In our time of gender awareness and de-alienation of fringe groups, Sappho's example looms large. Women deploy her as a weapon in the long-standing fight for gender equality. At the same time, homosexuals point to her poetry as proof of the positivity in same-sex relationships. These days, it seems,

Classical & biblical poetry, Ecstatic, Feminist, Lyrical, Pathos, Rebel

For the last half of his life "the land of lions and leather" molded Eugene Delacroix's imagination and provided inspiration for more than 100 paintings. No one from France had ever been allowed inside Meknes, the capital of Morroco, when Delacroix's group, complete with bodyguards, accomplished the

Ecstatic, Event, Gritty, Opulent, Romantic art, Violent

In 1931 the audience rose in tribute as Saint Sa'ns' music from "The Dying Swan" played to an empty stage. Anna Pavlova had just died of pleurisy. On her deathbed, she issued one last request: "Bring my swan costume." By the end of her illustrious career, the swan had become her emblem. One stunning

Charming, Ecstatic, Feminine, Glamour, Grand, Opulent, The early russians

Faced with an unforgiving lump of marble, the 80-year-old Michelangelo sent more splinters soaring (and at three times the speed) than three robust stone cutters could produce. Mad with loneliness (his lover, Vittoria Colonna, closest friend, Luigi del Riccio, and lifetime servant, Urbino, were all d

Anxiety, Dramatic, Ecstatic, Intense, Renaissance art, Tragic, Visceral