Ugolino and His Sons (detail) 1865

This detail from Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's 1865 sculpture, "Ugolino and His Sons," depicts the agonizing despair of a starving father and his sons. The sculpture, housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, captures the tragic tale of Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, a noble imprisoned by his political enemies who were condemned to die of starvation in a tower. Carpeaux's dramatic portrayal of their suffering, achieved through the expressive contortions of the figures and the meticulous detail of the marble, has long captivated audiences with its poignant realism.