Joan of Arc

The teenage Joan of Arc stands in her parents’ garden, one hand pressed to her heart, while the visions of Saints Michael, Margaret and Catherine hover behind her in the apple trees. Jules Bastien-Lepage painted this masterpiece in 1879, combining the clarity of realist observation with the mystical mood of a vision seen in daylight. The painted garden wall, the fruit trees and the homely setting make the supernatural interruption feel all the more strange and moving.