10 Most Famous Paintings That Tell The Easter Story

A mural painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1495–1498. The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostles, as it is told in the Gospel of John – specifically the moment after Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him. Its handling of space, mastery of perspective, treatment of motion and complex display of human emotion has made it one of the Western world's most recognizable paintings and among Leonardo's most celebrated works. Da Vinci’s Last Supper painting is currently housed in the Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan.

2. Betrayal of Christ,  Caravaggio

Also known as the Betrayal of Christ, this painting is how Judas identified Jesus to the mob who had come from the chief priests to arrest him. This painting is by the Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. By the late 18th century, the painting was thought to have disappeared, and its whereabouts remained unknown for about 200 years.

The Flagellation of Christ by Peter Paul Rubens is a carefully elaborated sketch or modello for the painting of the same name in the Dominican church, which is the present St Paul’s Church in Antwerp. This is a is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian religious art. It is also the fourth station of the modern alternate Stations of the Cross.

Christ Carrying the Cross is an oil painting by El Greco, produced early in his Toledo period circa de 1580. The picture depicts Christ in a moment of personal reflection as he carries the cross to his death, therefore committing the ultimate sacrifice for humankind. In the painting, Christ's eyes are lifted up to the heavens as he begins his walk towards his crucifixion. His gentle hands wrap around the cross as a stormy night floods the background. 

Christ Carrying the Cross is a 1505 oil painting attributed to either the Italian Renaissance master Titian or Giorgione. Christ is painted with a tearful gaze staring straight at the viewer, we can see the rope around his neck, the crown of thorns and droplets of blood on his face. Simon of Cyrene is also shown in this artwork as helping Jesus carry his Cross.

This is the second-largest known painting by Bruegel. It is one of sixteen paintings by him which are listed in the inventory of the wealthy Antwerp collector, Niclaes Jonghelinck, drawn up in 1566. It was Jonghelinck who commissioned the Months from Bruegel and he may also have commissioned this work. Jonghelinck's Bruegels passed into the possession of the city of Antwerp in the year in which the inventory was made. In 1604 it was recorded in the Prague collections of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, then transferred to Vienna, and in 1809 (until 1815) in Paris, requisitioned by Napoleon Bonaparte as part of his war booty.

For Bruegel the composition is unusually traditional. Perhaps because he was treating such a solemn religious event, he adopted a well-known scheme, used previously by the Brunswick Monogrammist and Bruegel's Antwerp contemporary, Pieter Aertsen. Christ's insignificance among the crowds is a familiar device of mannerist painting (it recurs in the Preaching of John the Baptist, as well as The Conversion of Paul), as is the artificial placing of Mary and her companions in a rocky foreground, which is deliberately distanced from the dramatic events taking place behind them.

Christ Crucified is a 1632 painting by Diego Velázquez depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus. Christ here is pale and has ben painted with a divine sense of beauty, the influence of Classicism is very evident.

This is considered as Caravaggio’s most admired altarpieces. If you look at Jesus’ body it has been painted so you feel you could nearly touch it, and the figure in orange holding Christ’s legs, his elbow looks as if it is coming out of the painting. This is a characteristic of Baroque painting, where the artist tries to breakdown the space between painting and viewer, so we feel more part of the painting.