Mantegna, Andrea (c.1431-1506) San Sebastiano (St. Sebastian) c.1457–1459 Oil on poplar, 68 × 30 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Sebastian was the leader of the bodyguard of the Roman emperor Diocletian and was sentenced to death for his Christian faith. The saint…
Cranach, Lucas the Elder (1472-1553) Judith with the head of Holofernes c.1530 Oil on lime, 87.7 × 58.1 × 2.4 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Through courage and cunning, the Old Testament heroine had succeeded in penetrating Holofernes’ tent camp, which had…
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640) Head of Medusa c.1613 Oil on canvas, 68.5 × 118 × 2 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Perseus cunningly killed the snake-haired Medusa, who had petrified man and animal with her gaze (Ovid, Metamorphoses). The blood dripping from…
Cranach, Lucas the Elder (1472-1553) Crucifixion with the Converted Centurion 1538 Oil on panel, 61.6 × 42.2 cm Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven
Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863) Christ en croix (Christ on the Cross) c.1853–1856 Pastel on paper, 24.7 x 16.5 cm National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
El Greco (1541-1614) Cristo en la cruz (Christ on the Cross) c.1600–1610 Oil on canvas, 193 x 116 cm Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland El Greco (Spanish for “the Greek”) was trained on his native island, Crete, as a painter of…
Caravaggio (1571-1610) Medusa c.1597–1599 Oil on canvas mounted on wood, diam. 58 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze
Claudel, Camille (1864-1943) Persée et la Gorgone (Perseus and the Gorgon) c.1897 Marble, 196 x 111 x 90 cm Musée Camille Claudel, Nogent-sur-Seine “It’s Medusa!” “It’s Percy Jackson!” As soon as they catch sight of Perseus and the Gorgon, a marble…
Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban (1617-1682) Cristo en la cruz (Christ on the Cross) 1660–1670 Oil on canvas, 208.9 x 113 cm Timken Museum of Art, San Diego In this late painting by Bartolomé Estebán Murillo, the luminous figure of Christ appears against…
Zurbarán, Francisco de (1598-1664) La crucifixión (The Crucifixion) 1627 Oil on canvas, 290.3 × 165.5 cm Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Beginning in the mid-sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church clarified and reaffirmed its doctrine and practices in an effort to…