Renaissance

A convincing figure, a measured architectural space or a finely observed surface can reveal different Renaissance interests. Artists revisited classical art and learning while developing new ways to tell religious and secular stories. Italian experiments with perspective and northern European oil painting offered distinct possibilities; they did not produce one uniform method. Notice how the arrangement of bodies, gestures and buildings guides a narrative, as well as how the picture creates an illusion of depth. Connected places: Italy · Northern Europe.

• Old Man with a Gold ChainRembrandt van Rijn, 1631
• Saint John the Baptist Entering the WildernessGiovanni di Paolo, 1455–60
• Ecce Agnus DeiGiovanni di Paolo, 1455–60
• Salome Asking Herod for the Head of Saint John the BaptistGiovanni di Paolo, 1455–60
• The Beheading of Saint John the BaptistGiovanni di Paolo, 1455–60
• The Head of Saint John the Baptist Brought before HerodGiovanni di Paolo, 1455–60
• Virgin and Child with an AngelSandro Botticelli, 1475–85
• Virgin and Child with Two AngelsSandro Botticelli, 1485–95
• Saint Anthony AbbotFra Angelico, 1440–41
• The CrucifixionFrancisco de Zurbarán, 1627
• Landscape with Saint John on PatmosNicolas Poussin, 1640
• Saint John the Baptist in Prison Visited by Two DisciplesGiovanni di Paolo, 1455–60
• Salome with the Head of Saint John the BaptistGuido Reni, c. 1639–42
• The Baptism of ChristPerugino, 1500–05
• Christ and the Woman of SamariaPerugino, 1500–05
• The NativityPerugino, 1500–05
• Noli Me TangerePerugino, 1500–05