Paintings of Saints Reproduction Oil Paintings On Canvas

What are Paintings of Saints Called?

Paintings of Saints, paintings of Christ, the Virgin Mary (Madonna paintings), and Angels are all known as icons.   Christian wall art can be found in our online catalog of Religious paintings.

The word Icon derives from the Greek word meaning an image. Icons are religious works of art, primarily paintings. They are usually painted on wood and used as early altarpieces. Icons can also be small and portable. Their owners will take small icons when traveling so that prayers and devotions can be made to Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints during the journey.

The tradition of icons is found in the Roman Catholic Church and the Christian Orthodox Church.

How are Portraits of Saints Depicted in Art?

From the days of Emperor Nero and in the very early days of Christianity, the religion was banned throughout the Roman Empire. Because of this, all religious art was very carefully created to disguise its true meaning. As a result, members of the Church would only understand the symbolism of the early Christian Church. Accordingly, paintings of Saints would be completed with symbols from the Bible to identify each saint.

The Catholic Church recognizes over ten thousand Saints.  However, in the first century A.D., there were very few, and so they were quickly recognizable by practicing Christians.

In the 4th century, under the Roman Emperor Constantine, all religions, including Christianity, were allowed and practiced in the Roman Empire. The Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. gave Christianity a formal legal status and prevented the persecution of Christians.

This edict allowed much more extensive use of symbolism in religious art. The use of a T shape in religious texts and paintings was widespread, depicting the Cross and the Crucifixion.

Symbols from the Bible associated with each Saint were used in paintings of Christ, Portraits of Saints, and devotional art. These symbols allowed a mainly illiterate population to recognize the images they saw in the icons. Also, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha and Omega, were used frequently in paintings of Christ. This is referred to his saying in the book of Revelation, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end”.

Renaissance Oil Paintings of Saints

Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter, painted in 1626 by Guido Reni uses the symbol of keys to show Saint Peter being the gatekeeper to the Kingdom of Heaven. Saint Peter was an early Christian martyr, and two famous religious paintings show his crucifixion by the Romans. Michelangelo’s Crucifixion of St. Peter dated 1546-1550, in the Vatican in Rome, and the later painting of 1601 by Caravaggio for the Cerasi Chapel, also in Rome.

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