Floor plan

Time and place16th-century Italy

16th-century Italy

Venus and Cupid, by Lorenzo Lotto, 1520s
The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right, by Leonardo da Vinci, 1510–13
This is a drawing of an ornamental design featuring mythological creatures and motifs. The artwork depicts a symmetrical arrangement with two central figures holding musical instruments, surrounded by acanthus leaves, griffins, and sphinxes. In the upper portion, there is a winged figure with a crown-like headdress carrying symbols or trophies. The design is detailed with decorative elements including floral patterns and architectural motifs. Throughout the drawing, there are various mythological creatures integrated into the composition.
Madonna and Child in a Niche, by Antonio del Ceraiolo, c. 1520s
A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.
Venus Reclining in a Landscape, by Giulio Campagnola, c. 1508–9
A work made of engraving and etching in black on cream laid paper.
A young woman with a pale, peachy skin is shown from waist up, wearing a shimmering, royal-blue dress in this vertical painting. Her body is angled to our right as she holds a metal object, perhaps a vessel or incense burner, in her hands by her chest. She turns and tilts her head to our left, but then looks back across her body, off to our right with flint-gray eyes. She has a full, oval-shaped face with a straight nose, smooth cheeks, and her pale pink lips are closed. A gray pearl earring hangs from the ear we can see. Her auburn-brown hair is parted down the middle, and loosely pulled back into a braid that brushes her left shoulder, to our right. The blue dress has a square neckline and a fitted bodice. Light glints off the fabric, shading it from royal to sapphire blue. A voluminous white sleeve is rolled back to her right elbow, to our left. That arm and hand nearly span the width of the painting as she holds the vessel, which has a conical top, near the lower right corner of the composition. The background is solid black.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in Italy in the 16th century.

First room, north wall

  1. Venus and Cupid, by Lorenzo Lotto, 1520s
    Venus and CupidLorenzo Lotto, 1520sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right, by Leonardo da Vinci, 1510–13
    The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing RightLeonardo da Vinci, 1510–13Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. This is a drawing of an ornamental design featuring mythological creatures and motifs. The artwork depicts a symmetrical arrangement with two central figures holding musical instruments, surrounded by acanthus leaves, griffins, and sphinxes. In the upper portion, there is a winged figure with a crown-like headdress carrying symbols or trophies. The design is detailed with decorative elements including floral patterns and architectural motifs. Throughout the drawing, there are various mythological creatures integrated into the composition.
    Ornamental Panel Inscribed "Victoria Augusta"Giovanni Antonio da Brescia, c. 1516Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. Madonna and Child in a Niche, by Antonio del Ceraiolo, c. 1520s
    Madonna and Child in a NicheAntonio del Ceraiolo, c. 1520sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.
    The Academy of Baccio BandinelliEnea Vico, 1544/50, printed c. 1560sCourtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Venus Reclining in a Landscape, by Giulio Campagnola, c. 1508–9
    Venus Reclining in a LandscapeGiulio Campagnola, c. 1508–9Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of engraving and etching in black on cream laid paper.
    A Naval BattleMichele Lucchese, c. 1550Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. A young woman with a pale, peachy skin is shown from waist up, wearing a shimmering, royal-blue dress in this vertical painting. Her body is angled to our right as she holds a metal object, perhaps a vessel or incense burner, in her hands by her chest. She turns and tilts her head to our left, but then looks back across her body, off to our right with flint-gray eyes. She has a full, oval-shaped face with a straight nose, smooth cheeks, and her pale pink lips are closed. A gray pearl earring hangs from the ear we can see. Her auburn-brown hair is parted down the middle, and loosely pulled back into a braid that brushes her left shoulder, to our right. The blue dress has a square neckline and a fitted bodice. Light glints off the fabric, shading it from royal to sapphire blue. A voluminous white sleeve is rolled back to her right elbow, to our left. That arm and hand nearly span the width of the painting as she holds the vessel, which has a conical top, near the lower right corner of the composition. The background is solid black.
    Portrait of a Young Woman as a Wise VirginSebastiano del Piombo, c. 1510Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, south wall

  1. A woman wearing a crimson-red brocade dress and gold jewelry fills most of this vertical portrait, but her right hand, on our left, rests on the shoulder of a young boy tucked into the lower left corner of the panel. The woman and boy both have pale, white skin, and both face and look out at us against an emerald-green curtain that falls behind them. The woman has brown eyes, a straight nose, full pink lips, smooth cheeks, and a long neck. Her brown hair is pulled back under a turban densely embroidered with gold. The woman’s dress has puffed shoulders and decorative slashes on the sleeves. One gold chain rests on her throat and the other falls over her chest. She wears long gold earrings, a gold belt, and two gold rings. She holds a brown leather glove in her left hand. The boy’s face is even with the woman’s waist, and he raises his left hand to hold hers, which is draped over his shoulder. He has curly blond hair and dark eyes, and he wears black with a ruffled white shirt just visible at his collar.
    A Young Woman and Her Little BoyAgnolo Bronzino, c. 1540Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Lucretia, by Raphael, 1508–10
    LucretiaRaphael, 1508–10Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. A work made of oil on panel.
    Lucrezia di Lippo di Iacopo GuidiAndrea del Sarto, 1525–28Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. Two women, a man, and a satyr, a man with goat’s legs, are in two pairs in a forested landscape in this horizontal painting. The pale-skinned women are nude, and their blond hair is tied up and back. One woman sits on a brown boulder to the left of center. One hand covers her groin, and the other hand rests on the satyr’s shoulder. The satyr has deeply tanned skin, short white hair, and a long white beard. A white cloth wraps over one shoulder and across his hips. He holds up an object, perhaps a shell, with one hand. That arm crosses over the woman’s breasts. His other hand is by his lower belly, and he looks at the shell. A bit farther back and to our right, a second nude woman also sits on a boulder. She faces away from us and holds up a long stick with her left arm, which arcs over her body. A clean-shaven, pale-skinned man sits with his back against the boulder. He has long brown hair and looks off to the distance to our right. He wears a carnation-pink robe over a sapphire-blue tunic. His legs splay in front of him, his feet bare, as he holds a bow to a violin-like instrument tucked under his chin. The two pairs sit in a grassy glade occupied also by five pheasant- or peacock-like birds. A thin river running behind the glade is lined with spindly trees that together make an impenetrable bronze-brown and laurel-green canopy. The second woman’s stick points or is directed to a gray, mountain lion-like cat on the far bank. Closer inspection reveals deer and another person, who points, tucked among the trunks. A glimpse of blue sky is visible through a break in the tree trunks.
    OrpheusUnrecorded Italian maker, c. 1515Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist, by Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1528
    The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the BaptistAndrea del Sarto, ca. 1528Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Holy Family with a Shepherd, by Battista Dossi, early 1520s
    Holy Family with a ShepherdBattista Dossi, early 1520sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Third room, north wall

  1. Studies of a Seated Female, Child's Head, and Three Studies of a Baby, by Raphael, c. 1507–8
    Studies of a Seated Female, Child's Head, and Three Studies of a BabyRaphael, c. 1507–8Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Venus and Adonis, by Titian, 1550s
    Venus and AdonisTitian, 1550sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art