Philippe de Champaigne’s luminous painting depicts St. Augustine at a moment of spiritual illumination, mirroring his famous conversion, in which he was struck blind by a burst of divine light. Trampling heretical writings underfoot, Augustine is at work on his own devotional writings, still widely read in Renaissance England. The richly detailed books by which he is surrounded, like his elaborate robe, show off the skill of the painter in creating realistic effects.

Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674), Saint Augustine, between c. 1645 and c. 1650, oil on canvas. Los Angeles County Museum of Art 171584. Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

Jan van Eyck, The Annunciation, c. 1434/1436, National Gallery of Art, Washington 1937.1.39.

Van Eyck’s detailed image lends a vivid sense of reality to the scene of Mary’s Annunciation, transplanted into an elaborate chapel. The open book before Mary is another common element in artistic depictions of the annunciation, connecting revelation to biblical study. Mary’s spiritual illumination is materialised in the form of rays of light spilling through the high window. The National Gallery of Art gives details of van Eyck’s painting in its current location.