Famous Religious Paintings

Madonnas, saints and Bible stories, the subjects that filled churches for a thousand years.

220 paintings, with works by El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Gerard David and Sandro Botticelli. Most often they suit the dining room, bedroom and living room.

Showing 1 to 48 of 220 paintings

Large painting of people in a crowded park, brushstrokes are dots.

Georges Seurat A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884, 1884–86, border added 1888–89 Art Institute of Chicago

The Annunciation, Sandro Botticelli, ca. 1490, tempera and gold on wood

Sandro Botticelli The Annunciation, ca. 1490 The Met

Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), Paul Gauguin, 1891, oil on canvas

Paul Gauguin Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), 1891 The Met

A woman and two children, all with pale skin and flushed cheeks, sit together in a landscape in this round painting. The woman takes up most of the composition as she sits with her right leg, to our left, tucked under her body.

Raphael The Alba Madonna, c. 1510 National Gallery of Art

Loosely painted image of an open-air train station. On the right, a parked train gives off an enormous plumb of white smoke, making the scene look as though it were full of clouds.

Claude Monet Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877 Art Institute of Chicago

A sparsely painted waterside scene in dark tones with minimal ghostly shapes suggesting ships, yellow glitches of paint for light reflections, and the orb of an orange moon overhead.

James McNeill Whistler Nocturne: Blue and Gold—Southampton Water, 1872 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of Greek landscape, classical architecture, yellow, red robed man reading.

Nicolas Poussin Landscape with Saint John on Patmos, 1640 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of a woman in white with a bonnet perched on an architectural feature painting something to her right, a spouting water fountain, greenery, and a an ornate, low white fence behind her.

John Singer Sargent The Fountain, Villa Torlonia, Frascati, Italy, 1907 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of mother in blue, purple, and green-stripped dress washing child's feet.

Mary Cassatt The Child's Bath, 1893 Art Institute of Chicago

The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy), Vincent van Gogh, 1889, oil on fabric

Vincent van Gogh The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy), 1889 Cleveland Museum of Art

Saint Jerome as Scholar, El Greco, ca. 1610, oil on canvas

El Greco Saint Jerome as Scholar, ca. 1610 The Met

The Holy Family on the Steps, Nicolas Poussin, 1648, oil on canvas

Nicolas Poussin The Holy Family on the Steps, 1648 Cleveland Museum of Art

Large painting of Holy Family: Mary in red, holding baby Jesus.

Peter Paul Rubens The Holy Family with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist, c. 1615 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of a Carthusian, Petrus Christus, 1446, oil on oak

Petrus Christus Portrait of a Carthusian, 1446 The Met

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Gerard David, ca. 1512–15, oil on wood

Gerard David The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, ca. 1512–15 The Met

The Annunciation, Hans Memling, 1480–89, oil on panel, transferred to canvas

Hans Memling The Annunciation, 1480–89 The Met

The Annunciation, Hans Memling, ca. 1465–70, oil on wood

Hans Memling The Annunciation, ca. 1465–70 The Met

The Adoration of the Shepherds, Andrea Mantegna, shortly after 1450, tempera on canvas, transferred from wood

Andrea Mantegna The Adoration of the Shepherds, shortly after 1450 The Met

The Young Virgin, Francisco de Zurbarán, ca. 1632–33, oil on canvas

Francisco de Zurbarán The Young Virgin, ca. 1632–33 The Met

The Holy Family with Saints Anne and Catherine of Alexandria, Jusepe de Ribera, 1648, oil on canvas

Jusepe de Ribera The Holy Family with Saints Anne and Catherine of Alexandria, 1648 The Met

Large, dark painting of Jesus sitting with three standing soldiers.

Édouard Manet Jesus Mocked by the Soldiers, 1865 Art Institute of Chicago

Madonna and Child, Giovanni Bellini, late 1480s, oil on wood

Giovanni Bellini Madonna and Child, late 1480s The Met

Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, Albrecht Dürer, probably 1519, oil on linden

Albrecht Dürer Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, probably 1519 The Met

The Penitence of Saint Jerome, Joachim Patinir, ca. 1515, oil on wood

Joachim Patinir The Penitence of Saint Jerome, ca. 1515 The Met

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, Raphael, ca. 1504, oil and gold on wood

Raphael Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, ca. 1504 The Met

Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille, Jacometto, ca. 1485–95, oil on wood; (verso: oil and gold on wood)

Jacometto Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille, ca. 1485–95 The Met

Christ Carrying the Cross, El Greco, ca. 1577–87, oil on canvas

El Greco Christ Carrying the Cross, ca. 1577–87 The Met

The Last Supper, Ugolino da Siena, ca. 1325, tempera and gold on wood

Ugolino da Siena The Last Supper, ca. 1325 The Met

The Two Disciples at the Tomb, Henry Ossawa Tanner, c. 1906, oil on canvas

Henry Ossawa Tanner The Two Disciples at the Tomb, c. 1906 Art Institute of Chicago

A man with sparse brown facial hair stands in a full-length black robe on a multicolored tiled floor, a white and brown dog behind him.

Giovanni Battista Moroni Gian Lodovico Madruzzo, 1551–52 Art Institute of Chicago

St. George on white horse, piercing green, gold dragon

Bernat Martorell Saint George and the Dragon, 1434–35 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of the Annunciation, dove flying above Mary with angel.

Jean Hey, The Annunciation, 1490–95 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting depicting Christ anointed by a woman in yellow, seated centrally at a crowded table of guests with long thin grayish faces in colorful robes with strong white highlights.

El Greco The Feast in the House of Simon, c. 1608–14 Art Institute of Chicago

Saint-Mammès, Loing Canal, Alfred Sisley, 1885, oil on fabric

Alfred Sisley Saint-Mammès, Loing Canal, 1885 Cleveland Museum of Art

Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle, as a Monk, Paul Cézanne, 1866, oil on canvas

Paul Cézanne Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle, as a Monk, 1866 The Met

View of the Domaine Saint-Joseph, Paul Cézanne, late 1880s, oil on canvas

Paul Cézanne View of the Domaine Saint-Joseph, late 1880s The Met

Christ Asleep during the Tempest, Eugène Delacroix, ca. 1853, oil on canvas

Eugène Delacroix Christ Asleep during the Tempest, ca. 1853 The Met

Head of Saint John the Evangelist, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, probably ca. 1818–20, oil on canvas, laid down on wood

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Head of Saint John the Evangelist, probably ca. 1818–20 The Met

The Supper at Emmaus, Diego Velázquez, 1622–23, oil on canvas

Diego Velázquez The Supper at Emmaus, 1622–23 The Met

Allegory of the Catholic Faith, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1670–72, oil on canvas

Johannes Vermeer Allegory of the Catholic Faith, ca. 1670–72 The Met

View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme, Edgar Degas, 1896–98, oil on canvas

Edgar Degas View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme, 1896–98 The Met

Peter Paul Rubens Head of One of the Three Kings: Melchior, The Assyrian King, c. 1618 National Gallery of Art

Dozens of men with several women and a few children gather in pairs or small groups across a sun-drenched plaza in front of a domed church next to a long, pale pink building in this horizontal painting.

Canaletto The Square of Saint Mark's, Venice, 1742/1744 National Gallery of Art

A long haired, bearded man holds a whip and stands in the middle of a crowd of about two dozen people who stand or twist, all in a building with columns and arches in this horizontal painting.

El Greco Christ Cleansing the Temple, probably before 1570 National Gallery of Art

A bearded man, a young man, and five monks stand in a cream-white hall hung with a map and paintings in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale, peachy skin.

Eugène Delacroix Christopher Columbus and His Son at La Rábida, 1838 National Gallery of Art

A dark-haired, disembodied head of a haloed man with pale, peach skin floats against a red and yellow background in this vertical portrait.

Paul Gauguin Self-Portrait, 1889 National Gallery of Art

Three women stand on or next to a ladder picking olives in an orchard in this horizontal landscape painting. The women, trees, ground, and sky are all painted with long, parallel brushstrokes that curve and swirl over the canvas.

Vincent van Gogh The Olive Orchard, 1889 National Gallery of Art

Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Wilderness, Sano di Pietro, ca. 1440, tempera and gold on wood

Sano di Pietro Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Wilderness, ca. 1440 The Met

Famous Religious Paintings

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