1500 – 1600
End of the Renaissance and the Reformation

The Reformation More
Setting the Stage Martin Luther Varieties of Protestantism The Counter-Reformation
High Renaissance More
Introduction Andrea del Verrocchio The Baptism of Christ Leonardo A Letter to the Duke of Milan Looking for Work Adoration of the Magi Virgin of the Rocks The Last Supper Burlington House Cartoon Mona Lisa Michelangelo Pietà David David and Florence Moses The Slaves Sistine Chapel Ceiling The Last Judgment Laurentian Library Raphael Marriage of the Virgin Madonna of the Goldfinch La belle jardinière School of Athens Alba Madonna Portrait of Pope Julius II Galatea Bramante Tempietto Saint Peter's Basilica Galileo Science in the Renaissance Art and Science in the Renaissance
Venice More
Introduction Giorgione The Tempest The Adoration of the Shepherds Three Philosophers Giovanni Bellini and Titian Feast of the Gods Titian Bacchus and Ariadne Noli me Tangere Portrait of a Man Assumption of the Virgin Madonna of the Pesaro Family Venus of Urbino Christ Crowned with Thorns Correggio (Parma) Jupiter and Io Paolo Veronese The Family of Darius before Alexander The Dream of Saint Helena Feast in the House of Levi Tintoretto The Miracle of the Slave The Origin of the Milky Way
Mannerism More
Introduction Parmigianino Madonna of the Long Neck Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror Pontormo Entombment Rosso Fiorentino The Dead Christ with Angels Bronzino Portraits Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni Cellini Perseus with the Head of Medusa El Greco Adoration of the Shepherds
Northern Renaissance More
Albrecht Dürer The Four Apostles Self-portrait (1498) Self-Portrait (1500) The Large Piece of Turf Prints Hieronymus Bosch Last Judgement Jan Gossaert Saint Luke Painting the Madonna Albrecht Altdorfer The Battle of Issus Lucas Cranach The Law and Gospel Adam and Eve Cupid Complaining to Venus Judith with the Head of Holofernes Wittenberg Altarpiece Hans Holbein the Younger The Ambassadors The Merchant Georg Gisze Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan Portrait of Henry VIII Gerard David The Virgin and Child with Saints and Donor Virgin and Child with Angels Pieter Bruegel the Elder The Tower of Babel The Dutch Proverbs

Holbein's The Ambassadors

Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, Oil on panel, 1533 (National Gallery, London)
Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker

View this painting up close in the Google Art Project

Your Comments (1)

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Hannah G wrote on Sunday, November 25, 2012

This painting utterly amazed and bewildered me. The absolute clarity, incredibly precise detail, symbolism, and perfect rendering of reality is unbelievable. These qualities are perfect representations of Northern Renaissance art. The painstakingly precise detail on every object (like the dagger, globe, floor, and psalm book) is absolutely incredible. This detail combined with the perfect use of foreshortening and linear perspective results in an amazingly realistic painting.