Archangel Michael

Rogier van der Weyden

This panel (1445–50) from the Beaune Altarpiece shows Archangel Michael weighing souls on Judgment Day. His youthful calm contrasts with the gravity of divine judgment. The richly patterned brocade and peacock-feather wings reflect Burgundian court opulence, linking celestial imagery with the devotional grandeur of 15th-century Flanders.

Ashurbanipal and the Dying Lioness

This Assyrian relief (645–635 BC) depicts King Ashurbanipal overseeing a lion hunt, symbolizing royal power. The mortally wounded lioness is portrayed with vivid realism, emphasizing the king’s supremacy over nature. Such scenes affirmed Ashurbanipal’s divine right to rule, showcasing his might and reinforcing his status as a protector, embodying the Assyrian ideal of kingship through conquest and control.

Adoration of the Child (detail)

Fra Bartolomeo

This tondo or circular painting (c.1495), Mary and Joseph kneel in reverence before the infant Christ, who rests on a sack amid delicate vegetation. The ruined architecture behind them symbolizes the fall of paganism, while the balanced composition and radiant palette reflect Bartolomeo’s early embrace of Renaissance ideals.

Dionysus

This Roman mosaic (2nd–3rd cc.), made in opus vermiculatum—tiny tesserae arranged in fine, flowing lines—depicts Dionysus in his legendary campaign against the Indians, a myth that symbolized the god’s power to civilize distant lands. Dionysus strides forward with raised weapon and leopard skin, facing an Indian warrior who resists his advance. In Greek tradition, Dionysus was not only the god of wine but also a bringer of ecstasy, theater, and cultural transformation; his conquest of India represented the spread of culture over wilderness. Such scenes decorated elite villas, where myth signaled education, refinement, and status.

The Entombment (detail)

Raphael

This masterpiece (1507) shows a group of figures surrounding the lifeless body of Christ, merging themes of Deposition, Lamentation, and Entombment. Commissioned by Atalanta Baglioni, it honors her murdered son. Raphael’s composition shows Michelangelo’s influence in the sculptural form of Christ. A 2020 restoration revealed refinements in Raphael’s underdrawing, pigment choices, and layered modeling, clarifying how he built depth and anatomical precision.

A Family Visit to the Umayyad Mosque

The Umayyad Mosque, built during the reign of Caliph al-Walid I (705–715), is among the earliest and most influential monuments of Islamic architecture. In this view of the courtyard, a mother and child walk across the glossy marble pavement, their silhouettes emphasizing the scale and openness of the arcaded colonnades and historic minaret. Built on a former Roman and Christian sacred site, the mosque remains a major center of worship and a model for later Islamic architecture.

Interior of the Church of San Francisco

This view reveals the full splendor of the Quito School at its height. The richly carved walls, painted vaults, and gilded altar blend European baroque with Indigenous aesthetics. Built from the 16th–18th cc., the space was designed to overwhelm the senses—drawing the faithful into a mystical encounter with the divine through light, ornament, and sacred geometry.

The Triumph of Galatea

Raphael

In this fresco (c. 1512), Raphael transforms Galatea’s myth into a celebration of divine beauty. The sea nymph rides a shell chariot drawn by dolphins (linked to Venus), while cupids shoot arrows symbolizing love’s universal power. Though the original tale includes jealousy and tragedy, Raphael omits them, presenting an idealized vision of harmony and grace.

Temple of Aesculapius, Villa Borghese

This neoclassical shrine (1786–92) in Villa Borghese honors Aesculapius, god of healing. The Greek inscription To Aesculapius the Savior evokes ancient votive temples. Its central statue, found in the Mausoleum of Augustus, reinforces Rome’s enduring reverence for classical ideals and restorative power.

Eternity – The Soldier of Marathon Announcing Victory

Xu Zhen

This 2011 sculpture installation Eternity – Eternity - The Soldier of Marathon Announcing Victory, a Wounded Galatian fuses classical Greek forms with contemporary fragmentation. Crafted from concrete, fiberglass, marble powder, and metal, the sequence begins with a whole figure and gradually breaks apart, evoking cultural transformation and the erosion of historical continuity.

Sea-Goat and Marine Deity

In this detail from the Baths of Neptune mosaics (2nd c. AD), a bearded sea deity extends his arm toward a fantastical sea-goat. The creature, combining goat and fish features, evokes Capricorn and mythic hybridity. The scene blends cosmic symbolism with the maritime imagery of divine command and elemental harmony.

Hanging Flower Basket

A metal bracket holds a green hanging basket spilling yellow, purple, and white blooms into the narrow street. In towns like Chalon-sur-Saône, public planters often mix hardy annuals suited to Burgundy’s temperate climate. Their height frames the pedestrian view and softens the contrast between medieval stone and later plastered facades.

Theater Masks on Capitals

These theatrical masks (2nd–3rd c. AD), carved into marble capitals, once adorned the ancient theater of Ostia. Representing comic and tragic roles, they reflect the deep integration of drama into Roman urban life. Such imagery evoked Dionysian themes of transformation and spectacle, linking performance, architecture, and communal identity in the Roman world.

Thermopolium of Lucius Fullo and Lucius Placidus

This thermopolium (2nd–3rd c.), or a hot food and drink bar, shows a marble-clad counter with built-in jars beside a painted wall panel depicting vessels that advertised the shop’s offerings. Its mosaic floor and brick vaulting accommodated heavy use as such establishments formed a key part of Ostia’s commercial and daily life.

The Painter and His Model

Fernando Botero

Fernando Botero's The Painter and His Model (1984) humorously subverts the traditional artist-muse dynamic. The painting features a voluptuous nude model dominating the canvas, while the artist, dwarfed behind his easel, peers out with a palette in hand. This playful inversion highlights themes of power, beauty, and authorship, celebrating physical abundance with irony and affection. Botero's work invites reflection on the nature of artistic creation and the roles within it.