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15th-century Italy

Works made in Italy in the 15th century.

57 works · hang 84 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. A woman sits and supports a baby standing on her lap, both against a gold background in this arched, vertical painting. The woman and baby’s light skin is shaded with faint green, and they have pale pink cheeks. The woman’s body faces us. She tips her head toward the baby who stands on her knee, to our right. The woman looks at us with light brown eyes under curving brows. She has a long, straight nose, and her small pink lips are closed. Her blond hair is mostly covered by a midnight-blue robe that drapes over her shoulders, across her lap, and pools on the floor. The robe is lined with goldenrod yellow, edged with bright gold, and has gold starburst-like designs on the shoulder we can see and top of the head. The dress she wears underneath has more gold stars creating a pattern across the pearl-white fabric. A sky-blue scarf wraps over her head and loops across her shoulders. The baby holds one end of the scarf, and his other elbow rests on the woman’s shoulder. She props him up with both hands. He has a cap of blond curls and chubby cheeks with delicate features. His geranium-red garment falls over a pale blue skirt that reaches his bare feet. In the hand near the woman’s shoulder, he holds a scroll with the letters “EGO S.” The floor beneath them is mint green and has gold writing across the front, reading, “AVE.G ANN O.D M.CCCC.XIII.” The woman and baby’s disc-like gold halos blend into the gold background, which is visibly cracked in some areas. The panel comes to a pointed arch at the top.
    Madonna and ChildLorenzo Monaco, 1413Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. The Last Supper, by Lucantonio degli Uberti, c. 1500
    The Last SupperLucantonio degli Uberti, c. 1500Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of tempera on panel.
    Saint John the Baptist Entering the WildernessGiovanni di Paolo, 1455–60Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. A woman holds the hands of two nude children in front of a crimson-red cloth in this vertical painting. All three have pale skin and brown hair. The woman wears a forest-green dress with voluminous sleeves and a gauzy white headdress that wraps around her hair and is fastened with a band across her forehead. She stands crouching with one foot extended slightly forward in a sandal, surrounded by broken chunks of masonry and bits of burning logs. Her body faces us but she turns her head to the right. Her mouth is wide open, and her eyes cut back to our left. The woman clutches the children’s hands in both of her own. The child to our left turns away from us and reaches one hand up to touch the back of the woman’s hand. The child on the right twists away from the woman, eyes squinted up and to the right and mouth open. Behind them, fold lines create a grid across the red cloth. Slivers of grass and blue sky line each side of the composition.
    The Wife of Hasdrubal and Her ChildrenErcole de' Roberti, c. 1490/1493Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 1, south wall

  1. The Nativity, by Lorenzo Monaco, ca. 1406–10
    The NativityLorenzo Monaco, ca. 1406–10Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Last Supper (pair), by Lucantonio degli Uberti, c. 1500
    The Last Supper (pair)Lucantonio degli Uberti, c. 1500Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Bernardino of Siena, by Benvenuto di Giovanni, c. 1480/1485
    Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Bernardino of SienaBenvenuto di Giovanni, c. 1480/1485Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille, by Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano), ca. 1485–95
    Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in GrisailleJacometto (Jacometto Veneziano), ca. 1485–95Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. Portrait of a Young Man, by Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio), ca. 1470
    Portrait of a Young ManAntonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio), ca. 1470Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Madonna and Child, by Filippino Lippi, ca. 1483–84
    Madonna and ChildFilippino Lippi, ca. 1483–84Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Virgin and Child with John the Baptist and Angels, by Pietro del Donzello, c. 1500
    Virgin and Child with John the Baptist and AngelsPietro del Donzello, c. 1500Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. This is a drawing of an ornamental floral design. The image shows a central floral motif resembling a flower with radiating petals, surrounded by swirling leaf patterns. The background is dark, contrasting with the lighter line work of the floral design. The drawing's borders are uneven and have an antique appearance.
    Ornament in Hexagonal ShapeUnrecorded Italian maker, c. 1480/1510Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 2, north wall

  1. Madonna and Child, by Giovanni Bellini, late 1480s
    Madonna and ChildGiovanni Bellini, late 1480sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. St. Catherine of Siena and the Beggar, by Giovanni di Paolo, 1460s
    St. Catherine of Siena and the BeggarGiovanni di Paolo, 1460sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. An old man and a young woman holding an infant are seated together in the center of this almost square painting. All three people have pale, peachy skin. To our left, the man sits on a low, tan brick wall with his head bowed to look at the baby on the woman’s lap. A periwinkle-blue cloak is wrapped around the kelly-green robe that covers his shoulders, back, and legs. One hand grips a short staff planted on the ground. His receding white hair and beard are thin and scraggly with tufts sticking out over his ears. The woman sits next to and slightly in front of him, to our right, on a low rock, her body angled toward the man. A long, cobalt-blue cloak is draped around her shoulders and covers her knees over her rose-pink gown. Her honey-brown hair is parted in the middle and gathered at the back of her head. Her brown eyes look down at the infant, who is blond with brown eyes. A long white shawl is tucked into the neckline of her dress, drapes over her shoulders, and wraps under the baby as she cradles his body with one hand under his backside and the other behind his head. The baby lies on his back with his head turned toward the woman, and he points to her with one outstretched arm. The dirt ground is scattered with pebbles that make a loose ring around the trio, with moss-green growth to either side. A brown brick wall fills the upper half of the composition behind the people and extends off the top edge. A rounded arch pierces the back wall to our right of the woman. On the other side of the opening, trees with copper-brown leaves grow up along the left and the landscape beyond opens onto rocky hills with a white, square tower. In the deep distance, the silhouette of a town is painted in robin’s egg-blue against a pale peach horizon line. Thin, white clouds skim across the blue sky above.
    The Holy FamilyGiorgione, probably c. 1500Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. The Triumph of Fame; (reverse) Impresa of the Medici Family and Arms of the Medici and Tornabuoni Families, by Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi (called Scheggia), ca. 1449
    The Triumph of Fame; (reverse) Impresa of the Medici Family and Arms of the Medici and Tornabuoni FamiliesGiovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi (called Scheggia), ca. 1449Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art