Floor plan

Style galleriesThe Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance

The Annunciation to Zacharias; (verso) The Angel of the Annunciation, by Giovanni di Paolo, ca. 1455–60
The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist, by Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1528
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.
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.
The Annunciation, by Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi), ca. 1490
Hercules chasing Avarice from the Temple of the Muses, by Ugo da Carpi, ca. 1520–27
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 Last Communion of Saint Jerome, by Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi), early 1490s

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 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
  2. 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
  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. 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

First room, south wall

  1. The Annunciation, by Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi), ca. 1490
    The AnnunciationBotticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi), ca. 1490Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Hercules chasing Avarice from the Temple of the Muses, by Ugo da Carpi, ca. 1520–27
    Hercules chasing Avarice from the Temple of the MusesUgo da Carpi, ca. 1520–27Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. 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
  4. The Last Communion of Saint Jerome, by Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi), early 1490s
    The Last Communion of Saint JeromeBotticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi), early 1490sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, south wall

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement, by Fra Filippo Lippi, ca. 1440
    Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a CasementFra Filippo Lippi, ca. 1440Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, north wall

  1. The Musicians, by Caravaggio, 1597
    The MusiciansCaravaggio, 1597Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Bacchanal with a Wine Vat, by Andrea Mantegna, Before 1475
    Bacchanal with a Wine VatAndrea Mantegna, Before 1475Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. The Journey of the Magi, by Sassetta, ca. 1433–35
    The Journey of the MagiSassetta, ca. 1433–35Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Third room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. 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