THE GOOD SHEPHERD FROM THE CATACOMBS OF PRISCILLA
May 7th 2022
“The Good Shepherd”, Third Century, Catacombs of Priscilla, Rome. This fresco was painted on the ceiling of a burial chamber in the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome. It is not hard for us to see that the man at the
EL GRECO’S TEARS OF ST PETER
April 30th 2022
“The Tears of St Peter”, El Greco, 1580-89, Bowes Museum, County Durham. El Greco was one of the first artists to focus on the sorrow of St Peter after he had denied Christ. He painted this subject at least six
CARAVAGGIO’S DOUBTING THOMAS
April 23rd 2022
“Doubting Thomas”, Caravaggio, 1601-02, Sanssouci Picture Gallery, Potsdam, Germany. At first glance, it is hard not to be shocked at the sight of Thomas’ finger probing Christ’s wound. And yet, the two other disciples show no sign of shock,
BELLINI’S CHRIST BLESSING
April 16th 2022
“Christ Blessing”, Giovanni Bellini, c. 1500, Kimbell Art Museum, Forth Worth, Texas. The Risen Christ raises his right hand in blessing. Behind him the sun has not yet risen. To the right, there are some figures visible in
GIOTTO’S CHRIST MOCKED
April 9th 2022
“Mocking of Christ”, Giotto di Bondone, c.1501, Capella Scovegni (Arena Chapel) Padua. Only Luke Gospel records that Jesus was mocked and beaten in the court of Herod. In fact, Luke’s account of the Passion has a number of differences
Guercino’s Woman Taken in Adultery
April 2nd 2022
“The Woman taken in Adultery”, Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), c. 1621, Dulwich Picture Gallery. Guercino lived and worked in and around Bologna but here he adopts the Venetian practice of half-length narrative paintings. It is the moment when the woman
Murillo’s Return of the Prodigal Son
March 25th 2022
“The Return of the Prodigal Son”, Esteban Murillo, 1667-70, National Gallery of Art Washington. This large canvas was one of a series painted for the Hospital de la Caridad in Seville to illustrate the seven works of mercy. This
TINTORETTO’S ANNUNCIATION AT THE SCOULA GRANDE DI SAN ROCCO
March 19th 2022
“Annunciation”, Jacobo Tintoretto, 1581-2, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice. Tintoretto’s “Annunciation” is very different to those of other Italian artists of the Renaissance. Usually, the Virgin is shown as calm, serene and located within a well ordered space reflecting
Bellini’s Tranfiguration in Naples
March 12th 2022
Christ stands before us dressed in white garments which are as bright as the band of white clouds on the horizon behind him, but are hardly the “dazzling white” to which the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke attest.
Stanley Spencer’s Christ in the Wilderness – The Hen
March 5th 2022
“Christ in the Wilderness -The Hen”, Stanley Spencer c. 1954, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. Spencer noted that the gospels focus on the temptations and not on the 40 days preceding them. He resolved to paint a series
