Géricault’s massive canvas takes its format from history painting, but its subject is ripped from the headlines. Théodore Géricault, Raft of the Medusa by Dr. Claire Black McCoy
The life-sized figures of Mary and Gabriel occupy an open porch—a space not unlike the cloisters of San Marco. Fra Angelico, The Annunciation by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
What’s that dog yapping about? This mischievous woman throws caution—and her slipper—to the wind. Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing by Dr. Ashley Bruckbauer
In the distance, lightning strikes. What does it mean? Poetic and evocative, this painting invites interpretation. Giorgione, The Tempest by Dr. James R. Jewitt
Cole feared for the American landscape as his country expanded westward. Thomas Cole, The Hunter’s Return by Maggie Adler, Amon Carter Museum of American Art and Dr. Beth Harris
In this hunting scene from the Persian Book of Kings, the ruler Bahram lives up to his nickname “Gur,” or swift. Bahram Gur Fights the Karg (Horned Wolf) by Jayne Yantz
Scenes show Nebamun’s family at work and play, giving vibrant insight into the lives of ancient Egyptian elites. Paintings from the Tomb-chapel of Nebamun by The British Museum
In an ancient North African “rock city,” modern explorers wetted a wall with water—revealing this graceful image. Running Horned Woman, Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria by Dr. Nathalie Hager
What detail! Dürer studied the human body obsessively and spent four years working on this print. It shows. Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Was this the beginning of the end for David—or a new dawn? As far as portraits of Napoleon go, there’s none better. Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Ben Pollitt
Best known for their allegorical ceiling frescoes, this father-son team also produced cinematic prints. The Tiepolo Family by Jeremy Miller
This stone marker depicts an abstracted human. How should we interpret one of the Arabia’s earliest artifacts? Anthropomorphic stele by Dr. Nathalie Hager
With its fantastical setting and lovers’ dance, this painting introduced a new genre: the “fête galante.” Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
These three learned men differ in age, outlook, and dress. But do they represent religions, eras, or philosophies? Giorgione, Three Philosophers by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
Seurat sought to bring science to the methods of Impressionism with new, methodical approaches to color. Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte ... by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
In this cycle, Fragonard indulges the viewer’s taste for theatre and pleasure. Subtly is in short supply! Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Progress of Love: The ... by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
Degas is off to the races, where class issues are in the foreground. Edgar Degas, At the Races in the Countryside by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
Suspended above the sea, the drama of this rescue scene comes from nature, not man. Winslow Homer, The Life Line by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
This sentimental scene of a quiet moment of prayer in the fields reflects a nostalgia for religion in modern France. Jean-François Millet, L’Angélus by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
Dalí’s forms are mirrored and doubled in this disconcerting painting, made in a state of “paranoiac critical activity.” Salvador Dalí, Metamorphosis of Narcissus by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker