In the long halls of Early Christian basilicas, particularly those with rows of columns dividing a nave from side aisles, as in the fifth-century Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, narration was primarily on the interior.

WSJ: Enlightenment on an Intimate Scale | The Adinatha Temple at Ranakpur | Masterpiece by James S. Ackerman

Because of a punning coincidence between his name and "nieve, " the Spanish for "snow, " Neve commissioned Murillo to paint two lunettes, semicircular murals depicting the founding in Rome of Santa Maria Maggiore the legend that the Virgin appeared to a Roman patrician in a dream, and told him to build the church on a hill where he'd find snow in August.

WSJ: Review: Angels With Dirty Feet | "Murillo & Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship" at London's Dulwich Picture Gallery