Free downloadable Catholic paintings which are in the public domain
These panels once served as wings of a portable altarpiece used for private devotion. The left panel shows Saint Francis, who is recognized by the stigmata on his hands, feet, and side. The three knots tied in the sash around his waist symbolizing his Franciscan Order's three religious...
While performing mass one day, Pope Gregory became aware of a disbeliever in the congregation and prayed for a sign that would leave no doubt about the real presence of Christ in the Mass. Christ materialized above the altar as the Man of Sorrows, displaying the stigmata and surrounded by...
Standing on either side of this Nativity are two Hebrew prophets, whose writings—quoted on the scrolls they hold—are thought by Christians to foretell Jesus’s birth. The Gallery's Nativity joined other scenes from Jesus’s childhood (and other prophets) that unfolded along the front horizontal base...
This finely painted work depicts the Annunciation: the Archangel Gabriel announcing to the Virgin Mary that she has been chosen to become the mother of Christ. In a rather personal interpretation of the theme, Godfried Schalcken represented Mary as a young Dutch woman in contemporary dress, holding a loose scroll...
In this small painting, the figure of Christ is almost lost amid the dense, multi-colored crowd. Identified by a pale yellow halo, Christ stands on a rustic podium near the crowd's center. He presents his sermon on the conditions of blessedness. Behind Christ, his disciples pay rapt attention,...
The Sienese artist who made this panel is named for the town—Città di Castello— where another of his paintings, bearing another image of the Virgin and Child in “majesty” (maestà in Italian), remains today. The Maestà--especially in this tall format--was frequently commissioned for the meeting places of lay brotherhoods....
Borne aloft by two angels, the Virgin is crowned Queen of Heaven by Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit (in the form of a dove). Below, Joseph and Saint Francis of Assisi, displaying the stigmata on his open hands, kneel in reverence as they bear witness to the...
This small painting is less than 10 inches across, and it was surely made for the private devotions of the person who owned it. That the owner was of modest means is suggested not only by the painting’s size but also by the limited use of gilding. The area...
This crowded and colorful panel displays the story of Christ's Crucifixion along with episodes of damnation and salvation. At the left, Christ carries the cross and Veronica hands him her veil. In the center, Christ's broken body hangs on the cross between the two thieves. At...
This and another panel in the National Gallery of Art depicting Saint James Minor were part of a large—11 feet long—and impressive altarpiece made for the church of San Francesco al Prato in Perugia (see Reconstructions). Only the monks and other clergy would have seen these paintings because...
The painting's subject comes from the Old Testament: the first book of Samuel, which describes the turning point in David's relationship with King Saul. The priest Ahimelech gives the sword of Goliath to the young David, who won it in battle. When King Saul learned that...
Saint James Minor is one of the more elusive of Jesus’s disciples. He is usually identified—as in the inscription running along the arch here—as the son of Alphaeus, and by his attribute, a fuller's club. James was said to have been the first bishop of...
The Madonna of Humility, an extremely popular subject in Flanders, sits on the ground on a cushion, presenting the haloed Christ Child in her arms. A crescent visible below her skirts at the left symbolizes the moon on which the Virgin stands in representations of the Immaculate Conception. The open...
Saint John the Evangelist, most beloved of Jesus’s disciples, holds his head in sadness. According to John’s Gospel, he was present at Christ’s crucifixion, and this panel, along with one depicting the Virgin Mary also in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, was originally part...
The Virgin Mary bows her head and rests her cheek on her hand in a universally recognized gesture of grief. This panel and one depicting Saint John the Evangelist were originally part of a large, painted crucifix (see Reconstruction). The two mourners would have appeared at the ends of the...
From the safety of the cave where they have taken refuge, Lot’s daughters appear absorbed by an event taking place beyond the painting’s borders—God’s annihilation of the city of Sodom, burning in the distance. Believing that they alone survive to perpetuate the human race, the daughters...
Margaritone d'Arezzo (Italian, active second and third quarter 13th century) was the first artist from Arezzo whose name we know and whose work survives. He was active during the middle decades of the 13th century. About 300 years later, Giorgio Vasari (Florentine, 1511 - 1574), who published biographies...
Light illuminates the neck and shoulders of a woman looking down at the figure of Christ kneeling on the ground. The Pharisees had brought to Christ a woman caught in the act of committing adultery. When they asked whether she should be stoned, he stooped down and began to write...
The son of Fra Filippo Lippi, Filippino began his training as a very young boy in his father's workshop. Documents record a partial payment he received in 1469 for the frescoes in the apse of the duomo in Spoleto, whose execution, interrupted by Fra Filippo's death...
The painter, Ann Agnes Trail or Agnes Xavier Trail (17 February 1798 – 3 December 1872) was a British Roman Catholic nun and artist. She took a leading role in establishing St Margaret's Convent in Edinburgh. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Agnes_Trail Carlo Odescalchi, (5 March...
The special mixture of reality, fantasy, and virtuosity that is particular to early Netherlandish painting is nowhere more apparent than in this exquisite panel. In an episode from the popular legend, Saint George in black Gothic armor pins the dragon to the ground with his lance; at the left kneels...
Madeira is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal, the other being the Azores. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia, just under 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the north of the Canary Islands and 520 kilometres (320 mi) west...
Jean François de Troy (27 January 1679, Paris – 26 January 1752, Rome) was a French Rococo easel and fresco painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer. One of France's leading history painters in his time, he was equally successful with his decorative paintings, genre scenes and portraits. He was the...
This painting and the Enthroned Madonna and Child are the oldest paintings on the National Gallery of Art’s walls. They may have been created by the same anonymous artist in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Panels such as these were highly influential in...
