A Face Between Two Empires: Constantine in Marble presents the marble portrait of Constantine the Great as a turning point in Roman art, where classical imperial imagery, political messaging, and the rise of Christianity converge in carved stone.
The Portrait of the Wyndham Sisters by John Singer Sargent
Sargent’s Portrait of the Wyndham Sisters transforms portraiture into a dynamic composition, uniting elegance, movement, and individuality while capturing psychological nuance and the interplay between heritage, identity, and modern femininity.
Fayum Mummy Portraits
Fayum mummy portraits fuse Roman realism with Egyptian funerary tradition, preserving vivid identities through encaustic painting, rich symbolism, and multicultural influences, offering an intimate, enduring connection to individuals of ancient Roman Egypt.
IVLIA BELLA
The IVLIA BELLA plate from Faenza exemplifies early Renaissance maiolica, celebrating idealized feminine beauty through refined portraiture, elegant inscription, and humanist aesthetics that reflect the period’s growing fascination with individuality, love, and artistic refinement.
Andrea della Robbia’s tender Portrait of a Child
Andrea della Robbia’s glazed terracotta Portrait of a Child embodies Renaissance ideals of innocence and care, using luminous color and tender naturalism to celebrate childhood and reflect enduring values of compassion and human dignity.
Guido Mazzoni’s Portrait of an Old Man
Guido Mazzoni’s terracotta portrait of an elderly man confronts viewers with unidealised age and psychological realism, transforming clay into a profound Renaissance meditation on human dignity, mortality, and individual identity.
Isabella Brant
Rubens’s portraits of Isabella Brant combine Baroque vitality with intimate psychological presence, preserving her grace, status, and individuality through luminous brushwork that unites affection, realism, and refined portraiture.
Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople
Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople died in Florence in 1439, pursuing Christian unity between East and West. His tomb in Santa Maria Novella remains a quiet symbol of that dream.
Bust of a Lady
Almond eyes once inlaid with rose glass, braided crown, classical folds — Chania’s mysterious Bust of a Lady offers a rare, intimate glimpse into late Roman Crete’s aristocratic world.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s bust of Duke Francesco I d’Este
Bernini sculpted Duke Francesco I d’Este without ever meeting him — the result is one of Baroque art’s most theatrically alive portraits, later reimagined by Giovanni Boldini’s expressive brush.