On the eve of the election of the archbishop of Myra in Lycia (Asia Minor) in the 4th century AD, it was revealed to one of the bishops that a young man called Nicholas had been divinely chosen. When Saint Nicholas presented himself at the cathedral the following day he was elected & immediately installed as archbishop. The story is told in The Golden Legend. Veronese has shown the moment of Nicholas's recognition
- or subsequent consecration
- with an angel above bringing his bishop's stole, crozier & mitre. The saint humbly obeys. In 1087 Saint Nicholas's remains were translated to Bari. This work was painted for the altar of Saint Nicholas in S. Benedetto Po, near Mantua, where it was probably installed in 1562.

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These four pictures are from a series illustrating stories from ancient Roman history. They show (top to bottom): ' The Attack on Cartagena', ' The Continence of Scipio', ' The Rape of the Sabines' & ' The Intervention of the Sabine Women'. Two other pictures from the same series are known: a ' Coriolanus' & a ' Scipio rewarding the Soldiers'. ' The Continence of Scipio' & ' Rape of the Sabines' were popular topics for illustration. The format of the pictures suggests they were made for the decoration of a room. The series is now thought to be the work of a minor Italian painter of the third quarter of the 16th century who was familiar with the work of Giulio Romano & Raphael, on whose styles they depend. ...

The story of the conversion of the Magdalene represented here is not told in the Gospels, but is implied by her actions towards Christ. The work is based on a lost fresco by Federico Zuccaro formerly in the Grimani chapel in S. Francesco della Vigna, Venice, & datable to the early 1560s. The composition was modified to incorporate portraits, presumably of members of Grimani's family. The painting was mentioned in Grimani's will. ...

This early work was probably produced for a noble patron in Verona. There has been much debate over the subject matter; however, it is now generally believed that the painting shows the conversion of Mary Magdalene. Concerned for her sister's spiritual health, Martha takes Mary to the Temple to hear Jesus preach. Veronese shows Mary blushing with shame & sunk to her knees as she is overcome by Christ's words. Her fashionably low-cut dress, inappropriate for a visit to the Temple, is emblematic of her formerly sinful life centered on vanity & pleasure. Converted by this encounter Mary then turns to a life of piety. The jewellery slipping from her neck foreshadows her subsequent renunciation of worldly goods. The scene depicted is absent from the Bible & the Golden Legend but narrated in Pietro Aretino's book 'L'umanità di Cristo' (1535). This publication was widely read in Northern Italy & probably constitutes the literary source for the painting. ...

This painting by a Cologne artist, together with ' The Mass of Saint Hubert' was one of the inside shutters of an altarpiece from the Benedictine Abbey at Werden, near Cologne. The outside shutters, depicting various saints, are also in the National Galler ...

Christ appearing in the clouds strikes his persecutor Saul blind. Saul (henceforth Paul) is the prominent figure who has fallen on the ground beside his horse. This is the moment of his conversion. New Testament (Acts 9: 1-9). This has been variously attri ...

Create your own bespoke print of John Constable’s The Cornfield from our collection. About this painting The Cornfield, 1826 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1837 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...

The painting probably dates from shortly before Rottenhammer's move from Rome to Venice, about 1595/6, & is mentioned by his biographer, Carel van Mander (1604), who describes it as the first work to have brought fame to the painter. This meticulously e ...

The subject is more properly the Glorification of the Virgin, who is usually shown crowned by Christ & God the Father. Here the Virgin is crowned by angels (possibly as ' Regina angelorum'
- Queen of angels) & elements of the Assumption are mingled with those of the Glorification. The most evolved of Reni's treatments of the subject & generally dated about 1607.
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This was probably the central panel of an altarpiece, possibly from the church of San Giovanni de' Fieri near Pisa. It probably dates from the 1380s. Agnolo Gaddi, son of the painter Taddeo Gaddi, worked chiefly in Florence where the Coronation of the Virgin was an extremely popular subject for an altarpiece (see also ' The Coronation of the Virgin' by Jacopo di Cione & that by Lorenzo Monaco). The pink in Christ's robes & in the robes of the Virgin may have originally been richer & have faded with time. Many of the old retouchings have become discoloured. ...