Enter this museum escape room to explore the evolution of religious art and see how it colors everyday life.
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The Gallery of Religious Art has been plunged into darkness! To restore the light, follow the visual clues and uncover thirteen saint paintings hidden in the shadows.
Saints in Paints: Symbolism, Storytelling, and Spiritual Illumination
A “saint” can refer to any holy figure, whether human, like Joan of Arc, or angelic, like Michael the Archangel. Artists depicted the stories of saints to inspire devotion and teach religious beliefs across cultures. Over time, religious art developed a rich visual language of symbols and attributes to convey these narratives. Studying these symbols enhances visual literacy, revealing the deeper spiritual and historical significance of religious art.
Though the stories of saints have endured for centuries, their artistic reinterpretations have evolved, shaped by changing styles, religious perspectives, and cultural influences. For example, Gothic depictions of Saint Peter’s crucifixion often highlight his sanctity and resignation, while Baroque artists emphasize the drama and agony of his execution. A docent in each gallery will highlight the meaning of key symbols and reveal how each artist’s era and creative vision shaped their work.
Why is John the Baptist shown taunting a cat with a bird? Did Caravaggio really create some of his greatest paintings of saints while on the run for murder? Is The Calling of Saint Matthew a meaningful reference in the boxing movie Rocky? Amusing and bizarre stories like these make the study of art even more intriguing. The “What? That’s Funny” button shares funny stories about the artists and their works. Remember, “funny” can mean humorous, like a clever joke, or strange and unexpected, like “Taste this, it smells funny.”
The saints you will meet are (in order of appearance)
Madonna • St. Joseph • St. Elizabeth • John the Baptist • St. Michael • St. Anthony • St. Paul • St. Peter • St. Luke • St. Matthew • St. Sebastian • Saint Irene • Joan of Arc • St. Thomas • St. Daniel • St. Catherine of Alexandria • St. Jerome
The 13 religious art galleries display 100+ works of art by these artists
Juan de la Abadia • Spinello Aretino • Federico Barocci • Jules Bastian-Lepage. • Marco Antonio Bassetti. • Neri Di Bicci • Karl von Blaas • Dieric Bouts • Hendrick ter Brugghen • Giuliano Bugiardini • Caravaggio • Petro de Cortona • Lucas Cranach the Elder • Gyula Derkovits • Gustave Doré • Cornelis Engebrechtsz • John Fastolf • Frans Floris • J. William Fosdick • Cenni di Francesco • Artemisia Gentileschi • Jean-Léon Gérôme • Luca Giordano • Palma il Giovane • Stefano di Giovanni • Jan Gossaert • El Greco • Guercino • Maarten van Heemskerck • Jan Sanders van Hemessen • Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres • Luis Juárez • Juan de Juanes • Josse Lieferinxe • Stefan Lochner • Mariano Salvador Maella • Andrea Mantegna • Quinten Massys • Wilhelm Marstrand • Hans Memling • John Everett Millais • Andrei Mironov • Lorenzo Monaco • Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel • Francois-Joseph Navez • Ugolino di Nerito • James Northcote • Jacob van Oost • Johann Friedrich Overbeck • Pietro Perugino • Glyn Philpot • Theodore Poulakis • Nicolas Poussin • Raphaël • Guido Reni • Briton Rivière • Peter Paul Rubens • Martin Schongauer • Luca Signorelli • Don Silvestro • Il Sodoma • Hans Spekaert • Eduard von Steinle • Hermann Stenne • Hermann Stilke • Matthias Stomer • John Storrs • Henry Ossawa Tanner • David Teniers the Younger • Benvenuto Tisi • James Tissot • Cosima Tura • Fritz von Uhde • Tanzio da Varallo • Giorgio Vasari • Francois Verdier • Leonardo da Vinci • Maerten de Vos • Charles Wautier • Michaelina Wautier • Robert Edward Weaver • Benjamin West • Anton Woensam • Ángel Zárraga • Francisco de Zurbarán
