Explore our collection of religious art for sale. Showcasing some of today’s most exciting artists, our collection includes works that explore a variety of topics linked to faith and spirituality, we’re always adding powerful new religious artworks to its collection. Find the perfect piece of religious art for your home, whether you are interested in religious paintings, religious photography or religious prints.
Not sure where to start? Take a look at some of our artists in the collection: Beijing based Liu Xia’s giant rendition of Resting Jesus subverts Jesus’ traditional position on the crucifix by placing his hands on his hips. And in Mark Buckley’s piece Gabriel, the angel looks weary despite the usual tropes found in religious art, including the heavenly, glowing colour palette and feathered wings.
History or Religious Art
After classical antiquity, Christianity was the predominant force shaping European culture between the 13th and 19th centuries and artists would frequently turn to religious texts and stories for their inspiration. Tales from the Bible are spread across European art history – from scenes from The Book of Genesis painted by Michelangelo onto the Sistine Chapel ceiling to Caravaggio’s incognito Jesus emerging from dark shadows to reveal himself to two disciples in Supper at Emmaus. Raphael’s art contains multiple visions of Madonna and Leonardo Da Vinci serene yet solemn angels have become embedded into the Christian imagination.
Art historian Hans Belting noted how some religious art did not only pay homage to God but became proof of God’s very existence. In his book Likeness and Presence, Belting recounts a story about how, during a period where religious art was being destroyed, a painting of the Virgin Mary “fled to Rome unaided, covering the distance in 24 hours, standing upright on the water”.
Religious art still exists in contemporary culture. Henry Moore’s marble, abstract sculpture, Mother and Child stands in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. And in 2014, St Paul’s also started showing Bill Viola’s soundless, seven-minute video installation, Martyrs, in which four figures endured a variety of tortures, from being engulfed in flames to being buried in soil.
Art and religion; a shifting relationship
However as religious belief begins to waver in western society – 70% of young people in the UK identify with no religion – religious art has also taken on new meaning. While religious art is still revered within galleries, it has become less about the spirituality of its subject matter; more an emblem of history and a testament to the techniques used by old masters.
Much of modern art that features faith is now intentionally subversive, using religion as a way to question power, group thought and long-standing narratives that pervade European societies. Maurizio Cattelan’s sculpture La Nona Ora depicts Pope John Paul II lying on a red carpet after being crushed by a meteorite that has come from the heavens and Andres Serrano’s captures a small crucifix submerged in urine for his 80s photograph, entitled Piss Christ.
