This drawing is a study for a fresco in the Parisian church of Les Invalides. The structure's four pendentives are each decorated with images of the Four Evangelists, and the Cleveland sheet relates to the design for St. John. La Fosse developed his ideas in numerous preparatory studies before begin
German artist Johann Wolfgang Baumgartner's innovations in rococo design are magnificently demonstrated in this sheet showing the story of Saint Deicolus and the Boar. The format of the work imitates that of a decorative cartouche, an ornamental framework surrounding an open field usually reserved f
Girolamo da Treviso the Younger created this drawing as a preparatory design for a painting while working in Bologna at the Church of Santissimo Salvatore. The type of composition is known as a sacre conversazione (sacred conversation). Invented in Venice, this genre featured saints within expansive
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
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
In the early 1600s, artists from Northern Europe began to take long trips to Italy as part of their artistic training. Bartholomeus Breenberg traveled to Italy around 1620 and probably stayed for at least 12 years. While there, he sketched ancient ruins and the countryside, features he would use in
With much of Saint Peter’s Basilica obscured by the energetic lines that form the foliage, the building appears integrated into the landscape in this river scene. What stands out is the massive dome jutting from the tree line. Designed by Michelangelo in 1547, the dome was completed in 1590, after h
Scholars now consider this drawing a rare, late work by Rembrandt. Here, Christ meets with Martha and Mary after the death of their brother, Lazarus (John 11:30–36). The composed dignity of Christ's face and his calm compassion contrast with the prostrate figure of Mary and the agitated drawing of t
In the last decades of his career, Paolo Veronese and his workshop produced a number of idyllic visions of the Holy Family in repose in the countryside during their flight into Egypt. This crowded sheet of loose, lively sketches was recently proposed to have inaugurated an intensive period of intere
This process print depicts Saint Radegund, a sixth-century queen of France who became a nun, venerated here as patron saint of people suffering from tuberculosis of the lungs. It is held in the Wellcome Collection, London.
This engraving shows the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child attended by a bishop saint, an angel, Saint Jerome and Saint Margaret. It was made by Francesco Rosaspina around 1800-1809 after a composition by the Italian Mannerist painter Parmigianino, and is held in the Wellcome Collection, London.
This engraving depicts a monastic saint attended by fellow monks and a lion within a cloister. It was printed in Rome by Lorenzo Vaccari between 1575 and 1608 and is held in the Wellcome Collection, London.
More than fifteen years after his etched Annunciation to the Shepherds, Rembrandt revisited the theme in this drawing around 1650. It is considerably more austere than the earlier etching, but the emotions remain intense as people and animals are startled by the heavenly apparition.
This 1932 illustration shows Christ rising from the tomb. It is by the German painter Gebhard Fugel, who specialized in Christian subjects and was the leading artist of the large Crucifixion Panorama created for the pilgrimage site of Altotting.
This engraving, made around 1475-1480, shows Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child across a river. It is by Martin Schongauer, the most important printmaker working north of the Alps before Albrecht Durer, who collected and studied his work.
This engraving shows the shepherds kneeling before the newborn Christ at his birth in Bethlehem. It is by the Dutch engraver Cornelis Bloemaert, a member of a prominent family of printmakers who worked in Utrecht and later in Rome.
This 1873 lithograph depicts Christ healing a blind man, one of the miracles recorded in the Gospels. It was printed by Armstrong & Co., an American lithography firm, and is part of a larger body of 19th-century religious lithographs made for devotional and educational use.
This woodcut, made between 1504 and 1505 by the German artist Albrecht Durer, depicts the Virgin Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth. It is one of nineteen prints in his series Life of the Virgin, which established his reputation across Europe.
This 1875 illustration shows the infant Moses being discovered among the reeds of the Nile by Pharaoh's daughter. It is by the German artist Sandberg and comes from Schreiber's Bible Pictures, a set of wall chart illustrations of biblical scenes made for religious education.
This print by the Italian Mannerist artist Battista Franco Veneziano, made around 1560, depicts an angel seated on a cloud. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This engraving of Saint Matthew the Apostle, dated 1636, is by the French printmaker Jacques Callot. It comes from his series Les Images de tous les saincts et saintes de l'annee, which paired each saint with their feast day on the calendar, here September 21st.
This anonymous 17th-century drawing depicts Tobias and the archangel Raphael, from the Old Testament Book of Tobit, in which the angel guides and protects the young Tobias on his journey. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
One of a set of prints intended to fit together. Engraving, sheet 74 x 50.8 cm.
Engraving made in France by Alphonse François after a painting by Hans Memling. The Virgin Mary holds the Christ Child, surrounded by Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Agnes, Cecilia, Lucy, Margaret of Antioch and Barbara.
