The Four Evangelists
1518
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1518
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
The Four Evangelists is a 1518 by Unknown, a Renaissance work, depicting john the evangelist, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see four men sitting at a table, each holding a book or scroll. They’re dressed in robes, and small winged creatures hover near their heads—Matthew with an angel, Mark with a lion, Luke with an ox, and John with an eagle. This painting was made in Italy around 1518, but no one knows who painted it. The faces are calm, almost identical, like the artist wasn’t trying to show real people but symbols instead. The colors are soft, with shadows that blend smoothly, giving the scene a quiet, dreamy feel. To see more like this, look up *Italy, 16th century*.
