Koppelsberg
1543
Maarten van Heemskerck visited Rome in the 1530s and returned to the Netherlands completely obsessed with Michelangelo, and this chaotic scene is the result. He ditched the calm style of traditional Dutch art for twisting, hyper-muscular figures that look like bodybuilders in biblical drag. Notice the thief on the right straining against his cross—it’s a dramatic, Italian-style pose that screams 'look at my anatomy!' This painting is a prime example of 'Romanism,' where Northern artists copied Italian muscle and drama. Fun fact: Heemskerck was also a prolific sketcher of Roman ruins, effectively documenting the decay of the ancient world for future generations.