Roman Mosaic of Orpheus Among Animals

This Roman mosaic (c. 250 AD) from Palermo depicts Orpheus, the legendary Greek musician, enchanting animals with his lyre. It illustrates Orpheus’s mythical power to charm all living creatures, showcasing the enduring allure of his story. As a significant example of Roman mosaic art, it reflects the cultural fascination with music and myth in antiquity.

Homage to Vivaldi

Eduardo Ramírez Villamizar

This sculptural relief in painted wood (1963) reflects Villamizar’s fusion of geometric abstraction and musical rhythm. Vertical repetition and modulated forms evoke the structured elegance of Vivaldi’s compositions, transforming sound into visual cadence. It belongs to the museum’s permanent collection.

Submerged Valley

When Lake Guerlédan is drained, ruined houses and leafless trees reappear from the valley once flooded by the dam (1923–30). The cracked soil, stone walls, and skeletal trunks evoke a landscape both natural and human, where rural life was erased to serve hydroelectric modernity. These ghostly remains recall the resilience of Brittany’s past within an altered land.

Cupid and Psyche

This marble group (4th c.) from the Domus di Amore e Psiche presents Cupid and Psyche in a tender embrace. Their youthful forms, gentle gestures, and delicate modeling embody themes of love, beauty, and immortality—ideal subjects for private enjoyment within the opulent domestic sphere.

Christ in Majesty

Pinturicchio

Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral (1113) rises in compact tiers with clustered domes and narrow slit windows. Its pale plaster, often pink in daylight, stands in Yaroslav’s Court, the precinct founded by Yaroslav the Wise. Commissioned by Prince Mstislav to honor St Nicholas, it shaped the civic core of the Novgorod Republic and adapted Byzantine forms locally. The white building behind is part of the 17th-c. Merchant Court complex.

Hercules Slaying the Lion and the Hydra

This marble relief (2nd–3rd c. AD) shows two of Hercules’ heroic feats: the slaying of the Nemean Lion and the battle with the Lernaean Hydra. These labors symbolized strength, cunning, and moral endurance—virtues that Roman elites admired and sought to embody through mythic representation.

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.

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.

Rishi Relief

This sandstone carving (12th c.) from Angkor Wat depicts a rishi, or sage, central to Hindu tradition. Rishis embody wisdom and ascetic discipline, credited with composing the Vedas and guiding humanity through divine knowledge. The refined lines of the beard, crown, and ornaments reveal Khmer artistry’s fusion of spiritual symbolism and courtly elegance. Such imagery affirmed Angkor’s role as both sacred and imperial.

The Earth

Einar Jónsson

This sculpture (1904–08) depicts a human figure cradling a smaller, draped form, symbolizing the Earth or nature. Jónsson, an Icelandic sculptor, is known for his symbolic and allegorical works exploring mythology, spirituality, and the human condition. This piece reflects his exploration of humanity’s connection to the natural world and the spiritual realm.

Christ and the Adulteress

Tintoretto

This scene (c. 1555) is from the Gospel of John: Jesus responds to scribes and Pharisees demanding judgment on an adulterous woman. His challenge—inviting the sinless to cast the first stone—teaches mercy over condemnation. Tintoretto’s dynamic style appears in the sharp contrasts of light and shadow, elongated figures, and oblique spatial arrangement that intensify the moral tension. Classical architectural elements frame the encounter, emphasizing the conflict between legalism and redemption.

It’s Not Where You Come From, but Where You’re Going

Ramón Calcaño

This oil painting (2018), entitled No importa de dónde vienes, sino hacia dónde vas, Calcaño presents a vast view of informal housing. Central to the scene is a figure holding books, emerging from the margins. The work highlights resilience and the transformative power of education, emphasizing the pursuit of a better future beyond one's origins.

The Entombment of Christ

Titian and Palma the Younger

A poignant rendering of Christ’s burial, this oil on canvas (1618) was begun by Titian and completed by Palma the Younger. The composition captures collective grief, emphasizing the physical weight of death and the emotional weight of loss. The figures’ gestures and expressions mirror Renaissance ideals of pathos and human dignity.

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.

The Rape of Proserpina

Bernini

In this masterful marble (1621–22), Bernini captures Pluto’s violent abduction of Proserpina—an allegory for the changing seasons from Roman myth. Her twisting body and anguished face contrast Pluto’s force, while Cerberus, the underworld’s three-headed hound, reinforces the drama. At just 23, Bernini infused the stone with breathless motion and tactile realism, anchoring the Borghese legacy in Baroque brilliance.