The Wedding Banquet of Cupid and Psyche

Raphael

In this grand fresco (1518), Raphael depicts the divine banquet celebrating the marriage of Cupid and Psyche. At the center, Jupiter and Juno preside; beside them sit Pluto, Persephone, Neptune, and Venus. Ganymede offers wine to Jupiter, while Bacchus (Dionysus), assisted by putti, pours wine at the right. The scene embodies divine harmony, joy, and the union of soul and love.

The Wedding Banquet of Cupid and Psyche

Raphael

In this fresco (1518–19), Raphael presents the divine banquet:on the left are Neptune, Persephone, Pluto, Juno, and Jupiter receiving a drink from Ganymede. On the right sit Psyche and Cupid, gazing at each other. In the foreground, Bacchus and a young satyr pour wine, highlighting the festive nature of Cupid’s immortal union with Psyche.

Corner House with Balcony in La Candelaria

This striking corner home in La Candelaria features projecting wooden balconies, barred windows, and deep eaves—hallmarks of elite colonial residences (18th c.). These enclosed balconies (known as miradores) offered privacy and views of the street below. Set on a cobbled rise, the house stands as a sculptural relic of Bogotá’s aristocratic past.

Adoration of the Christ Child

Bramantino

In this tempera panel (c. 1485), the Milanese innovator arranges the Nativity as a cool study of space. The Child rests on a stone slab, flanked by Mary and Saints Bernardino, Francis, and Benedict, while angel musicians provide a celestial motet. Rigid perspective, sculptural figures, and an architectonic backdrop reveal Bramantino’s quest for mathematical order within devotional feeling.

Opus Sectile Panel: Abduction of Hylas and Festive Procession

This early 4th-c. opus sectile from the Basilica of Junius Bassus—an elite civic complex built by the powerful urban prefect—shows Hylas, Heracles' beloved companion sent to fetch water for the Argonauts, kneeling with his water jar as nymphs seize him, enchanted by his beauty. In the myth they pull him into the spring forever, leaving Heracles to search in vain. Below, a marble procession panel evokes order and civic ritual, contrasting mortal duty with divine seduction.

St Bartholomew Flayed

Marco d’Agrate

This marble statue (1562) shows St Bartholomew as a flayed figure, his own skin arranged like a draped garment around an exposed muscular body. Such extreme anatomical precision draws on Renaissance study of dissected cadavers. The saint’s upright stance and calm, frontal gaze demonstrate how martyrdom could be articulated as steadfast faith rather than physical defeat.

Judith Beheading Holofernes

Caravaggio

This canvas (c. 1599) painted in Rome embodies Caravaggio’s radical realism and theatrical chiaroscuro. Judith, a young widow, slays the Assyrian general Holofernes to save her people. Her calm determination contrasts with his violent death and the maid’s aged pragmatism. By staging sacred violence with unflinching naturalism, Caravaggio redefined biblical painting as a drama of human courage and divine justice.

Hercules the Archer

Antoine Bourdelle

This plaster sculpture (1906–09) shows Hercules, the Greek hero, drawing his bow with taut energy. Bourdelle captures both physical strain and mythic power, fusing classical subject with modern dynamism. The work marks a turning point in early 20th-c. sculpture, bridging academic tradition with expressive innovation.

David

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

This marble sculpture (1623–24) captures David in a twisting stance, body coiled as his hand grips the sling. Muscles, drapery, and focused gaze all align with the implied arc of the stone. Commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, it exemplifies Baroque interest in movement and psychological intensity, turning a biblical hero into a study of concentrated action.

Judith Beheading Holofernes (Detail)

Caravaggio

In this dramatic scene from Judith Beheading Holofernes (c.1598), the Assyrian general Holofernes struggles in his final moments as Judith, the Jewish widow, delivers the fatal blow. Caravaggio captures his terror with a contorted face and blood spurting across the bed, while Judith's hands hold him with determination. This raw depiction distills the narrative to its core: virtue triumphing over tyranny, conveyed with intense immediacy.

Ashurbanipal Strikes

This dynamic relief from Nineveh (645–635 BC) depicts King Ashurbanipal firing arrows from his chariot at a charging lion. The lion, captured mid-leap and wounded, symbolizes the struggle between order and chaos. Ashurbanipal is shown as a warrior and protector, asserting his divine right to rule by subduing nature’s fiercest creatures. The artwork reflects the Assyrian belief in the king’s role as a guardian of civilization.

Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo Helmet

Crafted from iron and tinned copper, the Sutton Hoo Helmet was buried around 600 AD and likely belonged to an East Anglian king. Reconstructed from fragments, its beast-like face and warrior imagery link it to Woden cults and Eastern Sweden. The helmet symbolizes elite status and early English power, reflecting the cultural and political landscape of its time, and showcases the craftsmanship and beliefs of the Anglo-Saxon elite.

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.

Colosseum Facade

The Colosseum’s outer facade (70–80), with superimposed arches framed by Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, reflects Roman architectural mastery. Originally, statues of gods, emperors, and heroes filled many niches, projecting imperial grandeur while harmonizing structure, decoration, and political symbolism.

The Legend of Agustín Lorenzo (detail)

Diego Rivera

This 1936 fresco dramatizes the legendary outlaw Agustín Lorenzo as a symbol of resistance. Armed revolutionaries clash with government forces, their horses rearing amid smoke and flames. Rivera fuses myth and history, casting Lorenzo as a Mexican Robin Hood whose defiant struggle against injustice became folklore in the national imagination.