A painting that preaches vs. Moses
This 16th-century Mabuse masterpiece employs a novel visual approach to encourage Christian artists to evade the Second Commandment.
Anticipating Ringling Bros., three scenes unfold simultaneously in Jan Gossaert’s “St. Luke Painting the Madonna” (c. 1520), and one never knows quite where to look. Seeing the work in person in 2017 at Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum reinforced my long-standing belief that it’s among the greatest shows on earth. Let me explain.
Clad in flowing, red ro…