This cup depicts the god of wine Dionysos escaping pirates by hiding and turning them into dolphins.
Location City: Munich
Opting for shadow over light, Titian frees himself—and future generations—from the Renaissance demand for clarity.
Titian, Christ Crowned with Thorns
Dürer holds nothing back in this frontal portrait. By taking Christ’s pose, he conflates artist and creator.
Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait (1500)
Entranced by the evil of the human psyche, we come face to face with art history’s creepiest snake.
Franz von Stuck, The Sin
The myth is ancient, but these figures couldn’t be closer. Rubens’s virtuoso brushwork and color are on display.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Rape of the ...
These monumental figures concentrate their attention on the word of God, which Dürer writes into the painting.
Albrecht Dürer, The Four Apostles
Time collapses in this ambitious painting. As the Greeks battle the Persians, the West fends off the Ottoman East.
Albrecht Altdorfer, The Battle of Issus
Part man, part goat, this companion of the god of wine relaxes after a night of drinking.
Barberini Faun
The first of many buildings commissioned by Hitler, this was meant to seem timeless, like ancient ruins.
Paul Troost, House of (German) Art
Explore the evolution of ancient Greek sculpture with two groups from the same temple, but that seem ages apart.
East and West Pediments from the Temple ...
This enigmatic painting haunts, suggests, and evokes—but it refuses to reveal all of its secrets.
Fernand Khnopff, I Lock my Door Upon ...
This manuscript is over a thousand years old. Among its magnificent paintings, Otto III sits on his throne.
Gospel Book of Otto III
This pot depicts contrasting scenes: on one side a Trojan hero heads to war, and on the other tipsy revelers dance.