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Study from the Palace of the Duke of Urbino, 1476.
Commissioned by Frederico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino for a palace in Gubbio near Perugia, Italy, but now part of the collection of The Met. This room is an example of the trompe l'oeil, or "fool the eye" technique. Small pieces of wood are inlaid in patterns to resemble actual objects.
Sosus of Pergamon: The Unswept Floor, Roman Mosaic, 2nd century CE
A Roman mosaic based on an earlier painting. It depicts the remnants of a dinner party scattered all over the floor of a dining room. Do you see the mouse?
Augustus of Primaporta, Early 1st century CE, reconstructed copy of marble, that is a copy of bronze, with paint.
Sometimes as we look at the art left behind by ancient civilizations we expect that they intended their sculpture to be viewed as the bleached white examples we see today however, that is not the case. The sculpture of the Greeks and the Romans was painted. We know this because remnants of the color survive and in rarer cases, sculpture with the paint still applied survives.
Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, Giacomo Balla, 1912.
A member of a group of Italian artists who struck by the changing world around them at the dawn of the 20th century, Balla vowed to paint dynamically and to portray movement on canvas. The movement was known as "Futurism."
The Battle of San Romano, c. 1450 by Paolo Uccello.
Uccello was fascinated with perspective and does his best to use "foreshortening" for the dead soldier in armor at the bottom of the piece, however it would be while before the technique would be fully understood and used less awkwardly.
Birth of Venus, c. 1485-86 by Sandro Botticelli.
One of the most famous of the Italian Renaissance paintings it is one of the most frequent images, out of thousands, when a likeness of the Greek goddess Venus (Aphrodite) is referenced.
The Virgin of the Rocks, 1483-86 by Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo created two almost identical versions of the same scene of the Virgin with the angel Uriel, John the Baptist and the Christ child. The first work was commissioned by an organization and when they did not pay right away it was purchased by an individual, finally the group gathered the money and another version was made for them.
London version
Lady with an Ermine, 1485 by Leonardo de Vinci.
This work is one of only three portraits of women done by Leonardo and has sustained a lot of retouching and overpainting throughout the years. However the woman (whose identity remains in dispute) and the ermine itself are so wonderful they are both considered to have been painted by da Vinci. The ermine has actually been identified as a ferret. Seized by the Nazi's in WWII the painting was returned to Poland in 1946.
The Engagement of Virgin Mary, 1504 by Raffaello Sanzio(Raphael), Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan.
This painting is an early work by the famous Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. The work is a study in receding space. Raphael signed his early paintings with his birth name.
Medusa, c. 1598 by Caravaggio.
Medusa has always been a popular character in art. The combination of female and monster seems to have been so tantalizing that most ancient and Renaissance artists had to take their turn. This work is a depiction of a ceremonial shield where the Gorgon is used to frighten enemies; a usage common in ancient art.
The Ecstacy of St. Teresa, 1645-1652 by Bernini, Cornaro Chapel.
"I saw an angel beside me toward the left side, in bodily form…He was not very large, but small, very beautiful, his face so blazing with light that he seemed to be one of the very highest angels, who appear all on fire. They must be those they call Cherubim…I saw in his hands a long dart of gold, and at the end of the iron there seemed to me to be a little fire. This I thought he thrust through my heart several times, and that it reached my very entrails. As he withdrew it, I thought it brought them with it, and left me all burning with a great love of God. So great was the pain, that it made me give those moans; and so utter the sweetness that this sharpest of pains gave me, that there was no wanting it to stop, nor is there any contenting of the soul with less than God”.
Bindo Altoviti, c. 1515 by Raphael.
Earlier interpretations thought that this work was a self-portrait. It is now generally agreed that it is an early portrait of the prominent Florentine banker, Bindo Altoviti.
Venus with a Mirror, c. 1555 by Titian
During the Renaissance paintings of nude women were often titled "Venus" as in excuse to portray nudes by claiming the image is a portrayal of the Roman goddess.
Venus, c.1984 by Andy Warhol, various collections.
Warhol was one of the most successful artists to come out of the Pop movement in America. His use of everyday images gave people something to relate to.
Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1485-86
La Joconde (Mona Lisa), 1749-1828 by Leonardo da Vinci, The Louvre.
That mysterious smile, many words have been written about it and its meaning, could it be a matter of
Still Life by Giorgio Morandi, 1946.
Throughout his career Morandi studied and painted still lifes of bottles in pale tones. His idea was to portray the pure simple beauty of the objects in pale natural light.
The Prison, plate VII, c. 1760 by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
Piranesi was always very interested in architecture as his etchings prove. He set about recording the many great monuments and the architecture of Rome.
The Lamentation by Giotto di Bondone, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua.
The emotion and naturalism found in Giotto's 14th century frescos are among the reasons he is considered one of the founders of modern painting and his style paved the way for the artists of the Renaissance to follow. His understanding of space and the use of the landscape as a means to lead the viewer to the primary action in the scene, was revolutionary.
An Allegory of Venus and Cupid, c.1550 by Agnolo Bronzino, National Gallery, London.
Bronzino's style is known as Mannerism, a style of exaggeration and poses. The meaning of the allegory is uncertain but figures such as Time (the old man), Cupid with his wings and Venus holding the golden apple she received from Paris, are easily recognizable.
The Adoration of the Magi, c.1445 by Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi,