Italian Medieval and Renaissance Paintings and Sculptures

On View: West Building, Main Floor

Gallery number

367 artworks on view.

The Annunciation with Saint Francis and Saint Louis of Toulouse [four panels]

Cosmè Tura

c. 1470/1480

Tempera and distemper on panel Accession ID 1952.2.6.a-d

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M13

The Archangel Gabriel [middle left panel]

Cosmè Tura

c. 1470/1480

Tempera and distemper on panel Accession ID 1952.2.6.b

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M13

The individual is depicted from head to toe, standing upright with a slightly tilted head. The figure has delicately painted eyes, a straight nose, and lips at rest, surrounded by wavy, light golden hair that falls gently around the face and down the neck. They are dressed in flowing garments, a red robe under a blue drape that cascades down to the floor. The intricate folds of the fabric highlight the layered clothing style. In one hand, they hold a slender, closed book close to the body, while the other hand is raised with an upturned palm. Around their neck is a thin band or necklace. The background is a textured deep blue, giving a sense of depth, with some hints of earthy tones near the bottom that suggest a simple, non-specific setting.

The Virgin Annunciate [middle right panel]

Cosmè Tura

c. 1470/1480

Tempera and distemper on panel Accession ID 1952.2.6.c

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M13

Shown against a shiny gold background, a woman wearing a royal-blue mantle that covers her head and body stands with her head tipped sharply to rest in one hand in this vertical painting. Her skin is pale with a noticeably green tint. She tilts her head to our right and looks in that direction with brown eyes. Her right cheek flushes with a bright pink circle, and three horizontal pale yellow strokes indicate wrinkles at the corner of the eye closer to us. Visible strokes in butter yellow define her chin, nose, wrinkles on her furrowed forehead, and neck. A dark violet-purple cloth hangs over the shoulders of her blue mantle. A four-lobed design, perhaps a flower, is painted on her right shoulder, closer to us. The purple cloth is edged with gold, and tiny tassels with clover-shaped ends hang from the bottom hem. The blue mantle drapes over pointed, red shoes. A halo around her head is punched and incised into the gold background. A network of cracks runs across the gold background, and the red layer underneath is visible in some areas.

The Mourning Madonna

Master of the Franciscan Crucifixes

c. 1270/1275

Tempera on panel Accession ID 1952.5.13

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M1

A man and woman sit above six winged angels in this vertical panel painting, which comes to a pointed arch at the top. They all have pale skin tinged with gray, rosy cheeks, blond hair, and gold halos. The woman, Mary, and man, Jesus, sit with their knees angled toward each other, and they fill the top two-thirds of the arch. The space behind them is hung with fabric that is ocean blue inside and brick red on the outside, and both sides are edged and patterned with gold. Mary and Jesus wear shell-pink robes trimmed with gold under very pale pink, almost white, mantles that drape from their heads to cover much of their bodies. The mantles are patterned with straw-yellow, delicate, leafy, geometric designs, and they are lined with moss green. Jesus wears a three-pointed gold crown and his hands are raised to place a similar crown on the woman’s head. Mary tilts her head to receive the crown with her wrists crossed over her chest. Their feet rest on a step leading down to the bottom quarter of the composition. The step has a white stone tread and is inset with green and pink stone within white molding on the riser. In front of the step, six angels are in two groups of three on a scarlet-red floor. The angels are about a quarter the height Mary and Jesus would be if they stood. The angels wear robes in shades of goldenrod yellow, fern green, azure blue, or pale pink, and their wings match their robes. One angel in each trio plays a lute-like wooden instrument. Most of the angels’ lips are parted but two look up at Mary and Jesus with lips closed.

The Coronation of the Virgin with Six Angels

Agnolo Gaddi

c. 1390

Tempera on panel Accession ID 1939.1.203

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M2

This painting shows a person standing on a hill in rocky terrain. The person has light skin and short yellow hair. They are wearing a light blue tunic with jagged edges, tied at the waist with a pink sash. A pink cloak is draped over their shoulders. There is a small black bird near their feet, and another bird flies overhead. They appear to hold a thin, faded golden cross in one hand that extends above their head. There are hints of gold around their head, suggesting there once may have been a golden halo. The background includes lush greenery, trees, and stacked gray rocks on the right side. In the distance below is a winding path that leads through dark trees to a blue and white cityscape with large white domed buildings. The sky above is blue and cloudless.

Saint John the Baptist

Jacopo del Sellaio

c. 1480

Oil on poplar panel Accession ID 1939.1.283

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M7

Close to us, a bearded, balding man leads a donkey carrying a woman and child to our right against a hilly landscape in this horizontal painting. All three people have pale, peachy skin and halos. The man has a gray beard and hair, and wears a royal-blue tunic under a ruby-red robe. He leans on a walking stick and looks back at the donkey. The woman riding the donkey wears a blue and gold brocade-like cloak covering her head and body. She has a straight nose, small pink lips, and she looks toward the infant she holds close to her body. The baby wears a white garment and reaches for the woman’s face with one hand as he turns to look over his shoulder toward us. The path they walk on is lined with grass and detailed plants. A river runs parallel to the path a short distance away. The horizon line comes about two-thirds of the way up the painting is lined with green trees, blue mountains, and a few buildings to our left. Wispy white clouds sweep across an azure-blue sky streaked with peach near the horizon.

The Flight into Egypt

Vittore Carpaccio

c. 1515

Oil on panel Accession ID 1937.1.28

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M10

This painting shows a person who faces us, holding a long red sword in their left hand and a red flower with green leaves in their right hand. They appear to be standing, with their right leg bent, resting on top of a gray ledge. They have pale skin and curly, shoulder-length brown hair, arched eyebrows, a cleft chin, and thin lips in a slight smile. They are wearing a dark blue-green tunic with a high white collar underneath a long red cloak, burgundy tights, and tan boots. The arched background is a rich gold color with a halo-like design around the person's head.

Saint Florian

Francesco del Cossa

c. 1473/1474

Tempera on poplar panel Accession ID 1939.1.227

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M13

Shown from the thighs up, an older, balding man with a long white beard stands wearing a full suit of armor draped in a burgundy-red cloak in this vertical portrait painting. The man’s body is angled to our right, but he looks at us from the corners of his dark eyes. He has bushy gray brows, a bumped nose, high cheekbones, and his lips are closed. He has short white hair around a receding hairline, and his beard falls to his chest. His pewter-gray armor gleams darkly with cream-white accents. With one hand, he braces a baton against his right hip, to our left, and with the other gathers the folds of his cloak down by that side. The cloak is tied over one shoulder and falls heavily around his body. His helmet rests on a shoulder-high gray stone structure, perhaps a mantle or a ledge, behind the man to our right. The rest of the background is charcoal gray.

Vincenzo Cappello

Titian, Italian 16th Century

c. 1550/1560

Oil on canvas Accession ID 1957.14.3

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M23

A woman sits and supports a baby standing on her lap, both against a gold background in this arched, vertical painting. The woman and baby’s light skin is shaded with faint green, and they have pale pink cheeks. The woman’s body faces us. She tips her head toward the baby who stands on her knee, to our right. The woman looks at us with light brown eyes under curving brows. She has a long, straight nose, and her small pink lips are closed. Her blond hair is mostly covered by a midnight-blue robe that drapes over her shoulders, across her lap, and pools on the floor. The robe is lined with goldenrod yellow, edged with bright gold, and has gold starburst-like designs on the shoulder we can see and top of the head. The dress she wears underneath has more gold stars creating a pattern across the pearl-white fabric. A sky-blue scarf wraps over her head and loops across her shoulders. The baby holds one end of the scarf, and his other elbow rests on the woman’s shoulder. She props him up with both hands. He has a cap of blond curls and chubby cheeks with delicate features. His geranium-red garment falls over a pale blue skirt that reaches his bare feet. In the hand near the woman’s shoulder, he holds a scroll with the letters “EGO S.” The floor beneath them is mint green and has gold writing across the front, reading, “AVE.G ANN O.D M.CCCC.XIII.” The woman and baby’s disc-like gold halos blend into the gold background, which is visibly cracked in some areas. The panel comes to a pointed arch at the top.

Madonna and Child

Lorenzo Monaco

1413

Tempera on panel Accession ID 1943.4.13

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M3

A pale-skinned woman stands holding a cross in front of a deep landscape in this vertical painting. The woman’s body faces us but she tips her head to our right and looks off in that direction with light brown, wide-set, large eyes. She has a long, straight nose, pale pink lips, and a square jawline. Her thick blond hair is pulled back and curls fall alongside her face and fall down to her shoulders. She wears a gold crown and gold breastplate ornamented with pearls and gems. Her lapis-blue gown is slit along the long sleeves and puffs of white linen are pulled through the openings. A carnation-red robe drapes over one shoulder and across her hips. She is barefoot, and both hands brace the tall cross to her right, our left. A tall, spindly tree with only a few leaves in its sparce canopy stands just behind her to our right. She stands on a grassy hill, and a path leads back to a town. More grassy, tree-lined hills behind her rise to another town outlined against the pale blue sky. A few clouds trundle across the sky and more are streaked across the pink horizon, which comes about halfway up this composition.

Saint Helena

Cima da Conegliano

c. 1495

Oil on panel Accession ID 1961.9.12

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M10

A balding, bare-chested man with a long white beard kneels on a dirt ground to our right in front of a rocky cave opening in this vertical painting. The man holds a rock in one hand and looks up at a man hanging on a cross to the left. The kneeling man, Saint Jerome, has peach-colored skin and a fringe of gray hair. He has a rounded nose, deep-set eyes, a prominent brow, hollow cheekbones, and his lips are parted to reveal two teeth. His body is angled to our left, and he looks up in that direction with blue eyes. His sleeveless, long, powder-blue garment is taken off one shoulder to reveal his chest, and one bare foot sticks out under the hem of the robe behind him. A lion lies under the cave opening, which towers over Saint Jerome and continues off the top edge of the painting. The crucifix is opposite Saint Jerome. The haloed, mostly nude man hanging on the cross is about half the size of Saint Jerome, and has pale skin, brown hair, and a white loincloth across his hips. The wooden cross is braced by rocks. A black snake emerges from a crevice near the base of the cross and appears to head for Saint Jerome. A vivid blue river is glimpsed just beyond this rocky bit of land. Trees and a hill on the far side frame a deep, grassy expanse that leads back to a walled town and pale blue mountains along the horizon. A few white clouds skim across a pale blue sky in the top left quadrant of the painting. The artist signed the work as if he had written his name on a scroll of paper propped up in front of Saint Jerome’s knee, in the bottom right corner of the painting: “Joannis b pt C.”

Saint Jerome in the Wilderness

Cima da Conegliano

c. 1500/1505

Oil on panel transferred to canvas Accession ID 1939.1.168

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M10