Cupid Pleads with Jupiter for Psyche

Raphael

In this fresco (1517–18), Raphael depicts the moment when Cupid petitions Jupiter for Psyche’s immortality. Jupiter’s intimate gesture suggests divine consent and compassion, while Cupid’s youthful vulnerability contrasts with the god’s authority. The work reflects Renaissance fascination with classical myths and divine love.

Simonetta Vespucci as Cleopatra

Piero di Cosimo

This painting (c. 1480) by di Cosimo depicts Simonetta Vespucci as Cleopatra, with an asp coiled around her neck. Created posthumously, it honors Vespucci’s beauty; she died in 1476 at 23. The profile view echoes medal portraits, while the snake may symbolize her death from tuberculosis. The serene landscape and sky enhance her ethereal presence, making this work a poignant tribute.

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.

The Dog Men (Coprophagia)

Luis Alberto Acuña

This disturbing drawing (1988) shows three gaunt hybrid figures with human torsos and doglike heads crouched on all fours. Part of Acuña’s late series on distorted bodies, it examines the boundary between human and animal. The title refers to coprophagia (the consumption of excrement), which Acuña uses to articulate a vision of moral collapse and social dehumanization.

Sandy Alleyway at Dusk

This quiet, sandy alleyway in Yoff captures the peaceful atmosphere of a coastal neighborhood at dusk. The sunlit wall, shuttered windows, and bare electrical wires reflect the modest architecture typical of older homes near the Atlantic. Such scenes evoke daily rhythms shaped by sea breezes, tradition, and simplicity.

Bochica Teaching the Muisca

Luis Alberto Acuña

This 1960-70s mural depicts Bochica, the bearded sage and civilizing hero of Muisca mythology, imparting moral and spiritual lessons. Seated before young disciples, he holds symbols of power and knowledge, including a woven banner. A revered figure, Bochica was believed to have formed the Tequendama Falls and taught the Muisca how to live harmoniously.

Fantastical Creature with Armored Hide

This fantastical creature (c. 1590), reflects colonial fascination with exotic fauna. Its armor-like plates and scaled legs suggest it was inspired by Albrecht Dürer’s 1515 Rhinoceros woodcut—an iconic but inaccurate image that shaped European and colonial visions of unfamiliar animals.

The Damned

Giovanni Battista Gaulli

In this dramatic segment (1676–79) from the Triumph of the Name of Jesus, Gaulli casts the damned from heaven into shadow and chaos. Their bodies twist, morph, and scream as they recoil from the divine light. Cloaked in darkness and shame, they contrast sharply with the radiant saved above—embodying Baroque emotion and the terrifying cost of spiritual failure.

Temple of Love

Richard Mique

Erected in the gardens of the Petit Trianon (1778), this neoclassical rotunda shelters a sculpture of Cupid and symbolizes Marie Antoinette’s idealized vision of romance and pastoral escape. Designed by architect Richard Mique, the temple reflects Enlightenment-era aesthetics and the queen’s longing for simplicity within Versailles’ opulence.

The Tree of Vowels

Giuseppe Penone

This monumental bronze sculpture (2000) shows a fallen oak with roots extending like veins across the ground. Installed in the Jardin des Tuileries, it demonstrates Penone’s exploration of the connection between humanity and nature. The work combines organic memory with sculptural permanence, inviting reflection on time, fragility, and the endurance of natural forms.

Ceremonial Pectoral with Face and Earspools

This gold pectoral from the Tairona culture (900–1600) shows a human face with massive earspools and a complex nose ornament. Heart-shaped wings frame the figure, edged with finely incised geometric patterns. Such regalia likely belonged to high-ranking ritual specialists, turning the wearer into a visible axis between ancestors, deities, and the community.

The Infant Jesus with a Lamb

Bernardino Luini

This oil and tempera on panel (c. 1525) captures the tenderness of the Infant Jesus, or Gesu Bambino, embracing a lamb—a symbol of his future sacrifice as the Lamb of God. Luini’s High Renaissance style blends divine purity and human innocence, creating a serene image of spiritual love and redemptive foreshadowing.

Marble Relief of Antinous as Silvanus

This marble relief (130–138 AD) depicts Antinous, the deified lover of Emperor Hadrian, as Silvanus, the Roman god of woods and fields. It symbolizes the fusion of Roman and Greek artistic ideals and reflects Hadrian’s devotion and the posthumous cult of Antinous. Antinous is shown harvesting grapes, representing fertility and nature. Restored in the 18th c., the relief exemplifies Roman Imperial artistry.

Madonna del Colloquio

Giovanni Pisano

This half-length marble Virgin and Child (c. 1280–1284) originally stood at the south transept portal of Pisa Cathedral. Now, it captures a striking emotional exchange between mother and son. The Child gently grasps Mary’s veil, emphasizing Pisano’s innovative focus on tenderness and psychological realism in sacred art.

Funerary Mask of Tutankhamun

This solid gold funerary mask (c.1323 BC) adorned the mummy of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Inlaid with lapis lazuli, obsidian, and quartz, it bears the nemes headdress with uraeus and vulture emblems symbolizing Upper and Lower Egypt. The nemes was the striped royal headcloth, and the uraeus a cobra motif of divine kingship. Inscribed with protective texts, the mask served as both likeness and shield in the afterlife.