A cursory glance through the visual history of European devotional artwork (specifically from the Catholic faith) reveals that hands in particular were used as important signifiers of spiritual meaning, emotion and even social status. While the gist of specific gestures in devotional art can be guessed at, the subtlety and power of these gestures are lost to our contemporary visual language. This begs the question: when removed from the context of classical paintings, do these gestures still convey religious expression?