05 Paintings, RELIGIOUS ART - Interpretations of the Bible! by The Old Masters, With Footnotes # 64

Peter Paul Rubens
 Jesus at the banquet of Simon the Pharisee
Oil on canvas
158 x 227 cm
Private collection

Simon was a Pharisee mentioned in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 7:36-50) as the host of a meal, who invited Jesus to eat in his house but failed to show him the usual marks of hospitality offered to visitors - a greeting kiss, water to wash his feet, or oil for his head .


During the meal, a tearful woman identified as a sinner anointed Jesus' feet. He contrasted her faith and care with Simon's failure to show common decency, and accused him of being forgiven little and (in consequence) loving little. More on Simon the Pharisee

Sir Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish Baroque painter. A proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality, Rubens is well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.

In addition to running a large studio in Antwerp that produced paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe, Rubens was a classically educated humanist scholar and diplomat who was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England.  More Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
Christ on the Mount of Olives, c. 1889
Oil on canvas
73 × 92 cm (28.7 × 36.2 in)
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida


Luke 22:39-44: Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French post-Impressionist artist. Underappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of color and Synthetist style that were distinctly different from Impressionism. His work was influential to the French avant-garde and many modern artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Gauguin's art became popular after his death.
He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer. His bold experimentation with color led directly to the Synthetist style of modern art, while his expression of the inherent meaning of the subjects in his paintings, under the influence of the cloisonnist style, paved the way to Primitivism and the return to the pastoral. He was also an influential proponent of wood engraving and woodcuts as art forms. More on Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin

Leandro da Ponte, called Leandro Bassano (Bassano 1557-1622 Venice)
The Queen of Sheba before King Solomon 
Oil on copper
52.9 x 40.1cm (20 13/16 x 15 13/16in).
Private collection

The Queen of Sheba is a Biblical figure. The tale of her visit to King Solomon has undergone extensive Jewish, Arabian and Ethiopian elaborations, and has become the subject of one of the most widespread and fertile cycles of legends in the Orient.

The queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem "with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones"). "Never again came such an abundance of spices" as those which she gave to Solomon. She came "to prove him with hard questions", all of which Solomon answered to her satisfaction. They exchanged gifts, after which she returned to her land. More on The Queen of Sheba

Leandro Bassano (June 10, 1557 – April 15, 1622), also called Leandro dal Ponte, was an Italian artist from Bassano del Grappa. Leandro studied with his brother in their father's workshop, but took over the studio when Francesco opened a workshop in Venice. Leandro followed in the tradition of his father’s religious works, but also became well known as a portrait painter.

By around 1575, Leandro had become an important assistant to his father, with his brother relocated to Venice. It was his father’s will that Leandro carry on the studio in Bassano del Grappa. Though after his father died, his brother Francesco committed suicide and Leandro took up the studio in Venice. There he became a successful portraitist, working close to the influential style of the Venetian master, Tintoretto.

His success grew substantially in Venice, even landing him a knighthood from the Doge of Venice Marino Grimani in 1595 about, and he spent the rest of his life in the city. With this, Leandro began to sign his name with the honorary, “Eques.”  More on Leandro Bassano

Gaspar de Crayer, (Antwerp 1584-1669 Ghent)
The Penitent Magdalen 
Oil on canvas
91.8 x 71.1cm (36 1/8 x 28in)
Private collection

A sinner, perhaps a courtesan, Mary Magdalen was a witness of Christ who renounced the pleasures of the flesh for a life of penance and contemplation. Penitent Magdalene or Penitent Magdalen refers to a post-biblical period in the life of Mary Magdalene, according to medieval legend. 

According to the tenets of the 17th–century Catholic church, Mary Magdalene was an example of the repentant sinner and consequently a symbol of the Sacrament of Penance. According to legend, Mary led a dissolute life until her sister Martha persuaded her to listen to Jesus Christ. She became one of Christ's most devoted followers and he absolved her of her former sins. More on The Penitent Magdalen 

Gaspard de Crayer (1584-1669) was a Flemish painter born in Antwerp and worked in the region, as well as in the Netherlands and in Spain. The artist who is famous for his sacral paintings, his oeuvre contains hundreds of altarpieces painted only rarely profane subjects, such as the lifesize portrait of Philipp IV. king of Spain in the 17th century. Gaspard de Crayer began his education attending the school of Raphael van Coxcie. He was guided by the works of the masters of the Italian Renaissance as well as by those of his contemporary and compatriot Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Later the artist became painter at the court of Philipp IV. De Crayer, joining the important church painters of his time and created a lot of major works of the Counterreformation. More on Gaspar de Crayer


Massimo Stanzione, (1585 - 1656)
Madonna with Child, c. 1645
Oil on canvas
104 x 78 cm
Private collection

Massimo Stanzione (ca. 1586 – ca. 1656) was one of the leading painters in Naples in the 17th century, producing numerous altarpieces and frescoes. His rich colours and idealised naturalism influenced a great number of students and imitators. This is a copy of a large altarpiece that he painted for the Carthusian monks in the church of Certosa di S. Martino in Naples: Stanzione included Carthusian monks mourning the dead Christ. This copy may date from the 18th century. More on Massimo Stanzione






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