Scenes from the life of Christ dominate the history of European art until the beginning of the nineteenth century. They were intended to serve as an inspiration to a largely Christian population. After the Protestant Reformation in the early sixteenth century, the Catholic Church increasingly encouraged specific themes as a means of conveying Catholic doctrine. The works in this gallery include some of the most common of these subjects: the Madonna and Child, the Adoration of the Magi, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Lamentation. A recent acquisition, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s Immaculate Conception, is an important Catholic Counter-Reformation image.

The late sixteenth and early seventeenth century also witnessed greater technical experimentation in painting. Seeking varied effects with their works based on the materials they used, painters selected different supports on which to make their paintings. Paintings by Italian artists on canvas, wood panel, copper, and leather are presented and compared in this gallery, including works by Cavaliere d’Arpino and Alessandro Turchi.