When Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio completed the painting The Calling of St. Matthew in July 1600 he did so in the culture of the Counter Reformation, with a Catholic Church that sought to reach out to its parishioners through art. Throwing aside the conventions of the Renaissance and creating his own, Caravaggio worked to fulfill this mission with a realism, immediacy and a flair for the dramatic that sometimes was off putting to those around him. Yet the profound effect of his work cannot be denied and the ways in which he created would change the face of the art world.

In 1936 Spanish artist Pablo Picasso was living and working in Paris, France when he was approached by the newly elected Republican government in Spain to create a mural for the next Paris Exposition Universelle, or World's Fair, scheduled for 1937. The timing of the commission coincided with the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in which a failed military coup, by the right leaning Nationalists, against that same government, the left leaning Republicans, devolved in a protracted and bloody conflict. The ensuing violence would come to heavily influence Picasso's handling of his commission- with the final result being a reactionary piece to the news of the bombings of the Spanish village Guernica, after which the painting is titled.

Within the history of Imperial Rome, the time period dating from 96 C.E. to 180 C.E. is known as the age of the “Five Good Emperors” in honor of those that presided over the empire in that time: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. It was a time of distinction where trade flourished and the previous held prejudices between Italian born Romans and Romans originating from the outer provinces of the empire lessened as provincials took more positions of power. People were no longer constricted to positions based on lineage but on ability and experience, even the emperors themselves. In 138 C.E. Antoninus Pius, a tried and true politician, was adopted by Emperor Hadrian at the age of 51. Furthermore Antoninus went out and adopted Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Veras assuring a clean succession. During his reign, Antonius Prius restored the Senate without weakening his own imperial power and generally ruled with merit. Upon his death in 161 C.E his two successors rose to power as the first co-emperors, and one of their first acts was to memorialize their adopted father with the Column of Antoninus Pius.

Around 776 BCE, a number of city-states had emerged on mainland Greece. Though distinct cultural tenants set them apart, these competing city-states were united in their use of the Greek language. It is during this time that the first Olympic Games were held and served as a rallying cry for the recognition of a common Greek heritage which connected these states. From that point on, no matter what city-state they belonged to, the population also regarded themselves as citizens of Hellas (Greece) and a cultural nation was born. As Greek influence continued to grow and expand into the Ancient World through trade, colonization and conquest over the next few centuries, Greek art and society underwent a catharsis expanding in new ways and styles unseen before. The sculptures that ancient Greece produced during this era of Antiquity are still some of the most universally recognized forms of art throughout the world. Yet these works can be broken down into periods of evolution in which the Greeks perfected their craft over the course of several hundred years.

Sometimes all it takes is a thorough examination of the architecture and structures a society chooses to surround itself with to decipher the core values and concerns of that culture. When looking at the ancient world both the Mycenaeans and Minoans cultures prove illustrative of this point. Although they both served as precursors to the Greeks and showed signs of close ties in at least trade, the Mycenaeans and Minoan peoples differed vastly in how they approached trade, life and the creation of their culture. This is never more apparent then when comparing the remnants of the wandering grand palace of Knossos on Crete and the indomitable walls and ruins of the citadel of Tiryns located on the Greek mainland.