Having been taken to the Temple at the age of 12, the child Jesus was discovered a few days later debating learnedly with the scholarly theologians there (Luke 2:41). The picture is sometimes thought to be the adult Christ disputing with the Pharisees, on the grounds that his age seems to be more than 12 years. It was formerly ascribed to Leonardo, & may derive from an original design by him. It is known in numerous versions, some of a quality comparable to this, & the composition was enormously famous. ...

Side panels of the Virgin's life: Left: her birth
- Saint Joachim's offering rejected; an Angel appears to him; the Meeting at
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The saints can be mostly identified from their attributes. They are, from left to right: John the Baptist, a Bishop Saint with a book, Saint Lawrence (with his gridiron); Saint Catherine of Alexandria (identified by her wheel), possibly Saint Clare (?) & Saint Lucy. ...

The subject of this painting is taken from the New Testament (John 8: 3-12). When asked by the scribes & Pharisees to condone the stoning of a woman taken in adultery (in accordance with the Law of Moses) Christ is said to have 'stooped down, & with h ...

Anthony Abbot was a 3rd-century saint who retired to the desert, where he was frequently tempted by the Devil. In this depiction he receives a vision of Christ during his torment. The painting is considered to date from the early part of Annibale's activity in Rome & shows the influence of both Northern Italian models, like Correggio's figures in the cupola of S. Giovanni Evangelista in Parma, & Roman ones. The pose of Saint Anthony recalls Michelangelo's Adam on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. ...

Christ appears to the Virgin Mary after the Resurrection & displays his wounds. An angel seated on Christ's empty tomb & two sleeping soldiers can be seen through the window in the left background; through the window on the right the three Holy Women who found the tomb empty on the morning after the Resurrection (Mark 16: 1-5) are shown making their way towards it. Christ's appearance to his mother is not described in the Bible, but is found in later writings such as ' The Golden Legend'. The composition is adapted from the right wing of van der Weyden's ' Miraflores Altarpiece' in Berlin. This may also have been the wing of a triptych (the other elements of which have not been identified). ...

Perhaps intended for an altarpiece, this is one of a series of forty-seven panels showing scenes from the life of Christ & the Virgin Mary. These were painted for Queen Isabella of Castille, for whom Juan de Flandes worked. Early Christian & medieval texts describe Christ's appearance to his mother after his descent into Hell to liberate the righteous. Adam & Eve are among those saved, & are shown here standing behind Christ. ...

The inscription is taken from Christ's words in the New Testament (John 8: 1), beginning 'I am the Light of the World'. These continue, 'he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' ...

Jesus is shown praying in the Garden of Gethsemane as an angel reveals a chalice to him, foreshadowing his suffering & Crucifixion. The reverse has the remains of dark paint & a simple pattern, perhaps of a later date. A companion panel to this work shows ' Christ carrying the Cross'. It has a similar painted border to the ' Christ at Gethsemane', & is said to have been in the Medici-Riccardi Palace, Florence. ...

The church of S. Daniele, Venice (now demolished), held the body of Saint John Martyr, Duke of Alexandria (Alexandretta), which had been transported to Venice in 1214 from Constantinople. He was said to have been miraculously baptised by Christ in prison, ...