_Human_Figure_and_...
The annunciation in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition is celebrated as the Feast of the Annunciation, locally known as ብስራተ ገብርኤል (Bisrate Gebriel). This feast commemorates the announcement made by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear Jesus Christ, the...
Below this resplendent vision of the Trinity—God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (shown as a white dove)—are souls in purgatory represented as anguished, naked figures in partial darkness. The light shining down on some of them and the Father’s compassionate gesture portend their eventual redemption. Corrado...
In the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, the Baptism of Christ is a significant event celebrated as Timkat, one of the church's most important feasts held every January 19 (or 20 in a leap year). The celebration commemorates Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, marking...
The "Martyrdom of Saint John the Evangelist, at the Latin Gate" is an oil painting created between 1637 and 1647 by the workshop of Charles Le Brun. This Baroque artwork depicts the martyrdom scene of Saint John the Evangelist and is housed in the Church of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet in...
Gebhard Fugel was a German painter specializing in Christian themes. He is best known for his work as the leading artist of the Crucifixion Panorama in Altötting. The "bloody woman" Bible story refers to the account of an unnamed woman who had a chronic bleeding condition for twelve...
The center of this thin dress ornament, which would have been sewn onto a garment through the four holes, is dominated by an imperial cross. The two globes on either side of it represent the two empires (East and West), ruled by two-emperors during the 2nd half of the 5th...
The painting of the Baptism of Christ that you shared is executed in the Neoclassical or Academic style prevalent in 19th-century European art, which prioritized clarity, idealism, and moralizing themes. Christ (God the Son) is baptized by John the Baptist, representing the new covenant; and God the Father is acknowledged...
The figures, known as Cupids (Amoretti or putti), originate in Greco-Roman mythology as minor deities representing carnal love, being attendants or sons of Venus/Aphrodite. In a theological context, these figures can represent Amore Divino (Divine Love) or celestial passion, contrasting sharply with their pagan roots in earthly desire. Hladík&...
The provided image, which depicts two cloaked women comforting a distressed man on a dark beach with a star shining overhead, is a striking, though non-traditional, visual representation of the Catholic title Maris Stella (Star of the Sea) for the Virgin Mary. In the Catholic context, the image visually echoes...
Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father, David, he is described as the penultimate ruler of all Twelve Tribes of Israel under a united Israel and Judah. Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin was a French...
