Annunciation, Nativitym and Adoration of the Shepherds, Pisa Italy, 1259-1260, marble

mary portrayed twice, shows cycle of infancy of christ

Cimabue, Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets, from Santa Trinita, Florence, Italy, ca 1280-1290, tempura and gold leaf on wood 

Slight use of perspective breaks away from Byzantine style

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, Annunciation altarpiece, from Siena Cathedral, Siena, Italy, 1333, tempera and gold leaf on wood

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Peaceful City, detail from Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Country, Sala della Pace, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy, 1338-1339. Fresco

Shows perfect utopia of what society could be if governed right. Sends message to the public as well as political heads

Jan Van Eyck, Giovanni Arnolfini and his Bride, 1434, oil on wood

Not a wedding portrait, possibly in memory of dead bride. van eyck as a witness of the marriage

Robert Campin (Master of Flemalle), Merode Altarpiece, 1425-1428. oil on wood

shows a couple coming home to witness the annunciation. tiny naked christ breaks through an unopened window

Hugo van der Goes, Portinari, from Sant'Egidio, Florence, Italy, ca 1476, tempera and oil on wood

shows portinari family with their patron saints. however, mary and margaret shown in front of each other's saints

Jean Fouquet, Melun Diptych, Etienne Chevalier and Saint Stephen, ca 1450. oil on wood

shows the pious donor kneeling to a madonna that is actually the king's fav mistress

Donatello, Feast of Herod, panel on the baptismal font of Siena cathedral, siena, italy, 1423-1427, gilded bronze

incorporates narrative with use of rationalized perspective

Massacio, Holy Trinity, Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy, ca. 1424-1427

the skeleton at the bottom approaches the subject of death, uses brunelleschi's new science of perspective

Paolo Uccello, Battle of San Romano, ca 1455, termpura on wood

 some speculation on the date it was done, purchased by lorenzo medici for his bedchambers

Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, ca. 1484-1486, tempera on canvas

Filippo Brunelleschi, interior of the pazzi chapel, santa croce, florence, italy, desgined ca. 1423, begun 1442, with glazed terracotta roundels by robbia

Andrea Mantegna, Foreshortened Christ, ca 1500 tempera on canvas

shows christ foreshortened with feet made smaller in order to not cover whole picture

Da Vinci, Madonna of the Rocks, from San Francesco Grande, Milan,Italy, begun 1438. oil on wood transferred to canvas)

shows chiaroscuro, the subtle use of light and dark

Raphael, School of Athens, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace, Rome, Italy, 1509-1511. fresco

made for Julius II