Possessing freedom: The Parthenon and the birth of democracy in Athens
For liberty and blood: Brutus and the Roman Republic
Safeguard of the West: St. Mark's Basilica and the most serene republic of Venice
In the company of giants: Michelangelo's David and Renaissance Florence
"A Prodigious Growth in Riches": Rembrandt's Night Watch and the Dutch golden age
The best and the worst: David's Marat and revolutionary France
A new Athens on the Thames: The Elgin Marbles and Great Britain
Manifest destiny: Bierstadt's Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak and the United States of America
Art and victory: Monet's Water Lilies and the French Third Republic
Trial by fire: Picasso's Guernica and the threat of fascism
