Throughout the world, religion has influenced art for hundreds of years. In doing so, many master peices have been created through the guidance of whichever religion the artist held or found themselves directed to. In this gallery, I have collected artworks from various religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.
The Last Supper - after Leonardo da Vinci., Unknown, 1865, From the collection of: The J. Paul Getty Museum
In this painting/ or sketch in this case, Leonardo da Vinci created the "last supper" which is influenced by Christianity, and features Jesus and his twelve disciples sitting on the same side.
Christ in the Realm of the Dead, Joakim Skovgaard, 1891-1894, From the collection of: SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst
In this artwork by Joacim Skovgaard, Jesus after crucifixion, enters the real of the dead appearing as a savior for all on Easter Eve. Appearing in front of Jesus is Adam and Eve along with lost souls
Hodja Reading The Koran, Osman Hamdi Bey, undated, From the collection of: Sakıp Sabancı Museum
In the Islamic religion, no worship can be brought on by paintings, therefore words and quotes from the Quran are used as art, which is used in this piece along with a man reciting the Quran.
Mosque Lamp, Unknown, Egypt, late 14th Century, 1350/1400, From the collection of: The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
The Mosque Lamp also shows another form of Islamic art where calligraphy is used as an art form to decorate this piece. Many details are put into the calligraphy such as gold accents and designs.
Shantirakshita, 19th century, From the collection of: Rubin Museum of Art
Inspired by the Buddhist faith, "Shantirakshita" is the story of the monk who is accredited to bringing buddhism to Tibet. The artist here works in clockwise order showing life events of the monk.
Shakyamuni Buddha, 18th century, From the collection of: Rubin Museum of Art
In the Buddhist religion, Shakyamuni is was the first Buddha. In this painting, Shakyamuni is depicted teaching perfect wisdom all while holding a lotus flower which represents mystical wisdom.
Companion Persuading Radha as Krishna Flutes, Folio from the "Lambagraon" Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd), Unknown, circa 1825, From the collection of: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
This painting tells the story in Hindu mythology where Radha and Krishna meet each other, together their names form "Radha Krishna" which is a single god with both male and female traits in Hinduism.
Lord Shiva dancing, Unknown, 1700 AD - 1800 AD, From the collection of: National Museum - New Delhi
This Painting has Lord Shiva dancing as other gods and goddesses watch and play music while Lord Shiva does a dance of control of the universe where all matter in the universe become one through this
The Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Circle of Juan de la Corte, 1630 - 1660, From the collection of: Fundación Banco Santander
Inspired by Judaism, this painting shows the story in the Old Testament, where King Solomon meets the Queen of Sheba who is treated as an equal by Solomon and she is then impressed by his intellect and wealth
Featuring one of the main symbols in Judaism, this curtain stitched with a menorah on it, was dedicated to a son of a donor for his bar mitzvah.
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.
