Pentecost

Moretto's Pentecost from 1543 depicts the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the upper room, a central event in Christian theology marking the founding of the Church. The subject gained renewed importance during the Counter-Reformation as an affirmation of apostolic authority. Moretto's Pentecost at the Tosio Martinengo Gallery depicts the descent of the Holy Spirit with the characteristic calm intensity of his religious paintings, the dramatic subject treated with devotional sobriety.

Moretto arranges the apostles in a dynamic circular composition beneath the descending tongues of flame, with his silvery palette providing luminous contrast between the divine fire and the shadowed interior.