Mary kneels in adoration before the Christ Child, who stretches out his arms to his mother. One angel supports the child's head while another lays his hands on the shoulders of the young John the Baptist. At right, under the lean-to of the stable, Joseph kneels. Medium: Oil on panel. Measurements:
The vision of Saint Anne, an allegory of the Immaculate Conception. The kneeling Anna sees Mary carried by angels on a cloud toward heaven, where Christ awaits her with outstretched arms. Behind Anna kneels her husband Joachim with folded hands. The work is a preliminary study for the altarpiece dat
Christ on the cross. Below the cross stand, at left, Saint Mary Magdalene and Mary. Saint Francis of Assisi kneels and embraces the cross. At right stand John and Saint Ignatius of Antioch. Two angels catch the blood of Christ in chalices, and at right is a banderole with text. Medium: Tempera on p
Gaggini was a member of a large family of sculptors whose Palermo workshop supplied monumental religious sculptures for the cathedrals of Palermo and Messina in Sicily and Montelione in Calabria. After 1507 Antonello himself worked for 15 years to produce marble sculptures for Palermo Cathedral. Thi
This head exhibits many of the characteristics of the style associated with the workshop of Giovanni Pisano. These are particularly noteworthy in the sensitive carving of the haunting face and its strikingly drilled beard. The head compares favorably to the sculpture made while Giovanni was master o
The Virgin Mary in a red veil holds the Christ Child on her lap while an angel holding a lily looks on, painted by the Veronese artist Paolo Morando, known as Cavazzola (1486-1522).
A half-length image of the suffering Christ by the Florentine painter Jacopo del Sellaio (1441-1493). Christ wears the crown of thorns and crosses his wounded hands over his chest, surrounded by the instruments of the Passion, including the scourge and rope.
The Madonna is seated beneath a Gothic-arched canopy flanked by Saints Catherine and John the Baptist. A rectangular frame encloses the group. Most likely from a Sienese church interior, the work is probably a fragment of a larger sculptural program such as a tomb. An authentic Gothic style in sculp
This brooch was probably made to fasten a ceremonial cloak, and may have been intended as a diplomatic gift or memento. The central composition parallels the main face of the famous gold coin, a ducat, of the Venetian Doge Giovanni Dandolo minted in 1288-1289. Unlike the coin, the medallion is neith
This sculpture relates stylistically with architrave figures from the facade of Monopoli’s cathedral. It is especially similar to a capital there featuring the prophet Daniel. The figure pouring water on the left probably represents an attendant in the Birth of the Virgin. The remaining figures depi
This small picture belonged to a predella, a series of subsidiary panels consisting of narrative scenes and situated at the bottom of an altarpiece. Predella paintings are significant because the artist was allowed more freedom and inventiveness here than in the higher part of the altarpiece. In thi
This small altarpiece, intended for a domestic interior or private chapel, consists of three panels, allowing it to be folded and easily transported. Surrounding the Virgin and Child in the center are various saints. On the left is Saint Andrew crucified, with St. Francis and St. Paul below; on the
These panels depicting Saints Anthony the Abbot and Michael originally flanked a central scene of the Madonna and Child with Angels, now lost, to form a triptych. Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici of Florence commissioned the ensemble in 1457 as a diplomatic gift to Alfonso V of Aragon. Fra Filippo Lipp
Although Gherardo Starnina is regarded as one of the most important painters of his time in Florence, little is known about him. He probably studied with a well-regarded Florentine painter who made numerous frescoes. He is claimed to have participated in the painting of the frescoes in the Castellan
This sculptural relief belongs to a large series made for the Franciscan friary of San Vivaldo (founded 1350) in the Tuscan hills southwest of Florence. The friary was enlarged between 1500 and 1530 when 32 chapels were built, each dedicated to an incident in the life or Passion of Christ. San Vival
Mass-produced plaquettes like this work offered high quality devotional images for private use. The Latin title of this work, according to the Gospel of John (19:1-5), refers to the words that were spoken by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, when he presented Christ, scourged and crowned
Is this painting by Titian?Titian, the celebrated and prolific 16th-century Venetian artist, and his large workshop painted several versions of this subject. Further research is needed to compare this painting with versions in Milan and Madrid to determine how much of each is by Titian himself, as o
The third scene in the series depicts one of the final events of the pope’s stay. At the back of the magnificent audience hall of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the doge (in gold and white) approaches the throne to receive his papal blessing, with a line of red-robed senators in his wake. Medium: Oil on c
This fragment and two other capitals (1972.20 and 1972.21) were once parts of the same structure. Though the original structure is unknown, their style suggests that it was located in Bologna. As the fragmentary Latin inscription S: LU suggests, the ox represents the traditional symbol in medieval a
In the Gospel of John, a group of scribes and Pharisees, following the law of the Ten Commandments, intends to stone a woman who has committed adultery. The group first asks Christ's opinion of their actions, hoping to accuse him of heresy, but Christ ignores them by writing on the ground. When they
In medieval Italian churches, painted altarpieces served as the focal point for worshippers during the rituals of faith. The figures of Jesus, Mary, and eight saints are framed by a golden background that would have glistened in the flickering candlelight of the church. Medium: Tempera and gold on
One of the most important and beautiful sculptures that still exist by this artist, this work is believed to be the only sculpture by Andrea Pisano in the US. The attribution to Pisano is based upon a comparison with his bronze reliefs for the Baptistry doors in Florence, fully documented examples o
Bernardino di Betto, called Pinturicchio, is said to have acquired his nickname ("little painter") because of his small stature, and used it to sign some of his paintings. Born in Perugia, the provincial capital of Umbria, he trained under local artists, eventually becoming a paid assistant of the p
Moderno's Crucifixion demonstrates his ability to create rhythmic and dramatic compositions on a small scale. The writhing of the crowded figures and tortuous thieves is counterbalanced by the strong, classical body of Christ on the towering vertical of the cross. As the emotional and structural ape
