The Triumph of the Church: Ecclesia Presented with the Doctrines, Seated in a Chariot Attended by the Four Doctors of the Church
1615–20
Medium
Oil on paper, pen and brown ink
Dimensions
sheet: 10 1/2 x 15 5/16 in. (26.7 x 38.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Katrin Henkel, 2004
Accession Number
2004.531
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 17th century, Flemish artist Otto van Veen, a prominent Mannerist painter and teacher of Peter Paul Rubens, created *The Triumph of the Church*. This intricate drawing depicts Ecclesia—the personified Church—seated triumphantly in a, presented with key doctrines by the Four Doctors the Church (Saints Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Gregory the Great). Flanked by men, women, horses, and ornate chariots, the scene evokes a grand procession, blending classical antiquity with Christian allegory. Produced amid the Counter-Reformation (1615–20), the work symbolizes the Catholic Church's do...
About the Artist
Otto van Veen · 1556–1629
Comment on works: History