 |
| Peter von Cornelius The Wise and Foolish Virgins ca. 1813 oil on canvas Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf |
 |
| Johann Friedrich Overbeck St Sebastian ca. 1813-16 oil on canvas Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin |
 |
| Johann Friedrich Overbeck Easter Morning ca. 1818 oil on canvas Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf |
 |
| Philipp Veit Joseph and Potiphar's Wife ca. 1816-17 detached fresco Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin |
 |
| Philipp Veit Personification of Religion 1819 oil on canvas Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin |
 |
| Johann Evangelist Scheffer von Leonhardshoff Virgin as a Child with St Anne 1815 oil on canvas Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin |
 |
| Johann Evangelist Scheffer von Leonhardshoff Death of St Cecilia ca. 1820-21 oil on canvas Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
 |
| Josef von Hempel Christ and the Samaritan Woman 1823 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld Ruth and Boaz 1828 oil on canvas National Gallery, London |
 |
| Joseph von Führich Moses praying on Mount Horeb, with Aaron and Hur 1832 oil on panel Belvedere Museum, Vienna |
 |
| Edward von Steinle Study for Archangel drawing a Sword ca. 1843-45 watercolor Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
 |
| Marie Ellenrieder Christ Blessing the Children 1845 oil on canvas Dreifaltigkeitskirche, Konstanz |
 |
| Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld Temptation of Christ 1847 oil on canvas Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
 |
| Gebhard Flatz Christ with Mary and Martha 1865 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Wilhelm von Schadow Head of Christ 1862 oil on canvas private collection |
"In the Virtuous Style of nineteenth-century painting, figures are characterized by the noble fall of the drapery, and, strangely enough, by the well-groomed appearance of the head, with the long hair parted in the middle and falling over the shoulders. . . . We may well wonder why Christ and the Apostles were frequently pictured in this guise. . . . These personages were to be seen as simple folk, simple but pure, so they had to be carefully distinguished from tramps and vagabonds. Unlike the saints and gurus of history, they were envisaged as having been careful of their appearance, always brushing their hair and trimming their beards. . . . Indeed, I believe that art historians have so far failed to pay sufficient attention to the impact and the success of this style. They have neglected it because, understandably, they have found it unappealing, and because in any case it left the summit of art virtually untouched."
– E.H. Gombrich, from The Preference for the Primitive: Episodes in the History of Western Taste and Art (London: Phaidon, 2002)