Best Sculpture

Made in 1632, Bernini's marble portrait of Cardinal Scipione Borghese depicts a major patron and collector in Rome. Close observation of the sitter's expression, clothing, and turned head gives the work its distinctive character. These details connect the cardinal's public position with the appearan...

Carved in Rome in 1619, Bernini's Damned Soul presents anguish through a marble head with an open mouth and tense facial features. It is commonly discussed alongside his Blessed Soul, with the pair offering contrasting spiritual states. Rather than depicting a calm sitter in the manner of a conventi...

Carved from Carrara marble, Michelangelo's Pietà depicts Mary holding the dead Christ after the crucifixion. The Renaissance sculpture is housed in St. Peter's Basilica. Christ's body rests across Mary's lap, while the folds of her clothing provide a broad visual support for the group. The careful t...

David is a 5.17-meter marble statue created by Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504. It depicts the biblical David before his confrontation with Goliath and is distinguished by its monumental scale, detailed anatomy, and concentrated expression. Originally installed outside Florence's Palazzo della Si...

A marble portrait head found at Tusculum near Rome, the Tusculum bust is commonly identified as Julius Caesar and generally dated to his lifetime. Its lean face, pronounced cheekbones, and visible signs of aging distinguish it from later idealized images associated with him. These features make it i...

Jean-Antoine Houdon's bust of Voltaire is a Neoclassical portrait of the French writer and philosopher, made from Houdon's direct study of the aging sitter and represented in several versions. Its restrained modeling records Voltaire's lined face, thin hair, and alert expression rather than presenti...

The Winged Victory of Samothrace is a significant Hellenistic-era sculpture crafted from marble around 190 BC. It portrays the Greek goddess Nike landing on the prow of a ship, famed for its dramatic movement and realistic portrayal of drapery. Originally situated on the island of Samothrace, it rep...

Houdon's portrait bust of George Washington grew from the sculptor's visit to Mount Vernon in 1785 and the life mask he made there. That direct study gave Jean-Antoine Houdon a basis for depicting specific facial features rather than treating Washington only as an abstract national symbol. The resul...

Michelangelo's Brutus portrays Marcus Junius Brutus, the Roman senator associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar. Carved in marble around 1538-1539, during the later part of Michelangelo's career, the bust gives its subject a controlled, idealized expression rather than offering a documenta...

An open, spontaneous smile gives Desiderio da Settignano's Laughing Boy its defining character. The marble bust belongs to the Florentine Renaissance and is generally dated to the middle of the fifteenth century. Softly modeled surfaces and attention to childhood expression make the young subject's...

Bernini's bust of Pope Urban VIII is a marble papal portrait by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the leading sculptors of seventeenth-century Rome. Urban VIII, born Maffeo Barberini, was a major patron of the arts and supported Bernini during his papacy. The bust presents the pope as an authoritative bu...

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt’s The Vexed Man is an expressive bust from the Austrian sculptor’s series of character heads, a group known for exaggerated facial expressions. The figure’s compressed mouth, furrowed brow, and tense features convey frustration or agitation rather than an individualized soc...

The Venus de Milo is a renowned ancient Greek sculpture crafted from marble. Discovered on the island of Melos in 1820, it depicts Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. This Hellenistic-era statue represents a significant example of classical Greek artistry and continues to be studied by art hi...

Created in France in 1778, during Benjamin Franklin's diplomatic residence there, Jean-Antoine Houdon's marble bust presents the American political figure as an elderly statesman and scientist. The Neoclassical portrait relies on close observation of the face rather than an idealized heroic type. It...

Designed by Carlo Maciachini and opened in 1866, Milan's Cimitero Monumentale combines a large burial ground with an extensive collection of funerary art. Planned avenues connect monumental buildings, family chapels and individual tombs. Many of its sculptures and memorials were commissioned by prom...

Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Blessed Soul is a marble bust traditionally paired with his Damned Soul, both made in 1619. The upturned head, open mouth, and lifted expression present the figure as receptive to divine grace, in contrast to the fear and distress associated with the companion bust. The work i...

The Lion-Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel is a carved mammoth ivory figurine discovered in a German cave dating back approximately 40,000 years. It represents a human figure with a leonine head, making it one of the oldest known examples of figurative sculpture. The artifact’s age and sophisticated craftsm...

Antonio Canova’s Bust of Helen of Troy is a Neoclassical marble sculpture representing the legendary Greek figure rather than a documented historical sitter. Canova presents Helen with regularized features, controlled expression, and a composed frontal pose, adapting the ideal of beauty associated w...

The Laocoon and His Sons sculpture depicts a tragic moment from Greek mythology. Crafted from Roman marble around 20 BC, it portrays the priest Laocoon and his two sons struggling against sea serpents sent by Athena to punish Troy. This Hellenistic relic showcases masterful realism and emotional int...

The Laocoön exemplifies Hellenistic sculpture’s dramatic intensity. This first-century BC marble artwork depicts the Trojan priest Laocoön battling enormous serpent figures sent by Athena to warn Aeneas against accepting hospitality in Troy. The sculpture's realism and emotional portrayal of struggl...

Antonio Canova’s Bust of Napoleon Bonaparte is a Neoclassical marble portrait of the French emperor, made in 1807. The head is presented with a controlled expression, smooth surfaces, and idealized proportions, translating a contemporary political subject into the visual language of antique sculptur...

The Winged Bull of Khorsabad, or Lamassu, is a colossal Assyrian protective deity from the 8th century BCE, featuring the body of a bull, the wings of an eagle, and a human head. Carved from alabaster, it originally guarded the gates of King Sargon II's palace in Dur-Sharrukin, located in modern-day...

The Terracotta Army is an extensive collection of life-sized clay sculptures unearthed in China. Created during the Qin Dynasty by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, it represents his army intended to accompany him into the afterlife. These figures showcase remarkable craftsmanship and provide invaluable insigh...

Francesco Laurana’s Bust of Beatrice of Aragon is a marble Renaissance portrait associated with the court culture of fifteenth-century Italy. The sitter is Beatrice of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples and later queen of Hungary, while the sculpture presents her with a calm expression, simpl...

This entry identifies a portrait bust by the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon depicting Denis Diderot, the philosopher, writer, and editor associated with the Encyclopédie. Houdon's portrait sculpture is noted for close observation of the sitter's face, while the treatment remains compatible with...

The Bust of Antinous from the Townley collection is a marble Roman portrait of Antinous, the companion of Emperor Hadrian who died in 130 CE. Antinous was represented in many idealized forms after his death and was honored as a divine or heroic figure within the imperial cult created around him. Thi...

Guitar is a 1912 sculpture by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso that exists in versions made of cardboard and later sheet metal and wire. The artwork is an assemblage constructed from ordinary industrial materials rather than traditional carved or modeled substances. By breaking the guitar down into flat...

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space is a Futurist sculpture created by Italian artist Umberto Boccioni in 1913. The work depicts a human figure in mid-stride, fragmented into fluid, aerodynamic forms that visually represent the dynamic sensations of speed and mechanical motion. Although Boccioni cre...

Endless Column is a monumental sculpture completed in 1938 by Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi, situated in Târgu Jiu, Romania. The structure stands approximately 98 feet tall and consists of a vertical stacking of cast-iron rhomboid modules. It was commissioned as a memorial to honor Romanian so...