Christian art facts Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Supper at Emmaus, 1601, by Caravaggio. Oil on canvas, 139 x 195 cm. National Gallery, London.

Christian art is an art form related to Christianity. There are a lot different definitions of it. Christian art is mainly defined by pieces that try to show or express the ideas of Christianity. Most Christian denominations or groups either use or have used art to some extent. Other groups, however, have do not like the idea of religious images, and there have been major periods of iconoclasm within Christianity. Images of Jesus and events from the Life of Christ are the most common subjects, and scenes from the Old Testament play a part in the art of most Christian groups. Images of the Virgin Mary and saints are less common in Protestant art than in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox art.

Related pages

• Nativity scene

Images

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  Virgin and Child. Wall painting from the early catacombs, Rome, 4th century.

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  12th century Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia showing the image of Christ Pantocrator.

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  Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper (1498).

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  Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) by Salvador Dalí.