Throughout history, artists have shown an inexhaustible capacity for creativity. Spanning 500 years, the 65 superb paintings in ‘European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’ at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) offered a breath-taking journey from the 1420s and the emerging Renaissance to conclude at the height of early twentieth century post-impressionism. Here, we list the 17 works displayed in the first of the exhibition’s three chapters, ‘Devotion and Renaissance’.

Max Hollein, Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York introduces ‘European Masterpieces’

The works highlighted here come to us from altarpieces, chapels and cloisters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when Christian traditions of devotion underscored one of the most dynamic periods of creative and intellectual growth in human history.

The Renaissance, a period of ‘rebirth’, was sparked by the rediscovery of the culture and scholarship of classical antiquity, including sculpture, philosophy, literature, mathematics, geometry and the sciences. Renaissance artists revived the classical humanities through their study of Greek and Roman artefacts and, learning from the ancients, they devised new compositional tools for representation.

From Florence, new artistic principles spread to the surrounding city-states, across Europe and beyond, as new trading systems enabled people, wealth and information to circulate with greater ease. In both the north and south of Europe, artists staged biblical narratives in contemporary settings, bringing them closer to people at the time; and centuries later, bringing these same people closer to us.

Our next two exhibition profiles will list the works displayed in ‘Absolutism and Enlightenment’, and ‘Revolution and Art for the People’.

LIST OF WORKS: Discover all the artworks

DELVE DEEPER: More about the artists and exhibition

THE STUDIO: Artworks come to life

WATCH: The Met Curators highlight their favourite works

List of works in ‘Devotion and Renaissance’

Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro)
Italy c.1395–1455
The Crucifixion c.1420–23
Tempera on wood, gold ground
63.8 x 48.3cm
Maitland F Griggs Collection, Bequest of Maitland F Griggs, 1943 / 43.98.5

‘The Crucifixion’ c.1420–23

Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia)
Italy 1398–1482
Paradise 1445
Tempera and gold on canvas, transferred from wood
Overall: 47 x 40.6cm; painted surface: 44.5 x 38.4cm
Rogers Fund, 1906 / 06.1046

‘Paradise’ 1445

Carlo Crivelli
Italy, active by 1457; died 1494/95
Madonna and Child c.1480
Tempera and gold on wood
Overall: 37.8 x 25.4cm; painted surface: 36.5 x 23.5cm
The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 / 49.7.5

Davide Ghirlandaio (David Bigordi)
Italy 1452–1525
Selvaggia Sassetti (born 1470) c.1487–88
Tempera on wood
57.2 x 44.1cm
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 / 32.100.71

‘Selvaggia Sassetti (born 1470)’ c.1487–88

Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
Italy 1483–1520
The Agony in the Garden c.1504
Oil on wood
24.1 x 28.9cm
Funds from various donors, 1932 / 32.130.1

Dosso Dossi (Giovanni de Lutero)
Italy c.1486–1541/42
The Three Ages of Humans c.1515
Oil on canvas
77.5 x 111.8cm
Maria DeWitt Jesup Fund, 1926 / 26.83

Piero di Cosimo (Piero di Lorenzo di Piero d’Antonio)
Italy 1462–1522
A Hunting Scene c.1494–1500
Tempera and oil transferred to masonite
70.5 x 169.5cm
Gift of Robert Gordon, 1875 / 75.7.2

Fra Filippo Lippi
Italy c.1406–69
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels c.1440
Tempera and gold on wood, transferred from wood
Arched top, 122.6 x 62.9cm
The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 / 49.7.9

Gerard David
The Netherlands c.1455–1523
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt c.1512–15
Oil on wood
50.8 x 43.2cm
The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 / 49.7.21

‘The Rest on the Flight into Egypt’ c.1512–15

Dieric Bouts
The Netherlands, active by 1457; died 1475
Virgin and Child c.1455–60
Oil on wood
21.6 x 16.5cm
Theodore M Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M Davis, 1915 / 30.95.280

Petrus Christus
The Netherlands, active by 1444; died 1475/76
The Lamentation c.1450
Oil on wood
Overall: 25.7 x 35.6cm; painted surface: 25.4 x 34.9cm
Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G Marquand, 1890 / 91.26.12

Hugo van der Goes
The Netherlands, active by 1467; died 1482
Portrait of a Man c.1475
Oil on wood
Oval, overall: 31.8 x 26.7cm; painted surface: 31.8 x 26cm
HO Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs HO Havemeyer, 1929 / 29.100.15

Hans Holbein the Younger
Germany 1497/98–1543
Benedikt von Hertenstein (born about 1495, died 1522) 1517
Oil and gold on paper, laid down on wood
Overall: 52.4 x 38.1cm; painted surface: 51.4 x 37.1cm
Rogers Fund, aided by subscribers, 1906 / 06.1038

Lucas Cranach the Elder
Germany 1472–1553
The Judgment of Paris c.1528
Oil on beech
101.9 x 71.1cm
Rogers Fund, 1928 / 28.221

‘The Judgment of Paris’ c.1528

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)
Greece 1541–1614
The Adoration of the Shepherds c.1605–10
Oil on canvas
144.5 x 101.3cm; with added strips: 163.8 x 106.7cm
Rogers Fund, 1905 / 05.42

‘The Adoration of the Shepherds’ c.1605–10

Paolo Veronese (Paolo Caliari)
Italy 1528–88
Boy with a Greyhound c.1570s
Oil on canvas
173.7 x 101.9cm
HO Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs HO Havemeyer, 1929 / 29.100.105

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
Italy c.1485/90–1576
Venus and Adonis 1550s
Oil on canvas
106.7 x 133.4cm
The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 / 49.7.16

‘Venus and Adonis’ 1550s

This Australian-exclusive exhibition was at the Gallery of Modern Art from 12 June until 17 October 2021 and organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in collaboration with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and Art Exhibitions Australia.

The order of artworks in ‘Devotion and Renaissance’ by Katharine Baetjer, Curator Emerita, Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
All works are Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Dimensions are given in centimetres (cm), height preceding width.

Featured image detail: Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia) Paradise 1445
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