Room 10
Dossi, Lotto and Pontormo
Paintings in this room
Barocci represents the holy family in the charming domestic setting of a bedchamber in a Renaissance palace. The infant Christ turns from feeding at his mother’s breast to observe his cousin, John the Baptist, who is teasing the household cat with a goldfinch. The bird is a traditional symbol of...
In this painting intended for private devotion, Fra Bartolommeo emphasises the humble circumstances of Christ’s birth. The Virgin kneels on the ground before the newborn Christ, while barefoot Saint Joseph watches over the baby. The makeshift stable made from the ruins of a classical building sta...
With this painting, Costa invented a type of image that would become very popular in northern Italy, particularly Venice, in the sixteenth century. The band of singers is engrossed in the camaraderie of their music; as she sings, the young woman keeps time by tapping her fingers against the marbl...
This picture is made up of fragments from a circular painting (tondo) that was originally part of a ceiling decoration. It was commissioned in 1524 by Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, for his castle in Ferrara. Originally it had five figures. The other surviving fragment, Boy with a Basket of Flo...
This picture may have been made as a record of a larger work by El Greco in the Escorial, which he probably painted for Philip II, King of Spain. The letters ‘IHS’ – which stand for IHSOUS, the Greek spelling of ‘Jesus’ – are its main focus.The figures in the left-hand corner are the members of t...
The dead Christ, draped in white linen, is lowered into his tomb as mourners look on. Mary Magdalene and the Virgin, distraught, cradle his right arm and legs. The sculptural quality of Christ’s elongated, suspended body, based on Michelangelo’s Bandini Pietà (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence...
This woman is most likely Sophonisba, an ill-fated but brave Carthaginian princess; she drains a glass of poison. In 206 BC Massinia allied with the Roman general Scipio to defeat the western Numidians, ruled by Sophonisba’s first husband, Syphax. Massinia fell in love with Sophonisba, but could...
Lured by a bribe from the Philistines, Israel’s enemies, Delilah agreed to collaborate in the capture of Samson – the Israelite hero of the Old Testament, and her lover. She cut off the source of his legendary strength – his hair – while he slept (Judges 16: 18–21). Her treachery is underlined by...
Christ is shown standing on the ledge of an oval structure, perhaps a well. He holds a crystal orb topped with jewels in his left hand and an olive branch in his right; he looks like a king or a Roman emperor. His very fine tunic clings to his body and we can see his little pot belly beneath it.C...
This picture was part of a classical-style frieze made for Francesco Cornaro, a Venetian nobleman, in celebration of his ancestors, the ancient Roman Cornelia family. Mantegna painted the figures to look as though they are carved from stone, not painted, and set against colourful marble.In 204 BC...
Taking careful steps, a woman comes towards us, holding what at first glance looks like a deep circular tray. She is the Vestal Virgin Tuccia and the object she carries is, in fact, a sieve.Vestal Virgins maintained the fire in the temple of the chaste goddess Vesta in Rome. Their virginity was c...
The Christ Child stands on the Virgin Mary’s lap, making a gesture of blessing. She is seated under a red canopy, between John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene, who looks up towards heaven.Mary Magdalene raises up a small pot, a reminder of the spices she used to anoint Christ’s body after his deat...
This picture formed part of the decoration of the bedroom of Pierfrancesco Borgherini in the Borgherini palace in Florence, and was commissioned to celebrate his marriage in 1515. The story is taken from the Old Testament (Genesis 39: 1). Joseph had been his father’s favourite son and was given a...
This was the latest and most advanced of a series of panels that were made to decorate the bedchamber of the Florentine banker Pierfrancesco Borgherini on the occasion of his marriage in 1515. The paintings, commissioned by Pierfrancesco’s father, tell the Old Testament story of Joseph. Five othe...
This is one of the panels that decorated Pierfrancesco Borgherini’s bedroom in his palace in Florence. They tell the Old Testament story of Joseph and were probably originally set into furniture. Five other panels from the series are also in the National Gallery.Joseph was his father’s favourite...
This is one of Veronese’s earliest works, painted when he was about 18, probably for a noble patron in Verona. The lighting from the right suggests that it was made for a specific location, perhaps the side wall of a chapel.The painting’s subject has been the matter of much debate but it is now b...