Denon · level 0

Look at the twist running through Michelangelo’s Rebellious Slave. The marble figure makes effort visible through the relationship between its limbs and torso. Michelangelo, the Italian Renaissance sculptor, created it for the tomb of Pope Julius II, but it was left out of the completed monument. Its life in a gallery gives you a chance to consider both the body and that unfinished plan. European sculpture is one part of Denon’s level 0. Another is the Gallery of Five Continents, where works from several public collections are brought into conversation around concerns such as belief, authority and memory. A protective gesture between a mother and child, for example, can catch your attention across works made in very different places. Start with the resemblance, then give the differences equal time. Materials, clothing, posture and the object’s original purpose can change the meaning of a familiar form. The floor also includes Roman antiquities, with access information given separately by sector. Let each work keep its own setting and story as you compare what your eyes recognise.