Botticelli’s Cestello Annunciation, Grace in Motion
The Cestello Annunciation is one of the most graceful treatments of the Annunciation in all of Renaissance art, painted by…
The Mystic Nativity and Botticelli’s Secret Prophecy
Mystic Nativity is the strangest and most personal religious painting by Sandro Botticelli, made around 1500 to 1501. On the…
Bosch’s Temptation of Saint Anthony, Faith Against Nightmares
The Temptation of Saint Anthony is a small, strange and unforgettable panel by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, painted…
Georges de La Tour’s Magdalen with the Smoking Flame: A Candlelit Soul
The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame is one of the most haunting nocturnes of the French Baroque, painted by Georges…
Rembrandt’s Head of Christ: A Human Face of God
Head of Christ is a small, deeply human image of Jesus, painted by Rembrandt around 1648. It is not a…
Van Eyck’s Madonna of Chancellor Rolin and Its Secret Landscape
The Madonna of Chancellor Rolin is one of the most refined small paintings of the Northern Renaissance, made by Jan…
Guido Reni’s Massacre of the Innocents: Beauty in Horror
Massacre of the Innocents is one of the most admired and most disturbing religious paintings of the Italian Baroque, made…
The Portinari Altarpiece: The Flemish Giant That Stunned Florence
The Portinari Altarpiece is the largest and most ambitious work by the Flemish master Hugo van der Goes, painted around…
Millais’ Christ in the House of His Parents: The Painting They Hated
Christ in the House of His Parents is one of the most famous and most controversial religious paintings of the…
Christ Crucified, Velazquez’s Quiet Masterpiece
Christ Crucified is the most famous religious painting in Spain, made by Diego Velazquez in 1632. It shows Christ alone…