Saint Michael the Archangel
The warrior archangel and protector figure commonly shown armored, defeating a dragon or Satan, carrying a sword or spear, and sometimes weighing souls.
Sacred Art
Spiritello
A Renaissance Italian term for a lively little spirit figure, especially associated with Donatello's revival of animated putti in fifteenth-century sculpture.
Crucifix
A cross bearing the figure of the crucified Christ, distinguished from a bare cross by the presence of the corpus.
Annunciation
The scene in which the Archangel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will conceive Christ; one of the most enduring subjects of Catholic sacred art.
Antependium
A decorative frontal covering or panel on the front of an altar, historically made in textiles, precious metal, carved wood, stone, mosaic, or relief.
Corpus
The sculpted body of Christ affixed to a crucifix; a distinct object that may be carved, cast, modeled, or assembled separately from the cross.
Sacra Conversazione
A Renaissance compositional type placing the Virgin and Child together with saints in a unified shared space rather than in separate compartments.
Cathedra
The official chair of a bishop, from which a cathedral takes its name; often treated as an important work of ecclesiastical architecture, carving, and symbolic sculpture.
Stations of the Cross
A devotional cycle, traditionally of fourteen scenes, tracing Christ's journey from condemnation to burial; often realized as reliefs or sculptural groups along church walls.
Virgin of Mercy
A Marian type in which the Virgin spreads her mantle protectively over kneeling groups of the faithful, clergy, confraternities, or patrons.