21 Paintings, RELIGIOUS ART - Paintings from the Bible by the Old Masters, with footnotes, 18

Benjamin West, P.R.A.
SWARTHMORE 1738 - 1820 LONDON
THE WISE MEN'S OFFERING
oil on canvas
27 by 22 in.; 68.5 by 56 cm.


Lovis Corinth (1858–1925)
Salome, Version 2, c. 1900
Oil on canvas
127 × 147 cm (50 × 57.9 in)
Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig

In this painting, Corinth depicts Salomé, the biblical temptress who danced so seductively for King Herod that he granted her malicious request for the head of John the Baptist. A religious subject that nonetheless offered considerable sex appeal, the story of Salomé was depicted frequently in the art and literature of the turn of the twentieth century, and Corinth returned to it many times. One contemporary critic described Corinth’s depiction of the grotesquely made-up Salomé opening the eyelids of the severed head as particularly perverse. More

Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism.

Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Secession group, later succeeding Max Liebermann as the group's president. His early work was naturalistic in approach. Corinth was initially antagonistic towards the expressionist movement, but after a stroke in 1911 his style loosened and took on many expressionistic qualities. His use of color became more vibrant, and he created portraits and landscapes of extraordinary vitality and power. Corinth's subject matter also included nudes and biblical scenes. More

Neapolitan School, 17th Century
THE SLAYING OF ABEL
oil on canvas
37 1/4  by 46 in.; 94.5 by 117cm.


Valentin de Boulogne
COULOMMIERS-EN-BRIE, SEINE-ET-MARNE BAPT 1591 - 1632 ROME
DAVID WITH THE HEAD OF GOLIATH
oil on canvas
54 3/4  by 10 1/2  in.; 139 by 103 cm


Studio of Guido Reni
CALVENZANO DI VERGATO 1575 - 1642 BOLOGNA
SAINT CECILIA, THREE-QUARTER LENGTH, BEFORE A PURPLE CURTAIN, HER ORGAN IN THE BACKGROUND
oil on original canvas
44 1/4  by 36 5/8  in.; 112.4 by 93.1 cm.


Denys Calvaert
ANTWERP CIRCA 1540 - 1619 BOLOGNA
THE CONVERSION OF SAUL
signed lower right: DIONISI / CALVART / ANTVER
oil on canvas
36  3/8  by 52  1/2  in.; 92.4 by 133.4 cm.

In this impressive composition, Denys Calvaert—one of the first Flemish artists to migrate to Italy—employs vivid colors and sharp contrasts to dynamically illustrate the New Testament account of Saint Paul’s conversion.  The meticulously rendered figures of the stunned Saint Paul and his attendant in the painting's foreground bear striking similarities to Calvaert’s pen and ink drawing dated to 1579 in the collection of the Musée du Louvre.

School of Verona, 16th Century
THE CRUCIFIXION
oil on canvas
31 1/2  by 24 3/4  in.; 80 by 62.9 cm.


Circle of Joos van Cleve
SAINT JEROME
oil on panel
39 by 27 3/4  in.; 99 by 70.5 cm.


Alesso di Benozzo Gozzoli, formerly known as the Maestro Esiguo
ACTIVE IN FLORENCE AND PISTOIA AT THE END OF THE 15TH CENTURY
THE CRUCIFIXION, WITH THE MADONNA AND SAINTS JOHN THE EVANGELIST AND MARY MAGDALENE, A CITY AND MOUNTAINOUS LANDSCAPE BEYOND
oil on panel
21 1/8  by 15 7/8  in.; 53.5 by 40.5 cm.


Circle of Taddeo di Bartolo
SAINT PETER; SAINT ANTHONY ABBOT
Quantity: 2
a pair, both tempera on panel, gold ground
each: 36 5/8  by 17 1/8  in.; 93 by 43.5 cm


Studio of Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli
FLORENCE 1445 - 1510
THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST
tempera on panel
63 1/2  by 52 1/4  in.; 161.2 by 132.8 cm.


Milanese School, late 15th century
THE MARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN
oil on panel
17 3/4  by 16 1/2  in.; 45 by 42 cm.


Sienese School, circa 1400
THE MADONNA DELLA MISERICORDIA (VIRGIN OF MERCY) WITH SAINTS PETER AND FRANCIS, AND ANGELS
tempera on panel, gold ground
23.5 by 43.5 cm.; 9 1/4  by 17 1/8  in

The Virgin of Mercy is a subject in Christian Art, showing a group of people sheltering for protection under the outspread cloak, or pallium, of the Virgin Mary. It was especially popular in Italy from the 13th to 16th centuries, often as a specialised form of votive portrait, and is also found in other countries and later art, especially Catalonia and Latin America. In Italian it is known as the Madonna della Misericordia (Madonna of Mercy). More

The Sienese School of painting flourished in Siena, Italy between the 13th and 15th centuries and for a time rivaled Florence, though it was more conservative, being inclined towards the decorative beauty and elegant grace of late Gothic art. Unlike the naturalistic Florentine art, there is a mystical streak in Sienese art, characterized by a common focus on miraculous events, with less attention to proportions, distortions of time and place, and often dreamlike coloration.The economic and political decline of Siena by the 16th century, and its eventual subjugation by Florence, largely checked the development of Sienese painting, although it also meant that a good proportion of Sienese works in churches and public buildings were not discarded or destroyed by new paintings or rebuilding. Siena remains a remarkably well-preserved Italian late-Medieval town. More

Massimo Stanzione
Suzanne et les vieillards, c. 1630- 1635
Huile sur toile
152 x 204 cm
Francfort, Städel Museum

Massimo Stanzione (also called Stanzioni; ca. 1586 – ca. 1656) was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples. Born a Frattamaggiore in 1585, Massimo was greatly influenced by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The thing that distinguished Massimo’s art from Carravaggism was that he combined Caravaggio’s dramatically lit and brutally realistic style with the classical and lyrical manner of Bolognesi painters, earning him the nickname of the Napolitan Guido Reni. More

Giuseppe de Ribera (1591-1652)
Sainte-Marie l’Egyptienne, c. 1641
Huile sur toile
132 x 108 cm
Musée Fabre, Montpellier

Mary of Egypt (ca. 344 – ca. 421) is revered as the patron saint of penitents, most particularly in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the Roman Catholic. More

José de Ribera (January 12, 1591 – September 2, 1652) was a Spanish Tenebrist painter and printmaker, better known as Jusepe de Ribera. He also was called Lo Spagnoletto ("the Little Spaniard") by his contemporaries and early writers. Ribera was a leading painter of the Spanish school, although his mature work was all done in Italy. More

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, dit Caravage
Saint Jean-Baptiste, c. 1609-1610
Huile sur toile
152 x 125 cm
Galerie Borghese, Rome


Gerard David
Baptism of Christ, 1502-1508
Triptych of Jan Horn, painted on wood pane
Groeningemuseum of Bruges in Belgium

Rembrandt (1606–1669)

Judas returning the thirty silver pieces,. c. 1629

Oil on oak panel

Height: 79 cm (31.1 in). Width: 102.3 cm (40.3 in).

Mulgrave Castle, Lythe, North Yorkshire

Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to an account in the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas is said to have gone to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins, and to have returned the money afterwards, filled with remorse. More

Feeling remorse over the betrayal he committed, Judas returns the 30 silver coins to the high priests. They are not impressed with the gesture, having achieved their purpose, Judas conscience is none of their concern. The tormented Judas hangs himself. More

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age when Dutch Golden Age painting, although in many ways antithetical to the Baroque style that dominated Europe, was extremely prolific and innovative, and gave rise to important new genres in painting.

Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt's later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters. Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified most notably in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.

In his paintings and prints he exhibited knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of Amsterdam's Jewish population. Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called "one of the great prophets of civilization. More

Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904)

Bethsabée, c. 1889 or ca 1895 

Bathsheba, see below

Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax. He is considered one of the most important painters from this academic period, and in addition to being a painter, he was also a teacher with a long list of students. More

Willem Drost (1633–1659)

Bathsheba with the letter from King David, c. 1654

Oil on canvas

103 × 87 cm (40.6 × 34.3 in)

Louvre Museum, Paris, France

According to the Hebrew Bible, "Bat Sheva," , "daughter of the oath"; was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. She is most known for the Bible story in which she was summoned by King David who had seen her bathing and lusted after her.


Bathsheba was from David's own tribe and the granddaughter of one of David's closest advisors. She was the mother of Solomon, who succeeded David as king, making her the Queen Mother. More

Willem Drost (baptized 19 April 1633 – buried 25 February 1659) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of history paintings and portraits who died young, at the age of 25. He is a mysterious figure, closely associated with Rembrandt, with very few paintings attributable to him.

He was presumably born in Amsterdam, in what was then known as the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Around 1650 he became a student of Rembrandt, eventually developing a close working relationship, painting history scenes, biblical compositions, symbolic studies of a solitary figure, as well as portraits. As a student, his 1654 painting titled Bathsheba was inspired by Rembrandt's painting done in the same year on the same subject and given the same title, though their treatments are rather different; both Drost’s and Rembrandt’s paintings are in the Louvre in Paris.

He was in Amsterdam until 1655 and then travelled to Italy. He influenced the painter Adolf Boy. Sometime in the mid-1650s, the young artist went to Rome, where he collaborated with the German artist Johann Carl Loth on a lost series of the Four Evangelists in Venice. He died in the latter city in 1659. More

Anonymous

David coveted Bathsheba,  c. 17th century

Oil on canvas

141 × 169 cm (55.5 × 66.5 in)

Aknowledgent: Sothebey's

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others