• Plan your visit

    Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Courts

    March 31–June 21, 2015

    Getty Center

    The Conversion of Saint Paul

    Initial S: The Conversion of Saint Paul (detail), cutting from a gradual, probably northern Italy, attributed to Pisanello and the Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore, about 1440-50. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Pentecost

    Initial A: Pentecost, cutting from an antiphonal, Lombardy, attributed to Stefano da Verona, about 1430–35.The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • David Lifting Up His Soul to the Lord

    Initial E: David Lifting Up His Soul to the Lord (detail), leaf from the Antiphonal of Cardinal Bessarion, Italy, Franco dei Russi, about 1455–60/63. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Saint John the Evangelist

    Initial E: Saint John the Evangelist, cutting from an antiphonal, Lombardy, Master B. F., 1500s. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • The Virgin and Child

    The Annunciation, Gualenghi d’Este Hours, Ferrara, Taddeo Crivelli and Guglielmo Giraldi, about 1469. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Saint Blaise

    Initial G: Saint Blaise, cutting from a gradual, Northern Italy, Master of the Murano Gradual, about 1450-1460. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • The Trinity

    Initial B: The Trinity, cutting from a gradual, Ferrara, Taddeo Crivelli, about 1460–70. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Renaissance Splendors Online Virtual Exhibition

    Expand your journey through the courts of northern Italy with this online virtual exhibition of the show.

Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Courts

March 31–June 21, 2015, Getty Center

/ Plan your visit

The Renaissance courts of northern Italy, among the wealthiest and most sophisticated in Europe, attracted innovative artists who created objects of remarkable beauty. Princes and courtiers offered painters and illuminators favorable contracts and social prestige in return for lavishly decorated panels and books. These works prominently displayed their owners' scholarly learning, religious devotion, and elite status. Drawn primarily from the Getty Museum's permanent collection of manuscripts, this exhibition celebrates the magnificent illuminations that emerged from this courtly context—an array of visual riches fit for the highest-ranking members of Renaissance society.

Accompanying the show is an online virtual exhibition, produced in collaboration with institutions in Ferrara, Mantua, Milan, Venice, and Verona, that allows visitors to view additional illuminated manuscripts by artists active in the northern Italian courts as well as items owned by various patrons who lived there.

RELATED EVENTS

A variety of special programs complement the exhibition. All events are free, unless otherwise noted. Seating reservations are required. For reservations and information, please call (310) 440-7300 or see information on planning a visit.

TALK

Court Networks, Luxury Arts, and Traveling Artists in Northern Italy, 1430–1490
Stephen Campbell, professor of art history at Johns Hopkins University, explores how the circulation of artists and works of art in the Italian Peninsula complicates traditional and current notions of early Renaissance art centered on Florence and Venice, and the taxonomies of regional style. Campbell suggests a counter-geography incorporating cities such as Padua, Camerino, and Naples.

Thursday, May 14, 7:00 p.m
Getty Center: Museum Lecture Hall

COURSES

Magnificence and Minerality: Art and Wine from Northern Italy
Enjoy the perfect pairing of art and wine from northern Italy with curator Bryan Keene and certified sommelier and Cicerone Mark Mark Botieff. Participants tour the exhibition Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Court, explore art history and wine production, and savor delectable wines from the Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Veneto regions.

Course fee $65. Complimentary parking.
Saturday, April 11, 1:00–4:30 p.m.
Repeats Saturday, June 13.
Getty Center: Boardroom

Learn more about this program and buy tickets

A Renaissance in Dining: Culture and Cuisine of the Northern Italian Courts
Explore the majesty of Renaissance art, culture and cuisine from the courts of Northern Italy with museum educator and chef Nancy DeLucia Real in this hands-on culinary workshop. Participants tour the exhibition, discover period dining practices, and prepare a meal highlighting historic recipes and ingredients.

Course fee $85. Complimentary parking.
Thursday, May 14, 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Repeats Friday, May 15.
Getty Center: Private Dining Room

Learn more about this program and buy tickets

TOURS

Curator’s Gallery Tour
Christopher Platts, co-curator of the exhibition, leads a gallery tour of the exhibition. Meet under the stairs in the Museum Entrance Hall.

Wednesday, April 15, 2:30 p.m.
Getty Center: Museum Galleries

Curator’s Gallery Tour
Bryan Keene, assistant curator of manuscripts, the J. Paul Getty Museum, leads a gallery tour of the exhibition. Meet under the stairs in the Museum Entrance Hall.

Wednesday, May 27, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 10, 2:30 p.m.
Getty Center: Museum Galleries

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

Virtual Exhibition: Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Courts

Explore illuminated manuscripts and other works by artists active in the northern Italian courts. View the online virtual exhibition, produced in collaboration with institutions in Ferrara, Mantua, Milan, Venice, and Verona.

MOBILE TOUR

Free GettyGuide® Multimedia Player

Mobile Gallery Icon
Explore the sumptuous illuminated manuscripts of northern Italy. Pick up a multimedia player free of charge in the Museum Entrance Hall.

Video

Making Manuscripts Video
Making Manuscripts

Learn how illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance were made in this short video.

PUBLICATIONS

Publications are available in the Getty Museum Store, by calling (310) 440-7333, or online.

Exhibition Checklist

Plan your visit
Share