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The 15th century

Works made in the 15th century, anywhere in the world.

110 works · hang 749 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. A work made of tempera on panel.
    Saint Anthony AbbotFra Angelico, 1440–41Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of ink and colors on paper, hanging scroll.
    LandscapeOguri Sotan, 15th centuryCourtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. The Annunciation to Zacharias; (verso) The Angel of the Annunciation, by Giovanni di Paolo, ca. 1455–60
    The Annunciation to Zacharias; (verso) The Angel of the AnnunciationGiovanni di Paolo, ca. 1455–60Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. Christ Carrying the Cross, by Martin Schongauer, ca. 1475–80
    Christ Carrying the CrossMartin Schongauer, ca. 1475–80Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. This shield-shaped painting shows a young man with pale, peachy skin and curling brown hair standing astride the severed head of a man with dark hair and tanned skin. The painting is wider at the top and tapers like a pint glass to a narrower base. The young man, David, holds the end of long red slingshot with his right hand. The slingshot is weighted by a rock and swings behind his body. His sleeveless rust-red garment is cinched at his waist over a long white shirt. Both garments skim David’s thighs and his legs and feet are bare. Long, curling brown hair frames the ashen and bloodied upturned face of the head at David’s feet. A palm-sized stone is embedded in that forehead. The landscape background is made up of gray boulders, a meandering river, and low palm-like trees. Frothy white clouds sweep across an azure-blue sky.
    David with the Head of GoliathAndrea del Castagno, c. 1450/1455Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. 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
  3. "Laila and Majnun at School", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja, by Ja'far Baisunghuri, 835 AH/1431–32 CE
    "Laila and Majnun at School", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of GanjaJa'far Baisunghuri, 835 AH/1431–32 CECourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Wilderness, by Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio), ca. 1440
    Saint Anthony the Abbot in the WildernessSano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio), ca. 1440Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, south wall

  1. A work made of oil on panel.
    Virgin and ChildHans Memling, c. 1485Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Madonna and Child, by Giovanni Bellini, late 1480s
    Madonna and ChildGiovanni Bellini, late 1480sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. In a wide, arched panel, a bearded man wearing a crown places another crown on the head of a woman. To our right, the woman bows her head with her eyes nearly closed and crosses her wrists over her chest. A white cloak covers her head, drapes over her shoulders, and pools in deep folds around her feet. The cloak is lined with pine green, and she wears a shell-pink dress. To our left, the man has shoulder-length, curly gray hair and a beard. His robe is dark rose pink, and the cloak is azure blue lined with pine green. Two winged angels have brown hair, short, white wings, and wear voluminous white robes. They stand to either side of the man and woman and hold up a swag of raspberry-red cloth hung with gold tassels. All the people have pale, peachy skin. Winged baby heads encircled with gold rays create an arch behind the man and woman, who sit on clouds. The background is pale blue sky.
    The Coronation of the VirginFilippino Lippi, c. 1475Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. This print features a detailed scene. In the center is a classical-style pavilion with arched openings and a domed roof adorned with intricate designs. A group of mostly-nude people is gathered around the pavilion, with one on horseback, holding a spear, and another holding a flag. In front of the pavilion, a knight on horseback appears to be falling into a dark hole in the ground. Vegetation, including trees and shrubs, is scattered throughout the landscape, and birds are seen flying in the sky above the pavilion. The horizon shows hills leading to a distant castle on a rocky formation on the right.
    Marcus Curtius Plunging into the ChasmLucas Cranach the ElderCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. The Passion: The Agony in the Garden, by Martin Schongauer, c. 1480
    The Passion: The Agony in the GardenMartin Schongauer, c. 1480Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of tempera on panel, transferred to canvas.
    The Baptism of ChristPerugino, 1500–05Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Third room, north wall

  1. A work made of tempera on panel, transferred to canvas.
    Christ and the Woman of SamariaPerugino, 1500–05Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. 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