Antoine-Louis  Barye's sculpture, "Theseus Slaying the Minotaur," is a tribute to Greek mythology which depicts a scene from the ancient myth in which Theseus, posing as one of the youths to be sacrificed to the monster, finds it and defeats it. One of the most striking elements of the sculpture is its use of implied motion; just by looking at it, one can imagine the moments just before and after the scene frozen in time: the struggle between the two to get an advantageous position, and the moment after Theseus raises his sword and strikes at the minotaur. The tip of the sword and Theseus' eyes both draw lines to a point in the monster's forehead, which is an example of implied line. The negative space created by the edges of the stand, as well as the way in which the battle seems to fit nearly perfectly inside of this box, creates a boundary that the viewer feels as if they cannot pass through. The dull brown color of the sculpture allows the viewer to keep their attention on the focal point of the sculpture, which happens to be the point on the minotaur's head that Theseus is about to strike and perhaps also the tense space between the two. Theseus' wide stands helps to balance out the weight placed on his upper body by the minotaur, giving him both what seems to be a battle stance and making the sculpture appear realistic. The smooth texture of the two characters' skin makes it apparent that they are both mostly hairless. This, accompanied by the wrinkles above the bull's eyes, gives the bull a mangy, gross look, causing it to appear rather monstrous when contrasted with Theseus' own smooth, hairless body and orderly hair. The contour lines on the bodies of both figures gives off the impression of strength, and further exemplifies Thesues' heroism. Lastly, the variety of objects strewn about the ground underneath-the oddly placed sheath, and the rocks which Theseus and the minotaur seem to narrowly avoid-further the impression of a fast-paced battle, in which Theseus had no time to worry about the placement of his sheath or give his surroundings little more than a quick acknowledgement. All the elements of design that are used in this sculpture help to invoke the impression in the viewer of a fierce, fast-paced struggle between two figures of awesome power.

The name of Hieronymous Bosch's religious painting, "The Arrest of Christ," describes what is happening in the picture. The raised sword of one of Christ's tormentors is similar to the sword of Theseus in that one can draw a line from its tip to Christ's forehead , and can see the motion of the man drawing it out and even imagine it plunging into its target ; the only difference being that the viewer knows that that does not happen if they are familiar with the story of Christ's crucifixion. Horizontal balance is achieved by the presence of the two swords on either side of the picture as well as the bright colors on the opposing sides of the painting. The two colors that reside on opposing sides of the color wheel may also add a bit of discomfort to the painting, due to the large contrast between the warm and cool colors. The colors may also symbolize good and evil. While "Theseus Slaying the Minotaur" does not use vivid colors for this purpose, it is similar to this Bosch's painting in that both create a contrast between the good and evil presences in the works through the aesthetic appearances of such figures. While the wrinkles and hairlessness of the minotaur give it the appearance of a grisly beast when juxtaposed with Theseus' flawless body, the caricaturized faces of Christ's tormentors seem to outline their ugliness and evil in contrast with Christ's proportionate face and serene expression. He seems to be the only visually appealing part of an otherwise ugly and uncomfortable painting. This, plus the swords and faces pointed in his direction, make him the focal point of the painting. This is similar to how the minotaur's head is the focal point in Barye's sculpture, except for the fact that the bull's ugliness and evil attracts attention as opposed to Christ's godliness. One visual element that Barye makes use of that Bosch doesn't seem to use is negative space.

The whole picture feels crowded and claustrophobic, with a wall of people creating a boundary between the viewer and Christ rather than the implied box created in the sculpture. Another element that Bosch makes little use of is texture, as every object except the chipped sword above the head of the man in red appears to be smooth. While Barye's sculpture creates a feeling of depth by its existence as a three­ dimensional object, Bosch employs different elements to create the illusion of depth on his two-dimensional picture. The dim lighting in the background makes the man looking over the heads of the men in the foreground appear behind the crowd. A similar effect is achieved with the man near the bottom of the picture biting the arm of the other man.

Churoscuro serves the purpose of both making the men and the objects look realistic and giving their features depth, from the shadows cast by their cheekbones and the grooves in their fingers to the glint of the light reflecting off of the swords. Contour lines, like in Barye's sculpture, form the biomorphic shapes that compose the bodies and faces of Christ and his tormentors.  Both artworks employ variety, however, Bosch's painting uses it to a further extent and for different purposes. The presence of the men with differing objects, such as two holding swords, the other two men holding a lantern and a torch respectively, and the two overseeing the spectacle represent the conspiracy of these men against Christ. The natural light shining down on Christ as opposed to the man-made light sources that the tormentors hold represents the difference between the bright, glorious presence of Christ versus the dim presence of men. The degree to which each man's face-the variety of how distorted each face is-also gives each man a different expression and personality. The man in red appears angry and impulsive due to his bulbous eyes, and the forward elongation of his nose and chin suggests forward movement-which further exemplifies his will to strike. The man immediately to the right of Christ, by contrast, appears more plotting and devious. His face is distorted to a lesser degree than his counterpart to the right and below, but one can still subtly sense his evil. He obviously has more self-control, as he holds the arm of the man in red as if to say, "Wait."