Sinners depicted along the lower register receive an array of bodily tortures; the souls in heaven, by contrast, surround the ascended Christ in an orderly formation.
Location: tbd
A temple with three shrines, this majestic complex faces the sea and features a rich sculptural program.
Shore Temple, Mamallapuram
A princess falls under a spell and sleeps for a hundred years — but Burne-Jones never shows us the kiss that awakens her.
Sleeping Beauty — but without the Kiss: ...
This extraordinary carving is one of the largest relief sculptures in the world. Scholars still debate its meaning.
The Great Relief at Mamallapuram
A mound of dirt or the body of the Buddha? These sacred sites give practitioners insight into the Four Noble Truths.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi
An Anglo-Saxon princess founded a nunnery in the eel-filled marshy waters of East Anglia; see how it developed during the Middle Ages.
Four styles of English medieval architecture at ...
This image is so complex that its features could only be perceived, let alone understood, by the initiated.
Complexity and vision: the Staff God at ...
When thousands of schoolchildren died in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Ai Weiwei refused to stay silent.
Ai Weiwei, Remembering and the Politics of ...
The archaeological site of Knossos (on the island of Crete) —traditionally called a palace—is the second most popular tourist attraction in all of Greece.
The Palace at Knossos (Crete)
All evidence points to Africa as the origin of our species … is Africa also the birthplace of art?
Apollo 11 Cave Stones
The François Tomb is chock-full of elaborate frescoes with complicated messages we may never fully understand.
The François Tomb
Ouro Preto was a remote yet cosmopolitan town where gold supported both artists and architects.
Church of São Francisco de Assis, Ouro ...
The creation of a beloved landmark destroyed a thriving community of African Americans and Irish immigrants.
Seneca Village: the lost history of African ...
Diarna digitally documents endangered Jewish sites—like this historic shrine near Damascus, now razed.
Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, Jobar (Syria)
Stereotypical folkloric scenes were widely circulated, shaping perceptions of Latin America at home and abroad.
Costumbrismo
This tiny book tells the complex story of the conflict between Christians and Jews in the Old and New Worlds.
The manuscripts of Luis de Carvajal
The Kingdom of Chimor was conquered by the Inka, but impressive adobe walls survive in their capital, Chan Chan.
Introduction to the Chimú culture
The beguiling—and tragic—story of the Carvajal family of crypto-Jews, is illuminated by the manuscripts Luis made.
The manuscripts of Luis de Carvajal
These giant statues embody the ancients who first voyaged to Rapa Nui. Many were toppled; all lost their coral eyes.
Voyage to the moai of Rapa Nui ...
The enormous west front of Lincoln Cathedral stacks Gothic lancets over rounded Romanesque arches. Inside, “crazy vaults” render space illegible.