Free downloadable Catholic paintings which are in the public domain
This oil painting, made in the late 1520s by the Ferrarese painter L'Ortolano (Giovanni Battista Benvenuti), depicts the shepherds kneeling before the infant Christ at his birth. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This panel by the Spanish painter Domingo Ram shows the angel Gabriel appearing to the priest Zacharias to announce the birth of his son, John the Baptist. It comes from a retable depicting Saint John the Baptist and scenes from his life, painted in tempera on wood with a gold ground.
This gouache is part of James Tissot's series The Life of Christ, painted between 1886 and 1894. It depicts the boy Jesus seated among the teachers in the Temple, discoursing with them. The work is held in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum.
North French illuminated leaf from a Book of Hours showing the Descent from the Cross, made in the late 15th century. Tempera, ink, and shell gold on parchment, 8.7 x 6.9 cm.
The rubric at the top tells us that the prayers that follow are to be said before and after Communion. Therefore, the artist portrayed a priest administering the sacrament to a man in a fur-trimmed cloak, presumably the owner of the manuscript. The man, whose family arms appear on the adjacent leaf,
This painting and another depicting an unidentified male saint, which also belongs to the Lehman Collection, formed part of a group of eighteen panels depicting saints (now in the Courtauld Institute Gallery, London; Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Hon
These panels were among thirty scenes of an extensive narrative cycle that formed part of a large altarpiece from the Neustädter Marienkirche in Bielefeld, Westphalia. They were created two decades before panel painting underwent a revolution through the art of Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin, and Rogie
Sassetta worked for a wealthy clientele, executing a limited number of paintings that focus on material splendor and refined detail. The glittering effect created by his technique of scratching into the painted surface to reveal the gold layer beneath—seen in passages like the angels’ wings and garm
The moody, unfiltered emotions of Saints Matthew and Francis showcase Giovanni’s interest in depicting strongly expressive figures. The artist found inspiration for his implacable saints in the sculpture of his great compatriot Jacopo della Quercia. These two figures are from a major altarpiece. A s
Italian tempera and gold on wood painting of the Annunciation, attributed to Maestro Esiguo (possibly Alesso di Benozzo). The painted surface measures 40.6 x 36 cm.
Illustration of five Benedictine saints (Saint Benedict, Saint Scholastica, Saint Justina, Saint Maurus, and Saint Placidus) by Anna Jameson, from the Wellcome Collection.
Jacques Callot’s etching series The Small Passion exemplifies the artist’s penchant for intimate detail. These prints highlight the ways he depicted space throughout a complete narrative. He framed each stage of the Passion of Christ with a different type of architectural or natural element. The por
The Assumption of the Virgin, celebrated on August 15, is an especially important holiday in Siena. Niccolò di ser Sozzo, one of the city's renowned fourteenth-century illuminators, painted it on numerous occasions. Tempera, ink, and gold on parchment, 57.5 x 40.4 cm.
Tempera on wood panel with a gold ground showing the Crucifixion of Christ. The panel measures 43.5 x 20 cm.
An Italian illuminated choir-book leaf showing the Trinity within a decorated initial T. Tempera, ink, and gold on parchment, leaf 56.8 x 39.5 cm, with the initial letter about 14.3 x 14.2 cm.
Traditional locations within manuscript psalters were designated by decorated initials or, as is the case here, full-page miniatures. These locations marked the major divisions of the psalms as used in the daily office. Tempera and burnished gold on vellum, sheet 12.5 x 8.4 cm.
This leaf survives from what must have been an extraordinarily rich book of hours. Internal evidence within the original calendar and texts indicates that Metz was the probable place of production. Ink, tempera, silver, and gold on vellum, 15.9 x 11.6 cm.
In the late 1400s and early 1500s Rouen was an established and important center of book production. This artist, named after a manuscript now in Geneva, was Rouen's principal illuminator during the second half of the 1400s. Ink, tempera, and gold on vellum, folio 99 verso, codex 19.5 x 13.1 cm.
A decorated letter R cut from a choir book (antiphonary) showing the Resurrection of Christ. Tempera and gold on parchment by an Italian artist, sheet 19.8 x 17.9 cm.
Italian antiphonary leaf with Saint John the Evangelist and Saint John the Baptist in an historiated initial M, in tempera, ink and gold on parchment. The leaf measures about 56.7 x 39.6 cm.
This leaf came from a book of hours, a devotional book popular in the Middle Ages. They contained prayers that a devoted individual would use throughout the day.
Traditional locations within manuscript psalters were designated by decorated initials or, as is the case here, full-page miniatures. The extraordinary quality of these miniatures suggests they once decorated a deluxe psalter made for a wealthy or aristocratic patron, possibly a cleric.
In his left hand the Christ Child holds a swallow. Swallows were thought to hibernate during winter in nests of mud. Their re-emergence in spring symbolized the Resurrection of Christ.
Oil on panel painting of the descent of the Holy Spirit, made in Flanders. It measures 119 x 93.5 cm (46 7/8 x 36 3/4 in.).
