An Italian painter of the 17th century, Caravaggio (so-called after his hometown, near Milan, Italy) became known for a style of painting he introduced called tenebrism. The Conversion of St. Paul was one of his most famous paintings and became an iconic portrayal of the event of Paul’s conversion that was very important to the Christian community. Caravaggio actually did two renditions of this work of art. The first work, also titled The Conversion of St. Paul , was commissioned with C

The Creation of Man is one of several scenes painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. It depicts a scene from the book of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, in which God creates Adam, the first man. Michelangelo, who was commissioned by Pope Julius II, painted the image from 1508 to approximately 1512 on the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Palace in Rome, Italy. The task that was given to Michelangelo was a great one; the vaulted ceiling of the Sist

The Last Supper is a larger-than-life painting by Leonardo da Vinci, created from 1495 to 1498. It depicts the iconic final meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before he was tried and crucified, as described in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22. Leonardo was not the first to paint The Last Supper , but his version is the most well known and most often reproduced. Leonardo painted this work using a technique called tempera. He mixed the paint with a binding medium such as an egg yolk

"The Nativity," as the event is called today, is the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Traditionally, all nativity scenes contain the baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Joseph. They also frequently include three “wise men,” three shepherds and, often, the angels who, according to biblical accounts, notified the shepherds of the birth of Christ. The Nativity scene has been a very important symbol in Christianity since the 5th century CE, visible on many Christian basilicas and carved into Roman

The pieta is a theme within Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary holding her son Jesus after his crucifixion. The first Pietà was created in the 14th century, and the scene was depicted in numerous paintings and sculptures though the 19th century. The contrasts between the living and the dead, a mother and her son, and human and divine nature are all elements that make this theme in Christian art so profound. Portrayals of Mary with Jesus lying in her lap began in Germany in the 14th cen