This series from the National Gallery in London looks at paintings from the museum's Renaissance collection and explores some surprising and ingenious responses to the challenge of painting Christ.
videos
![The problem with Christ](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Cima_da_Conegliano_London_NG_Incredulita_STommaso_1504-570x350.jpg)
The problem with Christ
Neither words nor images fully capture the Christian God. Despite this inherent difficulty, painters still tried.
![Unspeakable images: when words fail](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/michelangelo-570x350.jpg)
Unspeakable images: when words fail
Empty, blank, or unfinished spaces leave paintings open to the viewer and create compelling ambiguities.
![So near and yet so far: visions and thresholds](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Andrea_del_Verrocchio-The-Virgin_and_Child_with_Two_Angels-thumb-570x350.jpg)
So near and yet so far: visions and thresholds
In paintings as in sacred spaces, curtains play with revelation and draw attention to the limits of human vision.
![This world and the next: Christ on earth; Christ in heaven](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Bouts-Christ-Crowned-570x350.jpg)
This world and the next: Christ on earth; Christ in heaven
Temporal and spatial ambiguity imbue two images of the Virgin and Child—and this portrait of Christ’s suffering.
![Time and eternity: Yesterday, today, and always](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Ercole-de’-Roberti-The-Dead-Christ-c.-1490-570x350.jpg)
Time and eternity: Yesterday, today, and always
Like place, time is an important theological category and, like the divine, it can be hard to comprehend.
![Putting God in his place: here, everywhere, and nowhere](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Fra_Filippo_Lippi-Annunciation-detail-thumb-570x350.jpg)
Putting God in his place: here, everywhere, and nowhere
Renaissance painters like Lippi devised spatial metaphors in order to convey the mystery of Christ’s conception.
![Christ is not like a snail: Signs and symbols](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Carlo_Crivelli_-_The_Virgin_and_Child_with_Saints_Francis_and_Sebastian-570x350.jpg)
Christ is not like a snail: Signs and symbols
Where does a painting end and our reality begin? Crivelli’s humble snail prompts more questions than answers.