Some background
videos + essays
Link to the Altes Museum's website
Link to the Glyptothek's website
Link to the Alte Pinakothek's website
Adolf Ziegler, The Four Elements: Fire, Water and Earth, Air
Displayed in Adolf Hitler's Munich apartment, Ziegler's Four Elements reflects the fascist ideology of Nazi Germany.
Exekias, Dionysos Kylix
This cup depicts the god of wine Dionysos escaping pirates by hiding and turning them into dolphins.
Titian, Christ Crowned with Thorns
Opting for shadow over light, Titian frees himself—and future generations—from the Renaissance demand for clarity.
Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait (1500)
Dürer holds nothing back in this frontal portrait. By taking Christ’s pose, he conflates artist and creator.
Franz von Stuck, The Sin
Entranced by the evil of the human psyche, we come face to face with art history’s creepiest snake.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus
The myth is ancient, but these figures couldn’t be closer. Rubens’s virtuoso brushwork and color are on display.
Albrecht Dürer, The Four Apostles
These monumental figures concentrate their attention on the word of God, which Dürer writes into the painting.
Albrecht Altdorfer, The Battle of Issus
Time collapses in this ambitious painting. As the Greeks battle the Persians, the West fends off the Ottoman East.
Barberini Faun
Part man, part goat, this companion of the god of wine relaxes after a night of drinking.
Paul Troost, House of (German) Art
The first of many buildings commissioned by Hitler, this was meant to seem timeless, like ancient ruins.
East and West Pediments from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina
Explore the evolution of ancient Greek sculpture with two groups from the same temple, but that seem ages apart.
Fernand Khnopff, I Lock my Door Upon Myself
This enigmatic painting haunts, suggests, and evokes—but it refuses to reveal all of its secrets.
