Antonio Canova | Paolina Borghese, 1805-1808

The reclining Paolina Borghese as Venus Victrix in the center of the room holds an apple in her hand, evoking the Venus Victrix in the judgement of Paris, who was chosen to settle a dispute between Juno (power), Minerva (arts and science) and Venus (love).

The same subject was painted on the ceiling by Domenico de Angelis (1779), framed by Giovan Battista Marchetti's tromp d'oeil architecture, and was inspired by a famous relief on the façade of the Villa Medici.

This marble statue of Pauline in a highly refined pose is considered a supreme example of the Neoclassical style.

Edward Robert Hughes | Pre-Raphaelite painter

Edward Robert Hughes RWS (1851-1914) was an British painter who worked prominently in watercolours.

He was influenced by his uncle, and eminent Pre-Raphaelite, Arthur Hughes.

Having settled on his career choice, Edward Hughes attended Heatherley's in London to prepare himself for the chance of auditioning for the Royal Academy School.

Hughes became a student at the Royal Academy School in 1868.

Othon Friesz | Fauve painter

Achille-Émile Othon Friesz (6 February 1879 - 10 January 1949), who later called himself Othon Friesz, a native of Le Havre, was a French artist of the Fauvist movement.

Othon Friesz was born in Le Havre, the son of a long line of shipbuilders and sea captains.

He went to school in his native city.

It was while he was at the Lycée that he met his lifelong friend Raoul Dufy.

Félix Vallotton | Landscapes and seascapes

Vallotton's landscapes and seascapes avoided conventional views and techniques, and presented unusual viewpoints and perspectives.

The scene is sometimes seen from above, with the horizon very high in the picture, or without the sky being visible at all.

The forms are simplified, and the figures are often small and almost unrecognizable.

Felix-Vallotton | The Ball, 1899 | Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Sleeping Hermaphroditus / L'Ermafrodito dormiente

The ambivalence and voluptuous curves of this figure of Hermaphroditus, who lies asleep on a mattress sculpted by Bernini, are still a source of fascination today.

His body merged with that of the nymph Salmacis, whose advances he had rejected, Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite, is represented as a bisexed figure.

The original that inspired this figure would have dated from the 2nd century BC, reflecting the late Hellenistic taste for the theatrical.

Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities: Hellenistic Art (3rd-1st centuries BC) Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities - Musée du Louvre.