Details: Juan Martínez Montañés was one of the greatest spanish sculptors of the first half of the seventeenth century. Based in Seville, he carved numerous wooden statues and reliefs that were painted and integrated into large altar screens called retablos (English: retables) for churches in his native region or to...
Details: This rare devotional shrine manifests Christian belief in the miracle of the Incarnation, by which God took on human body and nature, uniting both human and divine in the person of Jesus. Closed, it is a statuette of the enthroned Virgin Mary nursing the infant Jesus. When opened, the...
Details: Meant to be seen from both front and back, this large Crucifix represents Jesus hanging on the Cross, but nonetheless triumphant over death: his eyes are wide open, and he wears the gold crown of the King of Heaven. Though the original church from which this image comes is...
Details: One of the most famous ivory carvings to survive from the tenth century, this plaque depicts Christ enthroned against an open worked checkerboard background. He is blessing a model of a church presented to him by Emperor Otto the Great (r. 962–973) and a host of saints including...
Details: This panel, most likely one of five narrative scenes representing the Passion of Christ, comes from a now dismembered altarpiece. The central panel was undoubtedly a scene of the Crucifixion. Such carvings in alabaster were frequently painted in vibrant colors with added gilding. The flesh areas of the figures...
Details: The St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Community has come a long way from its inception, from a small Mission in Litchfield Park to one of the largest parishes in the Diocese of Phoenix. St. Thomas Aquinas mission church was the first church in Litchfield Park. Originally, mass was celebrated in...
Details: This miniature altar is one of the most beautiful examples of French goldsmiths’ work from the period around 1400. It may have come from the abbey of Chocques (Pas-de-Calais) and doubtless belonged to someone associated with the Paris court. Seeing Christ’s tormented body, the owner could meditate on...
Details: This panel was once part of an altarpiece depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ. The other panels would have included The Ascension of Christ, all mounted within a wooden framework attached to the altar. The reliefs, made by Nottingham craftsmen, were popular in both England and continental Europe,...
Details: When Innocent X (ruled 1644-55) became pope, Alessandro Algardi endeavored to obtain his patronage. This bronze Baptism of Christ is a casting from the molds used for an original silver sculpture that Algardi presented to the new pope to gain his support. The composition depicts an important scene in...
0:00/0:191×Details: Once used as decorations for a reliquary shrine, each enamel plaque represents a biblical prophet: Isaiah, Zacharias, Elisha, and Hosea. Fine gold dots punctuate dark blue backgrounds. Typical of Hildesheim enamels, this detailing creates the illusion that the prophets sit against star-studded twilight skies. 🙏🏽This...
Statue of Virgin Mary with Flowers Catholic Stock Photo SD Cason Catholic Gallery0:00/0:461×Details: Mary has been venerated since early Christianity, and is considered by millions to be the holiest and greatest saint because of her extraordinary virtues as seen at the Annunciation by the archangel Gabriel....
Holy Week procession Wikipedia0:00/0:301×Details: A Holy Week procession is a public ritual march of clergy and penitents which takes place during Holy Week in Christian countries, especially those with a Catholic culture. Various images of the saints, especially the Virgin Mary, and most importantly the image...
Details: The city of Limoges, France, was renowned for the quality of its metalwork and enamels throughout the Middle Ages. The artist formed this relief by hammering the rough design into the copper from the reverse, a technique known as repoussé, then finishing the scene by chasing details into the...
Details: The second oldest European porcelain factory after that at Meissen (in Germany) was set up in Vienna in 1716. During its early years, the Vienna factory was privately owned by a court official, Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier, and its early wares-made before 1744-carry his name. They are characterized by...
Details: The practice of creating scenes of the Nativity for the home dates from the early 1700s in Italy, where people began to set up doll-like figures of about a foot or less in height. The custom was particularly popular in Naples around 1800, where crèche scenes (crèche means cradle,...
Details: On this statue of Christ kneeling, to the right lie the three sleeping apostles, each with one hand against his head, which represents the Agony in the Garden. The Agony in the Garden, according to all four canonical Gospels, is when, immediately after the Last Supper, Jesus took a...
Details: After disobeying the Lord’s command to proclaim judgment on the city of Nineveh, the Old Testament prophet Jonah was cast into the sea, swallowed by a sea monster, and ultimately cast ashore. When asked a second time, Jonah obeyed the Lord but became displeased when the city was...
Details: She may be the Virgin Mary, amazed at the angelic announcement that she will give birth to a son, Jesus. Or she could be Mary Magdalene, surprised to see Jesus in the guise of a gardener after his resurrection from the dead. Either way, she is a key figure...
Details: These are the only known surviving sculpted examples of kneeling Carthusian monks. These two figures would have formed part of a private devotional group, probably in a monk’s cell, with a sculpture of the crucified Christ or the Virgin positioned between them. They wear the recognizable white scapular,...
0:00/1× Details: Throughout most of their history these alabaster mourners have evoked a sense of awe and mystery as well as curiosity and admiration. They were originally arranged in processional order around the sides of the ducal tomb within a marble arcade in the Chartreuse de Champmol. The...
0:00/1× Details: Throughout most of their history these alabaster mourners have evoked a sense of awe and mystery as well as curiosity and admiration. They were originally arranged in processional order around the sides of the ducal tomb within a marble arcade in the Chartreuse de Champmol. The...
0:00/1× Details: Throughout most of their history these alabaster mourners have evoked a sense of awe and mystery as well as curiosity and admiration. They were originally arranged in processional order around the sides of the ducal tomb within a marble arcade in the Chartreuse de Champmol. The...
Details: This ivory plaque represents a full-length figure of Christ flanked by bust-length portraits of the twelve apostles, six in a vertical column on each side. With his large eyes fixed on the beholder and his mouth slightly open, Christ seems about to speak to the apostles, charging them with...
Details: An early Christian saint and martyr, Sebastian was condemned to death by the Roman emperor Diocletian. Bound to a tree and shot with arrows, he survived—only later to be martyred by beating. This figure embodies the blend of stylistic influences that characterized German sculpture in the early 1600s....
