Free, downloadable public domain Catholic and Bible paintings from the Rococo period.
0:00/0:361×Details:Assumption, in Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic theology, the notion or (in Roman Catholicism) the doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken (assumed) into heaven, body and soul, following the end of her life on Earth. There is no mention of the...
0:00/1:041×Details:Apotheosis is a genre that exists in Christian art as in other art. The features of the apotheosis genre may be seen in subjects that emphasize Christ's divinity (Transfiguration, Ascension, Christ Pantocrator) and that depict holy persons "in glory"—that is, in their roles...
0:00/0:481×Details:Giovanni Battista Gaulli owes a great deal of his success on the ceiling fresco to Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Several other artists were considered for the job of painting the ceiling. Gian Paolo Oliva relied on Bernini's opinion when selecting the artist for the ceiling....
Edit St Joseph and the Christ Child 17141730 by Giuseppe Chiari Public Domain Cathol 10:00/0:391×Details:Jesus and his mortal father, St. Joseph, are captured in a moment of connection. The Bible does not contain a scene like this, and it is rare in Christian art...
Study for the Assumption of the Virgin 1758 by Jean Baptiste Deshays Public Domain Cat0:00/0:481×Details:In this lively oil sketch, the Virgin Mary ascends into heaven from her tomb, carried by a swirl of angels. Jean-Baptiste Deshays made this work in preparation for a major...
Details:After their initial meeting, Abraham graciously offered to feed the angels and wash their feet. Following the meal, they announce that his wife Sarah, long past child-bearing age, will soon have a son, fulfilling a promise God had made earlier to Abraham. The artist presents the moment of revelation,...
Details:This painting depicts the biblical story of the Supper at Emmaus, when the disguised, resurrected Christ suddenly reveals himself to two astonished disciples as they all sit down to dinner. The artist has painted the figures’ hands and the objects on the table meticulously, but leaves other details vague,...
Details:According to Roman Catholic theology, the Assumption is the movement of the Virgin Mary's body and soul into heaven. Thus the central figure of the Virgin dominates this scene of the Assumption, outstretching her arms and supported by two angels as she ascends into heaven. Below, saints surround the...
Please Subscribe or Donate to Help Keep This Site Free! During the early 1700s, Roman artists returned to fundamental Christian subjects, especially those focused on the Christ child. This work presents the Holy Family with Christ’s maternal grandparents and baby cousin, John the Baptist, stressing the importance of family...
Please Subscribe or Donate to Help Keep This Site Free! On the night of February 4, 1428, a devastating fire broke out in a schoolhouse in Forlì, a town in northern Italy. Eyewitnesses reported that everything in the school burned except a humble woodcut representing the Madonna and Child. In...
Please Subscribe or Donate to Help Keep This Site Free! In the crumbling remains of a Roman temple, a monk prays at the foot of an altar. Absorbed in his devotions, he is unaware of three young women sneaking inside to steal flowers from a makeshift shrine. Above this trio,...
Please Subscribe or Donate to Help Keep This Site Free! St. Philip Neri was a Christian missionary and founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, a community of Catholic priests and lay brothers. Giovanni Domenico Ferretti (Giandomenico), also called Giandomenico d'Imola (15 June 1692 – 18 August 1768) was an Italian...
Elizabeth (also spelled Elisabeth; Hebrew: אֱלִישֶׁבַע / אֱלִישָׁבַע "My God has sworn") was the mother of John the Baptist and the wife of Zechariah, according to the Gospel of Luke. She was past normal child-bearing years when she gave birth to John. Source...
A devout woman, shown at lower right, is presented by saints and an angel to the central Virgin and Child. In clockwise order from her is Saint Lucy, identified by the cauldron and sword at her feet; Saint Agnes, by the lamb; Saint Scholastica, by the dove she holds; and...
In the upper half of this oil study, Christ is depicted in glory surrounded by adoring angels. Looking up at him are four martyr saints: Saints Celsus, Marcionilla, Julian, and Basilissa. Pompeo Batoni made this sketch when he was only twenty-eight, in preparation for his first important commission in Rome....
This loosely painted sketch is the preliminary design for an altarpiece in the Church of Saint Ulrich, Vienna. Mary and Joseph have brought the infant Jesus to the temple to be inducted into the Jewish faith; the aged priest Simeon cradles the infant in his arms, turning his gaze to...
In 1754, King Louis XV of France sent the comte de Stainville (later duc de Choiseul) to Rome to secure a decision from Pope Benedict XIV about disputes concerning the authority of the French courts, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Jansenists, a Catholic sect. The result was an encyclical,...
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 inventor of...
Saint Peter (r. AD 30; died between AD 64 and 68) also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, Cephas, or Peter the Apostle, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, and one of the first leaders of the early Church. According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in...
Paul the Apostle, commonly known as Saint Paul and also known by his Hebrew name Saul of Tarsus, was a Christian apostle (although not one of the Twelve Apostles) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. Generally regarded as one of the most important figures of the...
Please Subscribe or Donate to Help Keep This Site Free! The story of Tobias and the angel Raphael are from The Book of Tobit which is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canons. It was recognized as canonical by the Council of Hippo...
