This gallery shows a glimpse of good and evil, God and satan through the perspective and interpretation of different artists in reference to the Bible. These paintings are depicted in different forms and styles through out cultures; the realism and hyper-realism of the paintings conclude the influence in which Christianity had in historical art and culture.
The Fall of Man, Coecke van Aelst, Pieter, c.1520-30, From the collection of: Dulwich Picture Gallery
In this painting, you see Adam and Eve by the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. She is handing Adam the apple while holding one behind her back, probably the one she bit into. This painting shows exactly good and evil; the tree is a curse along with the snake and Eve at this current state, is now evil compared to Adam because she ate of it.
Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Thomas Cole, 1828, From the collection of: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The expulsion from the Garden of Eden depicts the result of the disobedience of Adam & Eve when they ate the curse of the Tree. Light shines through the dark as they walk out of the presence of God into darkness. A bridge partially cracked separates what you can distinguish evil from good. Looking closely at the bottom left you can see a wolf eating a deer, probably Thomas's interpretation of sin entering the world.
The Garden of Earthly Delights, Hieronymus van Aken aka Bosch, 1500/1505, From the collection of: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
This painting was done by Hieronymus Bosch's, his piece is commonly known as a triptych, which depicts three worlds that involve humanity from Holiness to a cursed world. It starts from the left; before sin entered humanity; there you see God introducing Eve to Adam. The painting then continues to the right as the progression of the curse engulfs the world. His interpretation of the painting has a style like that of Alice in Wonderland.
The Deluge, Francis Danby, Around 1840, From the collection of: Tate Britain
The deluge or commonly referred to "The Great Flood" shows the ferocity of God as his judgement is being executed in the world. Looking closely you see the ark of Noah in the middle of the painting, you can also see an angel in the lower right which seems to be weeping at the sight of a dead girl. Good and Evil in this painting might be a little hard to point out, but considering the curse humanity inherited and the severity of evil in those times, it almost seems intuitive to discern which is which.
The Massacre of the Innocents, Le Brun, Charles, mid-1660s, From the collection of: Dulwich Picture Gallery
During the rule of Herod "The Great," a prophecy was being fulfilled. The messiah was being born in Bethlehem, which is where this painting is being portrayed. The three magi had gone to Jerusalem to ask where is the promised king would be born. When Herod heard, he order them to bring news of the boy; as the magi were going to see him. But they never did because of a dream from God, warning not to do so or Herod would have seized him. So he ordered his soldiers to kill every boy under 2 years of age according to the encounter with the magi.
David and Goliath, Guillaime Courtois, 1650/1660, From the collection of: Musei Capitolini
This painting portrays David as he is slaying Goliath. You can distinguish the size of Goliath, he looks like a giant compared to David. It is recorded that Goliath was over 7ft tall. In popular belief David did not kill Goliath with just a sling a few rocks, but instead he cut off his head, using the sling to subdue him. It is clearly recognizable as to who is evil and who is good by merely looking at the characters portrayed.
The Tower of Babel, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563, From the collection of: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
The Tower of Babel is one of the most iconic symbol of rebellion in the Bible. It was located in Babylon, which was a very powerful empire in which all knew one common language. There, they wanted to reach heaven by building a tower so that they could make a name for themselves and not be scattered around the world. God then showed to their defiance by confusing them with languages so no one would understand one another.
The Sacrifice of Isaac, Pedro Orrente, c.1616, From the collection of: Bilboa Museoa. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao
In this painting, Abraham responds to God with obedience in order to establish a covenant. However God intervenes by sending an angel to tell him he would spear his son for his own, which later is fulfilled when Jesus was sacrificed. The covenant that was established was that faith would inherit righteousness, and ultimately salvation. You can see a ram in the corner and an angel thats interrupting Abraham saying, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Good is entirely portrayed on here while evil is the cause, the underlying.
The Last Judgement (study), John Martin, 1789–1854, British, between 1851 and 1853, From the collection of: Yale Center for British Art
This painting depicts the last judgement, where the good(righteous) will be separated from the wicked. This painting was done by John Martin between 1851-1853. This painting is done by self-interpretation of the prophetic judgement. It seems that John adds what looks to be a heavenly kingdom and a Demonic one. You can tell by the contrast between white and red and the huge gap between both worlds. On the right, there seems to be lighting and smoke, while on the right it looks clear.
Dante and Virgile, William Bouguereau, 1850, From the collection of: Musée d’Orsay, Paris
This painting was inspired by a short scene from the Inferno, set in the eighth circle of Hell. In this piece you see Dante Alighieri, accompanied by Virgil (Publius Vergilius,) as they watch a fight between two damned souls: One is named Capocchio, who is a heretic and the other is Gianni Schicchi, a fraud. Williams interpretation of Hell looks like a caged fight, in the background you see women and men fighting each other. The faces of Dante and Virgil say enough as to the emotional reality of what this hell was meant to portray.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
