The Four Evangelists Poster

Peter Paul Rubens – The Four Evangelists (c. 1614) is a large Baroque oil on canvas painting (224 × 270 cm) housed at Schloss Sanssouci in Berlin. The work depicts the four Gospel authors—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—each accompanied by their traditional symbolic figures: the angel (Matthew), the lion (Mark), the ox (Luke), and the eagle (John). The evangelists are shown deeply engaged in writing or contemplation, with a warm palette and dynamic composition characteristic of Rubens's dramatic Baroque style. The painting also features a powerful use of chiaroscuro, conveying movement, emotion, and spiritual fervour in a complex, allegorical scene sometimes described as a Sacra Conversazione (sacred conversation).