Your Art Gallery: Biblical Paintings Pt 1 Quiz

Answer: Diego Velazquez

We have seen examples of the work of Diego Velazquez elsewhere in our virtual gallery, notably in the portrait rooms. Born in Seville in 1599, he became the court painter of King Philip IV of Spain and perhaps the most important artist of the Spanish Golden Age. "Adoration of the Magi" was therefore one of the earliest works by a very young Velazquez.

As do most artists depicting the scene, Velazquez shows the three kings presenting their gifts to the young Jesus. Kneeling in the foreground is Melchior. To his left is Caspar, then an unknown young man, and finally Balthazar in the red cape. On the right side of the picture, Saint Joseph kneels by the Virgin's left shoulder.

An oil on canvas measuring 80x50 inches, the painting was probably intended for an altarpiece. Originally part of a collection belonging to Jesuit Novitiate of San Luis in Seville, it passed into royal hands and in 1813 was then given by King Ferdinand VII to the Museo del Prado in Madrid, where it has remained since.

Answer: Caravaggio

Born Michael Angelo Merigi (or Amerighi) da Caravaggio in Milan in 1571, he is known by the single name, Caravaggio. One of the most important influences on Italian Baroque painting, he painted many biblical scenes, from his earliest works, the "Martyrdom of Saint Matthew" and the "Calling of Saint Matthew" to the painting pictured here, one of his last before he died in 1610.

Unlike most paintings from the late Renaissance era, which have detailed, decorative backgrounds, Caravaggio preferred to isolate his figures against large, relatively empty backdrops, as here. Mary is the focal point of the picture, whilst Joseph (identified by the faint halo) and the three shepherds gaze in wonder at this child born in a barn.

Note Caravaggio's depiction of the 'divine figures' barefoot and wearing everyday clothes, a distinct departure (and a controversial one at the time) from the Renaissance artists of the previous century. Humility is the central theme of the work, with the Virgin seated on the ground rather than in a 'throne' and Joseph's carpenter tools lying in the foreground, reminding everyone of his ordinary status.

This oil on canvas is an imposing work, measuring roughly 10x7 feet (124x83 inches). It is part of the collection at the Museo Regionale in the Sicilian city of Messina.

Answer: Titian

Born Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio sometime around 1488-1490, he is known today simply as Titian. His body of work spans the entire gamut of genres, from portraits and landscapes to mythological and religious subjects.

The "Averoldi Polyptych", so called as it was commissioned by the papal legate in Venice, Altobello Averoldi, is, technically, a pentaptych, consisting as it does of five scenes. The central scene is the "Resurrection of Christ", with Christ waving a Christian banner to inspire the army remaining behind on Earth as he ascends into Heaven. The top two scenes depict the "Annunciation", with the archangel Gabriel on the left and the Virgin Mary on the right. The lower right panel shows the "Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian", an angel in the background. The lower left panel is "Saints Nazarius and Celsus with Donor": the church for which the whole work was to be housed is dedicated to those two saints. The scene shows an armored Nazarius with his disciple behind him. The kneeling donor is the commissioner, Averoldi.

Titian was the Republic of Venice's official painter at the time he completed this work -- he delivered it in 1522. An oil on panel, the entire pentaptych measures 109x115 inches. It remains, as it has done for almost five centuries, in the 13th-century church of 'Santi Nazaro e Celso' in the city of Brescia in Lombardy in north-central Italy. The church is also home to numerous other notable works by major Italian painters.

Answer: Jan van Eyck

Dutch painters of the 15th century and the first half of the 16th who worked in a style known as 'International Gothic' are often referred to as the 'Flemish Primitives'. Jan van Eyck was perhaps the most important of them all, although other than the "Ghent Altarpiece" and his illuminated miniatures only around 25 pieces of his work are known to have survived.

Jan van Eyck's older brother, Hubert, was originally commissioned to produce the "Ghent Altarpiece", and it is widely believed that he designed the piece before his death in 1426. The actual painting, though, is believed to have been done by Jan van Eyck alone.

The picture here shows the twelve panels that are visible when the hinged section is open. The eight panels that are on the two 'doors' are two-sided, though, and there are eight different images painted on the reverse side of each panel. The image seen when the doors are closed is, therefore, completely different. It was usually only opened on feast days and other special occasions.

The three central panels of the top register of the open view depict the Virgin Mary on the left (in blue) and John the Baptist on the right (in green). The identity of the figure in red in the centre is open to debate: either God or Christ, or perhaps a combination of the Holy Trinity rolled into one. The panels on either side of the central figures at the top show heavenly singers/angels and, on the two extreme ends, Adam and Eve. The five lower panels depict a continuous scene known as either the "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" or "The Lamb of God", with the 'Fountain of Life' at the very centre.

This is a huge work -- more than 11 feet (137.8 inches) high and 15 feet (181.5 inches) wide, so the figure in the panels on the top register are more than life-sized. The altarpiece is housed at St Bavo's Cathedral, the seat of the diocese of Ghent in the city of the same name in northern Belgium.

Answer: Gerard David

Born around 1460 in the town of Oudewater in central Netherlands, Gerard David painted almost exclusively religious scenes, from the Nativity to the Crucifixion and Ascension. Many of his best-known works are altarpieces, often with three or more panels.

"The Rest on The Flight into Egypt" beautifully captures a mother who has eyes only for her child, even if he is the Son of God.

This painting is part of the collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

Answer: Raphael

Born Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino in 1483 in the walled city of Urbino in the Marche region of central Italy, Raphael is considered one of the Great Masters of the 16th century. He is perhaps best-known today for one of his giant fresco 'Scuola di Atene' ("The School of Athens") that decorates the 'Stanze di Raffaello' in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

Raphael painted more than two dozen variations on "Madonna and Child" during his relatively short painting career (he died aged just 37 in 1520). The pictured one is known as the "Madonna of the Meadow", although its full title is "Madonna with the Christ Child and Saint John the Baptist". Set against the calming background of a quiet, green meadow, the three figures are linked by looks and touches of their hands. The poppies in the field behind Mary represent Christ's ultimate death and resurrection.

Long part of the Imperial collection in the Vienna Belvedere, "Madonna of the Meadow" can now be seen at the 'Kunsthistorisches Museum' ("Museum of Art History"), housed in a palatial building on Ringstrasse in the centre of the Austrian capital.

Answer: Peter Paul Rubens

Sir Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1577 in the city of Siegen, then in the Flemish County of Nassau-Dillenburg, now in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. Although perhaps best-known today for his portraits, landscapes and depiction of voluptuous women, Rubens also painted numerous altarpieces of an allegorical or biblical nature.

"The Elevation of the Cross" (also sometimes called "The Raising of the Cross") dates to early in Rubens' Antwerp years (1609-1621). Painted shortly after his return from Italy, the influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident. The work highlights the struggle of the evidently strong men to lift the cross bearing the weight of Christ.

This sizable work (182x134 inches) and others were temporarily removed to Paris by Napoleon in the early 19th century, but was returned to its rightful place in Antwerp 1815. For the last 200 years it has graced the altar of the 'Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal' ("Cathedral of Our Lady"), the city's Roman Catholic cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.

Answer: Giovanni Bellini

Born in Venice around 1430, Giovanni Bellini was the son of Jacopo Bellini, the brother of Gentile Bellini and the brother-in-law of Andrea Mantegna. His body of work includes numerous well-known biblical paintings: his "Madonna and Child" is on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, his "Sacred Allegory" is at the Uffizi in Florence, and his amazing "St. Jerome in the Desert" can be seen at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham, England.

"Crucifixion" has an amazing amount of detail for such a small painting, just 22x12 inches. The figure of Christ is almost completely colourless, whilst in the background village life goes on as normal with small figures working in the quarry. The detailed background, with the bridge across the lake and the collection of small houses, are more reminiscent of Giovanni's father than his later works.

Originally housed at the church of San Salvador of Venice, this painting is now part of the collection at the 'Museo Correr' in Saint Mark's Square, Venice, one of eleven small museums run by the 'Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia'. Also at this same gallery is one of the two versions of the "Transfiguration of Christ" painted by Bellini. (The other is in the 'Museo di Capodimonte' in Naples.)

Answer: Fra Angelico

Born Guido di Pietro in 1395 in the commune of Vicchio in what was then the Republic of Florence in the north-west of modern-day Italy, he is best-known to English speakers today as Fra Angelico ("Angelic Friar") although Italians know him as 'Il Beato Angelico' ("Blessed Angelic One"). A Dominican friar, as an artist he created numerous notable biblical works including the "San Marco Altarpiece" (today in the San Marco Museum in Florence). Many of his works depict the 'Last Judgment' or 'The Annunciation'.

"Jesus Appearing to the Magdalene" depicts the resurrected Christ holding an adze, symbolizing the impression of him as a gardener. In his 1638 painting, "The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen" (now part of the Royal Collection housed at Buckingham Palace), Rembrandt does something similar by giving Christ a spade.

Our featured work can also be seen at the San Marco Museum in Florence.

Answer: John Singleton Copley

Born in 1738 in Boston, then in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, John Singleton Copley is best known for his portraits of prominent figures from the colonial New England period. His body of work also includes some allegorical and biblical paintings and some spectacular historical pieces.

Like many others who have painted this biblical story, such as Pietro Perugino and Garofalo in the early 1500s and Rembrandt in 1636, Copley also divides his canvas into two distinct halves, the heavenly and the earthly.

Copley's "Ascension" is part of one of the largest collections in the United states, housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA.