I’ve been looking for some images to improve the cosmetics of SemanticBible.com. The conceptual space is enormous. Illuminated manuscripts show the idea of “opening” the text to new understanding, and nicely tie in the textual aspects. There are of course a multitude of Biblical metaphors, and illustrations of these passages abound as well.
Two current favorites: William Holman Hunt’s “The Light of the World” (here’s a closeup of the lantern) is a classic from the 19th century. Ewangely Buoch’s “the Sower” is somewhat odd in its juxtaposition of Jesus and a European agricultural setting around the 16th century, but i like its simple depiction of the profound truth of “the seed is the Word”. Feel free to suggest others.
I found a nice collection of art links, indexed according to Biblical themes and characters, at textweek.com.