From the elements of art to the great goddess Durga — Smarthistory is adding new content every week.
Prehistoric to contemporary
videos + essays
Peter Frederick Rothermel, De Soto Raising the Cross on the Banks of the Mississippi
Picturing Spanish conquest in an era of U.S. expansion
Anthony van Dyck, Charles I with M. de St. Antoine
Though he was eventually beheaded, this portrait encapsulates the king's notion of independent authority, and his belief in the divine right of kings.
Byzantine Mosaic of a Personification, Ktisis
This Byzantine mosaic shows the personification of the act of generous giving — Ktisis
Woman with Scroll
An Early Byzantine sculpture of a woman with a scroll at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mapping nature’s stunning beauty, Maya Lin’s Silver Upper White River
The river's brilliant reflections gave shape to this enormous sculpture of silver
Benin Art: Patrons, Artists and Current Controversies
Royal patrons, artists, and power in the Kingdom of Benin.
The Imagery of Power on Benin Bronze Plaques
The audience hall in the palace in Benin City communicated to visiting ambassadors, traders, courtiers, and subjects the power and wealth of the Oba, or king.
The Medieval and Renaissance Altarpiece
The story embodied on the altarpiece offered an object lesson in the human suffering experienced by Christ.
Thomas Birch, Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie
"We have met the enemy and they are ours." The battle that turned the War of 1812
Sebastião Salgado’s Kuwait
Finding heroism amidst one of the earth's most destructive environmental disasters
