Medieval and Early Renaissance

(1260–1550)

Level 2: Rooms 51– 66

The Sainsbury Wing contains the earliest pictures in the collection, made between the 13th and 16th centuries. Works of great ambition and emotion, they were created for both religious and domestic spaces. Created in Northern Europe, Spain and Italy, they include paintings by Botticelli, Raphael, Jan van Eyck and Piero della Francesca.

Rooms 51–66 Floorplan

Download Floorplan

Explore the Medieval and Early Renaissance rooms

Location

Room 51 (Level 2)

The Wonder of Art: What Painting Can Do
Location

Room 51a (Level 2)

The Burlington House Cartoon
Location

Room 52 (Level 2)

Creating Illusion: Netherlandish Painting 1420–1480
Location

Room 53 (Level 2)

Divine Encounters: Netherlandish Painting 1480–1520
Location

Room 54 (Level 2)

Northern European Painting
Location

Room 55 (Level 2)

Lines of Expression: German Painting 1400–1520
Location

Room 56 (Level 2)

Looking at Nature: European Painting 1430–1540
Location

Room 57 (Level 2)

Wonders of Design: Altarpieces in Florence 1400–1450
Location

Room 58 (Level 2)

Lyrical Narrative: Painting in Siena 1300–1500
Location

Room 59 (Level 2)

Architecture and Illusion: Painting in Ferrara, Lombardy and the Veneto 1450–1500
Location

Room 60 (Level 2)

Ambition and Innovation: Painting in Florence 1450–1500
Location

Room 61 (Level 2)

Shaping the Renaissance Ideal: Raphael in Central Italy 1450–1500

Explore the Gallery by periods and styles

Medieval and Early Renaissance (1260–1550)

Made between 1260 and 1550, these are the earliest pictures in the collection. They are works of great ambition and emotion, by artists such as Botticelli, Raphael, Jan van Eyck and Leonardo da Vinci.
Renaissance (1500–1600)

Inspired by Classical Antiquity, Renaissance artists developed new subjects, poses, compositions and ways of painting. The 16th-century collection includes works by Titian, Hans Holbein the Younger and Bronzino.
Baroque (1600–1700)

Painting in Catholic Europe expressed a fresh sense of power, drama and deep spirituality, while new secular subjects were developed in the Protestant Netherlands. The 17th-century collection features artists including Rubens, Caravaggio, Velázquez, and Vermeer.
Roccoco to Romanticism (1700 – 1800)

The 18th and early 19th centuries were a remarkable period of revolution and change. Formal artistic training, public exhibitions and increased travel transformed European painting. These rooms include work by artists such as Canaletto, Turner, Ingres and Gainsborough.
Towards Modernism (After 1800)

Experimental movements developed in late-19th- and early 20th-century painting, including Impressionism. These rooms feature many of the Gallery’s best-known works by artists including Van Gogh, Seurat, Cezanne and Monet.