Discover paintings by Rubens, sculpture by Bernini, landscapes by Rosa, and architecture by Borromini.
A-level baroque
What is truth? Bacon argued for experimentation; like him, artisans and alchemists promoted direct observation.
A-Level: Francis Bacon and the Scientific Revolution
Pluto hoists up Proserpina. She resists, pushing him away. Their desires clash, creating a dynamic composition.
A-Level: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Pluto and Proserpina ...
She’s a monster, but in this poignant marble bust, Medusa becomes a victim of her own plight.
A-Level: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Bust of Medusa
Skin transforms into bark, limbs sprout branches, and stone softens into flesh. What a perfect subject for Bernini.
A-Level: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Apollo and Daphne
Gasp! Stone floats and light pours down from—where, exactly? Bernini creates a theatre for spiritual experience.
A-Level: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint ...
Over 60 feet tall, this daunting bronze canopy is part architecture, part sculpture—and part beehive.
A-Level: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Baldacchino, Saint Peter’s
Duck! This slingshot may never fire, but Bernini fools us. We can feel David gathering strength to battle Goliath.
A-Level: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, David
Did St. Peter sit here? Dizzying but unified, light and gold glorify this sacred place.
A-Level: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Cathedra Petri (Chair ...
How do you paint your own slave? Painter Julie Mehretu explores Velázquez’s answer to this troubling question.
A-Level: Velázquez, Juan de Pareja
This puzzling painting about painting is half genre scene, half family portrait. But what’s on the large canvas?
A-Level: Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas
Don’t strike the messenger! Interrupted at his forge, a horrified Vulcan looks ready to hammer Apollo.
A-Level: Velázquez, Vulcan’s Forge
Velázquez lends immediacy and gritty realism to a mythological subject. We are right there, ready to partake.
A-Level: Diego Velázquez, Los Borrachos (The Drunks), ...
Disorganized and youthful, Dutch troops surrender to the seasoned Spanish army. Count the victors’ spears!
A-Level: Diego Velázquez, The Surrender of Breda
Combining earthtones with dramatic lighting, Velázquez meticulously renders a waterseller’s world.
A-Level: Diego Velázquez, The Waterseller of Seville
Was it a diplomatic gift? Is it even a Rubens? Many questions surround this work; technical analysis can help.
A-Level: Rubens, Venus, Mars and Cupid
The myth is ancient, but these figures couldn’t be closer. Rubens’s virtuoso brushwork and color are on display.
A-Level: Peter Paul Rubens, The Rape of ...
Be still, my heart! A portrait of Marie attracts the king’s gaze, yet our eyes zig-zag around this busy canvas.
A-Level: Peter Paul Rubens, The Presentation of ...
Heave-ho! Rubens’s muscle-bound figures struggle to lift the cross and seem ready to burst through the painting.
A-Level: Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the ...
In Rubens’s hands, leaving a ship becomes a triumphal event—complete with a trumpeting angel.
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