The Easter story in paintings from the National Gallery

Theologians describe how Jesus likely aligned his death with the Passover

Jon Collins and Tim Mackie trace how the Last Supper, the temple confrontation, and the crucifixion each map onto the story of the Exodus, making Easter the culmination of a cosmic liberation narrative begun in Egypt.

A close look at the figures in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel

The ceiling of the chapel—the site at the Vatican in Rome where the Roman Catholic Church selects the pope—was painted between 1508 and 1512. There are dozens of figures depicted on the ceiling and walls pulled from the Bible's Old Testament, with the centerpiece the nine center panels covering the Creation, Noah's Ark, and more. Explore a rich interpretation of the piece in this video.

Peter Brueghel's 'Hunters in the Snow' depicts winter beauty and hardship

The Dutch painter and printmaker is known for centering ordinary subjects at a time when protestant iconoclasts protested religious images and reduced the Church's role as an arts patron. The famous painting is often viewed as a cozy winter scene, but reveals the difficulties of harsh winters during the Little Ice Age in Europe.

Twelve artworks you'll love zooming into

Zoom in on these famous paintings to see what's hiding up close, then go exploring the rest of Google's incredible Arts and Culture hub.

The Stations of the Cross reenact Jesus' 'passion,' or suffering

The practice originated with early Christian pilgrims walking the Via Dolorosa—the path Jesus likely look as he walked with his cross to the site of his crucifixion—in Jerusalem and took root in European churches in the fifth century CE as a devotion for those who couldn't travel to the Holy Land. Pope Clement XII fixed the number of stations at 14 in 1731; five of them are based entirely on tradition, rather than scripture.

The prominent role of women in the Easter story

In the first century, women's testimony was not legally admissible in Jewish courts—the historian Josephus wrote that their accounts were not admissible based on a prejudiced view of women. Scholars who argue for the historical reliability of the resurrection point to this as counterintuitive evidence: no one fabricating the story would have chosen women as the prime witnesses.

Pictures of paintings: a virtual art museum

If you can't get to the art museum, maybe try bringing the art museum to you. This independent project presents photographs of select classic, public-domain paintings in an interactive format so you can get the full museum effect from home. Note:...

Traditionally, a glut of unused eggs during Lent would be decorated at Easter

That's how the tradition started, at least in the more orthodox (or strict) branches of Christianity, which didn't eat meat, dairy, or eggs the whole period. By the end, there was more than could be eaten, so decorations ensued.

Explore the collection of vivid frescoes Pompeii left behind

This gallery showcases remarkably preserved frescoes depicting food, daily life, landscapes, and myth. Tools abandoned during the eruption reveal how ancient artists worked, offering insight into Pompeii’s visual culture before Vesuvius buried the city in ash.

Hear a quick but insightful analysis of Mary Cassatt's 'The Boating Party'

Karen Jackson travels to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, to study an oil painting from 1893, walking listeners through a close reading of the canvas. Even if you can't make it to the museum, you can pull the image up and follow her guided analysis.

A cave painting might be the oldest illustrated story ever recorded

A nearly 44,000-year-old cave painting may be the oldest story ever recorded, offering viewers a tale of human-like creatures on a hunt. This article details the discovery of the cave and its archaeological implications.

The earliest depiction of Jesus' crucifixion

The Alexamenos Graffito is widely considered the oldest surviving image of the crucifixion. It was scratched into a plaster wall near Rome's Palatine Hill, probably around 200 CE. It is not devotional art—it shows a donkey-headed figure on a cross alongside the Greek inscription "Alexamenos worships his god," apparently drawn by a student mocking a classmate's Christian faith. No devotional depiction of the crucifixion would be made until the sixth century.

Looting art is often a byproduct of war

During WWII, Hitler orchestrated the theft of many masterpieces to eventually create his own museum. While many of these were recovered, iconic works such as Raphael's "[Portrait of a Young Man](https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/the-story-of-the-lost-raphaels-portrait-of-a-young-man/)" and Vincent van Gogh's "Painter on His Way to Work" remain missing or were destroyed by the Nazis.

Why art history is filled with miserable brides

Paintings from the 19th century are filled with unhappy brides. The women are often visibly disturbed by their pending nuptials, sometimes even during the wedding ceremony. This Artnet article unpacks four famous examples of this trend, analyzing how and why the respective artists portrayed these disappointed figures.

The accounts of the Resurrection from each of the four Gospels

All four Gospels agree that the tomb was empty and that Jesus appeared to followers—but they diverge on many secondary details: how many women came, at what hour, how many angels were present, and in what order Jesus appeared to whom. Historians often see those divergences as a sign of independent accounts rather than coordinated fabrication.

Andy Warhol’s Catholic background influenced his art

Warhol’s life and work hold clear religious through lines, from his Byzantine Catholic upbringing to reexaminations of his catalog, including an unfinished work for the 1968 world’s fair commissioned for the Catholic Church through a local Catholic university.

The history of iconic pigments used in seven famous paintings

While art paints can be bought by the bucket at any craft store today, pigments throughout history have been difficult to come by. Art historian Kelly Grovier traces the fascinating history of pigments that make up hidden layers in masterpieces from Picasso and Hokusai’s Prussian Blue to Vermeer’s shade of red.

Monks and peasants once used cobwebs as canvases for painting

The tradition goes back to the 16th century, when the delicate canvases were hung in churches and cloisters. The difficulty in painting on the cobwebs was intended to illustrate one's devotion to their faith.

Easter symbols and where they actually come from

The secular Easter—bunnies, eggs, baskets, candy—is almost entirely a German import. The egg-laying hare called Osterhase arrived with Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants in the 1700s; children left out nests for it to fill, which eventually became baskets. The word "Easter" itself may trace to Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, though scholars contest the holiday's pagan origins.

Priceless paintings were quickly taken during a 2008 raid of a Zurich museum

Three men walked into Emil Bührle Foundation during open hours. One of the men pulled out a loaded gun and forced the museum staff to the floor, while the others stole four paintings close to the door. The stolen paintings included a Degas, a Monet, a Van Gogh, and a Cezanne, totaling a whopping $160M in stolen art.

Picasso’s early masterpiece conceals a long-lost secret

Art historians have studied Picasso's Blue Period throughout the last century, but researchers have now uncovered something previously unknown: an underpainting of a woman under one of the artist's portraits.

What happened during the 'harrowing of hell'

According to theologians, Jesus descended into the realm of the dead between his crucifixion and resurrection. He did this to liberate the "righteous" who died before him, including Adam and Eve. The belief draws on 1 Peter 3:18-20 and the Apostle's Creed phrase "he descended into hell," and is especially vivid in Eastern Orthodox theology and iconography.

Easter is an uncommon name for Pascha, from the Hebrew 'pesach'

It's often said Easter is derived from pagan rituals. The word "Easter" does stem from a Germanic term for "dawn," but most cultural names for the holiday more clearly point to its Jewish history in the Passover.

How Van Gogh painted 'Irises' in an asylum

Van Gogh’s painting titled “Irises” (1889) remains one of his most-recognized works. Created soon after the artist checked himself into an asylum, the oil painting depicts flowers from the overgrown garden in the institution. Discover more about the work and other masterpieces Van Gogh constructed during a personally tumultuous time.

Countries that celebrate Easter

Easter is observed as a national holiday in more than 95 countries, with traditions varying wildly—from water fights in Hungary to crime novel reading in Norway—reflecting how thoroughly Christian practice has mixed with local culture.

The season celebrates Jesus' birth and anticipates the Second Coming of Christ

The Christian Bible’s New Testament features four gospels, or lives of Jesus, each of which describes the birth of Jesus in different ways (or does not mention it). Historians, both secular and religious, have sought to contextualize the biblical accounts with empirical evidence.

Explore a gallery of astronomical images curated by the European Space Agency, which includes illustrations and images of aurorae, planets, stars, galaxies, stellar nurseries, exoplanets, and black holes.

The Easter Bunny traces to German folklore, not ancient paganism

The rabbit's connection to Easter is well-documented from the 17th century onward, but the deeper origins remain unclear (particularly why a mammal that does not lay eggs became the egg-loving holiday's secular mascot). German immigrants brought the tradition in the 1700s, introducing the mythical egg-laying rabbit known as the "Osterhase," whose nests became the Easter basket.

Scientists used mass spectrometry to determine the materials in a 1690 painting

Previously used to map the distribution of molecules on biological tissue samples, researchers combined the technique with machine learning to uncover six layers of pigments, binders, and a thin gold leaf layer within *The Marriage of the Virgin*, from a collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The technique may help identify and track artists' material use to learn about pieces of unknown provenance. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Raphael's Renaissance masterpiece 'The School of Athens' visually contrasts the views of philosophers Plato and Aristotle.

A look at whether the Last Supper was a Passover Seder meal

Three of the four Gospels describe the Last Supper as a Passover meal, and scholars have cataloged more than a dozen parallels: wine, broken bread, sung hymns, and reclining at the table. But most historians of early Judaism now note that the formal Passover Seder didn't exist as a codified ritual until after 70 CE, decades after Jesus died.

How did ancient cave painters manage to see what they were doing?

As ancient artists made their way deep into caves and created massive works of art that continue to inspire awe today, they would've required light sources to see what they were doing. This gallery details some of the light sources that cave artists...

Tracking Georgia O’Keeffe paintings across America

Explore different significant locations where the painter’s works have lived, including the White House, from 1997 to 2004. Pick a nearby museum to witness the masterpieces up close.

Artist Raphael was one of the three supreme masters of the High Renaissance

Raphael was a prolific and versatile painter who worked as a sponge, adopting the practices of other great painters while making them his own. Thanks to his creating many iterations of the same scene, we can analyze how his mastery evolved over his career.

Goya's 'The Second of May 1808' inspired Picasso's 'Guernica'

Goya’s painting commemorated Spanish resistance to Napoleon’s armies, making it a notable part of both the history of Spain and the romantic movement. But it took scholars over a century to realize the impact it had on Pablo Picasso, whose own anti-war work, “Guernica,” used Goya’s painting as a reference.

The art and architecture of the devastated Pompeii

Long buried under feet of ash, the city of Pompeii's discovery millennia later sparked a world of imagination and tragedy. See a collection of paintings, buildings, and photographs from the city all in one easy-to-browse gallery.

See a collection of Mary Cassatt's artwork

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's digital collection includes 15 of Cassatt's works, including several iconic watercolors, like "Portrait of the Artist" and "Mother Playing with Child." Alongside them, you can read helpful contextual information assembled by Cassatt scholar H Barbara Weinberg.

Nine Shakespeare paintings by pre-Raphaelite John Everett Millais

In the 19th century, pre-Raphaelites like Millais sought to showcase life and nature honestly, using common references like the Bible, ordinary people and Shakespeare. Explore some of Millais' better known paintings inspired by the Bard here, including his world-renowned "Ophelia."

The Quartodeciman controversy debated what day to celebrate Easter in the early church

Asian churches marked Easter on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan (roughly March-April), while Roman churches insisted on Sunday. Polycarp of Smyrna, an associate of the Apostle John (who tradition says wrote one of the four Gospels) traveled to Rome to advocate for the 14th of Nisan. The Nicene Council decided that celebrating on a Sunday would ensure Christian unity and distinguish the observance from Jewish passover.

Why Easter's date changes, making it a 'moveable feast'

Unlike Christmas, Easter has no fixed date: It falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21, a formula set by the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE to form a standard across Christianity. The result is a window of 35 possible dates, from March 22 to April 25.

On Christmas Eve in 1978, a San Francisco museum lost possession of a Rembrandt

Thieves stole four paintings on the night before Christmas, including Rembrandt's "Portrait of a Rabbi," which was worth around $1M at the time. The museum was under construction at the time, and police speculated that the robbers got in through the roof by way of the scaffolding. Over two decades later, three of the pieces were returned.

See the collection and interior of Santa Fe’s Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

The museum hosts hundreds of the artist’s paintings and many personal objects. Follow along while a curator shares context behind some of her iconic works and offers insights into O’Keeffe’s life and career.

See some of Picasso's most famous works

Picasso is one of history’s most famous painters. He redefined the standards of artistic beauty and forged a unique, revolutionary modern style. Today, he inspires artists looking to challenge the status quo. The Museu Picasso in Barcelona, the artist’s hometown, holds nearly 5,000 of Picasso’s early works, making it the perfect place to glimpse the ideas and range of his artistic practice. Below is 1917's "Fruit Bowl."

What techniques did cave painters use to create their work?

Cave paintings long predate local craft stores and premade paints, so what techniques and tools did cave artists use to create such long-lasting works? This video gallery details how ancient artists inscribed and painted their work on cave walls, specifically the Chauvet cave in France.

In 1911, a solo thief stole the 'Mona Lisa' from the Louvre, propelling the painting to a new level of celebrity.

What is Good Friday, and why is it called 'good'?

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus, the darkest moment in the Christian story (which makes the name a genuine puzzle). Typical explanations say "good" once meant "holy" or "sacred," while other traditions dub it "sorrowful Friday." Christians observe rather than celebrate the day, with services, fasting, and quiet. It's always two days before Easter, sitting between Maundy (or Holy) Thursday and Easter.

Explore the medieval world in this 14th-Century map

This virtual replica of a 14th-Century map allows viewers to see the medieval world through a Christian framework. Jerusalem is the center axle of the map, harkening back to the Bible's Old Testament, which states Jerusalem is the "centre of...

Why can't we see Mona Lisa's eyebrows?

The world's most famous painting is missing something. And it took centuries for experts to figure out what. In this episode, August Moon investigates what happened to the Mona Lisa's eyebrows—analyzing infrared scans, tracking 500 years of restoration, and examining a forgotten copy from Leonardo's studio. But he uncovers something bigger: what we lost after the 1911 theft that has nothing to do with the painting leaving the Louvre.

Watch an artist explain how to paint in Pablo Picasso's cubist style, which flattens images and turns complex figures into geometric shapes.

How Eastern Orthodox and other Christians celebrate Easter differently

Western churches switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, though the Orthodox Church still calculates Easter using the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days behind. Orthodox Easter also must always follow Jewish Passover. The result is two Easters that can fall up to five weeks apart.