Free stock photos of Catholic subjects.
Tilman Riemenschneider, one of the most important German sculptors of the late Middle Ages, created a highly original version of the Annunciation in this carved figure. The angel Gabriel, whose drapery billows out as he flies down, is dynamic and full of vitality, contrasting with the Virgin's subdu
This porcelain plate, painted over the glaze in black and gold, depicts the Resurrection of Christ, with an angel seated on his tomb and soldiers asleep in the foreground. It was made between 1740 and 1760, with a decorative band around the rim.
This silver plaquette depicts the Resurrection of Christ, with three soldiers sleeping in the foreground and an archer looking up in alarm behind them. It was made in 1605 by the Dutch goldsmith Paulus van Vianen, renowned for his refined figurative relief work.
The ornamental frame of this domestic altar, richly decorated with grotesques, garlands, satyrs and putti, is based on prints by the Antwerp sculptor Cornelis Floris. Its style is a distinctive south Netherlandish variant of Italian Renaissance ornament, dating from around 1550.
This altarpiece was made in the then modern Renaissance style, using the modern material of tin-glazed earthenware. Its inscription records that it was commissioned in 1502 by Sister Catherine, daughter of Tomaso di Salvestro, for the church of Sant'Antonio Abate in Cortona, Italy.
This small relief of the Nativity, carved from walrus ivory with traces of red polychromy, dates from around 1180. It measures only about 8.9 x 7.3 cm and is an early example of Romanesque devotional carving.
This prayer nut, carved from boxwood with silver and gold fittings, opens to reveal miniature scenes of the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi carved in astonishing detail. It is only 48mm in diameter and comes from the workshop of Adam Dircksz, active in the early 16th century.
This sculpture of the Nativity, attributed to Hans Kamensetzer around 1470, shows the painstaking, calligraphic rendering of figures associated with the style of the Dutch sculptor Nicolaas Gerhaert van Leyden, known for the grace and spatial coherence of his work.
This photo shows Lieutenant Commander Eduardo Amora leading Catholic Mass in the crew training room aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) while underway in the Pacific Ocean on August 2, 2024. It was taken by a U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist and is in the public domain
This gilded copper-alloy figure of the Apostle Philip, made in North Germany around 1350, was designed to be applied as a decorative element, likely on a shrine or piece of liturgical furniture. It measures about 12 9/16 x 3 7/16 inches and is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This limestone sculpture with traces of polychromy, made in France around 1300-1330, depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child. It measures about 48 1/2 x 21 x 14 inches and belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of Medieval Art.
This volume is one of three containing the complete Spanish translation from the Latin of Saint Augustine’s City of God (De Civitate Dei), written in the early fifth century, after the sack of Rome by the Visigoths. Augustine, bishop of Hippo in North Africa, developed the concept of the Church as a
This sculpture of Moses, holding the tablets with the Ten Commandments, and the opposite figure, his brother Aaron, form part of a rare ensemble of key figures from the Hebrew Bible. Often shown together on Gothic portals as forerunners of Jesus, they and other statues originally flanked an enthrone
Until 1950 this panel lined the Great Hall of Highcliffe Castle in southern England. Constructed in the 1830s for Lord Stuart de Rothesay, the castle was furnished in part with stonework acquired form the ruined royal abbey at Jumièges in Normandy, where the panels might also have originated. In all
Four key events in the final hours of Jesus’ life are dramatically shown here (from left to right): Peter sheathing his sword after severing the ear of Malchus (seated), the high priest’s servant; Jesus miraculously restoring the ear; Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss; and Roman soldiers arresting J
This altarpiece is said to have come from the convent of the Ursulines in Amiens, France. North French or South Netherlandish, polychromed and gilded limestone, 48.3 x 48.3 cm.
South Netherlandish stained glass panel showing a holy man with two suppliants. Pot metal and white glass with vitreous paint and silver stain, 76.8 x 57.2 cm.
The ivory figures are mounted on a sheet of whalebone. This plaque is part of a series of Passion carvings that are now dispersed among Antwerp, Oslo, Paris, London, and New York. French, elephant ivory with traces of paint and gilding, 23.2 x 18.3 cm.
Limestone statue of the Virgin and Child with traces of polychromy, French or German. The sculpture is 51 cm high.
Limestone statue of the Virgin and Child with traces of polychromy, made in France by the Atelier of the Juliots. The sculpture is 39.2 cm high.
This spectacular example of goldsmith's work has been attributed to Giovannino de Grassi, an artist active in northern Italy.
South Netherlandish stained glass panel of a holy man with six suppliants, made of pot metal, white glass, vitreous paint and silver stain. It measures about 77.6 x 57.9 cm.
Musical angels herald the heavenly coronation of the Virgin in this elegant and refined carving. Its original context is uncertain, but it was possibly made as an independent devotional image or as part of an altar decoration.
This sculpture and another example of the same subject preserved in the church at Saint Die are among the finest representatives of the regional style found in Lorraine in the early fourteenth century. It is a statue in polychromed and gilded Paris limestone that measures about 87 x 30.2 x 21.9 cm.
