-
Jan 1, 1308
Bamboo Groves in Mist and Rain
image source Guan Daosheng was a calligrapher, poet, and painter. She achieved the misty atmosphere in this landscape by restricting the ink tones to a narrow range and by blurring the bamboo thickets in the distance. -
Jan 1, 1311
Qutb Minar
image source Qubt al-Din Aybak established the sultanate of Delhi in 1207 and built the city's first mosque to mark the triumph of Islam in northern INdia. The 238 foot-high Qubt Minar is the tallest minaret in the world. -
Jan 1, 1347
Stalks of Bamboo by a Rock
image source Wu Shen was one of the leading Yuan literati. The bamboo plants in his hanging scroll are perfect complements to the prominently featured black Chinese calligraphic characters. -
Jan 1, 1347
Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains
image source In this Yuan handscroll, Huang Gongwang built up the textured mountains with richly layered wet and dry brush strokes and ink-wash accents that capture the landscape's inner structure and momentum. -
Jan 1, 1351
Temple Vase
image source This vase is an early example of porcelain with cobalt-blue underglaze decoration. Dragons and phoenixes, symbols of male and female energy, respectively, are the major painted motifs. Created during the Yuan dynasty. -
Jan 1, 1395
The Well of Moses
Sculpted in limestone by Claus Sluter, it is a large fountian with a Crucifixion located over the well. Water symbolically represents the blood of Christ washing over and cleansing the figures around the well. The well supplied water for a royally established monastery. Draper cascades in solid, heavy waves down the figure. -
Mar 17, 1400
Micthantecuhtli and Quetzalcoatl
image source One of the rare surviving Mesoamerican books, the Mixteca-Puebla "Borgia Codex" includes this painting of the gods of life and death above an inverted skull symbolizing the Underworld. It is comprised of mineral and vegetable pigments on deerskin. -
Jan 1, 1420
David
Bronze sculpture by Donatello. This is the first large bronze nude since antiquity. Donatello exaggerated the contrapposto of the body. The sculpture is a life-size work probably meant to be housed in the Medici Palace. -
Jan 1, 1425
Tribute Money
Fresco by Masaccio that illustrates a moment from the New Testament when Jesus is asked if he should pay tribute to the civil authorities. Jesus tells Peter that he should hook a fish from the sea and remove a coin from its mouth. -
Jan 1, 1425
Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
Fresco by Masaccio that uses bold nude forms. The subjects adorn intense expressions; Adam hides his face in shame; Even hides her body in shame. The bleak background represents teh desolation outside the Garden of Eden. -
Jan 1, 1425
Merode Altarpiece
An oil on wood painting by Robert Campin. In the left panel donors, middle-class people, are depicted kneeling before the holy scene. In the center panel, an annunciation is taking place in an everday Flemish interior. In the right panel, Joseph is in his carpentry workship; the mousetrap symbolizes the capturing of the devil. Campin meticulously handledt the paint, paying great attention to detail. The ground line is steeply rising and the figures appear too large for the architecture. -
Jan 1, 1432
The Ghent Altarpiece
Oil on Wood painting by Jan van Eyck. Placed on an altar of St. Bavo in Ghent, Belgium. The piece portrays a great deal of extreme realism. On the interior top pane, God the Father is centered wearing the Pope's crown and is surrounded by Mary and John the Baptist. Adam and Eve appear in the corners. In the interior bottom pane, the Lamb of God is centered. In the exterior top pane, prophets and sibyls appear. In the exterior bottom pane, two figures painted in grisaille are centered. -
Oct 21, 1433
Man in a Red Turban
Oil on wood painting by Jan van Eyck. Speculated to potentially be a self-portrait. The subject looks at the viewer with an unflinching stare. An inscription on the top of the frame says "As I can" and on the bottom of the frame says "Jan van Eyck made me 1433, October 21." Painting conforms to a naturalistic style with beard stubble and a dramatic turban draped over the head. -
Jan 1, 1435
Deposition
Oil on wood painting by Rogier can der Weyden. The painting pays great attention to details with strong emotional impacts. Patrons of the archers' guild symbolized by the crossbows in the spandrels. Figures in mirrored composions: Christ and Mary; two end figures have similar poses; poses similar for Nicodeum and the figure holding Mary. -
Jan 1, 1445
Gattamelata
Bronze statue by Donatello. The work is a commemorative monument for a cemetery. The face reflects stern expression of a military commander. The horse is spirited, resting one leg on a ball, yet the rider is in control. -
Mar 17, 1469
Coyolxauhqui
image source The bodies of the sacraficed foes that the Aztecs hurled down the stairs of the Great Temple landed on this disk depicting the murdered, segmented body of the moon goddess Coyolxuahqui, Huitzilopochtili's sister. -
Jan 1, 1481
Colleoni
Bronze statue by Andrea del Verrocchio. Represents a military leader who fought for the Venetians. Very powerful and spirited animal tamed by an animated and victorious leader. The work is dramatically alive and forceful in appearance with bulging, fiery eyes and erect position on saddle. -
Mar 17, 1487
Coatlicue
image source The colossal statue may have stood in the Great Temple complex. The beheaded goddess wears a necklace of human hands and hearts. Entwined snakes form her skirt. All her attributes symbolize sacrificia death. -
Jan 1, 1495
The Last Supper
image sourceTempera and oil on plaster painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Comissioned by the Sforza of Milan for the refectory of a Dominican abbey. The work utilizes a linear perspective, orthogonals of ceiling and floor point to Jesus. The apostoles appear in groupings of three, symbolizing Trinity. Leonard used an eceptional combination of paints to yield a greater chiaroscuro; however the paints peeled off the wall and the painting has been restored several times. -
Jan 1, 1501
David
image source Marble sculpture by Michaelangelo of the figure of David. The sculpture represents Florence as she faced larger, more powerful and threatening states. Michaelangelo rendered the figure from a block of marble worked on by another artist who abandoned the project. This work is the first colossal nude since the ancient world. David is in a slight contrapposto. -
Jan 1, 1503
Mona Lisa
image source Oil on wood painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa embodies a three-quarther turn toward the viewer. She is relazed with a gengle contrapposto to the body. She engages the viewer directly and seems to be smiling. -
Jan 1, 1505
Garden of Earthly Delights
image source Oil on wood painting by Hieronymus Bosch. The left panel depicts the Garden of Eden. The central panel depicts the Garden of Earthly Delights. The right panel depicts hell. The panint symbolizes the four stages of slchemy. Figures are light and nonsubstatntial, lacking individuality. -
Jan 1, 1506
Madonna with the Goldfinch
image source Oil on panel painting by Raphael. This painting, like many of Raphael's represents the Holy Family. Figures sit in a triangular composition in a lush garden setting. The painting has extreme clarity of forms, atmospheric perspective and the sweetness of Mary and teh Christ Child dominate the work. -
Jan 1, 1513
Moses
image sourceMarble statue by Michelangelo that was commissioned by Pope Julius II as part of his immense tomb. The horns on Moses are a mistranslation of Biblical text; Moses thought to have "horns" coming out of his head after visiting Mount Sinai, an improper translation for "rays." The figure is in awe, has a heroic body, and idealized form. -
Jan 1, 1529
Battle of Issus
image source Oil on wood panel painting by Albrecht Altdorfer depicting the victory of Alexander the Great over Persian King Darius. Painting is an allusion to the battle against the Turks fought by Altdorfer's patron, William IV of Bavaria. There are references to the Nile deltat in teh background, adding to the paintings microscopic detailing and rich coloring. -
Jan 1, 1533
The French Ambassadors
image source Oil and tempera on wood panel painting by Hans Holbein. The subjects are known to have educated backgrounds characterized by the implements on teh table between them. The painting contains anamorphic image of the skull at the bottom of the painting, said to be visible from at an angle from a staircase or with a cylindrical mirror. -
Jan 1, 1550
Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets
image source Ming gardens are arrangements of natural and artificial elements intended to reproduce the irregularities of nature. This approach to design is the opposite of the formality and axiality of the Ming palace. -
Jan 1, 1563
The Escorial
image source Palace, monastery, royal mausoleum, and church designed by Juan de Herrera and Juan Bautista de Toledo. Consists of four towers dominating the corners. Structure is dedicated to St. Lawrence. The entrance is flanked by engaged Doric columns and surmounted by a pediment. -
Jan 1, 1565
Return of the Hunters
image source Oil on wood panel painting by Pieter Bruegel. It is one of a series of paintings representeing the months, this one in particular is November/December. Appropriately, an alpline/winter landscape is depicted. Strong diagonals lead the eye deeper into the painting. Landscape has a high horizon line, a Northern European tradition. -
Akbar and the Elephant Hawai
image source Created by Basawan and Chatar Muni. The Mughal rulers of Indian were great patrons of miniture painting. This example, showing the young emperor Akbar bringing the elephant Hawai under control, is alos an allegory of his ability to rule. -
Loves of the Gods
image source Annibale Carracci's "Loves of the Gods" is a ceiling frescoe on the shallow curved vault in the Palazzo Farnese. Carraci arranged the mythological scenes in a quadro riportato format - a fresco resembling easel paintings on a wall. -
Conversion of Saint Paul
image source Caravaggio's "Conversion of Saint Paul" is an oil on canvas painting that uses perspective, chiaroscuro, and dramatic lighting to bring viewers into the painting's space and action, almost as if they were participants in Saint Paul's converstion to Christianity. -
Flight into Egypt
image source Anibale Carracci's "Flight into Egypt" is an oil on canvas landscape that idealizes antiquity and the idyllic life. The pastoral setting takes precedence over the narrative of Mary, the Christ Child, and Saint Joseph wending their way slowly to Egypt. -
Elevation of the Cross
image source Peter Paul Rubens' "Elevatio of the Cross" is an oil on wood triptych. Rubens explored foreshortened anatomy and violent action in this piece. The composition seethes with a power that comes from heroic exertion. The tension is emotinoal as well as physical. -
Still Life with Flowers, Goblet, Dried Fruit, and Pretzels
image source
Clara Peeters was a pioneer of still-life painting. Although a Flemish artist, she spent time in Holland and laid the groundwork for many Dutch artists. This piece is an oil on panel painting. -
Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaykh to Kings
image source Opaque watercolor on paper by Bichitr. The impact of European art on Mughal paintng is evident in this allegorical portrait of the haloed emperor Jahangir on an hourglass throne, seated above time, favoring spiritual power over worldly power. -
Supper Party
image source Gerrit van Honthorst spent several years in Italy and studied the paintings of Caravaggio, whose influence is evident in the mundane tavern setting and the nocturnal light of "Supper Party." -
Calling of Saint Matthew
image source Although middle-class patrons in the Protestant Dutch Republic preferred genre scenes, still lifes, and portraits, some artists, including Hendrick ten Brugghen, also painted religious scenes. This scene is oil on canvas. -
David
image source Gianlorenzo Bernini's David is a 5'7" high marble sculpture. Bernini's sculptures are expansive and theatrical, adn the element of time plays an important rolei n them. His emotion-packed "David" seems to be moving through both time and space. -
Taj Mahal
image source Located in Agra India, the Taj Mahal was created by the Mughal Empire. It is the most famous builidng in Asia and is a Mughal mausoleum. -
Charles I Dismouinted
image source
Van Dyck specialized in court portraiture. In this painting, he depicted the absolutist monarch Charles I at a sharp angle so that the king, a short man, appears to be looking down at the viewer. -
Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
image source Gianlorenzo Bernini's "Ecastasy of Saint Teresa" is located in the Cornaro Chapen at Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome, Italy. It is made of marble and stands over 11 feet tall. The passionate drama of Bernini's depiction of Saint Teresa correlated with the ideas of Ignatius Loyola, who argued that the re-creation of spiritual experiences would do much to increase devotion and play. -
L'indifferent
image source This small Rococo painting of a languid, gliding dancer exhibits lightness and delicacy in both color and tone. It is painted by Antoine Watteau. -
Hall of Mirrors
image source Located in the Amalienburg Nymphenburg Palace in Munich Germany. Designed by French architect Francois de Cuvilles. This circular hall in a German lodge displays the Rococo architectural style at its zenith, dazzling the eye with the organic interplay of mirrors, crystal, and stucco relief. -
Salon de la Princesse
image source designed by Germain Boffrand with painting by Charles-Joseph Natoire and sculpture by J.B. Lemoine. Located in the Hotel de Soubise in Paris, France. Elegant Rococo rooms such as this salon, featuring sinuous curves, gilded moldings and mirrors, small sculptures and paintings, and floral ornament, were the center of Parisian social and intellectual life. -
Cupid a Captive
image source In this Rococo canvas, Francois Boucher, painter for Madame de Pompadour, portrayed a rosy pyramid of infant and female flesh and fluttering draperies set off against a cool, leafy background. -
Krishna and Radha in a Pavilion
image source The love of Krishna for Radha is the subject of this colorful, lyrical, and sensual Pahari watercolor. Krishna's love was a model of the devotion paid to the Hindu god Vishnu. -
Apotheosis of the Pisani Family
image source A maste of the illusionistic ceiling painting in the Baroque tradition, Tiepolo adopted the bright, cheerful colors and weightless figures of Rococo easel paintings for huge frescoes. -
Seated couple
image source This Dogon carving of a linked man and woman documents gender roles in traditional African society. The protective man wears a quiver on his back. The nurturing woman carries a child on hers. -
Napoleon at the Pesthouse at Jaffa
image source Gros's huge painting glorifies Napoleon as possessing the miraculous power to heal and reflects David's compositional principles, but Gros's fascination with the exotic Near East presaged Romanticism. Oil on canvas. -
La Madeleine
image source Napoleon constructed La Madeleine as a temple of glory for his armies. Based on ancient temples and Neoclassical style, Vignon's design linked the Napoleonic and Roman empires. -
Pauline Borghese as Venus
image source Canova was Napoleon's favorite sculptor. Here, the artist depicted the emperor's sister nude - at her request - as the Roman goddess of love in a marble statue inspired by classical models. It is 6.7 ft long. -
Burial of Atala
image source Girodet's depiction of Native American lovers in teh Lousiana wilderness appealed to the French public's fascination with what it perceived as the passion and primitivism of tribal life in the New World. -
Feather Cloak
image source Costly Hawaiian feather cloaks ('ahu 'ula) like this one, which belonged to King Kamehameha III, provided the protection of the gods. Each cloak required the feathers of thousands of birds. -
Apotheosis of Homer
image source Inspired by 'School of Athens' by Ingres's favorite painter, Raphael, this monumental canvas is a Neoclassical celebration of Homer and other ancient worthies, Dante, and select French authors. -
Warrior figure from the palace of King Glele
image source This bocio, or empowerment figure, probably representing the war god Gu, was the centerpiece of a circle of iron swords. The Fon believed it protected their king, and they set it up on the battlefield. This is made of iron and is 5.5 feet tall. -
Hair ornaments from the Marquesas Islands
image source These hollow cylindrical bone ornaments representing deified ancestors adorned the hair of Marquesan warriors during the 19th century. The warriors wore them until they avenged the death of a kinsman. -
Throne and Footstool of King Nsangu
image source King Nsangu's throne features luminous beads and shells and richly colored textiles. The decoration includes intertwining serpents, male and female retainers, and bodyguards with European rifles. -
Mataatua meetinghouse
image source Maori meetinghouses feature elaborate decoration. In this late 19th century example, Wepiha Apanui carved figures of ancestors along the interior walls. The patterns on their bodies may be tattoos. -
Impression: Sunrise
image source A hostile critic applied the derogatory term "impressionism" to this painting because of its sketchy quality and clearly evident brush strokes. Monet and his circle embraced the label for their movement. This work is oil on canvas. -
Villa at the Seaside
image source In this informal view of a woman an child enjoying their leisure time at a fashionable seashore resort, Berthe Morisot used swift, sketchy strokes of light colors to convey a feeling of airiness. -
Nail Figure
image source Only priests using ritual formulas could consecrate Kongo power figures, which embody spirits that can heal or inflict harm. The statue has simplified anatomical forms and a very large head. -
Le Moulin de la Galette
image source Renoir's painting of this popular Parisian dance hal is dappled by sunlight and shade, artfully blurred into the figures to produce the effect of floating and fleeting light that the Impressionists cultivated. -
Paris: A Rainy Day
image source Although Caillebotte did not use Impressionistic broke brush strokes, the seemingly randomly placed figures and the arbitrary cropping of the vista suggest the transitory nature of modern life. -
War helmet mask
image source This naturalistic wood war helmet mask may be a portrait of Tlingit warior or a representation of a supernatural being. The carver intended the face's grimacing expression to intimidaet enemies. -
La Place du Theatre Francais
image source This Impressionist view of a crowded Paris square seen from several stories above street level has much in common with photographs, especially the flattening spatial effect resulting from the high viewpoint. This work is by Camille PIssarro. -
Woman with the Hat
image source Henri Matisse portrayed his wife Amelie using patches and splotches of seemingly arbitrary colors. He and the other Fauve painters used color not to imitate nature but to produce a reaction in the viewer. -
The Dance
image source Andre Derain worked closely with Matisse, but the tropical setting and the bold colors of this painting also reflect Derain's study of Gauguin's paintings and, as does the flattened perspective. -
Street, Dresden
image source Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's perspectival distortions, disquieting figures, and color choices reflect the influence of the Fauves and of Edvard Munch, who made similar expressive use of formal elements. -
Saint Mary of Egypt among Sinners
image source In contrast to the quiet spirituality of traditional religious images, Emil Nolde's paintings produce visceral emotions and feature disortions of form, jarring juxtaposions of color, and raw brush strokes. -
Auuenau
image source Aboriginal painters frequently depicted Dreamings, acnestral beings whose spirits pervade the present, using the "X-ray style" that shows both the figure's internal organs and external appearance. -
Fate of the Animals
image source Franz Marc developed a system of correspondences between specific colors and feelings or ideas. IN this apocalpytic scene of animals trapped in a forest, the colors of severity and brutality dominate. -
Painting
image source Painted in the aftermath of WWII, this intentionally recolting image of a powerful figure presiding over a slaughter is Francis Bacon's indictment of humanity and a reflection of war's butchery. -
Man Pointing
image source The writer Jean-Paul Sartre considered Giacometti's thin and virtually featureless sculpted figures as the epitome of existentialist humanity - alienated, solitary, and lost in the world's immensity. -
Number 1, 1950
image source Jackon Pollock's paintings emphazie the creative process. His mural-size canvasses consist of rhythmic drips, splatters, and dribbles of paint that envelop viewers, drawing them into a lacy spider web. -
Woman I
image source Although rooted in figuration, including pictures of female models on advertising billboards, Willem de Kooning's Woman I displays the energetic application of pigment typical of gestural abstraction. -
Vie Inquiete
image source Jean Dubuffet expressed a tourtured vision of the world through thickly encrusted painted surfaces and crude images of the kind children and the insane produce. He called it "art brut" - untaught and coarse art. -
Katsina figurine
image source Katsinas are benevolent spirits living in mountains and water sources. This hopi katsina represents a rain-bringing deity who wears a mask painted in geometric patterns symbolic of water and agricultural fertility. -
ngatu with manulua designs
image source In Tonga, the production of decoraded barkcloth, or ngatu, involves dyeing, painting, stenciling, and perfuming. Mele Sitani made this one with a two-bird design for the coronation of Tupou IV. -
Royal ancestral altar of Benin King Eweka II
image source This shrine to the heads of royal ancestors is an assemblage of varied materials, objects, and symbols. By sacrificing animals at this site, the Benin king annually invokes the collective strength of his ancestors.
