(slideshow) Russian art goes to the Vatican

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The Appearance of Christ Before the People, 1837–1857

Composed by Russian painter Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, this oil on canvas depicts several stories from the Bible. The figure at the center of the painting, right by the river Jordan, is John the Baptist, who is pointing towards Christ who appears in the background. The men to the left of St. John are John the Apostle, with St. Peter behind him, and Andrew the Apostle and Nathaniel further left. A group of undecided men stand in the foreground, while at the center Ivanov features the rich young man who never followed Christ, and a slave, who after a life of despair and suffering experiences joy for the first time. Ivanov depicted both his good friend Gogol (the man on the right standing closest to Jesus) and himself (the man wearing a red hat) in the painting.

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