Know the Saint
Learning/Twelve Apostles/Course Overview & Learning Path
Welcome to sacred iconography
01

Module 01 · lesson 1 of 5

Pietro Perugino, Christ Handing the Keys to Saint Peter (The Delivery of the Keys)
Module A — Introduction to Apostolic IconographyOverviewCheckpoint

Welcome to sacred iconography

Course Overview & Learning Path

A guided museum of the Twelve — from first vocabulary to visual mastery.

12 min5 lessons in module
01
“Sacred art speaks in attributes before it speaks in names.”

This module opens the language you will use in every church and gallery.

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper
Duccio, Pentecost from the Maestà
Domenico Ghirlandaio, Calling of the Apostles

Ten modules to mastery

You are in Module A — foundations. Each lettered module deepens one layer of apostolic iconography until you reach final assessment.

A

Introduction to Apostolic Iconography

B

Peter & Andrew — The First-Called Brothers

C

James the Greater & the Pilgrimage Tradition

D

John the Evangelist

E

Andrew, Thomas & Philip

F

Matthew & James the Less

G

Bartholomew, Simon, Jude & Matthias

H

Comparatives & Frequent Confusions

I

Grand Visual Review

J

Final Evaluation

A structured formation — not a checklist

Ten modules carry you from vocabulary to comparative mastery. Each lesson pairs verified artworks with recognition drills and integrated practice.

Pietro Perugino, Christ Handing the Keys to Saint Peter (The Delivery of the Keys)

The Delivery of the Keys

Perugino’s Sistine Chapel fresco — the definitive image of Petrine keys and apostolic authority.

Pietro Perugino, Sistine Chapel, c. 1481–1482

What you will master

Identify each apostle by canonical attributes, distinguish confused pairs, and read apostolic cycles with scholarly confidence.

  • ✦All twelve canonical apostles with museum artworks
  • ✦Comparisons, checkpoints, and final assessment
  • ✦Visual recognition tied to real sacred sources
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper

The Last Supper

Twelve seats at table — the canonical headcount artists return to.

Leonardo da Vinci, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

Duccio, Pentecost from the Maestà

Look in the painting

Course scope

Every lesson stays on the Twelve — Peter through Matthias. Paul, Mark, and Luke appear only as outside-scope references.

Engraving of the Twelve Apostles

Study method

What “guided” means

Historical context, visual panels, artistic examples, and checkpoints — not a passive list of saint names.

Scenes you will learn to read

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper

The Last Supper

Twelve seats at table — the canonical headcount artists return to.

Leonardo da Vinci, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

Duccio, Pentecost from the Maestà

Pentecost

The apostolic college gathered as the Spirit descends.

Duccio di Buoninsegna, Maestà altarpiece

Engraving of the Twelve Apostles

The apostolic college

Cycles and friezes repeat the Twelve in procession or narrative order.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Calling of the Apostles

Calling of the Apostles

Apostolos — one sent. Vocation scenes establish the mission before attribute study.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sistine Chapel

Your goal this lesson

Understand the course structure, learning outcomes, and how modules build from apostolic vocabulary to comparative mastery.

Memory hooks

Tap to flip

Full lesson text

Optional reading — the visual sections above cover the essentials.

Try it yourself

Quick recap

What “guided” means

Study challenge

Before Module B

Checkpoint takeaway

Ten modules, one roster: the canonical Twelve from foundations to final assessment.

You practiced: Understand the course structure, learning outcomes, and how modules build from apostolic vocabulary to comparative mastery.

Up next

What Is an Apostle?

15 min · Historical context