Floor plan

Style galleriesThe Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance

Phaeton, from "The Four Disgracers", by Hendrick Goltzius, 1588
Bacchanal, by Nicolas Poussin, ca. 1635–36
Three insects are depicted in the image: a butterfly with dark blue and red wings on the bottom left, a larger butterfly with white, black, and blue patterns at the top center, and a dragonfly with brown and gold tones on the bottom right. The color palette includes rich blues, reds, browns, and golds against a neutral background. The central butterfly is positioned higher than the other two insects, with the left butterfly and right dragonfly symmetrically arranged below.
A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.
Shown from the waist up, a light-skinned woman sits angled slightly to our right in this vertical portrait painting. The woman has blue eyes, faint brows, and a sloping nose ending in a small bulb. Her upper lip is thin and her lower lip full over a slight double chin. Her blond hair is pulled back under a gold, cap-like headdress and a black, wide-brimmed hat with a shallow crown. She wears a high-necked white, black, and gold dress with intricate detailing, a gold chain necklace that falls to her waist, and a black belt with a gold clasp and medallions. She wears two gold rings set with gems on the pointer finger of her left hand, which is folded across her belly over the other hand. A scarlet-red wallcovering with pink floral designs fills two-thirds of the space behind her. The rightmost third of the background opens onto a landscape with a tall, spindly tree, a leaping animal, presumably a dog, and a bridge across a body of water leading to a town. Across another body of water, perhaps a lake, mountains are marine blue in the distance under a clear, celestial-blue sky.
This painting shows a man from the waist up. He is facing forward and gazes out at us. He has fair skin, light brown hair, a thin mustache and beard, and light green eyes. His expression is mostly neutral, although his peach lips are slightly turned up at the edges. He is wearing a black garment with a high collar and a hood and a black flat cap on his head. The background is plain blue, fading to black around the edges of the painting.
Leaf from a Book of Hours: The Nativity (recto) and Text (verso), c. 1430
The Harvesters, by Pieter Bruegel, 1565

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Dürer's prints, Holbein's portraits and the art of northern Europe in the 1500s.

First room, north wall

  1. Phaeton, from "The Four Disgracers", by Hendrick Goltzius, 1588
    Phaeton, from "The Four Disgracers"Hendrick Goltzius, 1588Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Bacchanal, by Nicolas Poussin, ca. 1635–36
    BacchanalNicolas Poussin, ca. 1635–36Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Three insects are depicted in the image: a butterfly with dark blue and red wings on the bottom left, a larger butterfly with white, black, and blue patterns at the top center, and a dragonfly with brown and gold tones on the bottom right. The color palette includes rich blues, reds, browns, and golds against a neutral background. The central butterfly is positioned higher than the other two insects, with the left butterfly and right dragonfly symmetrically arranged below.
    Plate 13: Yellow Swallowtail and Red Admiral Butterflies with a Dragonfly (Broad-Bodied Chaser?)Joris Hoefnagel, c.1575/1590sCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.
    Christ on the CrossRaphael Sadeler, I, 1590Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

First room, south wall

  1. Shown from the waist up, a light-skinned woman sits angled slightly to our right in this vertical portrait painting. The woman has blue eyes, faint brows, and a sloping nose ending in a small bulb. Her upper lip is thin and her lower lip full over a slight double chin. Her blond hair is pulled back under a gold, cap-like headdress and a black, wide-brimmed hat with a shallow crown. She wears a high-necked white, black, and gold dress with intricate detailing, a gold chain necklace that falls to her waist, and a black belt with a gold clasp and medallions. She wears two gold rings set with gems on the pointer finger of her left hand, which is folded across her belly over the other hand. A scarlet-red wallcovering with pink floral designs fills two-thirds of the space behind her. The rightmost third of the background opens onto a landscape with a tall, spindly tree, a leaping animal, presumably a dog, and a bridge across a body of water leading to a town. Across another body of water, perhaps a lake, mountains are marine blue in the distance under a clear, celestial-blue sky.
    Margarethe Vöhlin [obverse]Bernhard Strigel, 1527Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. This painting shows a man from the waist up. He is facing forward and gazes out at us. He has fair skin, light brown hair, a thin mustache and beard, and light green eyes. His expression is mostly neutral, although his peach lips are slightly turned up at the edges. He is wearing a black garment with a high collar and a hood and a black flat cap on his head. The background is plain blue, fading to black around the edges of the painting.
    Portrait of a ManCorneille de Lyon, c. 1536/1540Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Leaf from a Book of Hours: The Nativity (recto) and Text (verso), c. 1430
    Leaf from a Book of Hours: The Nativity (recto) and Text (verso)Unrecorded French maker, c. 1430Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. The Harvesters, by Pieter Bruegel, 1565
    The HarvestersPieter Bruegel, 1565Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, south wall

  1. This is a drawing of a heraldic emblem. The image shows a centaur-like figure holding a bow and arrow, with leaves around its head. Below, there is a shield divided into two sections: the upper part shows shapes resembling birds, while the lower part shows a hound-like animal in a running pose. The shield is surrounded by swirling acanthus-like leaves, with additional decorative elements and a blank scroll space below it.
    CrestMichel Le BlonCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A Mill with a Fortified Bridge, a Rowing Boat in the Foreground, by Roelandt Savery, 1596–1639
    A Mill with a Fortified Bridge, a Rowing Boat in the ForegroundRoelandt Savery, 1596–1639Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. We look slightly down onto a scene with people gathering in small groups in a cobblestone town square lined with rows of brick, wood, and stone buildings, many with stepped rooflines, in this horizontal painting. Singly or in pairs or trios, men, women, and children walk across the square, move goods around, or talk to merchants. All the people have light skin. Many of the men have mustaches and wear hats, and some carry swords. In tones of black, olive green, brick red, and plum purple, they wear hip-length cloaks over jackets, with white collars or ruffs and brass buttons, and knee-length breeches over yellow or black stockings. The women all wear long dresses in salmon pink, coral red, or golden yellow, with white collars or ruffs, and many wear black, ankle-length cloaks, some with hoods. Closest to us, a sumptuously dressed man and woman walk toward us while another similarly elegant couple walks away. Also facing away from us, to our left, a man wearing a large drum strapped around his waist raises one drumstick as he looks over his left shoulder. Nearby, a woman peers up out of a cellar door that opens on an angle to the street. More couples gather around a well across the square, and two women and a child talk to a third woman selling wares at a wooden table to our right. A pair of hooded priests or monks walk near a man blowing on a trumpet on horseback. The buildings are mostly shades of brick red and brown, and most have three or four stories with steeply pitched roofs. More people walk along side streets leading off the main square. One gap in the buildings across from us leads to a nickel-gray stone church with a pointed spire and square tower. A grassy, green hill rises steeply beyond the buildings to our right, leading down to a waterway that extends up and away into the distance. A few boats float in the water, which reflects the leaden-gray sky. Beyond the town square, a brown stone structure like a fortress with turret towers and crenellated walls looms along the ridge of the hill to our right. Tiny in scale, people on horseback and tending sheep dot the hillside below. The date “1590” is painted on the front of one of the buildings across from us while another date, “1597,” is painted on the end of a short wall near the lower left corner.
    The Marketplace in Bergen op ZoomAbel Grimmer, probably 1590 and 1597Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. This is a painting depicting a heraldic coat of arms. The image features a detailed coat of arms with a central shield, adorned with black and gold sections, and additional decorative elements above it. There is a figure resembling a unicorn emerging from the crest. The background is a deep red hue. The artwork is displayed within a wooden frame with crossbars. This style is associated with displaying family crests and lineage.
    Hans Roth [reverse]Bernhard Strigel, 1527Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. Head of a Young Woman, by Albrecht Dürer, 1522
    Head of a Young WomanAlbrecht Dürer, 1522Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Landscape with a Double Spruce, by Albrecht Altdorfer, ca. 1521–22
    Landscape with a Double SpruceAlbrecht Altdorfer, ca. 1521–22Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. The Entrance Hall of the Regensburg Synagogue, by Albrecht Altdorfer, 1519
    The Entrance Hall of the Regensburg SynagogueAlbrecht Altdorfer, 1519Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. The Rabbit Hunt, by Pieter Bruegel, 1560
    The Rabbit HuntPieter Bruegel, 1560Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art