8 beautiful paintings you’ll love praying with at the National Gallery

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National gallergy paintings
"Scenes from the Passion of Christ: The Agony in the Garden, the Crucifixion, and the Descent into Limbo." National Gallery of Art/Public domain

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., invites visitors to contemplate Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection through art every day. For Catholics during Holy Week, this takes on a new meaning.

“Works of sacred art bring to life in vivid color, line and movement, the sacred events the Church remembers and celebrates in the liturgies of Holy Week,” Jem Sullivan, associate professor of Catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., told Our Sunday Visitor.

She added: “Their beauty invites contemplation of the radiance of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection that fills the Church and each human heart with Easter faith, hope and love, as we are reconciled to friendship with God and one another.”

Sullivan pointed to the teaching found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: That “beginning with the Easter Triduum as its source of light, the new age of the Resurrection fills the whole liturgical year with its brilliance.”

Here are eight paintings — one for each day of Holy Week and Easter — from the National Gallery that foretell or capture Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.

sacred art
National Gallery of Art/Public domain photos

Palm Sunday

“Scenes from the Passion of Christ: The Agony in the Garden, the Crucifixion, and the Descent into Limbo” by Andrea Vanni (1380s)

Italian artist Andrea Vanni depicts multiple religious scenes, side by side, in a three-part altarpiece: Christ’s agony in the garden, the crucifixion, and the descent into limbo. This work of art “reflects a growing concern among 14th-century artists to historicize the Biblical narrative,” the National Gallery’s description reads.

“Andrea endeavored to recreate, with the greatest possible accuracy, the events surrounding Christ’s Passion,” it explains. “Each painting is embellished with provocative details, such as the droplets of blood pouring from Jesus’s face as he prays in the garden or the brutal smashing of the Bad Thief’s legs in the Crucifixion. Such details strengthen the illusion of historical actuality and grant the scenes an intimate, expressive force.”


nativity

Monday of Holy Week

The Nativity” by Petrus Christus (c. 1450)

Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus foretells Christ’s death in his painting of Christ’s birth.

This piece of art “emphasizes the sacrificial nature of Christ’s coming and shows the scene as part of a chain of events in the story of the Fall and Redemption of humankind,” the description reads.

Among other things, the painting includes the “enactment of the first Mass.”

“The angels wear eucharistic vestments of the subministers of the Mass, though none wears the chasuble worn by the principal celebrant, suggesting that Christ himself is here both priest and sacrifice,” it says.


madonna

Tuesday of Holy Week

“The Alba Madonna” by Raphael (c. 1510)

In one of the more famous sacred works of art at the National Gallery, Italian artist Raphael anticipates Christ’s sacrifice in a scene from his childhood where he appears next to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist.

“The serene, bucolic atmosphere of Raphael’s tondo [circular or round work of art] belies its emotional meaning,” the description notes. “The Christ Child’s gesture of accepting the cross from the Baptist is the focus of attention of all three figures, as if they have foreknowledge of Christ’s sacrifice for mankind.”


veil of veronica

Wednesday of Holy Week

“The Veil of Veronica” by Domenico Fetti (c. 1618/1622)

Italian painter Domenico Fetti was present in Rome the same year that the Veil of Veronica — the veil on which Christ’s face miraculously appeared after it was used to wipe his face during the crucifixion — was placed in the crossing of St. Peter’s Basilica, in 1606.

“Fetti’s amazingly true image of the ‘true image’ is, in a sense, a metaphor of the task of the painter,” the description reads. “This is not merely a brilliant and self-conscious exhibition of the painter’s skill, however, but a sensitive and deeply felt portrayal of Christ at the moment of his most intense physical and spiritual suffering.”


agony in the garden

Holy Thursday

The Agony in the Garden” by Benvenuto di Giovanni (probably 1491)

Italian artist Benvenuto di Giovanni captures Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane before he is crucified. An angel appears as his disciples sleep nearby.

The Gospel of Luke tells the story: “After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.’ And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him” (22:41-43).


crucifixion

Good Friday

“The Small Crucifixion” by Matthias Grünewald (c. 1511/1520)

The National Gallery recognizes German artist Matthias Grünewald’s painting “a masterful example of the artist’s ability to translate his deep spiritual faith into pictorial form.”

“Each individual, according to Grünewald, must reexperience within himself not only the boundless joy of Christ’s triumphs but also the searing pains of his crucifixion,” it reads. “In order to communicate this mystical belief, Grünewald resorted to a mixture of ghastly realism and coloristic expressiveness.”

The description emphasizes the portrayal of Christ.

“Silhouetted against a greenish-blue sky and illuminated by an undefined light source, Christ’s emaciated frame sags limply on the cross,” it reads. “His twisted feet and hands, crown of thorns, agonized expression, and ragged loincloth convey the terrible physical and emotional suffering he has endured.”

Just 20 Grünewald paintings exist today, according to the National Gallery. This is the only one in the United States.


descent from the cross

Holy Saturday

“The Descent from the Cross” by Rembrandt Workshop, probably Constantijn van Renesse (1650/1652)

A member of Rembrandt’s workshop, likely Dutch painter Constantijn van Renesse, is said to have painted “The Descent from the Cross.” The National Gallery points out that this painting “evokes reverence.”

“Light from the torch held by the man on the ladder is concentrated on only two major areas of activity: the aged Joseph of Arimathea who gently helps to lower Christ’s body, and the swooning figure of the Virgin Mary,” it describes. “Joseph seems to present Christ to the viewer while the figures below quietly prepare to receive the body. Mary’s pale face mirrors the deathly white of her son’s body.”


 

resurrection

Easter Sunday

“The Resurrection” by Benvenuto di Giovanni (probably 1491)

Italian artist Benvenuto di Giovanni illustrates Christ’s resurrection in a triumphant scene. The soldiers guarding his tomb appear fallen to the ground. Christ stands outside. In his hand, he carries a flag of victory.

Katie Yoder is a contributing editor for Our Sunday Visitor.

Katie Yoder

Katie Yoder is a contributing editor for Our Sunday Visitor.