ticketsMember | Make a donation
A composite image featuring renaissance portrait paintings with partially obscured faces, set against a countryside backdrop, titled "hidden faces: covered portraits of the renaissance.
Exhibition

Hidden Faces: Covered Portraits of the Renaissance

OverviewVisiting GuideExhibition Objects
House Altarpiece, Oil and gold on wood; metal fixtures, German
House Altarpiece
German
ca. 1490
The Lamentation of Christ, Simon Marmion French, Oil and tempera (?) on oak panel
The Lamentation of Christ
Simon Marmion
ca. 1473
Bronze box mirror, Bronze, Greek
Bronze box mirror
Greek
2nd quarter of the 4th century BCE
Gold aureus of Augustus, Gold, Roman
Gold aureus of Augustus
Roman
20–19 BCE
Gold aureus of Diocletian, Gold, Roman
Gold aureus of Diocletian
Roman
293 CE
Portrait medal of Cecilia Gonzaga (obverse); Innocence and a Unicorn in a Moonlit Landscape (reverse), Pisanello (Antonio Pisano) Italian, Bronze (copper alloy with warm brown patina under a worn layer of black wax)
Portrait medal of Cecilia Gonzaga (obverse); Innocence and a Unicorn in a Moonlit Landscape (reverse)
Pisanello (Antonio Pisano)
model 1447 (old aftercast)
Portrait medal of Vittorino Rambaldoni da Feltre (obverse); A Pelican (reverse), Pisanello (Antonio Pisano) Italian, Bronze (yellowish copper alloy with brown patina and traces of black lacquer or wax)
Portrait medal of Vittorino Rambaldoni da Feltre (obverse); A Pelican (reverse)
Pisanello (Antonio Pisano)
model 1446–47 (possibly cast 15th or 16th century)
Portrait medal of Paolo Giovio (obverse); Giovio Raising a Man from a Grave (reverse), Francesco da Sangallo Italian, Bronze (Copper alloy with brown patina<br/>under a layer of dark wax.)
Portrait medal of Paolo Giovio (obverse); Giovio Raising a Man from a Grave (reverse)
Francesco da Sangallo
model ca. 1552 (probably a later cast)
Francesco d'Este (born ca. 1429, died after 1486), Rogier van der Weyden Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Francesco d'Este (born ca. 1429, died after 1486)
Rogier van der Weyden
ca. 1460
Portrait of a Man with an Open Book (Guillaume Fillastre?) (recto); Branch of Holly and Inscription (verso), Rogier van der Weyden Netherlandish, Oil on oak panel
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Man with an Open Book (Guillaume Fillastre?) (recto); Branch of Holly and Inscription (verso)
Rogier van der Weyden
1430s?
Johann von Rückingen (recto); Wild Man with von Rückingen Coat of Arms (verso), Wolfgang Beurer German, Oil on wood panel
Returned to lender
Johann von Rückingen (recto); Wild Man with von Rückingen Coat of Arms (verso)
Wolfgang Beurer
1487
Friedrich Faut von Monsperg (recto); Faut von Monsperg Coat of Arms (verso), German , Frankfurt(?), Oil on walnut panel, German
Returned to lender
Friedrich Faut von Monsperg (recto); Faut von Monsperg Coat of Arms (verso)
German
1485
15A Portrait: Heinrich zum Jungen (recto); Inscriptions (verso) 15B Cover with zum Jungen Coat of Arms (recto); Vine Scroll Decoration (verso), German , Frankfurt(?), Portrait: mixed media(?) on parchment, laid down on spruce panel<br/>Cover: distemper on canvas, laid down on wood panel, German
Returned to lender

15A Portrait: Heinrich zum Jungen (recto); Inscriptions (verso) 15B Cover with zum Jungen Coat of Arms (recto); Vine Scroll Decoration (verso)

German
1477
Portrait Cover with a Wild Man (recto); Inscription (verso), Jakob Elsner German, Oil on limewood panel
Returned to lender
Portrait Cover with a Wild Man (recto); Inscription (verso)
Jakob Elsner
1497
Portrait of a Man (recto); Flowers in a Vase (verso), Hans Memling Netherlandish, Oil on panel
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Man (recto); Flowers in a Vase (verso)
Hans Memling
ca. 1485
Allegory of Chastity (cover for a lost portrait?), Hans Memling Netherlandish, Oil on oak panel
Returned to lender
Allegory of Chastity (cover for a lost portrait?)
Hans Memling
1479-1480
Young Woman with a Pink, Hans Memling and Workshop Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Young Woman with a Pink
Hans Memling
ca. 1485–90
Portrait of a Boy (recto); painted porphyry (verso), Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano) Italian, Tempera and oil on wood panel
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Boy (recto); painted porphyry (verso)
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
ca. 1475-80
Portrait of Alvise Contarini(?); (verso) A Tethered Roebuck, Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano) Italian, Oil on wood; verso: oil and gold on wood
Portrait of Alvise Contarini(?); (verso) A Tethered Roebuck
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
ca. 1485–95
Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille, Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano) Italian, Oil on wood; (verso: oil and gold on wood)
Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
ca. 1485–95
Dialogo dell'Imprese Militari et Amorose, Gabriel Symeoni Italian, Woodcut
Dialogo dell'Imprese Militari et Amorose
Multiple artists/makers
1574
Book Case, Leather (Cuir bouilli), Italian (?)
Book Case
Italian (?)
15th century
Portrait of a Man (possibly Pietro Bembo) (recto); inscription with a Verse by Horace and Tied Laurel Branches (verso), Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano) Italian, Tempera and oil on wood panel
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Man (possibly Pietro Bembo) (recto); inscription with a Verse by Horace and Tied Laurel Branches (verso)
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
ca. 1475-97
Portrait of a Lady (recto); Pseudo-marble with Inscription (verso), Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano) Italian, Oil on wood, Italian, Venice
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Lady (recto); Pseudo-marble with Inscription (verso)
Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano)
1470s
Portrait of a Man (Giulio Mellini?) (recto); Allegorical Landscape (verso), Unknown, Oil on wood panel
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Man (Giulio Mellini?) (recto); Allegorical Landscape (verso)
Unknown
1492-1507
Portrait of a Woman (La Monaca), Ridolfo Ghirlandaio Italian, Oil on wood panel
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Woman (La Monaca)
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
ca. 1510
Cover with a Mask, Grotteschi, and Inscription, Ridolfo Ghirlandaio Italian, Oil on panel
Returned to lender
Cover with a Mask, Grotteschi, and Inscription
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
ca. 1510
Portrait of a Young Woman (recto); Laurel Wreath, Shield, Ornamental Ribbons, and Poetic Inscriptions (verso), Agnolo del Mazziere Italian, Oil on poplar panel
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Young Woman (recto); Laurel Wreath, Shield, Ornamental Ribbons, and Poetic Inscriptions (verso)
Agnolo del Mazziere
ca. 1485-1490
Portrait of a Woman, Lorenzo Lotto Italian, Oil on wood panel
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Woman
Lorenzo Lotto
ca. 1505
Portrait Cover with an Allegory, Lorenzo Lotto Italian, Oil on panel, Italian, Venice
Returned to lender
Portrait Cover with an Allegory
Lorenzo Lotto
ca. 1505
Portrait Cover with an Allegory, Lorenzo Lotto Italian, Oil on wood panel, Italian, Venice
Returned to lender
Portrait Cover with an Allegory
Lorenzo Lotto
ca. 1505
Portrait Medal of Bernardo de Rossi, Francesco Francia Italian, Bronze (Copper alloy with an olive<br/>green to brown patina.)
Portrait Medal of Bernardo de Rossi
Francesco Francia
ca. 1520 (possibly cast seventeenth century)
Two Satyrs in a Landscape, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) Italian, Pen and brown ink, highlighted with white gouache on fine, off-white laid paper
Two Satyrs in a Landscape
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
ca. 1505–10
Cupid and the Wheel of Fortune, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) Italian, Oil on canvas, Italian, Venice
Returned to lender
Cupid and the Wheel of Fortune
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
ca. 1515-1520
The Triumph of Love, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) Italian, Oil on canvas, mounted on panel
Returned to lender
The Triumph of Love
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
ca. 1545
Livret Emblemes de maistre Andre Alciati, Andrea Alciato Italian, woodcut
Livret Emblemes de maistre Andre Alciati
Andrea Alciato
Chrestien Wechel
1536
Jakob Stralenberger, Martin Kaldenbach German, Oil on linden panel
Returned to lender
Jakob Stralenberger
Martin Kaldenbach
1506
Sliding Cover with Stralenberg Coat of Arms, Martin Kaldenbach German, Oil on linden panel
Returned to lender
Sliding Cover with Stralenberg Coat of Arms
Martin Kaldenbach
1506
Manuscript Leaf with Coat of Arms, from a Book of Hours, Tempera, ink, and shell gold on parchment, Netherlandish
Manuscript Leaf with Coat of Arms, from a Book of Hours
Netherlandish
ca. 1500
Coat of Arms with a Skull, Albrecht Dürer German, Engraving
Coat of Arms with a Skull
Albrecht Dürer
1503
Portrait of a Young Man; (reverse) Girl Making a Garland, Hans Süss von Kulmbach German, Oil on poplar
Portrait of a Young Man; (reverse) Girl Making a Garland
Hans Süss von Kulmbach
ca. 1508
Portrait of a Man with a Rosary, Lucas Cranach the Elder German, Oil on oak
Portrait of a Man with a Rosary
Lucas Cranach the Elder
ca. 1508
Margarethe Vöhlin (recto); Vöhlin Coat of Arms (versos), Bernhard Strigel German, Oil on linden panel, poplar frame, German
Returned to lender
Margarethe Vöhlin (recto); Vöhlin Coat of Arms (versos)
Bernhard Strigel
1527
Hans Roth (recto); Roth Coat of Arms (verso), Bernhard Strigel German, Oil on linden panel, poplar frame, German
Returned to lender
Hans Roth (recto); Roth Coat of Arms (verso)
Bernhard Strigel
1527
Portrait of a Woman; Sliding Portrait Cover with Inscription, Ludger tom Ring the Younger German, Oil on copper panel, wood cover
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Woman; Sliding Portrait Cover with Inscription
Ludger tom Ring the Younger
ca. 1560
Allegory of Virtue, Lucas Cranach the Younger German, Oil on poplar panel
Returned to lender
Allegory of Virtue
Lucas Cranach the Younger
1548
Tabernacle mirror frame, Unknown, Walnut, Italian, Florence(?)
Tabernacle mirror frame
Unknown
1540–60
Martin Luther and Katharine von Bora, Lucas Cranach the Elder German, Oil on wood panel, German
Returned to lender
Martin Luther and Katharine von Bora
Lucas Cranach the Elder
1525
Portrait of a Man in Royal Livery, Hans Holbein the Younger German, Oil and gold on parchment, laid down on linden
Portrait of a Man in Royal Livery
Hans Holbein the Younger
1532–35
Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony; Cover with a Centaur, Meister der Dosenköpke (Master of the Capsule Portraits) German, Wood, pearwood; canister bottom: walnut, partially painted
Returned to lender
Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony; Cover with a Centaur
Meister der Dosenköpke (Master of the Capsule Portraits)
1525
Anna Rasper or Anna Dornle (?); Cover with a Siren, Meister der Dosenköpke (Master of the Capsule Portraits) German, Portrait: wood, pearwood; canister bottom: walnut partially painted
Returned to lender
Anna Rasper or Anna Dornle (?); Cover with a Siren
Meister der Dosenköpke (Master of the Capsule Portraits)
1525
Coin Box (Schraubtaler) of Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel: Wild Man and Portrait of Ferdinand II (obverse); Portrait of a Lady (interior), German, Coins: silver; portrait: gouache on vellum (?), German
Returned to lender
Coin Box (Schraubtaler) of Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel: Wild Man and Portrait of Ferdinand II (obverse); Portrait of a Lady (interior)
German
1604
Portrait of a Woman, Lavinia Fontana Italian, Oil on wood panel, Italian
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Woman
Lavinia Fontana
Portrait of a Man, Lavinia Fontana Italian, Oil on wood panel, Italian
Returned to lender
Portrait of a Man
Lavinia Fontana
Portrait of a gentleman, Relief: pigmented wax, black glass, seed pearls, gilding; frame: glass, gilded and black wood, Italian, probably Florence
Portrait of a gentleman
Italian, probably Florence
1565–85
Portrait of a lady, Relief: pigmented wax, black glass, seed pearls, gilding; frame: glass, gilded and black wood, Italian, Florence
Portrait of a lady
Italian, Florence
1565–85
Portrait of Paulus Praun, Cover, and Carrying Case, Matthäus Carl German, Portrait: colored wax, paper; capsule: wooden; case: leather, German
Returned to lender
Portrait of Paulus Praun, Cover, and Carrying Case
Matthäus Carl
1584
Portrait of a lady, Pigmented wax, seed pearls, emerald, ruby, linen, metal thread; gilded-copper or brass alloy, glass, probably French (wax), probably southern German or northern Italian (case)
Portrait of a lady
probably French (wax), probably southern German or northern Italian (case)
1560–80
The Rape of Europa and Mercury and the Three Graces, Lambertus Vrythoff, Case and dial: enameled gold; Movement: gilded brass and steel, partly blued, French, probably Paris case with Dutch, The Hague watch
The Rape of Europa and Mercury and the Three Graces
Lambertus Vrythoff
Simon Vouet
case ca. 1645, movement ca. 1750
Portrait of Elisabeth Krauss with Sliding Cover, German , Nuremberg, 17th century, Colored wax and wood
Returned to lender
Portrait of Elisabeth Krauss with Sliding Cover
German
1639-1640