Murillo’s Vision of the Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables is the most celebrated of the many versions of this subject painted by Bartolome…
Caravaggio’s Calling of Saint Matthew: A Beam of Grace
The Calling of Saint Matthew is one of the great paintings of the Baroque, made by Caravaggio at the very…
Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is the only seascape Rembrandt ever painted, and one of the most dramatic…
Merode Altarpiece: Robert Campin’s Annunciation and Its Hidden Symbols
The Merode Altarpiece, also called the Annunciation Triptych, is one of the founding works of Early Netherlandish painting, made by…
Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son, His Last Word
The Return of the Prodigal Son is among the last and most moving works of Rembrandt, painted around 1668, near…
Bouguereau’s Pieta: A Mother’s Sorrow
Pieta is one of the most moving religious paintings of the nineteenth century, made by the French master William-Adolphe Bouguereau…
Inside Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece
The Isenheim Altarpiece is the masterpiece of Matthias Grunewald, one of the most powerful and disturbing works of the Northern…
Raphael’s Transfiguration: His Final Masterpiece
The Transfiguration is the last painting by Raphael, one of the supreme masters of the Italian High Renaissance. Begun around…
Inside Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam
The Creation of Adam is the most famous scene from the Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo during the High…
Michelangelo’s Last Judgment: Heaven and Terror
The Last Judgment is the great fresco that fills the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo in…