"Madonna and Child" Luca della Robbia, Italian Created: 1445-1450 Medium: Enameled terracotta Dimensions: 19 x 14 inches. Overall dimensions with frame: 40 x 29 inches DIA location: Italian Gallery

This terra cotta image was the art for the 1985 Madonna and Child Christmas stamp issued by the U.S. Post Office.

"She is very protective of her son -- not only is she holding Him by His waist, but she's protecting His head. It's a wonderful image. This could have been part of home décor as well. It's small enough. It could have been in a church, or it could have been in a chapel. But the intimacy it conveys suggests it's an object of somebody looking at the relationship of mother and child."

"Virgin of the Rose Garden" "Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine"  Master of the St. Lucy Legend, Flemish (name unknown) Created: 1475-1480 Medium: Oil on oak panel Dimensions: 31 1/8 X 23 5/8 inches Framed: 38 1/8 x 31 5/8 x 3 1/2 inches DIA location: Italian Gallery

"Virgin of the Rose Garden"

"This is one of the most celebrated works in our collection for a variety of reasons. It's the Virgin and Child in an enclosed garden, the rose garden, known as the hortus conclusus, which was known as the Garden of Paradise. But what makes this very special is what you can see above. There are two angels holding a crown which they are about to lower onto the Virgin's head. And you'll see that not only are there roses across the back, but across the top here you have the grape arbor. The grapes again make reference to the Eucharist and the roses make reference to the crowning of thorns. So these all have symbolic meaning. But what's really interesting is in the background, is a very symbolic and surprising view of the city of Bruges (a Flemish city in the late fifteenth century). The significant idea here is that the presence of the spiritual is imminent throughout the world and the Virgin and Child are not simply seen as something within a historical moment, but they project themselves across and through time. So the idea of their presence is something that is eternally present. The virgin whose hand is touching that of Christ (shown placing a ring on His bride's finger) is St. Catherine of Alexandria and that's the mystic marriage of St. Catherine."

The other virgins in the painting are, from left, Saints Ursula, Barbara and Cecilia.

Note: The artist is listed as Master of St. Lucy Legend. Keyes says, "That means the artist's name is not known but his main painting is the St. Lucy Legend, his most famous painting, so that would be the name on everything associated with it.

"Diptych"  Anonymous French Created: 14th Century Medium: Ivory Dimensions: 9 3/4 x 10 3/8 inches DIA location: Ancient Art Gallery

Diptych

The ivory diptych is among the private devotion objects dating to the period of the universal Church.

This diptych represents scenes from the life of Christ from the Annunciation, the visitation, shepherds at the nativity, the adoration of kings, the presentation of Christ in the temple, Christ with doctors, marriage of Cana, the crucifixion, the resurrection, His ascension into heaven, Pentecost and the Assumption.

"This is something a very, very wealthy person would have had on their person when they were traveling. Or maybe had it in their home. It is something they could have referred to on a very regular basis," Keyes says.

"Madonna and Child" Donatello, Italian Created: 1410-1420 Medium: Gilt terracotta with polychrome decoration Dimensions: 26 5/8 x 14 7/8 x 13 1/8 inches DIA location: Italian Gallery

"Madonna and Child"

"This is one of our greatest sculptures. The virgin here is very young. The child is hardly an infant -- you can see he's a rambunctious 3 or 4 year old, I would say. She's very pensive, has that quality of one who could see into the future realizing the fate that will befall her son. And it's an extraordinarily complicated, very significant grouping. … But I find of the great Renaissance sculptors, I think Donatello is the greatest of the lot. I think he's much greater than Michelangelo. … He's an incredibly experimental sculptor. This is unusual because of its great range of color. It's not an image that is easy and it's made from terra cotta."

"Madonna and Child with Saints, Crucifixion and Nativity"  Allegretto Nuzi, Italian Created: mid-14th century | Medium: Tempera on wood panel Dimensions: 30 1/2 x 21 x 5 inches DIA location: Gothic Chapel

"Madonna and Child with Saints, Crucifixion and Nativity"

This triptych (three-paneled piece) launched the museum's collection (then known as the Detroit Museum) of European art. It was given to the museum in 1889 by benefactor James E. Scripps, of Scripps-Booth newspaper enterprise, who also donated almost 100 European paintings. The triptych is in the Gothic chapel that comes from France and dates to the early years of the 16th century. Castles from that era would have had such a chapel. As for the triptych, Keyes says, "An object like this would have been found in such estates. But it's portable so it's something you could take with you as you traveled as well and certainly we know for a fact the members of the Burgundian court always traveled with these very costly religious devotional objects. And for somebody, for example, very aged or infirm or nearing their end who couldn't possibly receive the sacrament of extreme unction shortly before their death, something like this could have been brought to them in their sick room. It had that kind of liturgical power. So this is a very refined example of private devotion. And it would have the capacity to serve the spiritual needs of a parishioner either for private mediation or someone. These were made in very large numbers. Many, many of these were made in Florence in the earlier years in the 14th century."

"Saint Wenceslas of Bohemia" Anonymous German, Anonymous English Created: 1510-1525 Medium: Stained glass: pot metal; white glass with silver stain Dimensions: 74 x 23 x 2 3/4 inches DIA location: European Decorative Arts Court

"Saint Wenceslas of Bohemia"

This is one of a group of four stained-glass panels and "all come from what must have been an extremely important program. They came to us from an English house. They were part of the décor of a country house and by a German artist or possibly English, but probably by a continental European artist. You can really see the extraordinary range of technique in these windows. Some of the glass is colored and drawn up and there's a speckled effect. The artist has gone back in and incised through all dark black and gray giving it these linear panels that show through. It's an incredibly complicated technique. Look at the architecture here, all of these incisions is just amazing. The glass would have been colored. This is all clear and the yellow is painted on and the black ink applied and decorative pattern in the red applied on. St. Wenceslas. And you can see obviously he's (Saint Wenceslas) supporting the poor because you have this man clearly a cripple with his cane at his knee."

"Tobias and Three Archangels" Neri di Bicci, Italian Created: 1471 Medium: Tempera, oil (?), gold, and silver on panel Dimensions: Framed: 96 3/8 x 92 x 8 1/2 inches  DIA location: Italian Gallery

"Tobias and Three Archangels"

"This is an example of what have been in a church. It represents a subject from the apocrypha and what's also of great interest, I think, for the point of view of someone who is Catholic, is the motif in the bottom center. You have painted within the painting, another painting which is of the image of the Crucifixion, which is adored by the two angels that are on a much smaller scale than here And so you have to imagine this would have been placed in an altar slab.This would have been on a side altar as they looked up at it, they would not only have seen the larger image, but they would have identified more closely with the smaller ones at the bottom. It's very thin gold leaf onto a prepared panel.

What's interesting here the real subject of the painting, the archangels themselves. There is Michael who defeated the dragon, you can see the dragon's head has been lopped off on the bottom left. Raphael, who is the archangel who is accompanying Tobias, and what's important here is that Tobias is really the attribute of the angel, not the other way around.

"Raphael is the angel that accompanied Tobias on his journey where he found the fish which the angel instructed him to capture and he removed the liver of the fish and the liver provided the miraculous cure for his father's blindness, Tobit. So once he completed his journey, he was able to apply the fish liver to his father's eyes and he recovered his vision. The point I'm trying to make, that the painting is not about Tobias, but about the archangels themselves. So they were the object of the devotional worship.

"And then at the right is the archangel Gabriel, the archangel of the Annunciation. He holds the lily frond, a pure white lily, which symbolizes the chastity of the Virgin Mary."

"Madonna and Child Enthroned" Anonymous Italian Created: 1200-1250 Medium: Polychromed and gilded poplar Dimensions: 62 x 21 x 20 inches DIA location: Early Christian Gallery

"Madonna and Child Enthroned"

"This is a very rare piece. My colleague tells me its one of about 12 that actually have survived. It's Italian. Most of the ones that do survive are French. What you have here is the Virgin on the throne and it's known as the sapience, (sedes sapientae means the seat of wisdom in Latin) which is the throne of wisdom. She represents, as it were ,the throne of wisdom and is supporting the Christ Child. Now this would have been on an altar so it would have had a powerful effect on a very devout parishioner or pilgrim. It's wood and then painted. Much of it is original paint so it's very nice."

"Corpus of Christ"  Francesco da Valdambrino, Italian Created: 1400-1410 Medium: Willow with polychrome decoration Dimensions: 47 x 40 x 11 3/4 inches DIA location: Gothic Hall

"Corpus of Christ"

"This is a monumental example. You can imagine this would have been a very haunting image for the devout sitting in the nave looking up. As you can see, it's very intriguing in the way the sculptor has emphasized the stretched elongation of Christ's arms, the veins are bulging, the ribcage area and it's very compelling. Again, it is a very expressive image. It was in a church in a part of region around Barcelona, Spain, but we don't know where. While the corpus dates in the 1200s, the cross was done later."

"The Lamentation"  Master of the Arenberg Lamentation, Flemish Created: 1460 Medium : Oak with traces of polychromy Dimensions: 34 x 55 x 9 inches Pedestal: 47 (to deck) x 68 1/2 x 19 inches. Total height: 91 inches DIA location: Gothic Hall

"The Lamentation"

This is a surprisingly early, and as a result, extremely rare Flemish or Netherlandish wood carving. The Arenburg is one of the great princely families of what is now modern-day Belgium and this object was once in their collection and then acquired by Mrs. Edsel Ford through her funds and then acquired by the museum. And what makes it special is that it's inspired by a famous painting by one of the greatest of all Netherlandish painters of the 15th century, Rogier van der Weyden. He was an artist who was very interested in very deep meditative, expressive art. It's highly emotional and you really sense that with the figure at the right, the Magdalene and the Virgin Mary at the left supporting the body of her son. And of Joseph of Arimathea who is carrying Christ just above his knees. And the Evangelist (St. John) at the left supporting the Virgin. It's profoundly moving as a work of art, one of great significance."

"The Last Judgment" Jan Provost, Netherlandish Created: 1525 Medium: Oil on oak panel Dimensions: Framed:  29 5/8 x 30 9/16 x 3 inches DIA location: Italian Gallery

"The Last Judgment"

"This painting came to us also from Mr. Scripps (James E. Scripps, of Scripps-Booth newspapers) in 1889 and it represents the last judgment. You have from the apocalypse and the vision of Christ at the center. You have the Virgin Mary at the left (top) and at the right is John the Baptist, the two leading intercessors on behalf of the redeemed. At the left, (bottom) you have the blessed being led by angels to the entrance to paradise and actually the person greeting them is St. Peter dressed in green holding the keys. At the right (bottom) is hell's mouth. The damned are being seized by Satan and dragged into eternal perdition. See these demonic creatures. It's a painting that's pretty wonderful and it's extremely well preserved. It's just an outstanding picture when you think that it's almost 500 years old. It seems as if it was painted yesterday. It's in fantastic condition."

"Saint Ives of Treguier, Patron of Lawyers, Defender of  Widows and Orphans"  Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish Created: 1615-1616 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 113 x 87 inches, framed is 125 x 99 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches DIA location: Italian Baroque Gallery

"Saint Ives of Treguier, Patron of Lawyers, Defender of Widows and Orphans"

"The large Rubens is a large-scale altar piece which he made for a church in a city outside of Brussels, the Louvain, and it represents not a very common theme. It's the way he does it that I think is so appealing. A man by the name of St. Ives from Treguier, a town in Brittany in France. He was a lawyer and was actually approached by the Church to become a bishop. He felt his real calling in life was to defend the interest of the poor and the abused -- and actually spurned the offer. So that's why you have the bishop's crosier and mitre below him as a reminder of what he did not accept. But what he is doing, is acting as an intercessor on behalf of this young woman who has been recently widowed, with her two sons, one an infant and one a young son. And he, St. Ives, in dramatic red, is acting on behalf of the widow. He is being recognized by the angel in the sky who is about to crown him with a wreath. But this object (the painting) is mean to be seen rising above the viewer and so the power of the saint is patently evident to the beholder. So, just in terms of mechanics of the painting itself, it's an extremely good example of Catholic religious art of the first half of the 17th century. It's huge, but by Ruben's standards, it's sort of a middle-size painting as a matter of fact."

"The Flight into Egypt" Bartolome Esteban Murillo, Spanish Created: 1647-1650 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 82 1/2 x 65 1/2 inches Current frame: 84 1/2 x 67 1/2 x 2 1/4 inches DIA location: Italian Baroque Gallery

"The Flight into Egypt"

This piece's signature and date are clearly visible near the bottom center. "This was meant to be seen from below and it's what we call 'seeing the subject in worm's eye perspective' because it was meant to be seen as if it is rising completely above you, which makes it much more palpably real and also makes it much more awesome.

The piece is in the Italian Baroque Gallery filled with work that "represents response to the crisis of the Church dealing with the reformation. Here is the response to the reformation and Protestantism and art generated by the counter-reformation. What you see here are dramatic large-scale compositions with life-size figures, seen in dramatic lighting conditions oftentimes. But you can see figures in general set into darkened settings and with very strong spotlighting so the figures seem to leap out of the shadows in a way that they project themselves into the viewer's realm. They seem to invite the viewer's participation as if the viewer is actually in the scene, part of the scene."

"Christ"  Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, Dutch Created: 1648-1650 Medium: Oil on oak panel Dimensions: 11 x 9 1/8 inches, framed: 23 x 21 1/16 x 2 3/4 inches DIA location: British Art Gallery

"Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns"  Guido Reni, Italian Created: early 1630's Medium: Oil on copper panel Dimensions: Panel: 19 x 16 inches Framed: 33 x 29 5/8 x 2 inches DIA location: British Art Gallery

"Christ" and "Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns"

These two paintings are paired in the British Art Gallery. "Here's something that isn't Catholic ("Christ" by Rembrandt) and something that truly is ("Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns" by Reni). Reni, one of the great Italian reformation painters, was inspired by an ancient Greco Roman sculptor, especially the Hellenistic period, where you have these figures gazing upwards with an open mouth and these bulging searching eyes. This goes back to a Greek prototype by sculptor Scopus. … Rembrandt's image of Christ is based on images of young Jewish men in the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam where he lived. The thing is that the two are like the alpha and omega of Sunday school imagery. I remember being exposed to both in terms of my Sunday school experience. But they come out of completely different traditions.

Because we had both in our collection, it seemed to provide us with a completely unique opportunity. It's not a value judgment, but they come out of completely different traditions and the one is Italian baroque and the other is a very different approach."

"Adoration of the Magi"  Joos van der Beke van Cleve, Netherlandish Created: 1525 Medium: Oil on oak panels Dimensions: Center panel is 35 x 25˝ inches and each wing is 35 x 11 inches Location:  Italian Gallery

"Adoration of the Magi"

"The 'Adoration of the Magi' represents the adoration of the kings. What's interesting about it is that it probably would have been an altarpiece on a side chapel in a church. It's not big enough to be a high altar, but it's still very important nonetheless. And the way you see it today really belies the way it really should have been because the wings should have been on hinges and they would have closed over the central panel. But on the exterior of the wings, because we know they existed until the beginning of the last century, they represented, in shades of gray, the Annunciation. So when the altar was closed, you had the image of the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Annunciate in grays simulating sculptures.

"During religious feast days, that is when the altarpiece would have been opened. We are actually seeing the altarpiece as if it is a feast day.

"We see the three magi as if the corners of the world, Asia on the left, Europe in the center and then Africa on right. Not only is it a superb example of the master of the oil technique, for all practical purposes invented in the low countries, in the early years of the 15th century.

"But you also have operative in this painting atmospheric perspective where objects in the distance become more blurred than those in the foreground. And likewise, you can see that across the horizon, the sky is a luminous milky white and then as your eye moves up it is bluer and bluer and progressively bluer which is optically very correct.

"And notice also that the landscape backdrop seems to flow from one scene to the next so there's a sense of continuousness even though the subject is divided into three separate panels. And the magi, the wise men, coming from these three parts of the world, following the prophecy of following the star, which appears in the top center. But before they found the infant Christ, they had gone to Herod to ask where the newborn king was and Herod didn't know anything about this and was obviously fretting because he thought he was the king. So he asked them to come back and tell him what they found and they very wisely did not do so. But Herod then issued the proclamation to massacre the innocents so what you have here are the soldiers who are about to appear as a threat to seize the infant Christ. And Joseph, aged as he is, appears behind the Magisin red here, ready to commence the flight into Egypt. So as the armies of Herod are about to pounce, the Holy Family is about to flee."