The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel: Lucifer’s Tears
The Fallen Angel (in French, L’Ange dechu) is one of the most haunting religious paintings of the nineteenth century, made…
The Hail Mary Prayer: Full Text, Meaning, and the Art It Inspired
The Hail Mary prayer in English and Latin, its meaning, and the paintings that show it line by line, from Fra Angelico and Simone Martini to Raphael and Caravaggio.
Adam and Eve Paintings and the Loss of Paradise
Adam and Eve paintings through art history, from Durer and Cranach to Titian, Rubens, Hans Baldung and Gustav Klimt, with the meaning of the apple, the serpent and the fig leaf.
Psalm 121, My Help Comes from the Lord: Full Text (KJV) and Meaning
My help comes from the Lord. Psalm 121, the pilgrim psalm, through Christian art: the Songs of Ascents, the Keeper who never sleeps, and the angel who guards the traveler.
Psalm 91: Full Text (KJV), Meaning, and the Prayer of Protection
Under his wings: Psalm 91 through Christian art, from Christ treading the beasts at Ravenna to the guardian angels of Cortona and Verrocchio.
The Prayer of St. Francis: Full Text, Meaning, and the Saint in Art
The peace prayer of St Francis, make me an instrument of your peace, through Christian art. Its true origin, the saint behind it, and masterpieces by Giotto, Bellini, Zurbaran, Caravaggio and El Greco.
Create in Me a Clean Heart: Psalm 51 and the Penitent David
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Follow Psalm 51 and the penitent King David through Christian art, from the Stuttgart Psalter and Books of Hours to Honthorst, de Grebber and Guercino.
Psalm 23, The Lord Is My Shepherd: Full Text (KJV), Meaning, and Art
The Lord is my shepherd has shaped Christian art for eighteen centuries. Follow Psalm 23 from the Roman catacombs to Ravenna, the medieval psalters, and the great devotional painters.
Masaccio’s Holy Trinity and the Illusion of Depth
The Holy Trinity by Masaccio is one of the most important paintings of the early Renaissance, famous as the first…
Christ of Saint John of the Cross: Dali’s Sacred Geometry
Christ of Saint John of the Cross is one of the most famous religious paintings of the twentieth century, made…