St. Peter, by Aleijandinho

Energetic, emotional. By a major Brazilian Baroque artist.

Reliquary bust (mid 1700s), by Aleijadinho

Assertive yet compassionate. Collapses powerful imagery--face, heart, starburst, cardinal's mitre--into an affecting whole.

Vendor of Vegetables, by Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575), Flanders

Spooky. A cramped, chocked-full composition that overwhelms you as much as the smells of a 16th century marketplace must have. Part of a series of remarkably bizarre marketplace paintings by Aersten.