In 1610, when most girls her age were confined to embroidery and sewing, Artemisia Gentileschi was in her Roman studio producing an artistic back flip. "Susanna and the Elders" had, until Gentileschi stepped into the ring, been painted as a case of two repectable elderly gentlemen peeking at a sexual

Baroque art, Dense, Dramatic, Enigmatic, Intense, Pathos

A whisper of light illuminates four figures, cloaking them in tenderness and warmth, and there arises a sense of the subtle anticipation of early morning, the relief that accompanies forgiveness, and the graciousness that rewards gentle touch. "The Return of the Prodigal Son" exemplifies the human

Baroque art, Dramatic, Intense, Pathos, Religious, Violent

As both a conductor and a virtuoso pianist, Daniel Barenboim approaches each of his projects from a dual perspective: he sees a piece as both a physical, sonorous expression and as a structural whole. For Barenboim, integrating the two perspectives is essential to making good music. "The element of p

20th-century music, Eclectic, Elegant, Pathos, Sophisticated

Some works of art effortlessly draw the core of their subject to surface. William Blake, the great predecessor to the Romantics, understood this well. Whether in a lyrical, allegorical poem like "The Echoing Green" or in the almost futuristic engravings for "The Book of Urizen," he exemplified the ar

18th century poetry, Lyrical, Pathos, Sensual, Sublime