Giorgione

Zorzo da Castelfranco
Venetian, 1477/1478 - 1510

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Four people with pale skin are gathered to our right in a landscape, their heads bowed down toward an infant who lies on a white cloth on the ground in this horizontal painting. The nude baby has a rounded belly, chubby limbs, and short blond hair. To our right and near the edge of the panel, a woman kneels with her hands in prayer, looking toward the baby so she faces our left in profile. She wears a lapis-blue robe over a rose-pink dress, and a white cloth covers her head and shoulders. Behind her and to our left, a man with a white beard, wearing a golden yellow robe, sits or kneels next to a rock at the mouth of a cave cut into a rocky outcropping that extends off the top of the composition. To the left of the baby and at the center of the foreground, a pair of men wear tattered clothing and hold shepherd’s staffs. The man closer to us kneels with his hands pressed together in prayer as the man behind him bends his knee as if to kneel. The landscape recedes deep into the distance on the left half of the painting with a winding river, houses and other buildings, grassy hills, and mountains beneath a blue sky. A small winged angel wearing white looks down on the scene from the upper left corner.
Giorgione, The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1505/1510, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.289

The Adoration of the Shepherds

Giorgione · 1505/1510 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1939.1.289
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.
Giorgione, The Holy Family, probably c. 1500, oil on panel transferred to hardboard, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.2.8

The Holy Family

Giorgione · probably c. 1500 · oil on panel transferred to hardboard ·  Accession ID  1952.2.8
Shown from the chest up against a black background, two men with peachy skin, one holding a brass-colored sphere made up of interlocking bands, fill this horizontal portrait painting. To our left, a boy or young man looks at us with dark eyes and his coral-pink lips are parted. His curly brown hair falls to his shoulders, and he wears a floppy, denim-blue hat. His emerald-green tunic is lined around the neck, shoulders, and down the front with bands of ruby red, and the neck is tied with a pale purple ribbon. A white shirt underneath shows at the neck and down a slit along the shoulder we can see. Along the bottom edge of the composition, the boy grips a paint brush, a quill pen, a flute, and a compass in his left fist. The man to our right leans toward the boy almost in profile. The second man has ash-brown, curly hair and the suggestion of a short beard on his chin. He has hooded eyes, a prominent nose, and his downturned lips are also parted. He wears a honey-yellow tunic over a white undergarment. A swath of scarlet red over his left shoulder, to our right, could be a cloak. In the space between the people, he holds up the armillary sphere, made up of overlapping bands to create an orb, in his right hand, on our left. A long, white scroll curls around the handle of the sphere, the man’s hand, and down near his wrist. The scroll is inscribed, “NON VALET. INGENIVM.NISI FACTA VALEBVNT.” He looks at the sphere and points to it with his other hand.
Giorgione, Giovanni Borgherini and His Tutor, oil on canvas, Gift of Michael Straight, 1974.87.1

Giovanni Borgherini and His Tutor

Giorgione · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1974.87.1
This is a drawing of anatomical studies featuring muscular forms. The image contains sketches of limbs and torsos in different poses, capturing the details and contours of human musculature. The lines are confident and expressive, hinting at a study of human anatomy. Each form is depicted in different states of motion, showing an understanding of static and dynamic positions.
Jacopo Tintoretto, Giorgione, Figures and Legs (verso), 1575/1580, black chalk on laid paper, Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner, 2006.11.25.c

Figures and Legs (verso)

Jacopo Tintoretto, Giorgione · 1575/1580 · black chalk on laid paper ·  Accession ID  2006.11.25.c
This is a drawing of abstract forms resembling dynamic sketches of anatomical studies, primarily focusing on muscular forms. The drawing showcases several roughly sketched forms that appear to represent contorted muscular structures. The forms are rendered in a loose style with pronounced lines creating a sense of motion and tension. The paper has a textured appearance, enhancing the rawness of the sketches. The composition is informal, suggesting an exploratory study.
Giulio Campagnola, Giorgione, Head of a Boy (verso), c. 1513, pen and brown ink on laid paper, Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner, 2006.11.25.b

Head of a Boy (verso)

Giulio Campagnola, Giorgione · c. 1513 · pen and brown ink on laid paper ·  Accession ID  2006.11.25.b
The drawing shows a rustic structure surrounded by trees. The scene is viewed from an elevated perspective. The focus is on detailed buildings with pointed roofs and intricate architectural elements, depicted using sketch-like brushstrokes and hatching. The image is in sepia tones, creating a vintage feel. Depth is created through layering elements and suggesting trees on either side, drawing the viewer towards the center of the buildings.
Giorgione, Giulio Campagnola, A Complex of Rustic Houses Built Over Ruins, 1509/1515, pen and brown ink on laid paper; laid on mid-eighteenth century Italian paper, Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner, 2006.11.66

A Complex of Rustic Houses Built Over Ruins

Giorgione, Giulio Campagnola · 1509/1515 · pen and brown ink on laid paper; laid on mid-eighteenth century Italian paper ·  Accession ID  2006.11.66
The image depicts a rural landscape with buildings, hills, and distant mountains or hills. The viewpoint seems slightly elevated, indicating a perspective looking from a small hill or distance. The drawing showcases detailed structures like houses and medieval-style buildings against rocky terrain. The landscape expands into rolling hills and peaks on the right, with fine lines and cross-hatching used for texture and depth. The color scheme is monochrome, mainly brown and sepia. The foreground contains rocky outcrops, trees, hills, and foliage, creating depth and continuity in the scenery.
Giorgione, Giulio Campagnola, A Village Nestled at the Foot of a Hill (recto), 1509/1515, pen and brown ink over leadpoint on laid paper, Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner, 2006.11.25.a

A Village Nestled at the Foot of a Hill (recto)

Giorgione, Giulio Campagnola · 1509/1515 · pen and brown ink over leadpoint on laid paper ·  Accession ID  2006.11.25.a
A light-skinned woman and winged boy face each other in a verdant landscape in this horizontal painting. The pair are in the center of the composition. To our left, the woman sits in profile on a moss-green stump, facing our right in profile. She wears a tall diadem over her hip-length blond hair, and her lips are parted. She wears a shell-pink, short-sleeved gown with soft pleats. Her far leg is bent with her foot on the ground, and her near leg is slightly extended. To our right, the boy steps toward and reaches for the woman. He is nude except for a white sash that wraps around his far shoulder, across his back, under his gold wing, and around his near thigh. The ends of the sash fly out behind him. Around them, an emerald-green field is strewn with yellow and red flowers. A dead tree trunk stands to the left of the woman, and two slender trees grow to our right. Beyond the woman and child, a hill with steep sides rises to top of the composition. It is carpeted with lime-green growth, and a zigzagging, sage-green path climbs to a flat area at the top. White paths wrap around the hill to either side, and are bordered by green grasses, trees, and fields. The paths lead back to buildings and misty blue mountains in the far distance. Tiny, pale strokes of color suggest people on the hill and strolling along the paths.
Anonymous Artist, Venus and Cupid in a Landscape, c. 1505/1515, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.142

Venus and Cupid in a Landscape

Anonymous Artist · c. 1505/1515 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1939.1.142
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Holy Family [p. 77] from Roman Sketchbook: Landscapes, Genre Scenes, Works of Art

Wilhelm Kandler · 1844 · graphite on wove paper from a bound sketchbook with 65 graphite drawings on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2013.96.42
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[Choix des meilleures statues antiques]

Angelo Campanella, Antonio Capellan, Giovanni Volpato, Domenico Cunego, Camillo Tinti, Francois Joseph Lonsing, Giuseppe Sforza Perini, Francesco Piranesi · published 1780/1792 and 1793 · 2 books bound in 1 vol: part 1: ill: 40 etching and engravings (4 double-page, rest full-page, versos blank) all by Francesco Piranesi with 19 after Tommaso Piroli, 14 after Ludovico Carazzari, 3 after Bernardino Nocchi, 2 after Lorenzo Rocchegiani, 1after after Baptiste Gagneraux; part 2: ill: 40 etching and engraving (including title page, all full-page versos blank) after paintings by various artists with 21 by Domenico Cunego, 8 by Giovanni Volpato, 4 by Antonio Capellani, 3 by Camillo Tinti, 1by Angelo Campanello, 1 by François Lonsing, 1 by Joseph Perini ·  Accession ID  1985.61.2615

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This horizontal painting is made up of three parts: in the center square panel, a woman reclines under a wooden shelter set into a rocky cave, which is surrounded by angels, and narrower wings to either side are each occupied by a standing man. All the people have pale skin, which is tinged with faint green. The three panels are joined with a gold frame, and the gold background behind the central scene and the men in the side panels are covered with a noticeable network of cracks. In the central panel, a cobalt-blue robe nearly envelopes the reclining woman’s body; this is Mary. It covers her head and falls open where she crosses her wrists over her chest to show a pink garment underneath. A flat gold halo encircles her head ,and her body is surrounded by a field of crimson red, almost like an aura. She rests under a wooden structure with a pitched roof, which is surrounded by craggy, barren rock. A swaddled infant lies in a rectangular, tray-like manger. The infant’s head is also surrounded by a gold halo. Fine gold rays emanate down into the structure from a star just above the peak of the roof. A bull and a donkey look down at the baby from the far side of the manger. The interior of the structure behind them is black. In a smaller scale, two women wash a haloed infant in a tub in front of the rocky cave near the lower left corner of this panel. A man with a white beard and hair sits to our left of Mary, holding a pink cloak at his throat and looking toward the infant. Above and around the rocks, seven winged and haloed angels cluster on each side. One angel to the right presents a scroll with black writing to two men accompanied by a dog and several sheep in the lower right. The man in the panel to the left, Isaiah, has a gray beard and long, wavy hair, and he wears a lilac-purple cloak draped over a coral-orange robe. In his right hand, on our left, he holds an unfurled scroll with large black lettering. His other hand is raised with one finger pointing upward. He looks to our left, away from the central scene. On the right, Ezekiel, echoes Isaiah's pose. Ezekiel holds an open scroll with his left hand, on our right, and his other hand is raised. He also wears a coral-colored robe, but his is overlaid with a blue cloak. His receding hair is short and brown, as is his beard. Like Isaiah, he takes up most of the height of the panel and gazes to our left, toward the central panel.

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