Room 10
Dossi, Lotto and Pontormo
Paintings in this room
This painting is one of a series of panels painted in 1515 for the Florentine bedchamber of Pierfrancesco Borgherini. They tell the life of Joseph from the Old Testament and were probably originally set into furniture.Joseph’s brothers, who sold him into slavery as a boy, come to Egypt to seek gr...
This painting is one of a series of panels that decorated the bedchamber of the Borgherini palace in Florence. Together, they tell the life of Joseph from the Old Testament (Genesis 43).Joseph, who had been sold into slavery in Egypt as a boy by his half-brothers, foretold a famine from a dream P...
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...
The Three Marys mourn Christ after his crucifixion. The Virgin Mary kneels at Christ’s feet, her outstretched arms framed by her dark mantle. Christ’s crown of thorns lies on the ground, and beside it are the dice thrown by the soldiers who gambled for his clothes. Mary Magdalene kneels by Christ...
After being taken down from the Cross, Christ’s body is laid outside the cave in which he will be entombed. Nicodemus or Saint Joseph of Arimathea kneels with his hands clasped in prayer while Saint John the Evangelist supports the body of the dead Christ. The Virgin Mary stands in a gesture of s...
A young man pours red wine from an amphora onto the goat’s head on the altar; a young woman carries an upside-down torch, while an old woman balances a basket of pears, apples and grapes on her head. For many years the subject of this painting by Garofalo was believed to be a sacrifice of thanksg...
Two couples recline outdoors in a mountainous landscape – one lies gazing into each other’s eyes, the other embraces. Cupid kneels on the grass clutching his bow and looks at us. A lizard scuttles down the dark tree trunk and a goat – almost hidden in the shadows – nibbles some foliage.The painti...
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...
No other Renaissance painting of the Virgin and Child with saints shows the naked infant Christ sitting on a pillow on a coffin. This unique addition indicates Christ’s acceptance of and conquest over death. Meditation on Christ’s death encouraged understanding of his suffering for humanity’s red...
This altarpiece is considered Ortolano’s masterpiece. In it he achieves effects of startling realism through his deep understanding of anatomy, optics and perspective. It was made for the church of S. Maria in Bondeno, a small town to the north-west of Ferrara.Saints Sebastian (centre) and Roch (...
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...