Floor plan

Time and placeThe 16th century

The 16th century

Venus Reclining in a Landscape, by Giulio Campagnola, c. 1508–9
This painting depicts three people seated side-by-side outdoors. The central person is a young, nude child with curly, reddish hair and a red beaded necklace, sitting on a red cushion. Their head is turned to the right. The woman on the left wears a white head covering, a sheer veil around her neck, a green dress, and a red cloak with floral designs. She holds the torso of the child and drapes a white cloth around its legs. The woman on the right has long, flowing reddish hair and wears a white dress or robe with gold detailing down the front, on the neckline, and on the wrists. She holds an open red book, and the child is turning one of the thin pages. All three people have pale skin. Above them, in the cloudy blue sky, there is a white dove with its wings outstretched, gold lines radiating from it. Above the dove, there is an image of a crowned bearded man with pale skin, wearing red robes and holding an orb. He is against a golden background with red dots that breaks through the pale clouds. The background shows a landscape with green trees, hills, and pale blue buildings.
A work made of etching in black on cream laid paper.
Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness, by Annibale Carracci, ca. 1600
Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560), by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1532
Three insects are depicted in the image: a butterfly with dark blue and red wings on the bottom left, a larger butterfly with white, black, and blue patterns at the top center, and a dragonfly with brown and gold tones on the bottom right. The color palette includes rich blues, reds, browns, and golds against a neutral background. The central butterfly is positioned higher than the other two insects, with the left butterfly and right dragonfly symmetrically arranged below.
A nearly nude man with peachy skin stands next to and looks up at a man with ashen, ivory-colored skin, wearing armor and riding a bright white horse in this vertical painting. The horizon line comes less than a quarter of the way up the composition, and the sky behind the men and horse is vivid, aqua blue with a few silvery-gray and pale, yellow clouds floating along the top edge of the composition. The painting is created with long, blended brushstrokes, and the limbs and features of the two men and horse are elongated and have delicate, dark outlines. The horse’s body is angled to our right but it looks at us from the corners of its dark eyes. One front leg is raised. The rider looks down toward the man on foot at his side, to our left. The rider has dark, arched eyebrows, a long, straight nose, a pointed chin, and short, copper-orange hair. Wide ruffs pleated into figure-eights encircle his neck and wrists. His chest and arms are covered with plates of steel-gray armor edged and decorated with gold bands and medallions. He wears crimson-red pantaloons and stockings with mustard-yellow boots. With his right hand, to our left, he holds the gold hilt of a long, thin sword along the horse’s body. With his other hand, he holds a swath of lime-green fabric, which drapes down the side of the horse and across the hips of the man standing next to the rider. The sheen of the fabric is suggested with canary-yellow highlights where it catches the light. The standing man has short, dark brown hair and eyebrows. He looks to our right in profile, toward the rider, with pink lips parted. He holds the green fabric with his left hand, to our right, and he has a bandage around his leg near his right ankle. The horse and man stand on a spit of dark brown land, with a landscape of trees, buildings, and mountains deep in the distance beyond.
We look slightly down onto a scene with people gathering in small groups in a cobblestone town square lined with rows of brick, wood, and stone buildings, many with stepped rooflines, in this horizontal painting. Singly or in pairs or trios, men, women, and children walk across the square, move goods around, or talk to merchants. All the people have light skin. Many of the men have mustaches and wear hats, and some carry swords. In tones of black, olive green, brick red, and plum purple, they wear hip-length cloaks over jackets, with white collars or ruffs and brass buttons, and knee-length breeches over yellow or black stockings. The women all wear long dresses in salmon pink, coral red, or golden yellow, with white collars or ruffs, and many wear black, ankle-length cloaks, some with hoods. Closest to us, a sumptuously dressed man and woman walk toward us while another similarly elegant couple walks away. Also facing away from us, to our left, a man wearing a large drum strapped around his waist raises one drumstick as he looks over his left shoulder. Nearby, a woman peers up out of a cellar door that opens on an angle to the street. More couples gather around a well across the square, and two women and a child talk to a third woman selling wares at a wooden table to our right. A pair of hooded priests or monks walk near a man blowing on a trumpet on horseback. The buildings are mostly shades of brick red and brown, and most have three or four stories with steeply pitched roofs. More people walk along side streets leading off the main square. One gap in the buildings across from us leads to a nickel-gray stone church with a pointed spire and square tower. A grassy, green hill rises steeply beyond the buildings to our right, leading down to a waterway that extends up and away into the distance. A few boats float in the water, which reflects the leaden-gray sky. Beyond the town square, a brown stone structure like a fortress with turret towers and crenellated walls looms along the ridge of the hill to our right. Tiny in scale, people on horseback and tending sheep dot the hillside below. The date “1590” is painted on the front of one of the buildings across from us while another date, “1597,” is painted on the end of a short wall near the lower left corner.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in the 16th century, anywhere in the world.

First room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. This painting depicts three people seated side-by-side outdoors. The central person is a young, nude child with curly, reddish hair and a red beaded necklace, sitting on a red cushion. Their head is turned to the right. The woman on the left wears a white head covering, a sheer veil around her neck, a green dress, and a red cloak with floral designs. She holds the torso of the child and drapes a white cloth around its legs. The woman on the right has long, flowing reddish hair and wears a white dress or robe with gold detailing down the front, on the neckline, and on the wrists. She holds an open red book, and the child is turning one of the thin pages. All three people have pale skin. Above them, in the cloudy blue sky, there is a white dove with its wings outstretched, gold lines radiating from it. Above the dove, there is an image of a crowned bearded man with pale skin, wearing red robes and holding an orb. He is against a golden background with red dots that breaks through the pale clouds. The background shows a landscape with green trees, hills, and pale blue buildings.
    Saint Anne with the Virgin and the Christ ChildMaster of Frankfurt, c. 1511/1515Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. A work made of etching in black on cream laid paper.
    Saint Catherine of Siena Receiving the StigmataFrancesco Vanni, c. 1595Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness, by Annibale Carracci, ca. 1600
    Saint John the Baptist Bearing WitnessAnnibale Carracci, ca. 1600Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560), by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1532
    Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560)Hans Holbein the Younger, 1532Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Three insects are depicted in the image: a butterfly with dark blue and red wings on the bottom left, a larger butterfly with white, black, and blue patterns at the top center, and a dragonfly with brown and gold tones on the bottom right. The color palette includes rich blues, reds, browns, and golds against a neutral background. The central butterfly is positioned higher than the other two insects, with the left butterfly and right dragonfly symmetrically arranged below.
    Plate 13: Yellow Swallowtail and Red Admiral Butterflies with a Dragonfly (Broad-Bodied Chaser?)Joris Hoefnagel, c.1575/1590sCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. A nearly nude man with peachy skin stands next to and looks up at a man with ashen, ivory-colored skin, wearing armor and riding a bright white horse in this vertical painting. The horizon line comes less than a quarter of the way up the composition, and the sky behind the men and horse is vivid, aqua blue with a few silvery-gray and pale, yellow clouds floating along the top edge of the composition. The painting is created with long, blended brushstrokes, and the limbs and features of the two men and horse are elongated and have delicate, dark outlines. The horse’s body is angled to our right but it looks at us from the corners of its dark eyes. One front leg is raised. The rider looks down toward the man on foot at his side, to our left. The rider has dark, arched eyebrows, a long, straight nose, a pointed chin, and short, copper-orange hair. Wide ruffs pleated into figure-eights encircle his neck and wrists. His chest and arms are covered with plates of steel-gray armor edged and decorated with gold bands and medallions. He wears crimson-red pantaloons and stockings with mustard-yellow boots. With his right hand, to our left, he holds the gold hilt of a long, thin sword along the horse’s body. With his other hand, he holds a swath of lime-green fabric, which drapes down the side of the horse and across the hips of the man standing next to the rider. The sheen of the fabric is suggested with canary-yellow highlights where it catches the light. The standing man has short, dark brown hair and eyebrows. He looks to our right in profile, toward the rider, with pink lips parted. He holds the green fabric with his left hand, to our right, and he has a bandage around his leg near his right ankle. The horse and man stand on a spit of dark brown land, with a landscape of trees, buildings, and mountains deep in the distance beyond.
    Saint Martin and the BeggarUnrecorded Greek maker, 1600/1614Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. We look slightly down onto a scene with people gathering in small groups in a cobblestone town square lined with rows of brick, wood, and stone buildings, many with stepped rooflines, in this horizontal painting. Singly or in pairs or trios, men, women, and children walk across the square, move goods around, or talk to merchants. All the people have light skin. Many of the men have mustaches and wear hats, and some carry swords. In tones of black, olive green, brick red, and plum purple, they wear hip-length cloaks over jackets, with white collars or ruffs and brass buttons, and knee-length breeches over yellow or black stockings. The women all wear long dresses in salmon pink, coral red, or golden yellow, with white collars or ruffs, and many wear black, ankle-length cloaks, some with hoods. Closest to us, a sumptuously dressed man and woman walk toward us while another similarly elegant couple walks away. Also facing away from us, to our left, a man wearing a large drum strapped around his waist raises one drumstick as he looks over his left shoulder. Nearby, a woman peers up out of a cellar door that opens on an angle to the street. More couples gather around a well across the square, and two women and a child talk to a third woman selling wares at a wooden table to our right. A pair of hooded priests or monks walk near a man blowing on a trumpet on horseback. The buildings are mostly shades of brick red and brown, and most have three or four stories with steeply pitched roofs. More people walk along side streets leading off the main square. One gap in the buildings across from us leads to a nickel-gray stone church with a pointed spire and square tower. A grassy, green hill rises steeply beyond the buildings to our right, leading down to a waterway that extends up and away into the distance. A few boats float in the water, which reflects the leaden-gray sky. Beyond the town square, a brown stone structure like a fortress with turret towers and crenellated walls looms along the ridge of the hill to our right. Tiny in scale, people on horseback and tending sheep dot the hillside below. The date “1590” is painted on the front of one of the buildings across from us while another date, “1597,” is painted on the end of a short wall near the lower left corner.
    The Marketplace in Bergen op ZoomAbel Grimmer, probably 1590 and 1597Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, south wall

  1. The tale of the three men trapped in a cave by a rolling boulder, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night, by Bihzad, c. 1560
    The tale of the three men trapped in a cave by a rolling boulder, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second NightBihzad, c. 1560Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. 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
  3. A work made of engraving on three joined sheets of ivory laid paper.
    The Wedding of Cupid and PsycheHendrick Goltzius, 1587Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. The image shows a man seated with a slight forward tilt. He is muscular, with one leg bent and the other extended. His head is turned to the left in profile, revealing his facial features, which include a large nose, full beard, and curly hair. He appears naked except for a fabric drape over his shoulders. In his left hand, he holds a staff, and there is a plant with twisting vines near him. The background is a shaded rocky surface with no other details.
    Man Seated Holding a Forked StaffGiovanni Antonio da Brescia, c. 1514/1515Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. "A Muslim Pilgrim Learns a Lesson in Piety from a Brahman", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi, by Amir Khusrau Dihlavi, 1597–98
    "A Muslim Pilgrim Learns a Lesson in Piety from a Brahman", Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusrau DihlaviAmir Khusrau Dihlavi, 1597–98Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. This is a drawing of two armored figures on horseback engaged in a joust. Both knights are clad in ornate armor and mounted on horses as they participate in the match. The scene captures the moment of impact, with splintered lances flying in the air. One knight in silver armor with blue accents is being unseated from his horse, while the other knight in red and silver armor remains mounted. Both horses are draped in colors matching their riders' armors. The focus is on the dynamic action and energy of the joust, with fine details showing the armor's shine and the movement of the horses. The drawing is bordered, and there is some script at the top and bottom.
    Italian Joust of PeaceUnrecorded German maker, c.1512-1515Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Portrait of the wife of Yizhai, by Ruan Zude, datable to 1561 or 1620
    Portrait of the wife of YizhaiRuan Zude, datable to 1561 or 1620Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. A work made of pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash, on tan laid paper, laid down on tan laid card.
    Group of Nine Standing FiguresParmigianino, 1524/27Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago