Details from Tullio Lombardo, 'A Young Couple (Bacchus and Ariadne)' , 1505–10 © Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Details from Albrecht Dürer, 'Conrad Merckell', 1508 © The Trustees of The British Museum, London

Details from Jan van Eyck, 'Margaret, the Artist’s Wife', 1439. Groeningemuseum, Bruges. KMSKA © Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW

Special Features

Paintings from the Exhibition

Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian
15 October 2008 - 18 January 2009
Sainsbury Wing Admission charge

This landmark exhibition will explore the dramatic rise of portraiture in the Renaissance. It will feauture works by the great masters of Northern and Southern Europe, including Raphael, Titian, Botticelli, Van Eyck, Holbein, Dürer, Lotto, Pontormo and Bellini.

Renaissance Faces will provide a rare opportunity to explore Renaissance portraiture in exceptional depth, displaying over 70 paintings alongside important sculptures, drawings and medals.

During the Renaissance, portraits touched on every aspect of human life, from childhood to politics, friendship, courtship, marriage, old age and death.

This exhibition will provide fresh insights into fundamental issues of likeness, memory and identity, while revealing a remarkable community of princes, envoys, merchants, clergymen, tradesmen and artists.

The exhibition is organised by the National Gallery, London, and the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

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