Floor plan

Style galleriesThe Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance

The image shows a human figure with wings positioned as though in flight. The figure is captured from a slightly frontal perspective, with the head turned downwards and the right arm outstretched. The facial features are undefined, focusing more on the body's muscular structure. The figure wears a cloth or drapery around the waist and has well-defined muscles on the chest, arms, and legs. Large wings extend out behind the figure, adding to the sense of flight. The background is plain with a light texture.
Bright light from the upper left illuminates two muscular men and a winged angel against a dim landscape in this square painting. They all have pale skin, and the two men have dark brown hair and beards. One man, Jesus, stands ankle-deep in a rippling dark blue stream in the center of the composition facing us with downcast eyes. He is nude except for a white cloth that drapes over one shoulder and is tied around his hips. The other end of the cloth drops into the water. Jesus’s hands are pressed together in prayer at chest-height closer to his right shoulder, to our left. He leans his torso in the other direction and looks down at the water. The second man stands on the riverbank to our right. His body faces our left but his left shoulder, closer to us, dips down so his broad back is angled toward us. His lower body is wrapped in a cobalt-blue garment bordered with what looks like sheepskin. His near hand swings back to clutch the trunk of a tree growing immediately behind him. In his other hand, he holds up a pewter-grey dish that dribbles water onto Jesus’s head. On the left riverbank, the copper-haired angel looks on, facing our right in profile but the body faces us. The angel wears a sleeveless, pumpkin-orange robe with a shimmering salmon-pink mantle draped over the right shoulder, to our left. Petal-pink and dark grey wings extend from the shoulders, and the lower legs and feet are bare. The shadowy landscape has a dark green field stretching back to jagged, sapphire-blue mountains along the horizon, which comes four-fifths of the way up this composition. Pale blue clouds skim across the vivid blue sky, where three chubby, winged babies float. One holds a triangle and a rod with which to strike it, and another might hold a rectangular musical instrument. Blue clouds split nearby to show a sliver of golden yellow light, and possibly more angels.
The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Andrea Mantegna, shortly after 1450
Brother Gregorio Belo of Vicenza, by Lorenzo Lotto, 1547
A Bear Walking, by Leonardo da Vinci, ca. 1482–85
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.
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.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Florence, Venice and Rome from 1400 to 1600: perspective, anatomy and the classical past.

First room, north wall

  1. The image shows a human figure with wings positioned as though in flight. The figure is captured from a slightly frontal perspective, with the head turned downwards and the right arm outstretched. The facial features are undefined, focusing more on the body's muscular structure. The figure wears a cloth or drapery around the waist and has well-defined muscles on the chest, arms, and legs. Large wings extend out behind the figure, adding to the sense of flight. The background is plain with a light texture.
    A Flying AngelJacopo Palma il Giovane, 1580/1590Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Bright light from the upper left illuminates two muscular men and a winged angel against a dim landscape in this square painting. They all have pale skin, and the two men have dark brown hair and beards. One man, Jesus, stands ankle-deep in a rippling dark blue stream in the center of the composition facing us with downcast eyes. He is nude except for a white cloth that drapes over one shoulder and is tied around his hips. The other end of the cloth drops into the water. Jesus’s hands are pressed together in prayer at chest-height closer to his right shoulder, to our left. He leans his torso in the other direction and looks down at the water. The second man stands on the riverbank to our right. His body faces our left but his left shoulder, closer to us, dips down so his broad back is angled toward us. His lower body is wrapped in a cobalt-blue garment bordered with what looks like sheepskin. His near hand swings back to clutch the trunk of a tree growing immediately behind him. In his other hand, he holds up a pewter-grey dish that dribbles water onto Jesus’s head. On the left riverbank, the copper-haired angel looks on, facing our right in profile but the body faces us. The angel wears a sleeveless, pumpkin-orange robe with a shimmering salmon-pink mantle draped over the right shoulder, to our left. Petal-pink and dark grey wings extend from the shoulders, and the lower legs and feet are bare. The shadowy landscape has a dark green field stretching back to jagged, sapphire-blue mountains along the horizon, which comes four-fifths of the way up this composition. Pale blue clouds skim across the vivid blue sky, where three chubby, winged babies float. One holds a triangle and a rod with which to strike it, and another might hold a rectangular musical instrument. Blue clouds split nearby to show a sliver of golden yellow light, and possibly more angels.
    The Baptism of ChristParis Bordone, c. 1535/1540Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Andrea Mantegna, shortly after 1450
    The Adoration of the ShepherdsAndrea Mantegna, shortly after 1450Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. Brother Gregorio Belo of Vicenza, by Lorenzo Lotto, 1547
    Brother Gregorio Belo of VicenzaLorenzo Lotto, 1547Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A Bear Walking, by Leonardo da Vinci, ca. 1482–85
    A Bear WalkingLeonardo da Vinci, ca. 1482–85Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. 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
  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, south wall

  1. A Hunting Scene, by Piero di Cosimo (Piero di Lorenzo di Piero d'Antonio), ca. 1494–1500
    A Hunting ScenePiero di Cosimo (Piero di Lorenzo di Piero d'Antonio), ca. 1494–1500Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Journey of the Magi, by Sassetta, ca. 1433–35
    The Journey of the MagiSassetta, ca. 1433–35Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Two women and a man support the gray, lifeless body of a nearly nude man along a stone ledge in this vertical painting. The people have pale skin, except for the dead man at the center, Jesus, who has ash-white skin with dark shadows around his closed eyes. He has a long straight nose, and his lips are slightly parted. He has a brown beard, and his long, wavy hair falls away from his face. A white cloth wraps across his hips, and blood trickles from a gash over his right ribs and holes in his feet. A woman and man prop him up on either side, each holding Jesus by a limp arm, and each has a faint, gold halo encircling their heads. To our left, the woman holds her face close to his, her brows deeply furrowed and her mouth wide open, teeth showing. Her forehead, chin, and neck are covered by a white veil, worn under navy-blue cloak that covers her head and body. The cloak falls open over one arm and a bent knee to reveal her long-sleeved, lighter blue dress. On Jesus’s other side, a cleanshaven man with curly brown hair holds Jesus’s arm with both hands. The man’s eyes squint with tears as he tips his head toward Jesus. His pink lips are parted, and the corner of the mouth we can see is pulled down. He wears an emerald-green, long-sleeved tunic under a vivid red cloth that wraps around his right arm, waist, and left leg. The fourth and final person is a woman sitting on the ground, her arms wrapped tightly around Jesus’s crossed ankles. She sits with one foot tucked under her body and the other leg out straight. Waist-length, wavy, auburn-brown hair falls freely over her shoulders and across her face, but we can see her downturned, open mouth and nearly closed eyes. She wears a rose-pink dress, cinched at the waist. A brown cloth wraps around her waist and right leg. A cylindrical, lidded, white jar sits on the dirt ground nearby. The group is arranged in front a thigh-high stone ledge, except for the man in green and red, who steps into what is presumably the coffin. A rocky outcropping to our right has a cave-like opening with grasses and growth along the top. The landscape beyond has a dirt path winding between pine-green hills dotted with trees. Two slate-blue buildings perch atop one hill. White clouds float across the blue sky above.
    PietàMoretto da Brescia, 1520sCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. The Baptism of Christ, by Jacopo Bassano, ca. 1590
    The Baptism of ChristJacopo Bassano, ca. 1590Courtesy of The Metropolitan 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

Third room, north wall

  1. The Coronation of the Virgin, by Annibale Carracci, after 1595
    The Coronation of the VirginAnnibale Carracci, after 1595Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. 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
  3. Six women, eight men, two satyrs, and one child gather in pairs and trios in a loose row that spans the width of this nearly square painting. They are set within a landscape with craggy rocks, cliffs, and trees. Most of the people face us, and the men, women, and child have pale skin. The two satyrs have men’s torsos and furry goat’s legs, and they have darker, olive complexions. Most of the men wear voluminous, knee-length togas wrapped in short robes in shades of white, topaz blue, grass green, coral orange, or rose pink. Most of the women wear long, dress-like garments in tones of shell pink, apricot orange, or lapis blue over white sleeves. For all but one woman, their garments have fallen off one shoulder to reveal a round, firm breast. Several objects are strewn on the rocky, dirt ground in front of the group, including a wide, wooden bucket with a piece of paper affixed to its front to our right, a glass goblet, a pitchfork, a large blue and white ceramic dish filled with grapes and small yellow fruits, and an overturned cup near the center. Cliff-like, craggy rocks rise steeply behind the group to our left, filling much of the sky opposite a tall grove of leafy, dark green trees to our right. A few puffy white clouds float across the vivid blue sky. The slip of paper on the barrel has been inscribed, “joannes bellinus venetus p MDXIIII.”
    The Feast of the GodsGiovanni Bellini, 1514/1529Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington