Have you ever found yourself in front of a famous painting wondering what it was all about? Imagine if you could know more about the image and the artist's treatment of the subject. Wouldn't this add to the beauty of the experience? For your pleasure and enlightenment this site offers background information on famous paintings and biblical themes. We hope you'll enjoy our effort.
Throughout the history of art great masters have turned to the Bible for inspiration. As an near inexhaustible narrative source depicting all conceivable aspects of the human condition it allowed the artist to express his piety while getting away with murder. And as often as not the work would have been commissioned by a religious institute, so that the subject matter was dictated beforehand by the prospective buyer.
We have collected pictures of hundreds of paintings, famous and less famous, and linked them to their corresponding Bible passage - the passage the artist may have read. We've also provided information on the paintings themselves.
The Bible texts are from the King James Version - the translation ordered by the British King James, first published in 1611.