About antique Prints of Religion

I have a large selection of antique religious prints.

The great artists have always been inspired by religion. There’s nothing quite like a religious print to add a completely new dimension to a room.

Do you have a favourite story from the bible? I’ll do my best to help you find a print of it.

I am a sort of collector of religion; and the curious thing is that I find I can believe in them all.

Major Barbara
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

There are many different religions. The oldest of the Abrahamic religions is Judaism based primarily on the Torah, the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud.
Christianity is based on the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazereth.
This is divided into The Catholic Church headed by the Pope, Protestantism and Eastern Christianity.
Islam based on the Koran and the teaching of the prophet Mohamed.
Buddhism founded by Siddhattha Gotama in the 6th century B.C.
Hinduism containing the philosopies of Sanata Dharma.
Jainism, a religion that prescribes a path of non violence for all living beings.
Sikhism founded on the teaching of Guru Nanak.
Zoroastrianism based on the teaching of the prophet Zoroaster in the 6th century B.C.
The Baha’i Faith founded in the 19th century teaches the unity of all religions.
There are also many different religions in other countries, such as Confusianism in China.
Although religion should advocate peace and harmony, it has more often been the cause of the most terrible wars and suffering of the innocent.

There were many artists who painted religious subjects.Bernard Picart (1673-1733) a French Calvinist collaborated with Jean Frederic Bernard (1680 -1744 )to produce Ceremonies and Religious Customs of the Various Nations, between 1723- 1737. Bernard Picart designed the book’s illustrations, and Jean Frederic Bernard published, compiled, edited, and contributed to the original essays, but remained anonymous. It was translated into English and appeared in many editions. Both men were Protestant refugees from France, who moved to religious, tolerant Amsterdam where they were able to sow the radical idea that all religions could be compared on equal terms, and were worthy of respect. Claude Du Bosc (1682-1745) engraved the illustrations, of which there are a number above Ixora, Mexican Priests, Incas, The Ceremony of Confirmation.
Raphael Sanzio D’Urbino (1483-1520)was commissioned by Pope Leo X in 1515 with the Raphael Cartoons.These are one of the great treasures of the High Renaissance. They are full-scale designs for tapestries that were made to cover the lower walls of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. See The Miraculous Draught and The Lame man Healed.
Gerard de Lairesse (1641- 1711), a well known Dutch painter was at first influenced by Rembrandt, but then
later in his career he switched to a more French classical style, similar to Nicolas Poussin. He suffered from hereditary Syphilis. This caused him to go blind in 1690, which forced him to give up painting and focus instead on lecturing and writing. See the engraving Sacrifice, which shows Oxen being led to the Alter of Sacred Popa.
Gerard Hoet (1648-1733) depicted mainly religious, mythological, or classical subjects set in landscapes.
Augustin Calmet (1672-1757) was a French Benedictine monk. He wrote the Dictionary of the Bible, and Frans van Bleyswick (1671-1746) illustrated many of the engravings, as seen above