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Jan 1, 1400
Ife Head
The sculpted head of a king of Ife was unearthed in Nigeria in the 1920's. The German archeologist who found the piece, Leo Frobenius, said that this was proof that Greek sculpting originated on the island of Atlantis. -
Jan 1, 1400
God the Father
God the Father is an early 15th century ivory sculpture by an unknown artist based on the Netherlandish sculptors. This piece is on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. The exemplary carving indicates that it must have been an important commision. -
Period: Jan 1, 1400 to Jan 1, 1500
Fine Art 1400-1500
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Jan 1, 1423
The Adoration of the Magi by Gentile da Fabriano
The Adoration of the Magi is a tempera on panel painting by Gentile da Fabriano that depicts the Madonna and Child surrounded by the Magi bearing gifts. The ornate and complex painting is viewed as the seminal work of international gothic painting. The work can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. -
Jan 1, 1425
Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden by Masaccio
Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden is a fresco painted in the Brancacci Chapel inside the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence by Masaccio. The fresco depicts an angel casting out Adam and Eve after the eating fof the forbidden fruit. Masaccio's fresco holds a unique quality in that the pictoral light matches the source of light in its environment. -
Jan 1, 1427
The Tribute Money by Masaccio
The Tribute Money is a fresco by the Italian renaissance painter Masaccio, located in the Brancacci Chapel of the basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. Masaccio is widely recognized as one of the key originators of the Italian Renaissance in Florence, Italy. This work is known for its linear perspective, chiaroscuro techniques, and use of light and dark colors. -
May 6, 1432
Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan Van Eyck
The Ghent Altarpiece, a 12-panel painting, was begun by Hubert van Eyck, and eventually finished by his more famous brother Jan, who completed the work upon Hubert's death in 1426. How much work Hubert did on the piece before his death is unknown. It was dedicated on May 6, 1432 in the Church of Saint John, Ghent. The altarpiece was one of the many priceless works that was rescued from the Nazi's by the Monuments Men during WWII. -
Jan 1, 1434
Duomo of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore
The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Flower in Florence, Italy was completed in 1434 with the dome, which dominates the exterior. It is the design of Filippo Brunelleschi. It remains the world's largest brick dome ever built. The dome completed this gothic structure that was started in Florence two centuries earlier. -
Jan 1, 1440
Bronze Statue of David by Donatello
Donatello's bronze statue of David is famous because it was the first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during the Renaissance. It was also the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity. It depicts a young, nude David standing on Goliath's head and holding Goliath's sword. -
Jan 1, 1440
The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello
The Battle of San Romano is a tempera painting by Paolo Uccello that commemorates the victory of the Florentine forces led by Niccolo da Tolentino over the Sienese army under Bernardino della Ciarda. It is made up of three panels and was owned by Lorenzo Medici although he did not patronize the work. This is one of the great pieces of the Florence Renaissance. -
Jan 1, 1450
The Annunciation by Fra Angelico
The Annunciation by Fra Angelico is a mural painting in the San Marco Covenant and is considered one of the greatest paintings of the Italian Renaissance. This fresco was also financed by the Medici family who were behind some of the most widely renowned artwork during the Renaissance in Florence. -
Jan 1, 1450
Tempio Malatestiano by Leon Battista Alberti
Tempio Malatestiano is the cathedral church of Rimini, Italy designed by architect Leon Battista Alberti. Pope Pius II considered the work to be an exultation of Paganism because of the principles of classical and gothic architecture. The cathedral was heavily damaged during WWII. -
Jan 1, 1460
Transfiguration by Giovanni Bellini
This is the first of two works on the Transfiguration by Bellini. It is on display in the Museo Correr of Venice. The painting portrays Christ on Mount Tabor with Elijah the Prophet and Moses. His disciples are blinded by the transfiguration. The earlier work has gothic qualities that are not present in the second work. -
Jan 1, 1460
The Flagellation of Christ by Piero Della Francesca
The Flagellation of Christ is one of several masterpieces by Piero Della Francesca. Francesca was an obscure painter during the Italian Renaissance that becaome noted in the early 1900's. He was one of the innovators of the Renaissance movement in mixing tempera and oil paint on panels. -
Jan 1, 1465
Camera Picta or Camera degli Sposi by Andrea Mantegna
The Camera Picta, also known as Camera degli Sposi (bridal chamber), is a fresco painted in the Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy by Andrea Mantegna. He was a North Italian Renaissance painter who used di sotto in sù ceiling (seen from below) trompe l'oeil (French for deceive the eye) techniques create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a mostly flat surface. -
Jan 1, 1482
La Primavera by Alessandro Botticelli
La Primavera by Italian Renaissance artist Alessandro Botticello is also known as Allegory of Spring and is a tempera panel painting commissioned by the Medici family. It is widely thought to have been painted to celebrate the wedding of Lorenzo Medici. It is considered a complex allegorical work that brings together the qualities of gothic art and the humanistic qualities of the Italian Renaissance. -
Jan 1, 1485
The Birth of Venus by Alessandro Botticelli
The Birth of Venus is one of the world’s most famous works of art. It was painted by Alessandro Botticelli around 1485 and it has become one of the seminal pieces of the Italian Renaissance painting. On the surface it portrays Venus naked in a shell on the seashore with winds gently blowing on her left and her handmaiden on her right. The painting holds allegorical references to antiquity. -
Jan 1, 1488
Madonna with Child and Saints by Fra Fillipo Lippi
The Madonna with Child and Saints is an oil on wood painting on the Tanai de' Nerli Altarpiece by Lippi. Throughout his career Lippi depicted the Madonna and Child in several paintings. He is also a teacher and mentor of Alessandro Botticelli. -
Jan 1, 1488
Bartolomeo Colleoni sculpture by Andrea del Verrocchio
The monument dedicated to Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice is located in Campo San Zanipolo, near the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Verrocchio, though not as famous as his contemporary Florentine sculptor Donatello, was known for his quatrocentro classical style. His pupils included Alesssandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci. -
Jan 1, 1498
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper is a Renaissance masterpiece that has been hard to preserve because instead of using existing techniques Leonardo used an oil/tempera mix and applied it to a dry plaster wall. This depiction of Christ and his disciples on the night of his arrest was painted on the refectory wall of Milan's Santa Maria delle Grazie. -
Jan 1, 1499
The Pieta
The Pietà is a work of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo, that was created for St. Peter's Basilica inVatican City. The statue depicts the crucified body of Christ Jesus in the lap of his mother Mary. Michaelangelo carved The Pieta from a block of Carrera marble that he claimed was "the most perfect he ever used."
