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Because sacred art is a proven way to infuse your classroom with beauty while encouraging fruitful discussions, we have included several images below, along with ways to bring the painting to life.
These images provoke the wonder that is appropriate to engaging with God's creation.
The Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh; Cape Cod Morning, by Edward Hopper; Studies for the Libyan Sibyl, by Michelangelo Buonarroti
What do holy orders ask of those who receive them? This image helps get into that conversation.
c. 1545, Jacopo Bassano, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
These three images show the theme of marriage prominently displayed in salvation history.
Creation of Eve, Orthodox Icon; The Wedding Feast at Cana, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld; Detail from The Ghent Altarpiece, by Jan van Eyck.
This image brings home the scope of confession and how willing God the Father is to forgive us.
c. 1661-1669, Rembrandt Van Rijn, Hermitage Museum, S t. Petersburg, Russia.
This image goes far to demonstrate that the Eucharist isn't merely a symbol, but a great reality and mystery.
c. 1557-1559, Michiel Coxie, Bode-Museum, Berlin.
Use this image to discuss the beginning of the Church on Earth with your students.
c. 1615-1620, Fray Juan Bautista Maino, Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Use this image to discuss how the sacraments that Jesus gives the Church make an invisible reality visible here and now.
c. 1503 by Raphael, The National Gallery, London.
Even the simplest of Catholic churches have lessons of our faith built directly into the building. Discuss that fact with these images of the Chartres Cathedral.
Interior, exterior, and architectural images.
This collection marks the big moments of salvation history, providing an outline for discussion with your students.
Assorted images.
This statue is well placed and it does well to spark a conversation about where Jesus ought to be in our society.
c. 1931, Paul Landowski, Corcovado Mountain, T ijuca Forest National Park. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Bring your students into the moment of Mary saying that grand Yes to changing the course of history forever.
c. 1472-1475, Leonardo Da Vinci, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.
Art does not have to have a religious subject to prompt engaging and memorable discussion! Use this image for a fruitful exploration of the social nature of mankind.
c. 1884-1886, Georges-Pierre Seurat, The Art Institute of Chicago.
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